Have You Ever?

Have you ever felt that moment of anti-inspiration? You’re running through a forest, or dungeon, or whatever, and you slap that poor bunny on the head with your [insert bad ass weapon]. You stop and turn in one complete circle. This is more than a moment of déjà vu. You know this place better than your own neighborhood. You know its rivers and mountains. You know that just on the other side of that tree you’ll find carrots growing, and in that cave a giant troll waits to either pummel you or get pummeled.

You can defeat him! Actually, you did yesterday, and the day before.

This is the point where I Alt+F4 and go for a walk. A real one. At the moment my desktop is disconnected and hiding shamed in the corner; dormant.

Perhaps the missing piece is camaraderie. All the gods of gaming know I have my antisocial tendencies, but what I really miss is story; a real connection with the characters and world I’m trying to survive. I get back from my walk and pick up The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, or listen to an audiobook of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. (That’s A Game of Thrones for HBO enthusiasts).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trashing on gaming. I’d love to hit the power button on my PC, wait for the screen to light up, and then dive into the latest MMO. But lately it just doesn’t seem worth the effort.

Have you ever?