Gaming Time

Despite a huge lack of supply, I recently became the lucky owner of a copy of Wii Fit. I’m sure by this point we’re all aware of its purpose and how it works, so I won’t bore you with excessive details on that. What I will say is that it asks you to “check in” every day so it can analyse your BMI and COG (centre of gravity).

Now, I have very recently started working again so I find myself a bit shorter on time nowadays. This had lead to me going a few days, and even a week or so without “checking in” with Wii Fit. After my week stint of not checking in, I happily hopped on my Wii board only to get a flippin’ lecture! Wii Fit was quite simply not happy with me and my lack of dedication. I even found my yoga trainer had come in to my session late! It was like she just couldn’t be bothered with me. So I hung my head in shame, and resolved to check in every day from that moment on.

I started the new week focused, I was determined to find those 10 minutes a day to devote to Wii Fit. Now I find, not only does Wii Fit whine if you skip your check in, it also whines when you check in at different times of the day! I was exasperated, I mean seriously now, I do have to work as well as game! Then it got me thinking, that’s not a healthy way to think about a game. To see it as a chore, not a pleasure. Something I feel guilty about if I neglect.

But there seems to be more and more games that punish you for not checking in with them. After all, you’ve got to train your brain, walk your Nintendogs, check in with Wii Fit, get your WoW dailies done, sell your coconuts to ol’ Tommy Nook, pull up the weeds in your AC town (Cube and DS version!). So when, pray tell, with working as well, are you supposed to find the time to actually play your games?

So, as the weeds begin to sprout in my town, as my Nintendogs go hungry, as my Yoga trainer gets more upset with me, and my brain age rises, I ask, am I the only one who wishes there was a way of stopping time in these games?