I find that today is a day of writing down my observations and here is just a few that I have come to a decisive conclusion over. All of these realizations are related in some way to gaming, especially on-line gaming, so please, bear with me.

 1. What happened to gamers? It seems that in this day and age, the world of video game fans has completely diminished into a muddy pool of something I would not dare describe in this blog. For every person who plays video-games for the sheer enjoyment and passion of it, there are 5 who treat it like a race. We sem to always rush in everything that we do, be it real life work, social life and pretty much every single aspect of our day to day acts. Why? video games, at some point in time, were about enjoying the experience. There are so many types of games that provide so many types of play. Even the games that revolve around competition can be enjoyed in moderation and patience, as long as you want to. why are there so many people out there who no longer take video games as a hobby, but as a job? People play games like World of Warcraft to reach the highest level as fast as possible and to get the best gear. People rush to grab games like Halo 3 just so that they can be the best when they play on-line.  Why not just enjoy them?

I am an avid game player. I have played games since I was 3 years old and have owned so many games. I play them for fun. I collect rare games such as Rez (PS2), Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn), Ico (PS2) and so many more because of the emotional tie that comes from playing them. I collect systems such as the virtual boy and neo geo because they are a piece of videogame history that so many people forget about. I take these games and these systems and play them. I revel in the experience. I see a game like Shadow of the Collosus (PS2), and I am stricken with awe. I show that same game to a friend of mine and they get frustrated, because they want to tackle their obstacles within seconds (if you have ever played the game, you know that the collosi take a long time to kill and take a lot of planning and trial and error). I play a game of Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360) with my friends and they fling their controllers in anger when they loose and sling verbal abuse when they win. Why? I just enjoy playing the game.

The same goes with online. I remember spending hours playing Call of Duty 2 on Xbox Live. I would listen to so many people just angry and pissed off about the silliest of things. One such example was that someone was pissed off at my gamer tag because it sounded too stupid (The name was MonkeyCashew). When I play an online game like a MUD or an Graphical MMOG, I take my time and enjoy the experience. I see people, fellow team mates and comrades in arms rush out and try as hard as they can to be the best...and then I never see them again, as they have simply tripled my level in mere hours. It is very depressing to really think of such things.

I write this, not in anger towards people, as I am rarely ever an angry person. I write this because I feel so bad for people who can not relax and enjoy a game. I feel bad that they spend their time trying to be the best, that they focus their insecurities on their hobbies and bring out the worst of their personality. It is hard to believe that there are so few out there in the world (at least where I am...they must be hiding or something.) I spend my time with my copy of Pokemon Pearl, Halo 3, Guitar Hero 3 and so much more in hopes of finding someone who is willing to play and not be angry. I want people to enjoy the challenge of playing others. I want people to just come together and have fun, regardless of their skill.

....bah I'm rambling. More to come in the future.