Nebeker 1
Jasmin Nebeker
English 2010
Collin Hull
Memoir
6 December 2011
The Meeting of Two Pokémon Fans
Finally it was brake time. Time to get some rest and relaxation after the latest installment of Digital Media Arts Essentials. Walking along the cement path, I weaved through the throngs of people moving to their next destination. I was heading to the student center. That is where I spent my hour and 10 minutes of freedom until I had to go to my next class. I like to hang out on the second floor, where there are computers for students to use. In the middle of the floor is the best part. It looks like a giant bowl made out of large building blocks. Sometimes I wish I was still a kid so I could run around and play tag on this cool landscape with my friends.
I walk through the sets of double doors. Past the campus stores that sell a variety of yummy food. Reaching the center of the building I turn and go up the flights of new tiled stairs. On the second floor I stop to pick a spot. Going to my right I sit on one of the levels of the cubed scenery. This area also reminds me of a game I picked up a few months ago called Minecraft. The whole game is made out of square blocks. Even your character is made out of cubes and boxes. I remember one of the valedictorians at graduation mention the game. He talked about how good he was being on the ball and getting his homework turn in on time. That is until he discovered Minecraft. The next month after he found the game he was able to recover and get caught up on his homework.
I look around at the people and search for anyone I know. That was when I located a very interesting sight. The girl across from on the other side of the bowl was holding a handheld device. Too big to be a phone I watched until I confirmed that it was a DS. I pondered this sight and marveled that she would just play in the open like that. After all we have been taught throughout our lives that video games are not good for you and are a tremendous waste of time. You don’t tell other people that you play because you might get mocked for doing something that everyone know is not a good thing, even though they probably play video games too. I watch some more, now trying to determine what game she is playing. Opening my lunch I eat and continue to watch, trying to keep form just outright staring. I decide from the way the scenes change, the way the light flickers on and off, that she is playing a Pokémon game. That narrowed it down a little, but there are more than ten versions of the game. However the fact that she was using both screens on her DS told me that it was one of the newer generations,but which one? I finish my lunch and begin a game of solitaire with a small deck of valentine cards my little sister had given me last February. I still watched the girl that is playing a Pokémon game, and wished I was brave enough to go ask her. Seriously though, who is obsessed enough with video games, Pokémon even, to go ask a complete stranger what game they are playing?
Thirty minutes before my next class was to start I slowly started to pack my thing back into my big blue backpack. I stood and threw my backpack, much heavier than it should probably be, over my shoulders and slowly walk behind the girl so I could see what she was playing. I had been right she was playing a Pokémon game. But I still couldn’t figure out what version she was playing.
A guy from my next class came by and we talked about school grades and our class until he left to finish whatever errand he was on. I turn again and watched the girl play, wondering whether my shyness or my obsession with Pokémon was stronger. I stood there longer debating and arguing with myself, going over what the consequences would be if did or did not ask.
Hesitantly I step over the top layer of blocks and moved toward the girl. Tapping on her should to get her attention, she pulls her head phones off and I ask, “What game are you playing?”
“Pokémon,” she responds.
“I know,” I said, “but what version are you playing?”
Turned out she was playing Soul Silver. I have that game and almost all the other versions. I asked if she needed any Pokémon. She said yes. Because my class was about to start and it was time for her to go to work, we decided to meet again, same time, same place on Wednesday.
Talking about this experience has made me review my past, and I haverealizedthat I really am addicted. Douglas Gentile, an Iowa State University associate professor of psychology,has reported that, “nearly one in 10 gamers becomes addicted, with serious consequences that include depression, anxiety and social phobias.” (2)Check, check and check. It explains my social phobias, depression and anxiety, all of which I have or have had in spades. My experience displays two of those symptoms. My unwillingness to talk to another human being, (a social phobia) and agonizing over it until I finally asked my question (anxiety). While professionals debate over whether video game addiction can be classified as a real addiction, I think that it is real, and that those of us who have it should admit we have a problem and start to try and fix it(American, 1).
Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association, News Release: Statement of the American Psychiatric Association on "Video Game Addiction". Release No. 07-47. June 21, 2007.
Gentile, Douglas. "Iowa State Researcher Contributes to Global Study on Video Game Addiction | TheGazette." Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines | Thegazette.com - Cedar Rapids, Iowa City. The Gazette, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2011."(American, 1)
Images Cited
Figure 1: Jasmin Nebeker, I took it!
Figure 2: "Generated Structures - Minecraft Wiki." Minecraft Wiki - The Ultimate Resource for All Things Minecraft. 15 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
Figure 3: "Pokémon Games - Bulbapedia." Bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net. 5 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.