December 21st, 2006

Hmm ...?

Oh, hi! I didn't see you there. Hang on, let me click Pause ... there.

While you're here, do you mind if I rant and rave like a spoiled brat? I'm going to give one of those, "Pity me, I have too many pairs of shoes" kind of complaints today.

It's about a computer game that my sister Carolyn gave me for my birthday. The game is called Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion, and has left me ... well, kind of oblivious to the world around me lately.

I first played it a little when I got it and realised that it would require more of my time and attention than I could comfortably provide on account of my multiple and varied hobbies. So I played it a little here and there, but didn't really get into it until my wife went to Russia for a couple of weeks.

Then out came Oblivion. And I played and played. And played. Sometimes I played 10 or 12 hours at a stretch. It got so I was playing the computer game, eating and sleeping, then sitting down to play it again. I took the time off work and obsessed about that blasted game. I felt like a teenager again.

And though my wife eventually returned home and I went reluctantly back to work, I still play it as often as I can (though not 12 hours a day anymore). And I read online forums about it. And download patches and mods. And read walkthroughs to learn about things I may have missed or easter eggs the game designers added.

Just check out this email conversation I had with my sister:

Subject: This ... THIS is what you've done to me!

Brian: You've turned me into a gamer zombie with that blasted game Oblivion! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUY5VC-A8ik&NR;

. . .

Carolyn: Hehehehehehehhe...MUAHAHAHAH....

. . .

Brian: :) It is beyond obsession: I lost track of time and, as a result, only got 4 hours sleep last night. I spend my lunch hours at work on message boards discussing techniques to fight zombies or other bad guys. And I download mods and patches frequently ... hogging "the good computer" to do it all. Sheez ... !

[And at that point she phoned me to learn more about how she destroyed my life. Probably with glee.]

Heck, now that I think about it, I am more obsessed now than when I was a teenager! I never had the Internet to prolong my game-playing experience after the game was saved and the computer was busy doing something else. So it makes me wonder if and when this is going to stop. I am sure one day I will watch the screen as it loads and suddenly realise that I am no longer interested, that I suddenly find the game boring ... more of the same.

Sure, probably right around the time they release Elder Scrolls V ...

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