Shamanism vs. Castle Age

Greetings Cyberland. 

I'm going to start out this blog by addressing Facebook and other social network "games"  in general and Castle Age in particular.  I've tried alot of network games and Castle Age is the only one I play anymore.  If you see me playing something else it is probably my wife exploiting the second account....( naughty naughty!)

I LOVE Castle Age!!!  The open format with the lack of rules and guides kinda forces you to explore the game site and figure out what the heck is going on.  If you are a "guide" kinda person you can visit their wiki guide http://castleage.wikidot.com/ which is really helpful too, but I don't recommend it until you are totally sucked in because it is more fun figuring it out yourself. 

The artwork is really cool.  I'm the kind of person who will look at fantasy books because they have a cover by one of my favorite artists.  If you like fantasy art like me two great websites to check out are http://www.elfwood.com/ and http://www.deviantart.com/

When the twins were babies and needed to be bottlefed and cuddled all the time the Facebook apps were great!  I could never play Playstation and perform fatherly duties...since Facebook apps generally just use the mouse and don't require alot of interaction outside of "click here" and "read this" the games helped pass time between messaging and posting photos and other good stuff.  I hardly game console games anymore, although I am a glutton for punishment with the Tomb Raider series, you feel like you have really achieved something when you finish a Tomb Raider game. 

The thing about Facebook apps that strike me as odd is the emphasis of collecting "artificial possessions", something you own even though it only exists in Cyberland.  Below is the definition I found in Wikipedia describing "Ownership."  You can skip it if you want but I'm trying to get to my point, promise. 

Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has existed for thousands of years and in all cultures. Over the millennia, however, and across cultures what is considered eligible to be property and how that property is regarded culturally is very different. Ownership is the basis for many other concepts that form the foundations of ancient and modern societies such as money, trade, debt, bankruptcy, the criminality of theft and private vs. public property. Ownership is the key building block in the development of the capitalist socio-economic system.

The process and mechanics of ownership are fairly complex since one can gain, transfer and lose ownership of property in a number of ways. To acquire property one can purchase it with money, trade it for other property, receive it as a gift, steal it, find it, make it or homestead it. One can transfer or lose ownership of property by selling it for money, exchanging it for other property, giving it as a gift, being robbed of it, misplacing it, or having it stripped from one's ownership through legal means such as eviction, foreclosure, seizure or taking. Ownership is self-propagating in that the owner of any property will also own the economic benefits of that property.

I guess I just find it amusing that we are so immersed in a capitalistic society that our recreational games involve a monetary system, and predilection towards consumerism.  If we can't own it IRL (in real life) then we must create a digital synthetic version to mass produce.  It is amusing because according to my beliefs you can never own anything.  You get to live there or drive that or wear it or play with it until it breaks, gets used up, wears out, is stolen or repossessed from you.  The only thing you own free and clear is your mind and soul, and your mind has probably been cluttered up by alot of garbage propaganda.  The material world is fun to play in, but ultimately it is just a silly game. 

Don't let your possessions own you.  I've seen grown men cry because their car got in a fender bender.  How childish.  How asinine.  Why project your self image through the consumption of a product?  Does it really matter if you are a BMW prick or a Harley Davidson asshole?  People used to distribute free t-shirts with advertising on them because it was free advertising.  Now we pay 3-5 times as much for the t-shirt with the advertising on it because it suits our image. 

Before you make fun of the game someone is playing, consider this:  They are aware they are playing a game.  What games are you playing?  For someone to win some of these games, alot of people have to lose.  What's that horrible old line?  It isn't whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.  How you play the game is winning or losing.  If you feel like you're losing then you are missing out on something, and it isn't reward points or bonus features.  It's time to look at what you are truly thankful for and not just obsessed with.  I get obsessed with things all the time.  My interests change frequently and diversely, but I do not allow preoccupation interfere with my core values.  That is where you receive your rewards in life.