Vicarious Entertainment

I have discovered the greatest thing in the universe.

Pretty much every video game ever made is on YouTube. I can multitask like a banshee now. Hear me out on this.

It came about with my crash course in the Mega Man X series, giving up on trying to beat them all but always having wondered what was beyond the first game in the series (the only one I ever played). With YouTube and Wikipedia, I “got the gist” of the series, then moved on to Crisis Core, the prequel to Final Fantasy VII, (though on PSP and therefore beyond my grasp). I skimmed the entire game, catching all the story scenes. Then I skimmed Final Fantasy VII again, as part of a comprehensive marathon of sorts to gear up to finally play Dirge of Cerberus (after, of course, I watch Advent Children, the feature length CGI sequel film). Then, I thought, “Why stop there? Think of all these games I don’t have time for…”

Now, this interest has spread to EVERY GAME EVER MADE.

Call it some sad form of nerd voyeurism, but I call it “vicarious entertainment,” indulging in escapism while getting work done. Nothing like sipping coffee and perusing Career Builder while having a window of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past off to the side of the screen.

I had previously attempted to achieve this effect by listening to game soundtracks on iTunes, but I’ve taken it one step further: complete osmosis. It’s like being in the room with an obnoxiously lethargic roommate who plays video games nonstop while you’re trying to get work done… but at least he’s laid back enough and we get along.

Life is short. Play hard.


“I really just joined Facebook so I could bully children into suicide.”
--the Captain