As an attorney, an app developer and a gamer, I know a little something about getting stuck in what I like to call GFZ’s or “Game-Free Zones” (the office, school, court, the family dinner table…) Here are a few simple tips for minimizing the impact of GFZ’s on your daily gaming.
1. Don’t limit yourself to one platform.
Can’t download World of Warcraft onto your GFZ computer without IT security hunting you down? No problem! Bring your tablet to work/class/court or whatever your GFZ might be! With the sheer explosion of tablets this holiday season, there’s simply no excuse not to own one, especially now that Google has entered the market with a tablet that costs less than a haircut.
(That’s not your average haircut, by the way. That’s if you got your hair cut at the most expensive place in town, by a stylist named “Giancarlo,” and got it shampooed twice, and colored, and maybe added some highlights on top of the color, all on the same day, and then bought enough hair products on the way out the door to supply the cast of Glee for a couple months… But you could find a way to spend more money at a hair salon than the price of the tablet if you really tried, is my point…)
2. Never go anywhere without your smart phone.
Can’t get away with a tablet in your particular GFZ? No problem! Set your smart phone on silent-mode and sneak off into the bathroom. Pwned! If your boss/professor wants to know why you keep disappearing into the bathroom for an hour at a time, you have three decent options. If you’re female and your boss/professor is male, mutter something incoherent about “girl trouble” and try to look embarrassed. They usually won’t ask after that.
If you can’t get away with that one, you have two choices left: “bad tacos” and “the flu.” If you go with bad tacos, make sure to use each of the following key phrases: “company/school cafeteria,” “liability issues,” and “call my attorney.” If you go with the flu, you’ll want to include this: “must have been the guy who threw up on the bus this morning; I knew I should have picked a different seat.” If you use these key phrases correctly, you might even end up with a couple days off.
3. One phone just won’t cut it anymore.
You have two best friends. One of them wants to duel you in Fun Run on the iPhone. The other one wants to send you a play list on the Galaxy. What’s a gamer to do?
Obviously, one phone just won’t cut it anymore. You’re going to need an iPhone, a Droid, and a Galaxy at the very least. I personally have had all my suit jackets re-tailored to include three inside pockets for sneaking multiple smart phones into GFZ’s. In fact, I’m considering adding a fourth and buying a Windows phone this holiday season, just for improved weight distribution. With an odd number of phones, my jackets are hanging decidedly lower on the left, which is both uncomfortable and odd-looking.
As a lawyer, I can’t go into court with an odd-looking suit. I just can’t. A student could probably get away with three phones though. It’s a matter of personal choice, and I leave the decision up to you.
Just remember, with all the major gaming companies throwing the competition into overdrive, you don’t have to buy into the hype. You can buy them all! Get a Playstation and an Xbox; a PC and a Mac and a Chrome; an iPad and a Surface and a Nexus and a Galaxy Tab and a Kindle and a Nook and a… Well OK I’ve officially lost track of all the tablets out there, but you get the idea. No matter what device you might need to sneak into your next GFZ, you’ll be prepared!
