Immobilized

Last week, I was stranded at my mom's house. I just wanted to go up for a weekend, but ended up staying for the week because the weather was less than ideal for travel. Plus, my car was in the shop for repairs, and there wasn't really a point to getting it since I wasn't going anywhere with the weather being what it was. Yet, I still had the need to be mobile, to move, to drive. Luckily, EA Origin was giving away copies of Need For Speed: Most Wanted to its members. I decided that free was indeed free, and downloaded it to my computer. I spent a lot of time with the game that week. I also realized that this is something that I do when I can't really go anywhere. I like to play games where I can drive around, and go wherever I want to at my own volition.



There is something freeing to open world games, but I guess that's the point. These types of games give their players the freedom to write their own stories, or just give them the opportunity to simply exist in another place and time. For me, I like games that give me some kind of vehicle to drive. I guess I just like being mobile and seeing things pass by as I roll past. Need For Speed: Most Wanted is not the greatest open world driving game that I've played, but I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes. It was nice to stretch my legs out, so to speak, and drive really fast, to where I wanted to go.



I hate car troubles, and I hate being without a car. I like to go places, even if it's just to work. I don't mind driving either, unless the weather is poor. In games like NFS: Most Wanted, I don't have to risk life and limb to drive somewhere. In fact, driving dangerously is what that game is all about.



Grand Theft Auto V was a game that I played a lot during the summer when my old car was on its last leg. It was nice to drive around in sunny Los Santos in a car that was much nicer than mine, and didn't bellow smoke every time that I stepped on the gas pedal to move away from a stop light. I liked having the freedom of driving on the high way, or going up north to Blaine County, and just driving laps around the entire island city of Los Santos. It was a liberating and introspective experience.



People have different places that they go, or things that they do to think about things and meditate. I often think a lot when I'm on the road. Sometimes I get so lost in thought that I occasionally miss my exit or turn. I kind of get the same feeling when I'm playing video games and I just have the opportunity to drive around without having to worry about gas prices, or how much fuel is left in the tank, or if my car is even going to start today. There is a knowing peace in having a reliable car that I don't have to worry about.



I think that games like these can offer serenity, and a place to think, because sometimes the world can be chaotic, and a loud cacophony of stress. Video games don't often have these kinds of stresses. They are an escape. Games can be a place to find peace, because they are a perfect system, of sorts. When we play a certain game, we understand its mechanics and rules. We know how things work, and sometimes we can break those rules and mechanics to have a bit of fun. Yet, there is still the understanding of the causes and effects that will occur when specific actions are taken. In this, there is harmony.