In Europe
I've been in Europe for the past 2 and one half weeks. Its not bad. I'm excited to go home. I've only got a few more days. Don't get me wrong, I love it here. However, I Miss everyone at home. I'm thinking of picking up the european edition fo Donkey konga. I love that game.
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Digg thisDreamcast live forever.
I love that system. And will continue to love it. All of you losers that hate it well... You all just dont understand and I hope taht one day you will.
New Computer
I have a new computer finally. I got this one because I am going off to Iowa State University in the fall. I changed my mind over 4 times about what school I was going to, but now I it is final. I am attending ISU in the fall. I will study engeneering. Whenever anyone asks me about what type of engeneering I am going into I say Train Engennering. Haha get it I am going to be a train engeneer. The reason I can write these type of things is because no one reads this journal anyway. Right now I am watching swordfish. Its not too bad of a movie. Its just stupid. Ah I almost forgot to write about how I passed the Trig and Calc test at ISU. I really impressed myself. It made me happy when I did this. I wont have to take the trig class at ISU. I'm not sure if I'll have to take Calc 1 or if I can skip calc 1 and go to 2. Thats all I have to say right now but later I will talk. Actually I do have one more thing to say. On Monday I am going to Europe. I am going to many countries. First I fly into London. Then, from there I go to Munich, then to Amsterdam, then to Berlin, to Dublin, then back to london to finish my trip. I am really excited to go. I am going to stay in hostels and I have a discount airfare to keep down costs. I also have a Eurail Pass to keep down costs. I will take the train all over europe. I am also taking a few flights on Ryan air. I think this style of writing is called... I cant rember what this style is called but I know that the writer just writes what is is his head. And this is what is in my head. But I think that this type of writing is just for people that do not have anything better to say. I could write about something more important like my gmail account and how I have a lot of invites left still speaking of which if you want a fmail invite just reply to this.
Read This Now!!!!!!!
This is an essay on the videogame culture that I am having to write for school. Tell me what you guys think. Keep in mind this is still a rough draft. Please someone comment on it.
Kris The Defender
I guess it all started when I was 5, when I went to visit my cousin. He had a Nintendo. I was hooked. I knew I had to have one, and a year later I got one. I never looked back again. I am a gamer, and I am proud to say that. I love to kill crazy Commies. I love to rule the world with an iron fist. I especially love to be a world class F-1 racer, racing on the streets of Monaco. Anything that you want to be, you can in a videogame. Despite the common stereotype of a gamer, not every gamer is small, not every gamer is non- athletic, and not every gamer is a nerd. Many gamers are athletic and have lives outside of games. The reason I and many others “game” are to have a release. We get to assume the role of anyone in any point in time, and we get to escape the realities of our own world. Gaming is like we are going to a movie, except gamer’s “movies” are interactive. They are the ultimate release of anger and frustration (although they can cause quite a bit too).
When I’m irritated, angry, sad, or even a little bored I play videogames. And when I’m not playing videogames, I’m at gamespot.com talking about videogames. I guess you can see I’m really into videogames. Some would say this is bad, they say I’m living in a fantasy world. I say they’re right, however, I don’t think this is wrong. This fantasy world allows me to deal with my frustrations and anger in the videogame. Videogames keep my anger from spilling over into the real world. Videogames allow me an outlet. And because of this outlet I don’t take my anger out on people, which sometimes can be a bad thing.
Another thing that videogames do is they allow me to escape reality, and they allow me to be whatever I want to be, even if it is for a short time. It is like a doorway to another world. Shigeru Miyamoto the legendary game designer who has created Donkey Kong, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, as well as Pikmin has this to say about video games:
“What if, on a crowded street, you look up and see something appear that should not, given what we know, be there. You either shake your head and dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than we think. Perhaps it really is a doorway to another place. If you choose to go inside you may find many unexpected things.”
The doorway that Shigeru Miyamoto is talking about is the same doorway that I am talking about. Gaming is a doorway to another world, where I can be anyone at anytime. It allows me to get out of my skin. It allows me to have experiences that I have always dreamt about, but I am too afraid to or unable to pursue. I’ve dreamt about being a cyborg robot that has to single-handedly save the world. However, I don’t think this will ever happen. But, in videogames I can, and I do. Another dream I have is to win the Super Bowl. Due to my size and skill level (or lack there of). This will never happen. But when I play ESPN NFL 2K5, I am a god. I rip people apart. I open up my jaws, like a snake, and digest them whole. Even though I am not really winning the Super Bowl or saving the earth, it does make me feel better. It is “virtual reality”, it may not be real while I am on earth, but while I am in that virtual world nothing could be more real. Some people say that this is not good for our youth, but that is exactly what those same type of people said about rock and roll. I feel that as long as you do not overdo it and don’t allow your brain to turn to mush it is ok. It is perfect to use it as an escape. The same type of escape that you get from watching a movie, TV, or reading a book. It’s no worse or better, only different.
Now imagine it’s a rainy day. There is nothing to do. What do you do? Everyone does something different. Someone might sit down with a good book and read. Another person might watch some TV. Gamers, on the other hand, play games. We do this to enjoy ourselves. We are not like the common stereotype that we are commonly labeled with. We are not the scum of society who does nothing better with their time except play games. We just play games in our free time. And anyone who says it’s so bad for you is being very hypocritical. I can pretty much guarantee you that person who is criticizing the gaming community does something in their down time. And if they don’t have any free time they might want to examine their lives and take a break because they are working way too hard. They may argue that we get nothing done in this time. But that is the point. We just want to relax and do as little as possible. We just want to take a break form our hectic and sometime stressful lives. We game because we just want to have fun and chill for a while. When I game all of my troubles melt away, and I feel better. When I am done I am fresh and relaxed and am ready for work. Gaming doesn’t affect our working lives. If it did I might see a problem with videogames. But gaming doesn’t affect our work lives. So just let us game. And stop bothering us about what we do in our free time.
Non-gamers may preach that gamers learn no skills or values from gaming. But I would strongly disagree. We learn many skills. Many of these skills we can use in our everyday lives. For example, when I play a game such as Typing of the Dead, I have to type quickly and correctly. This skill translates over to a school or work skill very well. In fact I need this skill for this very essay. Another skill that gaming teaches is hand eye coordination. This is also very useful, and I use this skill every single day. Whether catching a pen that someone throws me or grabbing something before it falls to the ground. Some games (rhythm games) like Donkey Konga or DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) teach us gamers rhythm. Also gamers learn values like starting what we finish. I make sure I finish every single game that I start. This translates very well into life. It makes us gamers very good workers. We start what we finish and we work hard while we are doing it. Saying that gaming teaches nothing is just wrong.
In the past gamers may have felt alone. They may have felt like no one in the world knew what it was like to be a gamer. However, in recent years, gamers have found a place where they can all meet and talk about their gaming. This is a magical place called the internet. In this magical place a gamer can talk freely about his gamming with people who understand, and wont judge or criticize. That is why for most gamers, if we are not playing videogames we are on the internet. It gives us a sense of belonging. It gives us a sense of being wanted. It gives us a sense that we are not alone in our gamming. Because gamers are alone until the day that they find there is an entire gamming network out there waiting and wanting to just reel them in. Thankfully I have already found this community. But there are some that have not. They are probably some that are about to give in to what some mainstream people believe. They may be on the verge of giving up their gaming. They may be doing this because they are told it is “worthless” and is “evil”. I hope they find the community just as I have. I hope they can come to the realization that their gamming is no worse than what others do in their spare time. Moreover, I hope no more are discouraged enough to where they stop playing games. This would be very sad. I can only imagine how I would feel if I had to stop playing games. I can only imagine how I would feel if I had to give up doing what I love. How would you feel if you had to give up what you love doing, because it is looked down upon by a certain segment of society? I hope I never stop playing video games. Without me playing videogames, who would save the world from the imminent alien invasion.
Kris The Defender
I guess it all started when I was 5, when I went to visit my cousin. He had a Nintendo. I was hooked. I knew I had to have one, and a year later I got one. I never looked back again. I am a gamer, and I am proud to say that. I love to kill crazy Commies. I love to rule the world with an iron fist. I especially love to be a world class F-1 racer, racing on the streets of Monaco. Anything that you want to be, you can in a videogame. Despite the common stereotype of a gamer, not every gamer is small, not every gamer is non- athletic, and not every gamer is a nerd. Many gamers are athletic and have lives outside of games. The reason I and many others “game” are to have a release. We get to assume the role of anyone in any point in time, and we get to escape the realities of our own world. Gaming is like we are going to a movie, except gamer’s “movies” are interactive. They are the ultimate release of anger and frustration (although they can cause quite a bit too).
When I’m irritated, angry, sad, or even a little bored I play videogames. And when I’m not playing videogames, I’m at gamespot.com talking about videogames. I guess you can see I’m really into videogames. Some would say this is bad, they say I’m living in a fantasy world. I say they’re right, however, I don’t think this is wrong. This fantasy world allows me to deal with my frustrations and anger in the videogame. Videogames keep my anger from spilling over into the real world. Videogames allow me an outlet. And because of this outlet I don’t take my anger out on people, which sometimes can be a bad thing.
Another thing that videogames do is they allow me to escape reality, and they allow me to be whatever I want to be, even if it is for a short time. It is like a doorway to another world. Shigeru Miyamoto the legendary game designer who has created Donkey Kong, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, as well as Pikmin has this to say about video games:
“What if, on a crowded street, you look up and see something appear that should not, given what we know, be there. You either shake your head and dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than we think. Perhaps it really is a doorway to another place. If you choose to go inside you may find many unexpected things.”
The doorway that Shigeru Miyamoto is talking about is the same doorway that I am talking about. Gaming is a doorway to another world, where I can be anyone at anytime. It allows me to get out of my skin. It allows me to have experiences that I have always dreamt about, but I am too afraid to or unable to pursue. I’ve dreamt about being a cyborg robot that has to single-handedly save the world. However, I don’t think this will ever happen. But, in videogames I can, and I do. Another dream I have is to win the Super Bowl. Due to my size and skill level (or lack there of). This will never happen. But when I play ESPN NFL 2K5, I am a god. I rip people apart. I open up my jaws, like a snake, and digest them whole. Even though I am not really winning the Super Bowl or saving the earth, it does make me feel better. It is “virtual reality”, it may not be real while I am on earth, but while I am in that virtual world nothing could be more real. Some people say that this is not good for our youth, but that is exactly what those same type of people said about rock and roll. I feel that as long as you do not overdo it and don’t allow your brain to turn to mush it is ok. It is perfect to use it as an escape. The same type of escape that you get from watching a movie, TV, or reading a book. It’s no worse or better, only different.
Now imagine it’s a rainy day. There is nothing to do. What do you do? Everyone does something different. Someone might sit down with a good book and read. Another person might watch some TV. Gamers, on the other hand, play games. We do this to enjoy ourselves. We are not like the common stereotype that we are commonly labeled with. We are not the scum of society who does nothing better with their time except play games. We just play games in our free time. And anyone who says it’s so bad for you is being very hypocritical. I can pretty much guarantee you that person who is criticizing the gaming community does something in their down time. And if they don’t have any free time they might want to examine their lives and take a break because they are working way too hard. They may argue that we get nothing done in this time. But that is the point. We just want to relax and do as little as possible. We just want to take a break form our hectic and sometime stressful lives. We game because we just want to have fun and chill for a while. When I game all of my troubles melt away, and I feel better. When I am done I am fresh and relaxed and am ready for work. Gaming doesn’t affect our working lives. If it did I might see a problem with videogames. But gaming doesn’t affect our work lives. So just let us game. And stop bothering us about what we do in our free time.
Non-gamers may preach that gamers learn no skills or values from gaming. But I would strongly disagree. We learn many skills. Many of these skills we can use in our everyday lives. For example, when I play a game such as Typing of the Dead, I have to type quickly and correctly. This skill translates over to a school or work skill very well. In fact I need this skill for this very essay. Another skill that gaming teaches is hand eye coordination. This is also very useful, and I use this skill every single day. Whether catching a pen that someone throws me or grabbing something before it falls to the ground. Some games (rhythm games) like Donkey Konga or DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) teach us gamers rhythm. Also gamers learn values like starting what we finish. I make sure I finish every single game that I start. This translates very well into life. It makes us gamers very good workers. We start what we finish and we work hard while we are doing it. Saying that gaming teaches nothing is just wrong.
In the past gamers may have felt alone. They may have felt like no one in the world knew what it was like to be a gamer. However, in recent years, gamers have found a place where they can all meet and talk about their gaming. This is a magical place called the internet. In this magical place a gamer can talk freely about his gamming with people who understand, and wont judge or criticize. That is why for most gamers, if we are not playing videogames we are on the internet. It gives us a sense of belonging. It gives us a sense of being wanted. It gives us a sense that we are not alone in our gamming. Because gamers are alone until the day that they find there is an entire gamming network out there waiting and wanting to just reel them in. Thankfully I have already found this community. But there are some that have not. They are probably some that are about to give in to what some mainstream people believe. They may be on the verge of giving up their gaming. They may be doing this because they are told it is “worthless” and is “evil”. I hope they find the community just as I have. I hope they can come to the realization that their gamming is no worse than what others do in their spare time. Moreover, I hope no more are discouraged enough to where they stop playing games. This would be very sad. I can only imagine how I would feel if I had to stop playing games. I can only imagine how I would feel if I had to give up doing what I love. How would you feel if you had to give up what you love doing, because it is looked down upon by a certain segment of society? I hope I never stop playing video games. Without me playing videogames, who would save the world from the imminent alien invasion.
Got tickets to Jet and Oasis
I got tickets to the show in CHicago June 20th. I'm going to be there anyway. I fly into there from London the 18th. Oh, I think I forgot to mention, I'm going to Europe this summer. I will spen 3 weeks there. I think it will be pretty cool. Except I'm having to save everything and I have not bought a game in about 2 months. This is quite possibley the worst level of withdrawl I've ever gone through.
