Utility of Playing Games for Fun Introduction.

Hedonism
noun
the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence.
The ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of
desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.

"How is gaming no different from hedonism?" a special forces operator asked me. And I told him about The Sims and its time management lesson- how in The Sims, time, the game's non-cheat code-based resource, presents a utilitarian calculus from which our sims and we gods achieve things.

Lots of simoleans. Lots of commodities. Lots of friends. Death by furniture fires. Or, if game time is 'misused,' you have sims whose average happiness remain low for (in the first game) ever, with those few points of rapture in their lives being a horror show in juxtaposition with whatever else in their virtual lives you see.

The Sims is both a satire and a proponent for our lives, I told him; therefore, computer games are fun and can be didactic art at the same time!

But his question still pokes me because I know why he asked it: Most computer games, as of now, teach us nothing particularly useful nor provide game spaces where we practice potentially useful skills, including most of the best games. Most of the best games instead maximize fun.

So here's the question he should have asked:

"How is playing games that only maximize fun not a waste of time?"

I believe the best way to answer this question is to analyze fun and
time management.

An Introduction of Sorts

Hello and welcome to the blog! What is this blog about you ask? Consider it a metaphorical proving grounds if you will. Proving grounds for two guys trying to perfect their writing skills in the hope that one day they will become full-fledged gaming journalists.

Yes, this is indeed a gaming blog. However, we hope to do things a bit differently around here.

Rather than focus only on gaming news and reviews, our goal is to provide articles and editorials about the ever-expanding world of gaming. We hope to discuss everything from gaming culture to gaming as art to deep philosophical discussions on game design. Whether it be console, PC, tabletop, or live action, we here at Stage Zero feel that gaming is an important social and cultural phenomenon that merits conversation.

Who exactly are we though? Well, allow us to introduce ourselves:

My name is Colin Wheelock (profile name: Satchamobob). I am a third year student at UC San Diego. I'm currently looking at future career options in the gaming industry. Journalism is obviously one area I'm interested in, but I'm also fascinated by the academic field of game studies. I've spent the past few months working as an undergraduate researcher for a game studies group on campus. Among my colleagues was Noah Wardrip-Fruin who writes for the blog Grand Text Auto. Click the link on right side of the page to check it out.

NOW FOR PAUL:

Hello minions! I'm Paul, and I agree with everything Colin said:

In fact, Colin is not just a third year at UCSD - I too am a third year at UCSD. And I am planning to write in the gaming world as well.

So, fellow gamers, enjoy everything we spew onto you because gaming is amazing and that's what will fly from our mouths, onto our keyboards, and into Stage Zero.

And definitely, if you see opportunities to improve our writing, spew back at us. Make it classy.

Since both Paul and I consider this practice for becoming game journalists, we encourage any and all comments and critiques of our writing style. After all, we can't expect to improve our writing if we don't know what's wrong with it in the first place. So feel free to offer your opinion on anything we say or write on this blog.

Because we're students we can't promise a concrete update schedule, but we will try our damnedest to post as often as possible. I suggest you bookmark this blog or subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to see the latest article we've written.

I think I've let this post go on for long enough. The U.S.S Stage Zero has officially set sail. We hope you enjoy your stay with us. We know you have a choice when it comes to gaming blogs, and we're glad you've chosen us as your game blog stop. Until next time!