Letters to the Editor

Going it Alone

In response to "Mario Golf as Foreplay" from The Escapist Forum: I have a bad habit of using videogames as a crutch to recover from failed relationships. I remember playing Tomb Raider II for about two weeks straight after one breakup. Probably not healthy that.

I've always had a problem with girlfriends not taking gaming seriously. Like if I talk to them about books or movies, we can have great conversations. But I try to talk about great games like Shadow of the Colossus or Half-Life and they just look at me like I'm five years old. I guess that's just a problem with non-gamers in general. They think all games are still just basically Space Invaders and the only games they ever hear about are GTA and Halo.

- arrr_matey

This is a very interesting article, but seriously man, you have a problem, and so does anyone else who can relate and defend the point of view.

First of all, computer games should NOT be the number one thing in your life. Doing so, you'll exclude yourself and become completely anti-social from the rest of the world. Girlfriends, marriage, even jobs could become impossible, and the stereotypical 40 year old virgin playing WoW in the basement of their parents house, becomes plausable.

And yes, there are ways to fit both a girl and gaming into a life. To help, I'll explain my situation. I have a girlfriend right now, who's not a gamer, but is a little nerdy. So, I've yet to really play games other than card and boardgames. Whenever we make plans, I go to them. Likewise, I explain to her if an online gaming event comes up, and I work around it. One time I had to do a meeting with my squad via Ventrilo during my five day visit at her place, and I explained this to her, even let her listen in a bit, and she was fine with it.

So really, there's no reason to choose to have one or the other - it's a matter of how you juggle the two fairly and smartly.

- The Legacy

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In response to "Tap X for Pleasure" from The Escapist Forum: It's the same as the fear-mongering that came out when Mass Effect deigned to show some bare ass in its romance-subplot climax. Fox News brought an expert in, one who had never actually seen or played the game, and basically assigned to comment based on her being told that Mass Effect featured graphic rape and pornographic intercourse as a major portion of gameplay and that (of course) was marketed to children.

It's sad to say that gaming is still a largely juvenile medium, but there simply aren't very many games with the kind of complexity that makes graphic or even implied sex truly appropriate. God of War made it ancillary and tacked-on, Fahrenheit and Omikron (remember that one?) were cinematic enough to practically warrant it, and most other RPGs such as Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights prefer a fade-out following flirting.

It's worth noting that Obsidian Entertainment, developers of the (in my estimation) truly excellent Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 (and its expansions) has stated that for their upcoming superspy title Alpha Protocol would have sex "with consequences", wherein who the character "chooses" would have an effect on the game's progression as well as on the approach to certain objectives. It's a step, I suppose.

- unangbangkay