we are gamers.

Each week, my friends Micah, Stephen, Vanessa and myself come together to play a game. The game played is different with each visit. It can be enjoyed on a TV as we all bundle up on the couch and scream at each other with each quick movement. The game can also be played on a game board littered with dice and character sheets as we sit Indian-style on the floor, breathlessly anticipating the outcome of what each die roll will be. Every game carves its own story and we, as the players, interact with the story in unique ways. Outside of the game’s format, however, we are only ordinary young adults; each with a story inside, waiting to erupt through a virtual medium of spontaneous and random circumstances.

Stephen, the planner, game master and all-around strategist.

Micah, the philosopher, story-teller and humorist. 

Vanessa, the down-to-earth player, the sympathizer and feminine opinion.

Matt, the tag-along, grunt worker and optimist.

2D and 3D

WB: Tungsten  f/4.5  ISO 1600  1/60s  40mm

WB: Daylight  f/4  ISO 400  1/3200s  32mm

twitch.

It's been a while since I last posted anything for the intent of blogging lately, so I'll just cut the fluff and get to blogging.

If you haven't heard, the last two and a half weeks have given birth to a revolutionary new phenomenon. Someone began an online game of Pokemon Red in which any user that submitted an action command to the host site's chat box could control the character on the screen. You type "up", the game makes your character move up. Type in "start", and you open the menu. It's a very basic concept for getting a community to enjoy a video game together.

Then it exploded. Twitch Plays Pokemon has become one of the most trafficked websites on the Internet lately, and for good reason. At time of writing,  over 38 million users have viewed the live feed since its beginnings a couple weeks ago, and tens of thousands of people are constantly giving the game commands to decipher. It's like having a gigantic room filled with over 50,000 patrons inside, shouting orders for a single man holding a Gameboy Color to put into his game. And the man obeys flawlessly, no matter how repetitious or ridiculous the commands may seem.

If you want to catch up to how a majority of the playthrough in Pokemon Red went, you can read it here. The game was finally beaten at 1am on Saturday morning, which was just yesterday. Here are its final statistics as far as game time and viewing traffic. Today began the playthrough of Pokemon Crystal, which has already developed its own unique story.

Now, that's all a lot of information, but what I want to illustrate from it is that Twitch Plays Pokemon is actually a really cool idea. For me and my friends, we're not among the 50,000 people crammed into a room, trying to control a game that is simultaneously being controlled by 49,999 other players. My friends and I are on the outside in a noise-proofed room, watching the game screen as the Pokemon trainer continues to talk to the same people, run into the same walls and fight Level 3 Rattata with a Level 60 Pidgeot. We're the viewers, appreciating the personality and the story that has emerged from the collaboration of so many people that love this classic game.

A couple of my favorite highlights from Pokemon Red are AATTVV the Venemoth, affectionately nicknamed the All-Terrain Venemoth, and Digrat, the Raticate that knew the move Dig. Dig transports you out of caves and buildings, which Digrat was very good at doing at the most inconvenient times. However, I'm not a supporter of the whole Pidgeot is a Bird Jesus thing or the All-Knowing Helix Fossil. Just personal opinion.

Now, only 6 hours into the new game, we have Lasergator the Totodile (since its Leer attack looks like CRAZY LASER ACTION), Admiral ADiiiiiiih the Sentret (nickname is just ADiiiiiiih) and Oxxy Ozzworm the Caterpie (its nickname is OXXOZ). Oh, and Pidgey, but at this point is seems like people are just trying to make it another Bird Jesus, which is dumb. Hopefully it gets released. All these Pokemon are in possession of a trainer named AJDNNW, which roughly translates to AJ Down.

Pokemon games have always been about the trainer. The trainer finds the Pokemon he likes, catches it, and then trains it with moves that he likes to use. The trainer calls the shots, and Pokemon are his property. That is how every game goes, as each trainer makes his own identity through how he raised his Pokemon. TPP (Twitch Plays Pokemon), on the other hand, completely reverses those roles. How can a trainer made up of thousands of personalities tell his own story? He doesn't. The Pokemon do. The Pokemon are the stars of the show now, and the trainer is just a meat puppet that interacts with the humans because the Pokemon can't do it themselves.

TPP also gives rise to a new genre of gaming altogether, called group-playing. I personally don't know if group-playing was "a thing" before TPP, but I know that is sure is a thing now. A game like Pokemon is the perfect platform to play this style on, too, since it's all strategic and not time-based at all. Imagine if the same concept was practiced on a Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog game. There would literally be no progression thanks to the limits of the game. Pokemon allows you to take your time, train, nickname things every once in a while, tragically release your Charmeleon from your team and explore a giant world.

After Pokemon Crystal is beaten, what happens next? Pokemon Emerald? Or will there be a new saga introduced to the group-play mode? I find it so very fascinating, seeing what happens when so many people take hold of one avatar. A game that was meant to be played alone has taken leaps and bounds we never would have dreamed because of the minds of thousands.