Mario Perez is my roommate of this year. Long before I came to Emory, I talked with him over the phone and learned that Mario also plays League of Legends, the only game I played in high school, and his level is far beyond average. After I met him in the dormitory, I was amazed by his collections of all kinds of video games. Unlike Jerry, who used games to escape his academic stress, Mario went to schools in America and had a much freer school environment. One day I asked Mario to eat with me and we talked about his experience with games.
We started the conversation by talking about the newest feature of League of Legends. His excitement towed me into a long discussion and we did not go into the real topic after the meal.
Finally I began to ask him: "When is your first experience with video game?"
"I started playing video games since I was four. No laughs. I literally started playing games when I was four. My older brother was a big fan of video games at the time so I wanted to follow him. Maybe because of him, my first a few games such as Final Fantasy or Pokemon are all from Japan. I did not really know how to play them at all at the beginning and all I did was basically killing monsters and wandering around."
We went back to the room while talking and he showed me some of his 3DS game collections and three of them are the newest series of Pokemon. I did the math in my head: nineteen minus four equals fifteen.
"You are still playing Pokemon!" I spoke with a doubtful voice.
"Yes! It's so interesting and addictive," he answered.
"But you have been it for fifteen years? Aren't you bored? Why do you think you are attracted to this game for such a long time?"
Mario responded with the same smile that Jerry Li gave me: "Well, you see, it's a classic. People all over the world are playing right now. Each new series bring out new game mode and new Pokemon monsters and now you can even trade with people through the Internet. For me, at least, it's more than a game but an idol. You know you still keep track of some singers that you listen when you were little. Same as Final Fantasy. Each new series brings out stunning visual effect and touching story lines. Though I have been trying out different new games every year, I continued to play these two games."
Even though I understand his comparison with old singing idols, my doubt can not be settled and I asked the same question again.
"May because it calls me back to childhood," he answered after a long pause of meditation.
"Since I played this game when I was really young, the images and stories have been printed deeply in my mind. When I was kid, I often imagined myself being a Pokemon master and collect different kind of Pokemon masters. To me, Pokemon and Final Fantasy are like Peter Pan, who can take me back to my childhood dreams and pure happiness. Sorry being sensitive. But this is actually how I feel."
We continued our conversation on other games. He told me his preference toward fantasy games. His experience and feelings about video games gave me an impression that he did not play games to find thrills but to enter a world of fantasy.
"Don't you think the real world would be too boring without a little bit imagination." His last sentence kept echoing in head after our conversation.
We started the conversation by talking about the newest feature of League of Legends. His excitement towed me into a long discussion and we did not go into the real topic after the meal.
Finally I began to ask him: "When is your first experience with video game?"
"I started playing video games since I was four. No laughs. I literally started playing games when I was four. My older brother was a big fan of video games at the time so I wanted to follow him. Maybe because of him, my first a few games such as Final Fantasy or Pokemon are all from Japan. I did not really know how to play them at all at the beginning and all I did was basically killing monsters and wandering around."
We went back to the room while talking and he showed me some of his 3DS game collections and three of them are the newest series of Pokemon. I did the math in my head: nineteen minus four equals fifteen.
"You are still playing Pokemon!" I spoke with a doubtful voice.
"Yes! It's so interesting and addictive," he answered.
"But you have been it for fifteen years? Aren't you bored? Why do you think you are attracted to this game for such a long time?"
Mario responded with the same smile that Jerry Li gave me: "Well, you see, it's a classic. People all over the world are playing right now. Each new series bring out new game mode and new Pokemon monsters and now you can even trade with people through the Internet. For me, at least, it's more than a game but an idol. You know you still keep track of some singers that you listen when you were little. Same as Final Fantasy. Each new series brings out stunning visual effect and touching story lines. Though I have been trying out different new games every year, I continued to play these two games."
Even though I understand his comparison with old singing idols, my doubt can not be settled and I asked the same question again.
"May because it calls me back to childhood," he answered after a long pause of meditation.
"Since I played this game when I was really young, the images and stories have been printed deeply in my mind. When I was kid, I often imagined myself being a Pokemon master and collect different kind of Pokemon masters. To me, Pokemon and Final Fantasy are like Peter Pan, who can take me back to my childhood dreams and pure happiness. Sorry being sensitive. But this is actually how I feel."
We continued our conversation on other games. He told me his preference toward fantasy games. His experience and feelings about video games gave me an impression that he did not play games to find thrills but to enter a world of fantasy.
"Don't you think the real world would be too boring without a little bit imagination." His last sentence kept echoing in head after our conversation.