Then there are video games -- the red-headed stepchild and favorite whipping boy of pop media. Video games also betray our hidden selves. By their interactive nature, we relate with games more intimately than any other entertainment medium. An average video game requires an investment of 10 to12 hours of our precious time.
Since video gaming is a mostly private pursuit, the games we play may be the most honest expression of our inner lives. Let's face it, there's usually no one around to see us let our freak flags fly.
Eric Zimmerman, author of "Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals" and CEO of developer gameLab, elaborates: "Unlike a book, a film, and other forms of prescripted media, a game is more like a set of tools that the player uses to build his or her own experience. The games we choose to play, and the way we play them, reveal a tremendous amount about us -- from our creative drives and ambitions to the dark corners of our desires."
Video games are a window to our souls and the view isn't always pretty.
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, please find here the field guide to the inner lives of gamers.
The Decompressor
He or she has a high stress, manic paced job -- cop, air traffic controller, stock trader, or kindergarten teacher. Since time on the job is so heart attack inducing, gaming is usually a cathartic release. All those activities that are frowned upon in real life (murder, mayhem, mutilation, etc.) are not only OK in games, they are the foundations of many favorite titles.
"If it feels good, do it" is the mantra of The Decompressor. After six hours with small children or a double shift patrolling the mean streets, nothing short of some unbridled, heavy-caliber gunplay will soothe the nerves.
The Decompressor shares many favorite games with the Latent Sociopath (see below). "Halo 2," "SOCOM 2," and "GTA: San Andreas" all offer a full range of primal pleasures guaranteed to let some of that potentially lethal pressure off.
Without games, The Decompressor literally would pop a gasket.
The Latent Sociopath
Unlike The Decompressor, The Latent Sociopath (LS) can come from any walk of life. They may be the next-door neighbor, the pharmacist or the UPS guy.
We've all seen dumbstruck folks on the news saying things such as, "he seemed like a regular guy," or "her kids were always well dressed" when describing the perpetrator of a horrific crime. The same outwardly normal appearance is typical of the LS.
These are the gamers who come home, fire up the Xbox, and let their id reign supreme. The purpose of gaming is to provide fuel for the inner beast. The more mundane and uneventful real life is, the hungrier the beast becomes.
Fave games will be M-rated bloodbaths. "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher's Bay," "GTA: San Andreas," "Hitman: Contracts," and "Burnout 3" all feature protagonists free of societal constraints, indulging every psychotic whim.
LS's use games to stay latent. Despite the proclamations of Congress and concerned parents everywhere, games such as "GTA: San Andreas" actually make the world a safer place.
The Alpha Dominator
The Alpha Dominator toils away at a thankless, perpetually promotion-free job. Temp agency regulars, data entry clerks and industrial custodians fit the AD profile.
What the AD longs for is superiority -- utter fear and awe from lesser beings. What may be professionally unattainable is only an Ethernet connection away in the game world. Online multiplayer games offer an even playing field that can be ruled by anyone with the requisite hand-eye coordination.
The AD lives for the thrill of bringing online opponents to their knees. Public recognition for his or her virtual feats is key to the AD's sense of self worth. When Sony decided to reset the online rankings board for "SOCOM 2," the AD may well have sunk into depression.
Games of choice include online battlegrounds "Unreal Tournament 2004," "SOCOM 2," "ESPN NFL 2K5," and "Madden 2005." The AD isn't concerned with violence or a particular sporting event. Winning is everything.
The Escapist
Everyday life is a struggle for The Escapist. They come from all walks of life; their condition may result from an unfulfilling job but is just as likely to be independent of career events. Nothing seems as good as it could be to The Escapist.
TV and movies are effective ways to bring some joy to their bleak and dreary lives, but games are the only true remedy. Games can offer another, infinitely more stimulating existence. Why be a mere mortal when there are otherworldly empires to explore and ancient kingdoms to conquer? Regular life seems unbearably dull compared to the fantastic online exploits for The Escapist.
Like The AD, The Escapist inhabits the realm of online multiplayer games. But that's where the similarities end. Winning or conquering may play a part in The Escapists gaming, but only in the context of a much grander scheme. Escapists may sink the equivalent of entire months into their fave games, lovingly building experience points and elaborate inventories.
The exotic lands of "Everquest II," "Final Fantasy XI," "World of Warcraft," and "Rome: Total War" are where The Escapist prefers to dwell.
The Inner Child
Life for The Inner Child isn't so much unpleasant as it is, well, complicated. The golden prepubescent years are fondly remembered and silly things such as bills and jobs are a downright nuisance.
ICs may be regarded as simpleminded, but this would be a mistake. They can, after all, keep track of the location of every star in "Mario 64" and can name every title released on every platform in the Legend of Zelda saga. Nintendo holds a place near to the heart of every IC.
The ugly, dirty real world has to be tolerated for a time each day, but after work the IC retreats to a simpler, shinier place. "Kirby and the Amazing Mirror," "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door," "Pikmin 2," and "The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures" are the playgrounds of the IC.
The Control Freak
The Control Freak may think that only games can bring some much needed order to their lives. If everyone else is calling the shots in the real world, they can rule over every detail in the digital realm.
So-called god games are a godsend for the CF. Micromanaging may be a pain to co-workers, but in The Sims and Tycoon series games it's an essential skill. Mighty corporations and entire populations live or die under the CF's focused gaze.
The CF got hooked on gaming with Sid Meier's "Civilization" and "Railroad Tycoon" and has most recently found an outlet for obsessive compulsive tendencies in "The Sims 2," "Rollercoaster Tycoon 3" and "City of Heroes."
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