An Age of Gaming Does Not Have to End with Age

Along with gender expectations being questioned in our era, there is another expectation that is being questioned if not utterly destroyed:  games are for kids.

Sure, we can all espouse the idea that we are “kids at heart” but I don’t want to have that sentiment take away what I pride myself on—being a man. 

This all started when video games started to come home on the PC or the Atari.  I remember playing old games like “Wasteland”, “Ultima”, “A Bard’s Tale” and more.  Those were the days of Basic programming, and I remember coding out my own text based games akin to “Zork”.   Then the world went crazy when Nintendo, Playstation, and XBOX hit the scene.  Our lives were in jeapordy!  We had to play such things such as Mario Kart and Final Fanstasy, but one thing kept creeping on us that was hedging us out of this world: our age.

Why the hell should our age have anything to do with it?  I say it is far safer to play a game with friends than sit at a bar getting drunk on over-priced swill allowing ourselves to be swayed into the clutches of bar-whores (both men and women) due to our ill-timed beer goggles?  This literally breeds stupidity.

Well, I am proud to admit that I am a gamer, and I love playing games.  I have a family, a degree, and manage to game, just like to men of old used to take time for whisky and poker.  Well, I still make time for whisky, but I'm Irish, it's all about honoring my ancestors!

 I have found that the online genre of games is the most satisfying because of the ability to play with friends and make new connections.   As we age, we should not give up games.  An old property law professor once told me, “As a man you never really ‘grow up’ when it comes to toys, they just get more expensive.”  This is not true since many games are free to play, but he has one point, there is no need to think that we need to “grow up”, when we realize we are men….we are already there—grown up, yet still with a love for what we grew up with….our toys/games. 

Here are a few games I am currently enjoying:

DDO, or Dungeons and Dragons online which can be found at DDO.com, is a great game for those who have played AD&D and like 3.5 edition.  It is based a lot on those rules and really tries hard to adhere to them.  Some sacrifices are made to enhance the style of game play, but it is a really great game full of rich story and a ton of things to do.  What makes it better is that I have some of my friends play with me every Sunday night, which makes it more like being around the table with “the guys”. 

Another great game that friends can stay connected on is League of Legends.  This game is a ton of fun!  It is a 3^rd person strategy/fighting game that makes teamwork and individual skill entertain quite the bloody marriage.  Using Skype to stay connected during this game ensures wins, the most amount of fun, and the ability to stay in touch.  Look it up at   http://na.leagueoflegends.com/.  The cool thing about this game is that it is free to play. The only thing that people get for paying money is basically cosmetics.   The kicker is that when you see a character that looks awesome and other than the norm, the player is usually a payer, and thus is usually skilled!  The other great thing about this game is that it boasts a real league!  Yes, this league showcases players that are actually paid to play as professionals.  The cool thing is that anyone can do this….with the right skills of course.   Riot Games is the mastermind behind this, and they do a great job.  What I like the most is that for most of their job positions, the applicants must actually have a certain skill level at the game!  Think of it, in order to write for them, the author must be accomplished as well.  Makes sense.   Come join me in a game.  My toon name is Mythanthalus on the North American server.

There is one more game that I have been trying out that has been growing on me: Mechwarrior Online.  It is a tough game to master….which I LOVE!  It boasts some of my favorite things….great graphics and mechs!  Anyone who is familiar with Mechwarrior will love this game.  It is free too.  The only thing I see lacking in this game is the storyline.  There does not seem to be any connection with the Mechwarrior storyline other than the availability of certain models of mechs.  I liked going on missions with a team and working out strategy while working my way up the ranks of my faction.  Sadly this does not seem to happen yet in Mechwarrior Online.  It is still an exhilarating experience playing the game.  It is still in Beta mode, but it is open to the public, so give it a try at http://mwomercs.com/landingpad.

What does being a man have anything to do with all of these games?  I feel that playing hard is a good thing to do, and that playing games is a great way to blow off steam.  The secret is to treat it like….a treat, and not an obsession.   In this day and age, I will gladly say, stay at home and load up a game instead of loading up at the bars.  Getting out is important, but playing games at home can save money while making those true outings all the more important because getting out will be more fresh, exhilarating, and worth the money you spend rather than making your times out nothing more than monotonous gettin’ drunk sessions.