Gaming Demons

So … Diablo 3 is going to sell pretend items for real money, I'm not entirely comfortable with this, but it's not what I'm writing about. What I'm writing about is people's reaction to this news.

I'll skip straight to the point, calling for a boycott is a bloody stupid idea.

Why? Remember when you were a teenager and somebody told you “don't do that!” and got the idea into their head that a half-hour lecture about whatever the evil of the day was just what you needed? Well I'm assuming that worked just about as well on everyone else as it worked on me, in other words not at all.

Like a lot of people I don't always react well to being told what I should and shouldn't do by others(especially when it comes to my free time), even if their intentions are good.

I often feel that the best way someone to get me to change my mind, is to put the situation where I have the time and opportunity to form my own insights.

There has been a good few high-profile “ boycotts” of various services and games in the last few years but rarely have they made any significant impact.

Or to rephrase a old saying: people need time to practice, not to be preached at.

Pause for Thought

When I sit down to watch a TV series or a Film there are some which I realise will make me uncomfortable, that really make me squirm in my seat as their narrative unfolds.

Different types of drama will inspire discomforts in different people, for some people supernatural dread or physical squeamishness will do the trick. I don't really react to those things, for me it's the slow motion car crash of interpersonal drama which will make me reach the pause button.

There is assumption on the part of some people that every time I hit pause I am degrading my experience, that if any work is not seen “as the author intended” is it is somehow lessened.

When Life Gives You Lemons

I struggle to justify spending time blogging. It often seems a self-indulgent pursuit, where the only thing lower than the chances of anyone reading your work is the career prospects.

This line of reasoning is made particularly seductive to me because I'm acutely aware that my dyslexia has always made writing of any sort a struggle.

I'm bad at written communication and this can be exceedingly frustrating because I'm acutely aware that unless you are a Da Vinci level polymath able to do everything for yourself, communications skills are vital to work as a creative in any modern media.

In short I’m bad at one of the most important skills anyone needs to succeed in life, and its unclear if I can do much about the underlying reason.

All of this was sloshing about in the back of my mind when I started playing Portal 2 and was brought bubbling to the fore by a bittersweet piece of dialog by a charterer called Cave Johnson.