The spectrum of conflict

This week I reached a landmark in my journey. I completed the 20^th game from my pile of shame, and it was thanks to my friend and neighbour, Simon. Simon is a father of two kids under 3 years old. Like most parents he spends a lot of time looking after his children, and not a lot of time indulging the child within himself. 

About a year ago, on a rare night off, he came over to enjoy some beer and games. I asked him what sort of game he wanted to play, and he said that he’d heard a lot about Call of Duty, so he fancied having a go at one of those. I put out a selection of COD games, and he selected World at War. We got through a few levels, he really enjoyed it, and so we decided to see the whole thing through together.

Every now and then we’d get together for a couple of hours and wage war against the Nazis and the Japanese. Each time we’d complete a little bit more of the game, taking small amounts of territory in a fashion similar to that of the real campaigns. “We’ll have to win that war soon,” we’d tell each other every couple of months, trying our best to arrange some gaming time, with varying degrees of success.

Then, last week I saw Simon and he announced, “I’m proposing an end to tyranny and oppression!” “My God, you’re getting a divorce?” I asked, having spent a great deal of time lately watching old British sitcoms on The Comedy Channel. As it turned out he wanted to lock in a time for us to make the final push and finally complete World at War.

And now I am happy to report that a great day has come to pass. We have succeeded! We have conquered evil on two fronts. It was a magnificent victory and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

It was made all the better because the whole experience harkened back to those days of yore, a glorious and bygone era. No, not World War II, the Eighties and Nineties. Playing through this game with Simon reminded me of all those times growing up when you’d play a game with your friends and share the whole experience with them. Having someone sitting on the sofa next to you, passing the controller back and forth, cursing and laughing at their failures, cheering their successes. It’s like watching a really long interactive movie where you enjoy it together, and then recall all your favourite parts when it’s finished.

I remember when I was about 10 years old I would go round to my best friend Thomas’s house. We would have a terrible time trying to get his ZX Spectrum to load. We’d play the tape, it would make those horrible, horrible noises for what seemed like twenty minutes, and only at the very end of the whole process would we find out if it had even loaded correctly. It seemed that more often than not it wouldn’t have, and we’d have to repeat the process, desperate for at least one game of 'International Karate Plus' before I had to go home. It was our own little war with the ZX Spectrum.

One time we got so pissed off that we started the tape, and then went foraging for conkers on the common for half an hour or so. When we came back we found that, much to our delight and surprise, it had loaded! We had won this particular battle through absence.

From that point on we were convinced that it would only load if we were out of its line of sight, so we’d set it up and hide so that the Spectrum didn’t know we were there. It was a surefire guarantee of success! There we would be, hiding behind the sofa, mucking about and stifling our laughter in case the Spectrum heard us and chose not to load. It seemed like we had almost as much fun waiting for the game to load as we did playing it. But the joy we felt when it did work and we could finally play those classic games was unparalleled.

Even now, 25 years later, those memories bring a smile to my face. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed the shared fun that comes from gaming in the same room as another person. Online gaming can put you in contact with people all around the world, but it doesn’t always bring you closer, or provide a memorable and enjoyable experience. The co-op experience Simon and I shared with COD: World at War was a thrilling, laugh-filled affair that brought back a lot of great memories, and I’m keen for more of the same.

So that’s one Call of Duty off my list, one more to go. I’m tempted to suggest to Simon that we play through that one together too, but lately I’ve really been feeling the pile of shame breathing down my neck, and I’m not sure that his commitments would really be able to mesh with timeframe. But you never know, we may just overcome insurmountable odds. After all, what fun is going to war without your brothers beside you?

20 down, 30 to go.