Failure is not the end, but an opportunity. One of the first things you learned when you began playing the Atari 2600: the reset button is your friend. Inevitably you will perish, blow up, get eaten, get run over or die any of a hundred different gruesome ways; your avatar, who probably doesn’t even look human, will inescapably cause a Game Over to appear. Never fear: your handy reset button picks you up, dusts you off and sends you back into the fray. There is no “reset button” in life, but you can learn from your mistakes and start again.
Playing with a friend makes everything better. From Pong to Combat to Outlaw to 3-D Tic Tac Toe, all games are better with the addition of a friend. Competition drives us and we strive to be better, to be perfect. This extends to our lives in everything we do: we have workout buddies who push us and study partners in school who quiz us, not to mention wingmen and women who have your back nudging you to make a move.
Sharing is important and so is waiting your turn. Many cartridges in the Atari 2600 library had the ability to allow two players. Of course, without Co-op play at the time, almost all the games that allowed multiple players forced one person to start while the second person had to wait patiently for their turn – he or she of course secretly wishing impending doom upon the friend’s character. This lesson is fairly self-explanatory.
Timing is everything. The first time you walk into the screen in Pitfall! and there is water with 3 alligators and no rope is unsettling for any player. Jump too soon and you leap into a waiting mouth. Jump too fast and you could overrun the head or overcompensate and be standing in the wrong place as the mighty gator opens his gaping maw once more. A few seconds either way can make all the difference in the world for you or someone in your life. So take the time and enjoy every moment you have; appreciate the little things.
Never accept imitations. I thought I was awesome the day I was given Pac-Man for the 2600. There have been few times in my life where I’ve been as disappointed with something as I was that day. I sat there flabbergasted as to how this was confused with the real Pac-Man in the arcade. The game was practically monochrome and was horribly sluggish and unresponsive. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” and “You get what you pay for” spring to mind with this lesson. There are plenty of people willing to swindle you with imitations and cheap knockoffs, cutting corners for their bottom line.
Do not jump blindly into situations. I’m not sure how many have experienced Activision’s Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation, or H.E.R.O. for short -- fantastic game about rescuing miners with a helicopter strapped to your back, dropping dynamite and shooting lasers out of your helmet. As you went deeper into the mine you constantly had to “drop” into the next screen from above and many times there was more than one path to choose from; knowing one path could lead no where or to knocking out the light causing the screen to go black or directly on top of an enemy. So, you learned to gently lower yourself to scope out the room and prepare for the worst. The same is applied to bargain shopping, house/apartment hunting and serious relationships. Is that really the best deal you can find on that 62” Plasma TV? Who doesn’t want the 2600 in high definition?
Some ideas are only good in theory. I just have two letters for you: ‘E’ and ‘T’. E.T., which began the writing of the definition of terrible games, was the culmination of all the awesome ideas in the world done so unbelievably poorly that landfills probably refuse to take the cartridge on principle. Other games just made no sense or were so difficult to comprehend *cough* Swordquest *cough* that you just knew something was lost in the translation from the creator’s mind to our screens. This is evident in almost all forms of media and culture in our world today. From political ideas to fads to fashion, sometimes you think of something that sounds good on paper, but the execution turns into you continuously falling into that pit even though you swore up and down that you and your stretched neck cleared the large black circle.
Lastly, a job done right is richly rewarded. You’ve slain the dragons, locked the bat away and you only need to bring the Chalice to the Yellow Castle. As you enter, the screen begins flashing and the piercing synthesized sounds burst from your TV (Sound familiar Peggle fans?), you’ve won the game and the Adventure is over for now. Working hard can be extremely rewarding whether that is in your job, with your family or in community service. So, work hard at whatever you tackle in life.
The pundits were wrong in saying that video games only promote sex and violence. Video games provide a safe arena to explore the world, learn the rules and make mistakes. Such lessons are easily transferred to real world experiences. Coping with video game situations have helped me deal with similar frustrations and challenges in my life. Take it from me: I have learned countless important lifelong lessons from a little black console with fake wood paneling and a joystick with one button.
