Commentary: Contrarian Thinking and Gaming

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." — William Shakespeare.

In this day of contrarian thinking, I find solace in this quote.


We all want to be special. We all want to be different. And as much as I want to believe that is the case with me, I know it isn't. However, there are a lot of people that I have surrounded myself — either purposely or purposelessly — that affirm my need for contrarian thinking.

I'm not this, or at least the working habits of the protagonist in this game. I am aware. It is unknown whether or not the husband/worker is aware, so it is up to us to draw a conclusion. I argue that it is not the husband/worker who becomes aware, but the player.

All that aside, I do not take my work life home. The way I see it, I spend the better part of my day either away from my wife and kids or sleeping in preparation for the next day. Do you want to know why this country's divorce rate is so high? It has nothing to do with religion or a lack of family values. It has everything to do with the fact that people spend 8-12 hours working and 6-9 hours sleeping. That doesn't leave a lot of time for family. Then again, due to the monotony of it all, it leads to a stress-filled life where the time one spends with one's family is often burdened by pressures of the daily grind.

My father-in-law is very successful in the grind. In fact, he's extremely successful due to the fact that he is head-strong and ambitious. However, this past year he took up flying. A pilots license and a purchased plane later, and you can barely get the guy out of the air. Don't misunderstand me, he's still goal-driven, but he's always looking to the sky now.

It's not because he likes sitting behind a steering column of a plane. It's the solace. In the air, he doesn't have to worry about anything. Life — for those moments with the clouds — is limitless and beautiful. And that is living. All of his successes in the business world are just a means to an end. It is in the clouds where life begins and ends.

I guess that is what gaming is to me. Gaming allows me to to push away all of life's bullshit. Not only that, but it sometimes — when I am lucky — provides a vehicle for further contrarian thinking. Instead of just mindless frat-boy games, I can become enveloped in a literal thinking man's game — Shadow of the Colossus and Silent Hill 2. Gaming is my cloud. It's where I can go and seek refuge.

Other gamers are also crucial in this system that I have developed for myself. I surround myself with like-minded people. People who also seek the clouds and look to further the discourse of the abstract. The abstract that — to a lot of people — doesn't matter in the great chain of events.

If I had a hat, I would tip it to my fellow dreamers and stargazers. I'm talking about the ones that spend their work days behind a computer reading gaming blogs and forums. I'm talking about the ones who wait to enter the clouds each night until they've kissed their wife/husband and children goodnight.

/salute