Coincidence... I think not!!!

The other day after a particularly hectic stint at work, (these tend to happen often)  I went to my regular hangout spot to relieve some stress and wait for my LOVELY wife (brownie points for me) to pick me up. Select Start Gaming is where I chill out and maintain my sanity whenever I need to. They're an arcade/store where I get my game on and purchase all my games, PSN/XBL cards, controllers and what not. (Check them out at #11 Town House Megastore Complex if you're in Antigua. Tell them I sent you...They like me *proud smile*) 

I was playing Assassin's Creed Unity on Xbox One. (If you want to be in my brotherhood just add me on XBL  Me = Ryuji268) It was during the first stealth mission, the one where you have to sneak past some guards into a party to see a red haired girl, (an aspect of the game that I suck at. I was caught at least 10 times before I found her but it's not really my fault that I did badly. I guess I'm just more of a "jump off the roof and assassinate my target" sort of player) that I found myself feeling a bit uneasy. After being caught by the patrolling guards, AGAIN, I was highly annoyed and not being my regular "pleasantly nice" self. I was thoroughly upset at the fact that I had to do the mission EXACTLY how the developers wanted me to do it i.e. patiently and painstakingly sneak past the oblivious guards as they gawk at some painting on the wall. (I would have preferred to just run past them but the game wasn't having any of that! The "oblivious" guards become uber eagle-eyed if you take ANY action other than that prescribed by the game's coding) In one of my "quietly curse my misfortune while the game loads" sessions a random dude decided that it was alright for him to invade my personal space (something that irks me greatly). He came up to my right shoulder and was watching on as the guards escorted me out of the compound AGAIN. 

"Wha da dey?"
This isn't a typo. It's my locale dialect! We speak a broken and perverted form of English in Antigua. It has a bit of African influence as well and is a joy to speak. It's a bit of a problem to transcribe though because it has no "official" written form (it's a mostly "verbal/uttered" language). As such the spelling of words will differ greatly from writer to writer (those brave enough to attempt to write it that is). I'll translate accordingly. 

"Wha da dey?" (What's that?)
"Assassin's Creed"
"Seen. Black Flag? Me hear dat dey bad no joke!" (I see. Is it Black Flag? I heard it's pretty good!)
"Tall, dis a Unity. E cum out after Black Flag" (Nope, this is Unity. It was released after Black Flag)
"Seen." (OK)
*game loads and I start the mission*
"Hide in da carna da man a cum roun dey!" (Hide in the corner the guard is coming!)
*I say nothing as I sneak through the first room*
"Wait wait... nah move yet. Wait till he tun roun fu go ahead" (Wait wait... don't move yet. Wait until he turns around to proceed)
*I want dude to be quiet so I can concentrate*
"NO BOY WHA YOU A DO? TUN BACK TUN BACK! (No, what are you doing? Go back go back!)
*I get caught (of course) and now I want to force the controller down his throat so he doesn't talk any more*
"Boss... wha mek you wan blaze pass dem? Me tink a bes you jus cool and tek ya time." (Colloquial term used to refer to anyone... why do you insist on running past them? I think it's best if you remain calm and take your time.)
*I glance over at him, ready to explode, and then I have an EUREKA moment*
"A true nah." (You're probably right)

Maybe running past them is IMPOSSIBLE, maybe I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY MUST sneak past them, maybe that's how the game NEEDS me to do it so I can LEARN the procedure that will be used later on. The dude didn't seem so annoying any more, in fact, I felt like he was sent to help me (in his own "annoy me when I'm already annoyed" kind of way). 

To make a long story short, I kept on playing, he kept on watching. I kept my misplaced anger in check and he kept on dropping his versions of wisdom on me. (When to block an incoming attack, that I should shoot my target rather than stab him and, my personal favourite, "drop a smoke bomb and run") Eventually we got to talking about our gaming habits, genres we liked, camping versus rushing (think defensive versus offensive play in shooting games), Ryu being better than Ken, glass cannon mages (deal major damage but die easily),  the difference between trolls and orcs, etc etc. There was a marked age difference between us, our preferences varied and we each had our own brand of grandiose gamer ego but all in all we got along fine and it felt like we could go on talking for hours on end about any random tidbit that we could find. We were kindred souls who had similar interests and we bonded over what was our drug of choice: VIDEOGAMES!!! 

Now, don't get me wrong. We didn't leave the arcade as "Bosom Buddies" and it's not like we added each other on Facebook or anything. (In fact, I don't even know the dudes name lol) But, you can't dispute the fact that we both acquired a mutual understanding of each other and we parted ways enlightened and appreciative. Well, at least I did... I'll ask him about it IF I ever see him again.

(I can't see any reason for me not to try to find some obtuse, elaborate way of having an extensive philosophical discussion with someone I hardly know and expect them to partake whole-heartedly in the discussion. That's not weird at all. It's what I do... I live for those moments!!!)

So basically, what I'm saying is: Gaming brings people together. Even if you started out on the wrong foot. Even if they like Tekken and you prefer Mortal Kombat. Doesn't matter if Samus has nicer legs than Ayane. Regardless of time or locale. Irrespective of ethnicity and creed. Language and status... irrelevant. Knowledge of and association with... not needed. Bottom line is: no matter what, GAMING BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER!!!