WARNING! Do Not Erase (Please)

OK, who remembers which kids drew this?  It was on the basement chalkboard at our house in Bailey Road.  Actually, this is the second iteration of the picture, it was drawn once, and then someone erased it, leading to gnashing of teeth and wailing of tears (hence, the warning to not erase).

Two things of note.  First of all, there was a time when Katamari Damacy was a really big deal in our house.



Second, we removed the chalkboard from the basement family room wall in our Forest Hill, MD house, moved it (drawing intact) to the garage of our Aberdeen, MD house, and it has been there for five and half years.  Yes, that's right, I pulled it out while cleaning the garage on Memorial Day.  What a treasure.

I have the best family ever.

Gamers!

I have a whole household of them.

The linked article above makes some interesting claims. Intuitively, I agree with most of them. I think game-playing is one of those wholesome recreational activities.

My versions of some of her points;

1. Don’t play more than 21 hours a week; HAVE A LIMIT! Do other things first, don't let the game take over your living.

2.Playing with real-life friends and family is better than playing alone all the time, or with strangers; I know people who play a lot of XBOX or PS3 or Wii games online against strangers and really enjoy themselves. I don't think it's bad to cultivate the ability to play with people like that. But it's better to play with people you know; develop those already-existing relationships.



3. Playing face-to-face with friends and family beats playing with them online. This is a toughy for me, because I love playing with my kids online. But I am also certain that they are better when we play in person. And the (perhaps not-so-obvious) point should be made; games are not ALL computerized!

(This game seems to involve the person who is "it" sitting in the middle of the trampoline and rolling back and forth, trying to tag someone)



4. Cooperative gameplay, overall, has more benefits than competitive gameplay; that sounds pretty simple, right? Is it more fun to play with someone or against them? I'm not discounting the importance of healthy competition, but emphasizing the importance of team spirit and sportsmanship.

5. Creative games have special positive impacts; have you ever watched kids build a world out of legos? Or created a creature in a game? The thrill as they make something should be one of the goals of recreation!


2 other important rules:

* You can get all of the benefits of a good game without realistic violence – you (or your kids) don’t have to play games with guns or gore; this is a big deal to me. I despise games (and movies, and books, and songs, etc) that are grotesque for no good reason. We can do without that, thank you.

*Any game that makes you feel bad is no longer a good game for you to play. There are lots of "game" events that make you feel bad; measure your emotions when you play, and when you are done. Positive experience? Good feeling? Be a self-aware consumer of recreation!

Lord of the Rings Online goes to Free to Play

Given that my oldest son was Legolas in a family Lord of the Rings parade of characters (I hope that pictures are coming soon to a blog near me), this is as good a time as any to again recommend my game of choice, Lord of the Rings Online.


The "Free to Play" paradigm is an interesting one if you follow the gaming industry. It presumes that players will try almost anything if it is free, and then boldly assumes the game will be interesting enough for players to invest money into it so that they can continue to play.

So anyone who wants to try, come and see. You can at least come bob for apples and learn a dance by Bilbo's home in Hobbiton...

Lions and Tigers and MMORPGs update

Right after I published that blog-post a few months ago, I saw two online articles that interested me.

One was kind of a pat-myself-on-the-back, self-congratulatory article about how awesome The Lord of the Rings Online game is. 10 Reasons LotRO is worth getting instead of a newer game.

The second was a disturbing article on how video game designers craft gaming experiences on purpose to get players addicted to playing the game (one supposes as a marketing move; addicts keep playing/paying more). I think anyone who does anything as a leisure activity should probably read the article; understanding our own motivation and human behavior, especially the concept of Skinner Boxes, is an important aspect of the examined life.

A friend asked me to elaborate on my original comment about LotRO versus WoW. The article above really does a good job capturing many of the simple reasons I love the game, but here are some specifics. Two recent quests I completed on Lord of the Rings Online were thoughtful, amusing, heartfelt. In one, my character was tasked with helping an in-game character with completing something that his family had made an oath to fulfill, the protection of an heirloom treasure for the Dwarven Race. When all of the steps were finished, I was then asked to go back to the home of the in-game character, the Dwarf City of Thorin's Hall, and return the now-complete treasure that the family had sworn to protect. After arriving, I was told by the chief treasurer that the the gold I had returned was insignificant, that what really mattered, what was really valuable, were the family names I had learned tracking down all the people who had helped discharge the obligation. He made careful note of their names, and assured me that no one would forget those brave dwarves.

I did Dwarven Family History!

Another story arc was a delightful allusion to the history of J.R.R. Tolkien himself. I encountered a hobbit just north of the town of Oatbarton named Ronald Dwale. He sent me on a number of simple quests (finding his pipe, retrieving his son's lost lead dog from a beach), and then complained that some rough big people (some of Sharkey's Men) had chased him away from his home. He was forced to drop the first page of his book, and needed my help to find and return the page.

Upon receiving it, he asked me to deliver a message to three friends who were waiting for him at the Bird and Baby Inn in Michel Delving; Jack Lewisdon, Carlo Williams, and Owen Farfield. The message is that he needed to miss the meeting of authors in order to work on his book. Upon travelling back to Michel Delving and passing the message along, the three Hobbits admonished me to make sure that Ronald was in reality working on his book, and not playing silly games.

The entire encounter is ripe with tidbits from Tolkien's real life. My favorite line is Ronald's final comment on his book, "In a hole there once lived a boar. No, wait, that's not right."

The whole game is for sale cheap right now (this purchase comes with 30 days free playtime, though monthly fees are still $10 if you buy a multi-month plan).

Come and see.