It's been suggested around my household, from time-to-time, that as a child I may have been considered to have ADHD. It's always played for laughs, but there's enough evidence to suggest it: my lack of any real, definable 'skills' or one overbearing interest (videogames aside). So that's why my favourite bit of Akira is when Tetsuo's guts fall out on the floor in his mind. I don't know why, It just looks rad. Wait, freedom. Yeah, I dig rules. I love borders, boundaries and finality. I love having a structured rota, a discernible task. I need rails.

Freedom in gaming may be a revelation for those with greater attention spans than my own, or at least those who possess the ability to focus their ideas into something tangible. For me, character creation tools are a nightmare, open quest structures become a swirling mass of confusion and my Littlebigplanet pod looks like my cat ate the 90's, then shit it back out, then ate that shit and puked. Do you remember Dino-Riders? They were amazing. I wish I'd put more of my pocket money into them as a kid. It's not even as if I have anything to show as an alternative, I bet I spent it on shiny stickers. That's what freedom is to me. No. Crap. I'm not finished yet. Bare with me.



Character creation, in particular, is a real point of contention for me. Largely because I'm so bad at it. I look at some of Capcom's flawless character design over the years and I wonder why anyone would want to do it themselves. I couldn't create a Chun-Li, a Mike Haggar or a Mega Man. Mike Haggar picking up chickens from dustbins. Hahaha. He's so crazy. And cool. Do you guys know the story in Final Fight? Cody's girlfriend and Haggar's daughter (same chick) gets captured and then they go around beating up the Mad Gear gang to find her.......so. As I was saying, I'm no good at character design. All of my created characters are exactly the same: slightly overweight, muscle-bound punks with tattoos and mohawks. Basically, I have been endlessly recreating one of the titular two crude dudes from Two Crude Dudes/Crude Buster.



There is, however, one instance in which I appreciate freedom. In games. Not reality. I'm a big fan of real freedom. Fallout 3's open-ended quest structure and ability to bypass a boring story about water or something has made that very game one of my all-time favourites. I loved telling my old man to shove his revolution up his bum so I could go off decapitating super mutants and stealing from vampires. Hah! They didn't even see me coming! Chinese Stealth Armour! I can be as much of a directionless, amoral jerk as I want in this game and I'll still, eventually, find some sort of guidance in the form of a quest - probably given to me by an NPC just before I could steal their stuff. This sits perfectly with my supposed condition: allowing me the freedom I need to 'express myself' and giving me enough structure so as to avoid me going totally 'off the deep end'.

So, in summary: a few spoonfuls of spreadable cheese mixed with some herbs and filled pasta is a quick and nutritious dinner.

Sorry, back to the freedom. I'm a fan of it in small doses, or if I barely see my character and I'm glad that it seems to be a continually evolving trend. However, nine times out of ten, I would rather pick from one of three stone-cold badasses and get down to smashing up some street punks who made bad life choices. If they ever want to take my freedom in exchange for sublime character design and diverse mission structure, then they can have it.



Also, do try that recipe idea.