The Player of Games

I am playing an online game. This, under U.N. regulations, officially classifies me as a nerd. The only escape from this mildly pejorative but decidedly fashionable moniker is secrecy, which I’ve clearly blown by telling the whole freakin’ internet. The online game in question is called Travian, and to compound the sheer nerdery of my involvement my Dad introduced me to it. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the concept of coolness, I just have no idea how to acquire it.

Travian is one of the first games I’ve played on the ol’ interweb. I have an Xbox 360 that I bought with the last wage packet from my old job, but redundancy means that I can’t really afford games for it, and now it sits underneath my television, glowering dustily at me. I fear connecting it to the internet, lest it gain sentience and act out its feelings of neglect against me. Travian, however, is free like air, and requires little time (and mine, clearly, is precious) and absolutely no nouse. I’m not going to go into the specifics of the game here, this blog will only become one about videogames when I get totally stuck for posting topics, but I’m bringing it up for other reasons (and because I’m totally stuck for posting topics). Travian is based on co-operation- it would be nigh on impossible to win the game on your own. Normally, impossible is my business, but as I’m not much of a strategic thinker, I’m glad of the help.

I was surprised and fascinated by the completeness and self-sufficiency of the Travian online culture. “Now hold your horses,” I can hear you cry, “are you telling me there is stuff going on on the internet?” I’m a little hurt by your tone (I bruise easily), but you are right to patronise. Of course there is a culture there that I was unaware of, that is part of the internet’s fractal charm. And that, essentially, is my point this evening. When I have a little more time, and I’m a little less drunk, I shall regale you with my thoughts on some of the internet’s more obvious social enterprises, like Wikipedia. In the meantime, I was simply pleased to find a whole new area of discourse to dive right in to, should I choose. Although I’m a little ashamed of my new geekness, it’s another facet of my life that I can extend, should I feel like it. And that’s a nice feeling to have I think.

The reason for all the gubbins written above? One part of my life is drawing to a close. Tonight I finished the last essay I will write as an undergraduate student. It’s a pile of steaming tossbaggery, much like my other critical efforts, but it is the last one, and that makes it significant. My Literature Degree, that callous and inscrutable bitch that has dominated my waking hours for the last three years, is basically over. And I liked my degree, so it makes me a bit sad. It is therefore reassuring to realise that as one important part of your life gets smaller, there is always the opportunity to extend another to take up the slack. Now, Travian isn’t going to fill the hole in my time left by my degree. I plan to paper that crack with copious amounts of casual sex. But Travian is a nice example because it’s very small, and if you can find novelty in small things, I honestly believe that the big things, when they come along, will be that much easier to get on board with.

My, what sentimentalism. And what italics! Normal, cynical service will be resumed when I get my marks back for the essay. I hope you like cussin,’ ‘cause that’s almost certainly what they will inspire.