The Question is Why?

 It's been apparent, and to some of you it may have been painfully so, that I've been quite busy for the past week. I recently came into a new job, and have spent the past week in very intense and rigorous training for it. Blogging time has been limited, but I'm making a goal to at the very least blog every Saturday, as my blogging time will be dependent on how intense this job ends up being after I finish training. During my first week of blogs, I simply blogged about whatever it is that has come to my head, and I intend to continue doing so.

Today's random thought, brings me back to one of my favorite pass times: gaming. Gaming, for me, isn't limited to electronic games. While I have spent a great deal of time in my life, indulging in electronic based entertainment, it isn't the only type of gaming out there. My love for games whether it be electronic, board based, or even simple free play, can be traced back as far as I can remember. For years a certain question has been posed to serious gamers, and I choose today to answer it unbidden.

Why do I game?

Many years ago, I remember sitting in the kitchen of our house in West Valley City, Utah. The house was full of my dad's friends. I remember the laughter, and the noise. Six people were gathered around the kitchen table. In front of all of them was a piece of paper, and my dad was "hiding" behind a large cardboard screen. Tonight was Dungeons and Dragons night, and if I stayed quiet, and stayed out of the way, maybe I'd get to watch. I was allowed to watch for a brief time, but as was always the case on DnD nights, I drifted asleep to the story my Dad and his friend's were weaving, and was carried to bed.

Jump to a different day, my dad is sitting at the old dos-based 486 computer. He's loading up the latest in the "Gold Box Forgotten Realms" computer adventures, or maybe it's "Eye of the Beholder." I watch as my dad's intrepid band of pixelated adventurer's fought to save the Realms from certain destruction. Some of my favorite memories of spending time with my dad was sitting in a chair, or on the floor and watching him spend time playing his games. It didn't matter what game it was, all I wanted to do was watch.

Fast forward a couple years, a new phenomenon is sweeping the world as teens and adults everywhere are playing Magic: The Gathering. I vividly remember my thrill as I opened each booster pack side by side with my dad. I remember the thrill of uncovering each new rare and powerful card. I remember hours of alphabetizing my card collections, and countless more hours spent designing decks and strategies. I can still smell the scent of mall-food as my dad and I attended a "Sealed Deck Tournament" together one Saturday. I didn't get very far, but I had a blast. I loved every minute of it. I'd later go on to win a few tournaments in my day, but this was the only tourney I attended with my dad. (On a back note; if I'd have stuck heavily with the game, dedicating the passion to it that I had when I was a kid... I probably could have gone pro... I was good!)

Again jump forward, Starcraft is the biggest real time strategy game on the planet. My dad is the regional manager for a company. I remember countless saturdays spent on the computers at that office, playing massive 8-player games of Starcraft with guys from our ward. Epic battles of strategy between our teenage minds were the highlight of our weekends.

Fast forward a few more years. I've gone from watching my dad play DnD, to trying to DM my own game. I found that the issue with being a "serious gamer" is you have to find "serious gamers" to play with. My friends of the day weren't serious about the game at all, and we failed miserably. But I had fun... right up until the fighter ripped the door off the hinges, and refused to believe that the magic which was supposed to have "sealed that door" a few scenes later in the story, was instead blocking the entrance. So instead of being trapped in my haunted house, they simply walked outside... Oh well, live and learn ;)

And again leap forward, my dad, my brother, and I are all crammed into the tiny office in the basement of our house, playing Dark Age of Camelot. The story has grown from there, but that's a previous entry.

Through all of this, there was a healthy dose of board games played at family gatherings, card games played with Mom and Dad on an evening. Games have been a part of my life since before I can remember. Sure, there are moments in gaming where I've lost my cool (the door story above is an example) and let's face it, no one wants to play with a bad sport. However, all in all, games have been a positive thing. Playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons gives me a chance to express my creativity. Games such as Dark Age can be played with my family several hundred miles away. Gaming has given me another activity to do with my lovely girlfriend. But, in spite of all of this, I haven't really answered my own question have I? I've given you a history of gaming, but I've never stated specifically why it is that I game.

So here it is readers, something that has been locked up inside for a long time. Why does Erik Taylor game?

If you look back at my history, you'll see a common thread. Most of my gaming, took place with my dad. I remember as a kid, looking at my dad, and wanting to be just like him. I wanted to be an engineer, because dad was. I wanted to wear glasses, because dad did. Every game I've ever picked up, I picked up because dad had played it first. I gamed, so that I could spend time with my dad. As I've grown up, my relationship with my dad hasn't always been the best. Even today, our relationship could be described as rocky. So when I game, I take a moment to experience the nostalgia of playing games with Dad, back when things were in top form. I learned my OCD style of gaming from my dad. I'm a perfectionist, and a completionist, and each time I unlock every secret in a game, or every time that I weave a story for my friends in DnD, I think of how my dad did it, think of how he'd spend hours continuing to build up his empire in Master of Orion, or in Civilization, even though he could wipe out his enemy in a single fell stroke.

So the answer, my readers, is simple. I game, because Dad gamed, and still games... And all my life, the thing I wanted most, was to be like, and to impress my dad.

So until next time loyal readers, this has been another blogcast of the Rogue Signal. Goodnight, and good luck.