One More Reason I'd Like a Time Machine

Fiction's been a comfort lately, probably because after the aliens have blasted Mount Rushmore or the zombies have begun their own movement (Occupy Everything), the politicians set aside their petty differences and actually do what they're supposed to. The country right now makes me think of Nietzsche: "Under peaceful conditions, a war-like man sets upon himself."

I had this professor in college that loved Nietzsche. She even handed out these three stapled pages of sayings, which has been why for the last ten years I have had a Nietzsche quote for everything.

Speaking of Nietzsche quotes, I happened to purchase a game this weekend, which I already own, except now it's an "enhanced edition." If you haven't already guessed from my mention of Nietzsche and enhanced edition, I refer to Baldur's Gate. I don't have a lot of time for games right now, but my better half is a huge Bioware fanatic and like all Bioware fans, she views Baldur's Gate as the Citizen Kane of video games, the platonic ideal of digital storytelling. Of course, maybe the real reason we bought it was because Steam was selling it for $5. You can't even go to a movie for $5 anymore.

Anyway, the shocking part of this tale is how much fun I had playing a game from last century.

Nostalgia is probably a big part of it. I have many fond memories of playing this game a decade ago with my brothers. When my wife and I got married, someone got us a laptop. Right after the operating system came Baldur's Gate, as if the machine would be a naked, empty husk without it.

I'm left wondering how much is nostalgia and how much is just plain quality. Graphics, while important, are still trumped by gameplay, storyline, and dialogue. It's a lot like black and white movies, actually. If a later viewer can get over their biases involving special effects and color, all kinds of stories open up to them.

So will colleges one day have courses with titles like "20th CENTURY COMPUTER GAME CLASSICS"? Will pretentious coeds in black turtlenecks argue about the symbolism of Bhaal over cups of bitter espresso?

All I can say is: God, I hope so.



EDITED 10-15:  Corrected "Baal" to "Bhaal." I guess the writers at Forgotten Realms didn't want the ancient Phoenicians to sue them for copyright infringement or something.