Why do people play games? There's endless reasons and I certainly have my own reasons for being really hyped up about Grand Theft Auto IV. I play UNO on Xbox LIVE when I'm extremely bored, but too tired to use my brain. I play Halo 3 to keep in touch with friends in far off places. I really have different reasons for playing the wide range of games I get into.
Grand Theft Auto IV is going to be my escape from reality. To be honest, I've been in a really bad mood for about a year now and have yet to really unleash my anger and rage on anything. I'm thinking there's no better way to do that than to smack down as many people as I possibly can during my time in the big city. This probably would make me sound like a violent guy to all the Jack Thompson douche bags out there, but who care? I'm actually extremely peaceful and the type of guy who would give my last nickel to someone who needed it more than me. Games have always been my escape from reality and I'm looking forward to escaping once again next week.
Dane Cook once mentioned that all guys have a secret desire to own a monkey and to be part of a heist. I guess I'm still too level headed in the real world to be part of a heist, but GTA IV will fill in nicely for the time being. It's too bad there's no pet monkey involved with GTA IV, but it's worth shooting the idea to RockStar for part V.
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I’ve read several articles recently that claim video games can cause flashbacks…
I’m usually the first person to defend gaming and do truly believe that more positive things come out of playing games than negative. In this particular situation, I have personal experiences that lean towards the negative aspects…
On the morning of April 16, 2007, I was standing outside of Norris Hall on the Virginia Tech campus. I had just finished working a night shift for the VT Police Department (due to a non-disclosure agreement, I can’t get too into detail with what happened), but wasn’t tired for some reason. My dad worked in the building across from Norris Hall, so I was hoping to run into him so we could grab some breakfast at McDonalds. The strange thing about the day was the fact that the weather was colder and windier than usual for a mid-April morning. It also just seemed like a strange day from the beginning. I somehow knew it was going to be a bad day from the beginning. When I was leaving work, I heard about 2 students being shot in the dorms, but had no idea what was about to happen. I also didn’t know until later in the afternoon that one of the first victims was a good friend of mine.
After standing on the sidewalk for about 10 minutes, I was thinking about heading into Norris to use the restroom, but decided to smoke another Newport and wait for my dad. I pulled out my phone and started chatting with a few friends. Perhaps that cigarette saved my life. I often obsess myself with the scenarios of what could have happened. Sometimes I wonder if I could have done anything to stop the shooter if I was inside the building. Other times, I just assume I would have been killed. A few minutes later, the shooting started and the chaos of that surreal day begun. I saw more than I could have ever wanted to see inside Norris Hall and saw things I wouldn’t write about even if I could….
What happened that day has changed me as a person and as a gamer. I have since left Blacksburg, Virginia and will only return for short visits. Since the shooting, I’ve had a hard time with life. A day doesn’t go bye without thinking about it. During that time, Halo 2 was my favorite game. The shooting at Virginia Tech nearly changed the meaning of FPS games for me. While playing a CTF match on Headlong, a player on the other team was coming at me with dual SMGs. For a few seconds, I was no longer watching what was happening in the game. I just saw Cho coming at me with his dual weapons. I quickly shut off the console and was a bit freaked out. It took several months and a few therapists before I got back into Halo again. At this point, I started wondering if real life violence had changed the meaning of a game for me. The concept was strange, considering it was a popular belief to say that games cause violence. In this case, violence caused my game to change. I guess you could also say that a video game indirectly caused me to have somewhat of a flashback. The other strange thing about what had happened is the fact that I am a U.S. Army combat veteran. I saw some sick things during my time in the military, but it never bothered me. Perhaps what happened in Blacksburg was more bothersome because it was on a personal level. Although there are some negative aspects to games, for the most part gaming remains a positive force in my life. Halo is more about socializing with friends from far off and it’s a great support network in times of need. In the end, anything they blame games for usually has hundreds of factors that are a bigger cause. For example, when the wind blows a certain way, I’m reminded of April 16. Should I blame the wind?
The one-year anniversary of the shooting is only a few weeks away now and I’m not sure what to think about it. It still feels like it was yesterday and still feels very surreal. I suppose it’s just something that will be a part of me for the rest of my life.
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When I first got into this fiasco we all call 'game journalism', I did it for fun and for my love of video games. Somewhere along the line, I lost my way. After spending a decent amount of time as a freelance gaming blogger, I was swept off my feet by a major gaming site with a decent paycheck and some perks to go along with it. At the time, I needed the money and it seemed like a really good deal.
I was hired primarily for my abilities in marketing and writing became a secondary priority. Although the experience working for a major media company was a great one, I realized that I was not happy with what I was doing. The mountains of restrictions in addition to other aspects of the job finally pushed me to toss them my resignation.
The site was more on the ‘family friendly’ side and as a result, there were mountains of restrictions to go along with the writing. I never lied in an article, because I certainly have a strong personal code of ethics, but I certainly held back my personal opinions from most pieces due to the restrictions.
I’ve been a reader of Destructoid for some time, but never posted a blog on the site due to my contractual agreement with my employer. Fortunately, now I’m free to write about anything at any time. Hopefully, you guys will be seeing a lot of content from me in the near future.
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