The Games of Life

I do not like the trend that I see erupting in games.  And i'm being very grumpy about it in this post, so skip it if you want to stay cheerful.

First, though, remember what is good about games:

Games are used to teach life skills.  Any animal youngster, domestic or wild, learns running and pouncing and biting and fighting.  We call it cute when they are little.  As adults, in the wild, it keeps them alive.  They are "domestic" when we can tell them when it is ok to do which thing (biting, for instance, is what we use in dogs to get them to fetch.  We even direct their running.  Agility is all about telling them when and where we want them to jump, tunnel, hold still, walk, run, etc.)

Games for humans can teach math and communication.  A game like Scrabble is never the same -- so that once you reach a level of competency your likelihood of having a higher score is the same as that of anyone else who is competent.  It's kind of realistic that way:  Become competent, and you kind of take turns winning.  It's (usually) quite civil, fun, social and it hones the brain.  Same with Bridge.  The fun in playing is social, it is intellectual, and it is about self-improvement.

Move now to most electronic games.

(Caveats:  1) I do not play very many of them.  2) Since first starting this post I have been exposed to some much better games -- that do not require a cash outlay in other than the original purchase.  3) I realize that game-makers have to make money, and that hackers can make money too by selling hints.)  Yes, there are levels, and you have to pass.  Passing requires some level of competence... usually.  Hacking the games (a la James Tiberius Kirk) shows, at least, some level of creativity, and skill.  Several popular games let you buy your way past some of the challenges -- using actual cash.  Not only that, but many games only allow you to get to the highest levels if you do pay cash.  And in some games, once you do get to the top, you become a consultant or designer of the game.  (NB:  Sorry, lost the cite -- at the time of the onset of this post there was some article about game players in China who were paid to take control of the game, then sell their "levels" to the highest bidder.  Quite a cash cow for whoever thought up the scheme.  I'm not questioning the legality or ethics of these acts, however...)

What are we teaching our kids and ourselves!?  That money is the only real way to win?  That with enough money you get to control the game?  That no matter how talented you are you can never really achieve?  That the *only* way to have any direction over "the game of life" you have to 1) be on top, and 2) get there with money.

Your only other option, i suppose, is to stop playing these games and go out to enjoy life... if you can find a place in society that doesn't follow these same new rules.