Eating and gaming. Given the Western world’s admittedly serious issues with obesity and over-eating, publishing an issue of The Escapist (a magazine devoted to one of the most sedentary activities ever devised by man) about food (the weapon of choice for millions of men and women hell-bent on killing themselves slowly) may seem a little hare-brained, if not outright reckless. After all, we’re supposed to all be in this together, aren’t we? Why on earth would we put more ammunition in the gun? Good thing, then, that we’ve decided to take a slightly different course.
While there is plenty of reading material out there already on the subject of which flavor of Doritos goes best with BioShock, we’re willing to bet the health-conscious gamer could use a little guidance on how to get started on the path to good eating. Brendan Main answers the call with his article, serving up an appetizer on the joy of cooking with Cooking Mama, and how it taught him that preparing a meal can be as engaging and fun as any game.
Rob Zacny follows up with a soup course comparing the mechanics of cooking to the mechanics of gaming, drawing surprising similarities between skill at gaming and the finesse with which an expert chef cooks an egg – each being influenced by passion and years of experience and discipline. Any gamer interested in grinding and leveling in the culinary arts would do well to sample this delicacy.
The Escapist‘s own close out the menu. First, for the entree, Nova Barlow shares a buffet of dishes inspired by in-game food, from Portal‘s cake to Fallout‘s Nuka-Cola. If your typical meal consists of food in a bag, you could do far worse than take a few notes.
Finally, Susan Arendt serves up a tasty dessert from her experiences with dieting in Lionhead’s RPG epic, Fable 2. We hope our menu for the week satisfies, and at least gives you some insight into the broader world of healthy eating to be found in, around and through your videogame library. We recommend reading this issue with a glass of dry Riesling or a bottle of American pale ale.
/Fingergun
