Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Whoever thought of reproducing boring tasks as computer simulations deserves, if not a few swift kicks to a head, a wall full of medals commemorating these blows to the noggin. You look at something like The Sims, for example, kind of the bellwether of mainstream gaming, and you wonder: do people really enjoy clicking on their virtual selves to take out the trash or arrange office furniture? Because choosing wallpaper, y’know, thrilling.

The resounding answer is yes–choosing virtual wallpaper is thrilling. My secret hope is you clicked on yesterday’s link and drank deeply from the bounty, borne on the precious bandwidth I’ve rented for 40-odd bucks a year. The media, like most consumables, has a definite shelf life, but it will make you wonder how the mundane can be made anew, addictive even, and before you know it 15 minutes are gone.

It’s a restaurant/cooking/multitasking simulator, flush with horrendous graphics and borrowed music. But damn it if I didn’t enjoy slinging beers as if I actually appreciated them, or trying to catch a thief while keeping an eye on a customer’s burger. More dishes to do, you say? Fuck yes. A lead-in for a free blog post? Even better.