On Wednesday, June 27th, I boarded a flight headed east, towards Cape Town, South Africa. I had made a vow to myself to make it a game-free holiday, opting instead to get caught up on some pleasure reading. While I’ve been here, I’ve completed Stephen King’s The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla and gotten through the first three sections of Hugh Howey’s Wool. Yes, I’ve been keeping up on gaming news on the internet, but I’ve also had time to reflect on what gaming means to me. First and foremost, gaming is a form of entertainment, much like reading, television, or the movies. Many of us play games to have fun, take part in some online camaraderie, or be told a story. Not me. I use gaming as an escape from my daily life. It gives me the opportunity to turn my mind off from being a father, a husband, a naval officer, and an adult. I get to close Barry’s eyes, and then open Nathan Drake’s, Max Payne’s, or Maude’s (my custom female character’s name, regardless of the game I play). Whether it’s for thirty minutes or a few hours, life in Maryland gets put on pause and I get whisked away to a fictional land of intrigue, violence, mystery, racing, or just plan different-ness. When I get back home, a few of us at the Better Gaming Bureau are going to take part in a friendly competition to see how many games we can beat in a set amount of time. The purpose of this competition will be twofold for me. Firstly, it will give me a better excuse to turn off my life and tune into a world of fantasy, entering several new worlds that would otherwise be left gathering dust in my backlog. Secondly…..aw hell, there is no secondary reason. I’m not doing it for victory, I’m not doing it for the thrill of competition, I’m doing it because gaming is something I love. Being over here without my beloved gaming consoles has further reenforced that, although I’m a father, husband, and naval officer first, underneath all of that, I’M A GAMER!!! Share with friends!
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