Coming from the far north as I do, I learned to appreciate things that can keep kids entertained when they are stuck indoors for long periods. But this new "World Cyber Games" is taking things a bit far. Growing up in North Dakota, I didn’t have a lot of things so I was forced to go outside and play (“Oh my god how did you live!?” cry the twenty-somethings). With my brother, no less, because there weren’t any other kids around as we lived in the country. Playing with other kids necessitated a drive of several miles to a neighbor’s house. Anyway, when we moved to Fargo, there was a video arcade at West Acres called “The Pirates Den” which I was too scared to go into. I was pretty darn sure that video arcades were full of dangerous characters that 4-year olds like myself shouldn’t go messing around with – not unlike the Mos Eisley Cantina – and I wasn’t confident in my ability to handle myself in a fight if the Walrushead wanted to smack me around a little.
Instead, I was left to scurry by whenever we went, but casting furtive glances at the wonders inside. But then my friend got a Colecovision and I discovered the joys of playing Smurfs or Pitfall. I had a great time with it, but the systems were pretty pricey so we couldn’t get one. It wasn’t until ’86 that I got my first Nintendo NES and the rest was history. But I still preferred to go outside and play with my friends. Call me a weirdo, but I had more fun actually playing baseball than simulating it on the Nintendo. And these days I’m not morbidly obese – go figure.
Now that there’s the World Cyber Games – where th
e “best” video gamers come from all over the world to square off against each other in a battle for total geek-domination. I know that I shouldn’t judge these folks just because they sit on a couch for days on end and have very nimble fingers. But I do anyway. Even Verena Vlajo the token female player at the whole thing. Sure, she’s the Danica Patrick of video gaming but I had hopes of her representin’ the ladies a bit more; striking a blow against the male-dominated videogame-industrial hegemony. But when I saw the picture of her at the games (above) I saw she was wearing a LAMB* shirt. Oh well, I suppose I can’t blame her too much. If I were the only girl there and had my pick of any of 700 guys to flirt with I’d probably be wearing one too.
* "Look At My Boobs!”
Instead, I was left to scurry by whenever we went, but casting furtive glances at the wonders inside. But then my friend got a Colecovision and I discovered the joys of playing Smurfs or Pitfall. I had a great time with it, but the systems were pretty pricey so we couldn’t get one. It wasn’t until ’86 that I got my first Nintendo NES and the rest was history. But I still preferred to go outside and play with my friends. Call me a weirdo, but I had more fun actually playing baseball than simulating it on the Nintendo. And these days I’m not morbidly obese – go figure.Now that there’s the World Cyber Games – where th
e “best” video gamers come from all over the world to square off against each other in a battle for total geek-domination. I know that I shouldn’t judge these folks just because they sit on a couch for days on end and have very nimble fingers. But I do anyway. Even Verena Vlajo the token female player at the whole thing. Sure, she’s the Danica Patrick of video gaming but I had hopes of her representin’ the ladies a bit more; striking a blow against the male-dominated videogame-industrial hegemony. But when I saw the picture of her at the games (above) I saw she was wearing a LAMB* shirt. Oh well, I suppose I can’t blame her too much. If I were the only girl there and had my pick of any of 700 guys to flirt with I’d probably be wearing one too.* "Look At My Boobs!”
Comments
That's still how I feel about video arcades.