Dangerous Hunt, Video Games in General

A friend told me of a Wii game called, “Dangerous Hunt” in which you are virtually hunting one or another dangerous animal. When he hooked it up to his surround sound, he said the sound was eerily real. In one hunt he was deftly stalking his quarry when the game alerted him to the presence of a dangerous animal in his immediate area. His daughters were riveted to the screen – a 60” high def screen.


He employed his navy training and set himself to “attack mode” explaining to his girls and his wife, who had now joined him, the careful reasoning behind his every move. With a deafening roar a tiger leapt onto the screen, fangs bared and claws extended for the kill. It was over in a second. Good thing it is virtual. He will live to hunt another “game”. But as he turned to see the expressions of his girls and his wife, he discovered no one was there.

Only then did he realize they had all run out of the room as his avatar was brutally slain. He quickly paused the game and went to find them. They girls were cowering on their mother’s lap. His wife, their mother was mad – obviously at him. He only realized why when she explained, “They were doing fine until you screamed!”

My children know that I am not fond of video games. I never have been. I used to find it difficult to verbalize my dislike, but not any more. I have a problem with anything that allows any individual to isolate themselves from others with the ability to change the outcome of a virtual world with the punch of a button. I dislike the exorbitant amount of time, emotional distraction, and absence of reality that motivates many people to play with an addictive focus.

If such energy, such focus, such perseverance were applied to life in the real world, success would be “virtually” guaranteed, unfortunately, it is more fun to start over and see if the outcome improves. Video games offer an easy way to measure “success” at something that yields little or no positive outcomes in relationships, employment, education, or home life - children with parents, or spouse with spouse.

Maybe that is why the Wii was such a hit. At least it promotes interaction with more than a digital display as two or more players compete through the game.

I enjoy people more when there is no reason to compete with each other. Life is more fun when the focus is on the needs of others rather that the vanquishing of others. For me, winning means someone has to lose. I like “win-win “situations so I am not much for playing games – especially video games.

I am an old fuddy-duddy. I still like to send and receive letters, I like to talk in person rather than texting or phone chatter. I realize I am “behind the times” but at the pace technology is changing, I will never catch up anyway.