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Abusing the Robot Voice
September 30, 2005
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Believe it or not, I have a couple of acquaintances that are gamers-in-denial like this: some of them game even more than people I know who proudly append themselves with the term, but these persons, these acquaintances, do not cotton to it in the least. Who knows what they fear, exactly - it is not always what you would think, as many cheerily call themselves "geeks" and "nerds" already, thus not so much being leery imagining some kind of connection between that and gaming - but fear they have, in some capacity. And I also have many other friends and relatives who I swear would be gamers as well, if there was a general consensus as to the widening of the term - my mom, for example, would never whoop ass in Devil May Cry or "PWN N00BS" (as the vernacular goes) in Unreal Tournament - she is no OGHC in the making. But she plays games on PopCap with a singular delight, and well I remember the days of my childhood when she would come home from work, exhausted, and my brother and I would hastily clear out of the living room to allow her to play Tetris with her brutal, single-minded efficiency. She was going to best our high scores, by God, if she needed to grab the machine and beat the points right out of it. When we borrowed Dr. Mario from a friend, she accidentally stayed up from 9 PM until 2 AM playing it, totally unaware of the hours slipping away. My dad wasn't ever so much a gamer - he's a crossword/card game kinda guy - but he was our supplier, if you will. We certainly didn't get Sopwith and King's Quest on our own - it was our dad - and it was he who taught me Basic at age 7, and gave me a generous amount of time on the computer to make my own dungeons on that beautifully obscure little title Think Quick (which, my good friend Hilary astutely pointed out, was one of the first titles either of us had ever encountered that allowed you to choose between a boy or girl avatar). I remember him playing the demo of the game Raptor: Call of the Shadows before I took over and brutalized the rest of the level. My mom and dad aren't gamers NOW, but I am convinced that between their addictive play and their cunning supply, the term could - and should - have fit them. Who knows - maybe one day, I'll get them back into it. Let's see how they like that new Revolution controller, perhaps...
Last but not least for you folks - I have two small but savory links:
* This fellow, Rob Schrab, is totally insane, and maybe even a little bit brilliant. Check out all the amazingly cool and neato stuff on his homepage, or face the wrath of MY MOM! (well, not really, but just go check it out)
* Also, just in case you thought you maybe might not have had enough Katamari references this week, KATAMARI PICTURE SNEAK ATTACK 3D6 DAMAGE FTW! ::ninja vanish!::
Anyhow - off to keep on keepin' on. Peace out and be good!
Cute But Deadly,
Annie "Blue" C
When I get through this part
Will the next one be the same
- They Might Be Giants
"Am I Awake?"
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