Joe Gamer

Sometimes when you are bored, you look around for things to do. Personally I have a rather vivid imagination in as much as whenever I endeavor to do something, I like to picture myself in the ‘universe’ that my activity takes place. It’s the minute storyteller in me. For example, when I play either version of Warhammer I like to name my commander and flesh out the stories that my battles tell to me. A game isn’t fun unless I can immerse myself in it. That’s where Pokemon comes in.

Pokemon, for the un-initiated is/was a hugely successful roleplaying game series that started in 1996. As a child, it captured my imagination because you play a 10 year old child that partakes an adventure around the world (or your particular region) to befriend the varied creatures called Pokemon. 13 years, several games and remakes later, I haven’t exactly kept up. I started the game when I was nine years old! Why would I keep wanting to play it as a 22 year old? It is because of the immersive nature of the game. Each game builds on the last. New Pokemon, regions and features are introduced each time, increasing the mythology of the game. There are numerous “trainer types” that the player fights, giving the idea that you can be whatever trainer you want to be, from the innocuous Bug Catcher, to the versatile Cool/Ace Trainer.

No player has the same team, and even if they do that doesn’t guarantee their Pokemon have the same moves and abilities. That makes it worthwhile to me. Look anywhere online. You will find people roleplaying in forums, designing “themselves” as trainers on Deviantart, making “Trainer Cards”. I love it all. Still not sure what trainer I would be classified as, but that is but one source of identity related to the game.

Now I recently delved back into the Pokemon world due to a bit of insistence on my part to my wife Elizabeth. When she was younger the only video game she played other than a Volleyball game on Game Boy was Pokemon Yellow. Now she plays as many or more video games than I do. She has a Dsi my mom bought her for her last birthday, so in order to see if she’d like Pokemon still, I convinced my parents to buy her one of the newest iterations of the Pokemon Series, Pokemon Diamond. Well long story short, she got it and now that’s almost all she plays. Not to be outdone, I picked up Platinum, the companion piece, to compete against her.

Let’s just say she has around 20 hours while I’m clocked in around 9 and a half. So with the hobby gaming scene a little light around Hattiesburg, I find myself drawn to the Pokemon Trading Card Game League that runs in Brandon, Jackson, Laurel and the like. I feel like a kid, but it’s not such a bad thing. Therefore I posit if you are interested in an immersive experience that can spark imagination (at least active imaginations like mine) then don’t hesitate to play Pokemon again. It caters to the role player, the level grinder, the OCD collector. I did and I’m glad of it!

© 2010, Jeff Hollingsworth. All rights reserved.