Note: This was intended to be more lighthearted, but it became more introspective and whiny as I wrote it.  I plan for this blog to be more humorous with some hints of scholarly value, this is merely a blip.

I’ve been thinking lately about why I play video games.  The simple answer is I play them because I love them.  I love them enough that I started a blog so I could share my poorly written thoughts about them, among other things.  I love video games because, along with sports, when I recall my happiest memories almost all of them involve video games or sports.  These aren’t lonely memories of me in my basement beating my favorite game.  Like sports are a social activity, so are video games for me.  To play a team sport, like basketball or football, you have to have other people around.  For a video game to be truly memorable to me, I have to share the experience with someone.  I do not know why exactly.  Maybe it’s because the only way I can relate to other people is through those shared experiences.  All my friends I made with sports or video games.  Each time I play a game, whether of the video or sporting variety, I am hoping to capture those moments from my youth when I was able to overcome my innate awkwardness and connect with another person. Continue reading →