Penny Arcade

I know today’s comic is a strange one. It’s not especially funny but the image of a pink DS in my Grandma’s house was a potent one. Kara and I had just spent the better part of an hour talking with my grandparents about everything from how they met to what my Grandpa was thinking on VE day, being stationed in the Philippines. "Well, we’re half done." is what he told me. He was telling me a story about being on night watch on a boat out in the Pacific. He was patrolling his side of the ship when a massive wave broke over the side and knocked him off his feet. He was nearly washed overboard but managed to grab onto a stanchion at the last minute. I kept asking questions and heard a few more incredible stories. I started to feel sort of ridiculous. What must our generation look like to them? I couldn’t help but think about how different we are and that’s when I noticed the DS. My Grandma told me she likes Card House games. It was a special moment for me and I’m proud that we captured it in a comic.

I know that I promised you all an interview with my Grandpa a couple years back. I showed him a WWII game and then talked with him about hisexperiences and what he thought of kids playing these kinds of games. I’ve still got the entire thing on a cassette tape and I’m honestly ashamed that I haven’t transcribed it yet. It’s my goal for this week.

Tycho talked about the different reasons people play games in his post and I thought it was pretty interesting. It’s a conversation we’ve had before and I think it’s something a lot of gamers probably don’t think about. I remember it came up while we were both playing Metroid Prime: Corruption. I was talking to him about how I was getting frustrated because some of the boss battles were really giving me a hard time. I realised I don’t play games for the challenge. I don’t need or want to be punished by a game for making mistakes. I play games for what Ron Gilbert calls "new art". I play to see the next level or cool animation. I don’t play games to beat them I play games to see them. Coming to that realisation was actually sort of important for me.

-Gabe out