SP’s mission

Why we play the games

Why do we play these games we do?

Video games and fantasy sports are fat industries, with guts drooping over their belt buckles. Proudly, I have helped to feed these beasts, and will help turn them into jiggly blobs until death. Video games rock, whether it’s sports games or shooters or racers, I will play them. With fantasy sports I’m a recovering addict, but it does not mean I’ve quit. Yes, my sanity is teetering on the edge of the wagon, ready to tumble off at any moment. But, I need to play. Any video game or fantasy sports fan will tell you they need to play, even if they do not say it in words.

Humans, since the beginning of our existence, have thrived on battle, survival and competition. It is part of the reason why our brains and society evolved into what it is today. It is why we gravitate to pro and college sports — you did fill out your NCAA basketball pool this year, even if you did not watch a single game, didn’t you?

It filters into our politics. You are voting for your favorite candidate (player) and you will check his or her votes (stats) all election day. And You will celebrate or drown yourself in sorrow like all the other members (fans) of your party. In that way, politics, is so much like fantasy sports. Elections last one day, but the buildup and the expectations approach the level of the Super Bowl, or a fantasy draft.

It is an exciting time and our monkey brains crave this excitement, like basic needs such as food and sleep. They also desire accomplishment. We want to win at work, we want to win at home, we want to win at fantasy sports, and anyone who plays video games will argue that their hobby is no different.

Beating a video game, or excelling in online or local multiplayer against other gamers provides the same rush as all those other things. Dexterity and thought processes provide the means for gamers to overcome obstacles, defeat threats and advance through a game earning multiple prizes along the way. You get a new weapon or a better storyline that many times fuels the desire to get more and aids in advancement through the game.

Sloppy Potatoes consumes, digests and regurgitates information about these industries — and the people within them — to provide news, reviews and commentary.Be seeing you around,

ep

SP admin