tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505022452508665567.post3355556146031570451..comments2024-03-28T02:53:44.198-07:00Comments on RETROMANIA: SIMON REYNOLDShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01282478701882900354noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505022452508665567.post-392175594224551132013-05-03T11:40:16.876-07:002013-05-03T11:40:16.876-07:00re 'weirdness' - yes I don't know if g...re 'weirdness' - yes I don't know if games are mind-expanding or imagination-activating in the same way as music, or books.... they fill in the gaps too much maybe<br /><br />but it's important to emphasise that I literally don't know, having only played games possibly 20 times total in as many years.<br /><br />i don't get the impression it functions in the same was music/science fiction did for me - but yeah as you say the excitement and the fact that it's shared excitement, that he's playing with old friends of his back in NY simultaneous with his new friends here in South Pasadena - that's very nice to see... and he gets so so excited. so the psychology of obsession is very much in effect.<br /><br />i have wondered if music will come into play later on, as the hormones kick in and also it becomes bigger part of socialisation, hierarchies of cool etc... Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04914714256308986691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505022452508665567.post-71234982660682964602013-05-03T04:23:20.515-07:002013-05-03T04:23:20.515-07:00My own 13 yr old's world is very similar: addi...My own 13 yr old's world is very similar: addicted to Minecraft (oh Gawd, is he!), likes music but isn't really *into* it, and is not as excited about space as I feel he ought to be.<br /><br />And I too can't help trying to make his games obsession fit the music template. He was into clunky old video games surprisingly young, which seemed odd at first, but it made sense when I realised that, for him, it was like discovering a favourite band's back catalogue. This is especially true for Nintendo, who have always had a strong, in-house style. Nintendo = band, games = albums, game characters = band members. Nintendo fans get really excited at the prospect of, say, Yoshi making an appearance in a new game in the same way that Fall fans would if Marc Reilly were to re-join the line-up for a new album.<br /><br />Pushing it a bit maybe, but those YouTube channels where older fans upload vids of themselves playing games "live" with amusing commentary *sort* of function like radio DJs - revealing the latest mods, releases etc and, well, yes, playing them for you. See Smosh, GameChap & Bertie and Tobuscus.<br /><br />I do like the fact that there's a proper 'culture' for him and his pals to immerse themselves in and get excited about. And despite being entirely "inside", it seems far more sociable than my music-obsessed past (especially with online gaming - all the arguments, banter, co-operation, laughs etc).<br /><br />What does seem to be lacking, though, is *weirdness*. Is he going to have any "Woah.." shiver-up-the-spine, brane-expanding moments from this?Bollopshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08370552901325861855noreply@blogger.com