A line in the sand

I'm a very linear thinker. That seems like a pretty innocuous statement, but the more I've thought about it, the more I realize just how many things in my life were and are affected by it. I approach things in a very linear fashion, but more importantly, I tend to enjoy things that work in a linear fashion as well. I realize now that this contributed to my interest in:

• playing music (follows a strict set of rules, has patterns, repetitions, and a very predictable outcome)
• cooking (follows a strict set of rules, just follow the recipe and get a largely predictable outcome)
• computers (see above)
• mathematics (as I say to my son, it's all about patterns)
  
• and of course, games

Games have simple, linear mechanics that result in a very predictable outcome - that is, someone wins and someone loses. And yet for all their simplicity, they can go down an almost infinite variety of paths. Chess and Go are probably the best examples of simple game mechanics with very complex strategy and infinite paths. I love that. "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master" as the tagline goes. At the same time I enjoy games with random-generated elements as well (War anyone?). I think I'm happiest with games that strike a balance between the two. Backgammon, for example; lots of dice rolling, but also lots of strategy in how you move your pieces.

Some of you are probably asking "What's the big reward in a very predictable outcome? There are very limited possibilities; what's the big thrill of playing if you know how it ends?" Well, that's part of what this blog is all about, so don't get huffy.

In the beginning...

I've played games since I could understand the rules. I started by playing card and board games with my Mother. My older brother wasn't much for games of that sort, so I quickly learned the art of playing most games by myself. During the summer, we had a community out at the lake, and would have games of euchre, rummoli, cribbage, epic Monopoly games that went on for days, and some of the weirdest croquet set ups.

In high school, I experienced two things that would change my gaming life forever: video game consoles, and Dungeons and Dragons. My best friend had a Mattel Intellivision, and I would always try to get over to his house after school to play Astro Blaster or Tron. And he had a finished rec room in the basement, where a group of us would gather for weekend-long D&D adventures. I'm not entirely sure how I passed Grades 11-13 as I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing any work.

In the 20-odd years since, I've always had games in my life. Mostly computer games, since they are largely designed for single players, and have very immersive game play. When my son was born, I got to re-discover some of the joy of games while teaching them to him. A few years ago, after much mocking of those who did so, I ventured into the world of MMORPGs (that's Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games for the uninitiated) with World of Warcraft, and continue playing it, off and on, to this day. I've even made some RL (Real Life) friends through that virtual world.

I guess the point of this blog is to explore my history and relationship with games, and explore where they're going, what I'm playing, what I want to play, and even how they can be used in other parts of our lives.

So grab a seat, pick your playing piece (I'm usually the dog in Monopoly, just so you know) and roll the dice with me.