Gettin’ Ripped Off

Today was one of those days. Someone swiped one of my CC numbers and went on a shopping spree yesterday, so I spent a chunk of today dealing with an issue I had never planned on. It was indeed a major drag, and I felt a bit violated. This put me in such a foul temper I considered not even updating things today, but I vented a bit to one of the guys, worked on some layout, listened to some tunes, and, somewhat clearheadedly set up brainstorming for a topic.

Needless to say, my mind kept turning about getting ripped off. This kind of thing has never happened to me before. I’m typically a careful guy. Then, I really thought about. I have gotten ripped off before, just not in this way. My mind drifted into the arena of gaming, and there have been some games in my life where I felt ripped off. Some games where I would have had more fun gathering up all the little dollars into a big pile and watch them burn. There have been video games and RPGs where I felt violated as much as if someone dipped their hand into my bank account and scooped up a handful of my hard earned dinero.

I’ll admit, this is probably the most negative post I’ve ever shared with you guys, but hang in there. I’m gonna get all Aesop on you, and give you a moral to this story.

The games which failed to deliver were not necessarily the fault of the game. There, I said it. I have to accept some of the culpability. I have played some games about which others rave–be they board, RPG, or video. These games just didn’t suit my personality. Over the years, I got wiser, and began to carefully evaluate and scrutinize things more carefully. What’s important to me may not be important to you, but vice versa. I’m all about the story and setting. I do love eye candy in my video games, but if the story or game play is repetitive or stale, count me out. I can even deal with some carrot-stick repetitive game play if you make it fun. For example, Borderlands has a paper-thin plot (and I knew this going in), but it’s absolutely gorgeous, has a nice, dark sense of humor, and more weapons than you can shake a skag at. I absolutely love it. Same goes for Torchlight. There is enough there for me to keep crawling through dungeons ever questing for the next level up so I can select from the feat trees even while my loyal companion trudges to the city to drop off my massive amounts of loot. I’m more about substance than style, and realize the games I like to play do not appeal to everyone.

I spoke about critics awhile back and I avail myself of their insight but I also try to take in the amalgam. Some folks count off major points if the latest, greatest graphics engine isn’t used. A few folks I know and whose opinions I value didn’t dig it while I absolutely loved it. The story and game play were fantastic and the demo I’ve played of Dragon Age 2 was great. (No, I haven’t gotten it yet. I’ve been busy laying stuff out and writing. Lay off.)

The thing is to carefully evaluate what’s set out before you and choose wisely. Otherwise, you’re handing over the keys to your bank account.

I should close with some pitch about our price points, but we’ll explore that tomorrow. I’d rather have a good night’s sleep to dispel my current funk.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!