Moderation is the Key

We hear it all the time, everything in moderation. Gaming is no different, in fact, I think moderation in gaming is critical. In my travels I have come across many fellow gamers that have differing views on "how much is too much." In my humble opinion no matter how much time I decide to spend gaming (and I will admit to spending alot) it is too much.

I recently heard that Dr. Phil, everyone's favorite help me help you guru, had tackled the deadbeat World of Warcraft dad. I have not seen the episode, so I will not vouch for it's content, but I think it is telling that the good Dr. chose to cover gaming and specifically online MMO gaming. It like other things can lead to trouble if not used in moderation.

I never been afraid to open myself up to constructive criticism so I went to the "drphil.com" website and mentally took the test to see where I was on the obsessed meter. To my relief I still had a loving family, a job and career, and was not throwing those things out the window to game, but I also found myself closer to the "you're too obsessed" meter than I would have liked. So of course that set me up for some introspective reflection, which of course led to this week's post. I think I am a pretty balanced person, but I know there is always room for improvement. Here is my two bits on how to take gaming, particulary MMO type games in moderation:

-Let your loved ones be open to you. If they say you're spending too much time in the game then most likely you are. Remember your real life family needs you, they depend on you and they are worthy of more than token attention. NEVER take them for granted and NEVER let your game time interfere with meaningful time with them.

-First thing is first. I always try and take care of the to do list first. Now I'm not perfect at it, but I find it works. This is especially true on weekends where it is easy to see your Saturday project time get sucked up in the online "black hole" if you let it.

-Set your boundries. Make sure you schedule time away from the game. Sunday is my time and when my wife wants to go out on Friday or Saturday we go. The game will wait for you. Your sweetheart may not!

-Finally if you find it hard to follow these guidelines then I think it is time to get some help. I know a few people that helped themselves. They turned off their accounts for good. If you can't moderate than remove, no shame in that

I'm Alive (cue the scene from Xanadu)

Okay maybe rollerskating angels from a 1980 Olivia Newton-John flik is a bit dramatic, but the point is I'm finally back.

Moving from one part of the country to the other is something all too familiar for me due to my job, but this time my internet outage took much longer than planned. Anyway I'm finally back and glad to be talking games again.

During my 2 weeks without intenet access I decided it was finally time to try out a console game I've been wanting. Rock Band. I know, I know . . . you are saying: "Rock Band is old news, don't you know Rock Band 2 will be out soon?"

Well, I've been wanting this title ever since May when I played it at a friend's house. It is true if I could have held on another month I probably could have got RB1 for cheaper, but on the other hand I was afraid it may not be available at all after RB2 hits the shelves.

Another reason I've held off on RB1 until now is that I heard it was not worth getting for Wii due to the lack of online content. This leads to a topic for another day about why I don't own an Xbox 360 or PS3. Anyway, the bottom line is I like Rock Band. I've enjoyed jamming with my son and even my wife has joined in a few sessions. That was what I was hoping for . . . a game that we could all play together.

I really like the track selection in Rock Band. I'm not much of a heavy metal fan so I've never been too attracted to Guitar Hero, but RB seems to have a decent balance of songs, if not too many main stream hits. But hey, gotta love some Bon Jovi Wanted Dead or Alive. A few of my other favorites are Don't Fear the Reaper and Black Hole Sun. Yes I know my music taste transends several decades, but luckily so does RB's track selection which I think has been part of it's appeal.

Now that we see Guitar Hero following suit with a "band" style game and RB2 a few weeks away I'm excited to see where this genre will go. Personally I hope one or more of the developers goes to a "pay for the tracks you want" format similar to iTunes. Having the same collection of songs in my Rock Band menu as I have in my iPod would truly Rock!