We Only Have One Game

I’m standing behind a young friend of mine while he’s busy blowing holes in enemy ships. I pull up a stool.

I’ve always been fascinated by spectating video games. Never been a big gamer myself. I had a Game Boy way back in the day. Played Tetris mostly. Maybe if video games had had the character and plot development in my youth as they do now, I would have been more enthralled. The only video bit we got to see at the end of the level was, “Thank you, Mario, but our princess is in another castle.”

Still, I’ve watched my friends play a lot, and somehow I find the interplay between human and computer as interesting as those between the characters on screen.

As I perch on the stool, my young friend begins to explain to me the points and strategies of the game. He’s a good teacher, this kid. He knows how to break things down. I’ve noticed before. I think that, generally speaking, kids are good teachers. And in our society, they’re sort of professional students, so that tracks. They’d have opinions on how that should be effectively done.

I’m re-reading Ender’s Game right now and the irony of sitting behind this brilliant child playing a computer game is not lost on me. It makes me wonder what worlds we play with when we idly spend our hours devastating digital worlds. I almost mention this aloud, but I don’t want to date myself by referencing (and subsequently explaining the existence and historical significance of) Tron, so I let it slide.

“I’ll set up a mining post here. I’m mining Tiberium. It’s a resource.”

While I watch the mining gear set itself up, I have a second to wonder if Tiberium was named so as a little hat tip to Captain Kirk.

“So you’re fighting the war to get control of the Tiberium?”

“No, I’m mining the Tiberium to help me fight the war.”

We’re back to battle play on the screen. Ships exploding on both sides.

“So you’re mining the Tiberium to fight the war. What are you fighting the war for?”

“Don’t know,” he says.

I laugh.

He spares me a glance. “Does anybody ever?”

Like I said, good teacher.