Our television gaming system, which will remain un-named, has become something of a novelty in our family. This is nothing new; in fact, it began long ago, before my children were even born.
When I was in about the 7th or 8th grade, our family bought an ATARI gaming system. The year was about 1979 or 1980 and we were absolutely thrilled with Pong, Frogger, Pac Man, Adventure, and so many more. My brother and I sat for hours in front of the TV after school. Saturday morning cartoons were replaced by competitions with the ATARI set, and whenever we had friends to visit, that's what we did.
We lived in Colorado where it snowed a lot in the wintertime and we needed an indoor activity. Cable TV hadn't yet arrived in our area of town, but we thought we were so high-tech! We were some of the first people in our neighborhood to own a VCR and now this! The enjoyment of sitting in front of a television, moving a prehistoric joystick so that a small line can bat a square ball back and forth across the otherwise blank screen; well, looking back now, the fun is lost on me.
My, how things have changed; yet, how they have stayed the same! Our son saved his money and bought the anonymous gaming system just a few months ago. He, a high schooler, and our daughters, two middle schoolers, will do exactly what my brother and I did all those years ago. They compete, they cry out, they laugh, they get angry, but most of all, they have a ball together. Oddly enough, my husband recently got in on the action. We had to buy more control sticks so that the kids, Dad, and all the friends can play together at the same time. Often friends will even show up with extra TVs and extra gaming systems so they can play a big group game all at once.
Most of the games today are amazing: they look lifelike and can be quite frightening. The sporting events look and sound as if we are watching a real game and listening to real announcers. The war games look as though we are really in an abandoned building or field or forest, evading the enemy and taking shots when we can. The adventure games transport us to another time and place that may look like something out of a fantasy story, but seem real nonetheless.
These games make Pong and Pac Man seem like ancient relics. The ATARI adventure game that used to give me such a thrill was simply a dot moving through a maze on the television screen. I must confess I don't know the first thing about these new gaming systems, and I'm not sure I want to. Maybe they're a bit too real. Maybe there's something to playing a game that's just that - a game. Real life can be stressful enough without emulating in on our television screens for fun.
My question is this: what's next? Will we venture so far into virtual reality that we'll hook ourselves up to wires so we can feel a bit of pain when we're shot by enemies during gaming wars? Will we want to feel the pain of a tackle during a football game? It is difficult to imagine the games seeming more real without involving the senses other than hearing and sight. When we begin to feel, taste and smell what's happening on the television screen, I think that's when I'll have to pull the plug.
