Games are not everything.

Happy Birthday Fireflower! 30 issues today! Wow, I can hardly believe it! And to cap it all off, the column is apparently the longest running unbroken feature in the history of the site! Woohoo! Today, I think we should take things in a bit of a different direction,.

Games are great, but if there is one piece of advice I can give you �if you never take anything from Fireflower other than this one piece of advice: Live.

Did you ever play Waverace? Damned hard game, that. With the currents and swirls, the eddies and tides that buffet the player from side to side of the exquisitely rendered environments. And do you know what? I want to do that. I want to ride a jet ski. So next month, that is exactly what I am going to do. Admittedly, I am scared witless of this prospect: in the game, my character will take a nasty bump if I time my jumps badly. In reality, you can be hurt, injured or killed. But therein lies the thrill.

Life is not a rehearsal: when a moment passes you by, you cannot simply insert another coin, use a continue or enter a cheat code to try again. It just does not work like that. That's why every moment counts.

I am not, of course advocating a hedonistic or self-centred approach to the world. Nor am I swinging from the roof tops screaming "Carpe Diem!". Seize the day, yes, by all means, but never forget that your actions or inactions may have a negative or hurtful effect on those around you �and they don't have an extra life if you knock them off that metaphorical cliff.

The best example I can think of for this is Mario. Mario the hero, Mario the golfer, Mario the driver, Mario the tennis player. Mario has so many different hats that he wears: I do not mean physical caps, of course he wears those too. But Mario is a prime example of how to live in a digital world. Mario is a constant, he is always dependable, reliable and a hero.

Mario is also an adventurer. Despite his constancy, despite his desire for a simple and easy life, Mario is never afraid. When faced with a new danger, a new threat or a new situation, Mario will overcome because he is not afraid to show his courage in the face of adversity. True, Mario may only be digital and in no real danger as there are always extra lives and continues to be used. However, as an allegory on how we should face life, he is spot-on.

So let us take our example from Mario: let's be afraid of every new adventure, but not so fearful that we shy away from the challenge and the thrill of different and new experiences. Let us be constant, dependable, reliable and faithful. Yet let us never forget that we only have one credit, and it may run out at any time without prior warning �we can't always see the Piranha Plant in front of us; nor the blue shell behind us, we can't hit every ball, score every goal or win every tournament, but that should never diminish our appetite for trying.

Games are great, or at least a select few are and they do have lessons to teach us. Nobility, honour, decency and the force of will to do the "right" thing. The whole of life is an adventure, though it may not seem like it. Have you ever wandered through a forest, like Link and seen two paths? Which path did you take? Tomorrow, or the next day, go back and take the other path. See what you missed last time, it may not be worth it, but you will have given yourself the chance to experience something new. Every once in a while, walk into a shop that you would not normally go into, maybe an antique shop or an old second hand bookshop �you may well find something that reminds you of happier days, sadder days or someone very special to you. You may be a knight, a thief or a mage and normally avoid this sort of place in Oblivion, it may not have any value to you normally; the chance should be taken nonetheless.

Or not. Maybe these experiences will leave you feeling no fuller than you did before you took the chance. It is not the taking of the chance that is most important: it is how you react, how it grows and helps evolve you as a person.

Sure, play games as a part of your life: do not, however, let them become the whole of your life. There is a large and colourful world just outside your garden that may well surprise you with the variety and wealth of possibilities for happiness and growing your own character.

I for one, am going to take more chances, be prepared to do things that scare me, although I do draw the line at jumping out of a plane� for the moment. Next month, jetskiing; the month after; America. In December the Wii is coming and the nights will be drawing in, but I will not wait for Spring to experience life to its fullest. There are always other paths to take, places to see and adventures to have.

"Look �did you see the sun shine today? Did you feel the rain? I hope you saw the rainbow too; arcing across the horizon, jewelling the sky with colour and flashes of dreams. Every shaft of light a doorway to a new world, every tree it touches transformed; the fields bathed in the glow of wonder, adventure and mystery." �Scott, 'Rainbow Tunnels Over The Ocean'

Iun Hockley
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