This past weekend I went to a video game tournament with middle-son. The tourney was being held at a local video game store and we were playing the Wii Sports Bowling Game. It was five smackeroos to sign up for the double elimination tournament. Saturday evening was the time, I had to practice. Well, I really did not have to practice to win in as much as to not look totally foolish in front of the youngsters.
After a couple of hours of practice I was ready and off we went. Middle-son was eliminated after just two rounds, but I did manage to win the first game, then lost the next two. More importantly, I did not make a fool of myself. There were plenty of parents there with their kids and to be honest, the old folks did pretty well.
The most important thing was we had fun and I got to do a video game tournament with my son. We went, we played and we had fun, all for a measly five bucks. Really, how can you go wrong? Besides, I got to relive my youth.
All of thirty years ago at the ripe age of thirteen, I went to the local arcade and played in a tournament. Back then it was on the original arcade games. I was pretty good at the old original Star Wars game, I could put the bomb down the hole almost every time. I was a destroyer of Death Stars man, look out. But like everything else, there is always someone better and that day I ran into that kid.
I had pretty good time and did not even place, but that was okay. I got to hang out at the arcade all day and play games for the price of admission, which I think was around three bucks. I got my monies worth just watching. A guy I went to school with plunked his quarter into Pac-Man and hogged the machine the whole day, he was that good. That was just flat out cool.
Over the years, the arcade has been slowly replaced with all the home consoles. Oh sure, you can play on-line and what not, but it is just not the same. The sounds, the people and the atmosphere are not the same. Maybe I am looking at it from the wrong point of view, or maybe just through rose colored glasses, but I miss those old arcades. I miss playing pinball and the plunk of quarters and the sirens and buzzers and what not.
I do like playing games on the Wii and all the new graphics. Gaming has advanced and gets better year after year, no doubt about it. Bottom line, the games are fun and entertaining and the tournaments are still just as fun. The new school is a tad different then old school but not so much as one would think. I am still playing games, jumping barrels and running across the screen, just doing it in the living room, not the mall.
Sometimes though, I would like to go plunk some quarters in a machine, set my big gulp on the floor and make some noise. Sometimes, when you wander, you find your self in a big loop, but that is just fine by me.
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