I’m obsessed with simulation. From crappy Flash games to $60 Wii titles, I’ll play all of them with a goofy smile on my face. I know that almost every video game itself is a type of simulation, like shooters or some RPG’s, but I’m talking about games devoted to simulating one task. They usually lack characters and plot since they’re so concentrated on the role they seek to emulate. Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Why do you enjoy subjecting yourself to such a chore of a game?’ And then I answer myself, ‘Good question. I don’t really know.’ ‘You’re a fucking moron. Play something real.’

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People of all ages play video games. I hate to break it to you sticklers, but they’re not just for kids, and I hate to break it to you pros, but they’re not just for hardcore gamers.

Before the evolution and popularization of online gaming, this wasn’t something too many people thought or cared about. You played your own game and no one else imposed upon it. But now that we gamers have become more social creatures, seeking the company of others in-game has become the best and the worst part of playing online.

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“Hey, whatchya doin’? Playing a video game again? Is that all you do in your spare time? Yeah, I know you have a job, whatever. What do you even have to do in that thing anyway? Shoot people and smash buttons? …And dodge ‘counterattacks’? Strategize—wait, you actually think about this game?”

Really, we’ve all heard it at some point. Playing video games makes us lazy. They’re nothing but simple time-killers akin to watching a sitcom or doodling in a notebook. Truth is, it’s not so easy. Unless you want it to be.

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Hello, I’m Mercedes, and I don’t finish video games.

That’s not to say I don’t play them. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy them. But I can’t not put them down. There’s always that final push of the start button, the pause that lasts for days, weeks, and sometimes years. It’s a bad habit, to say the least, but I’m on the path to recovery.

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We’ve come a long way since Snake—or have we?

Almost everyone has a cell phone, and those who do usually grow bored of their stock features. I mean, really, how many times can you play that Bejeweled demo while sitting in your dentist’s waiting room before you start yanking out your own teeth?

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Casual gamers. Doesn’t the phrase make shivers run down your spine? Industry experts everywhere are calling out this new audience, these so called casual gamers with their free time and bulging wallets.

Who are they, exactly? They are housewives, they are retired, they are kids playing Tetris on their cell phones. They are the people buying Wii fit and trying to train their brains. They are this huge user base that developers are desperate to attract and cough up cash.

Hardcore gamers don’t like it of course. When your Grandmother (she’s fine, by the way, it would take more than a pick-up truck to take down that grand old matron) is taking over your console it all feels a bit, well, quality family time. We’re not about that. We like to get competitive. We like to swear at the screen and toss the controller at the wall (well, I do).

It’s hard to put your finger on. Obviously its good that games are reaching a wider audience, and developers are making enough money to stay in business…. and yet. And yet.
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