This is the first in the three-part-series on a day in the life of an Indian gamer.
7.45 AM: Whoa…Its morning already, brrr… its cold outside, wish I had a HEV suit to keep me nice and warm, my head is still reeling from that blasted Covenant ambush last night, they are an Insane bunch in the legendary mode, five Elite commanders equipped with an energy sword, fully cloaked and there I am still recovering form the wounds of my previous battle with a blasted Shotgun(almost out of ammo) and a bloody plasma rifle, no grenades, “Darn! Conscience…” should have switched on the “God Mode” when I began the game, well I paid a huge price for being Honest, a plasma grenade stuck onto me, one slash from the energy sword and to top it all the entire bunch charging onto me like a pack of hungry wolves, I did not last for more than 3 seconds… I sat motionless for a couple of minutes blinking at my T.V. holding the controller and cursing my conscience and thought a good dose of sleep would put an end to my shameless defeat…well that did not help much ,I was still sore…
7.50 AM: I get out of bed to get to begin my day, and proceed on with my mundane morning activities, am still feeling a bit bummed about last night but beating my own high score of “Space Invaders” on my cell lightens my mood …Ahhh these games still have the same effect they had nearly two decades ago, they provide huge doses of mindless fun…they might not have the bells and whistles of games of today but their entertainment factor still remains the same, and hence games like Tetris, Pong, and Pac Man can and will never be forgotten.
8.00 AM: Am running late for college, “Bullet time” would have made my life so much more easier…Imagine having an unlimited supply of “bullet Time”, I could wake Up late, take my own sweet time to do everything, go late for class best of all rip papers during examinations without anyone even knowing what I would have been upto, If I had the “Sands of time” it would have been even more better imagine using rewind to undo my little mistakes…only if life was a videogame eh…
8.30 AM: Finally I venture of my habitat in search for quests to accomplish… gained a bit of “experience points” from yesterday’s argument from my dear mother on how I should take life more seriously and concentrate on the “manuscripts and tomes” which “the ancients” depart to me at “Altar of learning”.. …I did distribute those points and made up my mind to accomplish a new quest each day but some how haven’t gotten down till now… “Diablo” and his Brother “Baal” need more attention than those ancients, the former are plotting to rule the universe with their fiendish powers and need to be dealt with immediately the latter do it once a year (final exams) so saving the world and restoring peace to a virtual civilization naturally assumes more importance… (Studies college and all those RPG’s not exactly the cocktail I had in mind)…
9.00 AM: Stuck up in a traffic Jam once again…man why can’t the auto rickshaw flout the so called rules, life in the state of “San Andreas” is so much simpler, jams are the last thing on my mind there, I paint the pavements red if someone or the state throws its rule book onto me but in real life have to sit with a scowl on my face don’t have free respawns in life…
9.15 AM: I reach class huffing and puffing make a mental note of getting into the habit of exercising my entire body, besides my wrist and fingers…the trouble is I do not find sufficient time, so many worlds to save from peril so little time…as I step inside am a little surprised to find my teacher already seated on his majestic throne with his loyal subjects seated in the front row digesting his speech on economy of our country…I enter the class with a guilty look and head straight to the last rows which are reserved for the dreamers and think different from conventional society…our bunch consists of musicians, philosophers, gamers all rolled into one…even though they find gaming a bit quirky but are amazed how gaming imbibes numerous constituents from literature, art, music and philosophy…
10.20 AM: Finally a long deserved break sitting in classes isn’t all that easy especially if the seats are broken midway…as I step outside and marvel at reality, my brain analyses the surroundings and paints a vivid picture as if I was in my beloved world of games…I can imagine everything in my head while one of my classmates is talking to me….
- “The earth is under siege my college has become is the stronghold of the enemy communication…my mission along with the rest of my squad is to infiltrate and capture the post…Satellite imagery shows that the insidious “Necrosis” (my own version of the locust horde) have the hallways booby trapped with laser trip mines…their mammoth tanks have the fields coverer, and their bunch of “royal guards” are spread all across the place…success in this mission is essential, the earth’s defense forces are counting on us”
….hey dude have you completed your assignment? The professor said today was the last day to submit it….there go my string of thoughts down the drain pipe…well guess I can finish my little game when I am sound asleep.
11.00 AM: One thing games do is they really do improve your reaction time…and I use this unique ability to complete my pending assignment which I am able to rip off from a diligent hard working student with relative ease and submit the assignment to the teacher who praises me for my neat handwriting…yeah 3 hours of games everyday and you shall have unrivalled handwriting….
12.30 PM: Half of my classmates have dozed off in class…my thoughts wander back to my very own game…I have been able to reach the main hallway that connects the reservoir building to the communication tower but my squad is pinned down with heavy oncoming fire from the automated droids…have already lost my gunner…and I am beautifully interrupted once again by my professor who wants my comments on the recent rise in fuel prices…I stand up with my trademark scowl and give her a somewhat fitting reply to the question and take my seat…I sometimes wonder when I shall live with my love without any un-warranted interruptions….
This is just the beginning of the series wait for more to come….
–Neelesh Mukherjee