The Sonoran Videogame Society is Born
Exchanging fear for risk. Also, video games.
Before you read this post, I recommend reading “The Death of the Retro Gaming Archive” first.
The desert twilight bathed the small group in brilliant pink, blue, and orange. The sun was finally retreating to the other side of the planet. Stars emerged in the dusky blue sky. The cicada whir, so powerful at the peak heat of the day, began to subside. It was the perfect time for a powerful discussion with friends.
Out of the circle of stuffed creatures invited to Dylan’s meeting, only Sonic, Tails, Doraemon, and Isabelle accompanied him into the desert. The other creatures asked questions. Or, at least, Dylan presumed they did. He knew the creatures were inanimate objects, he wasn’t crazy. Still, they seemed to posit questions that Dylan heard clear as day in his mind.
Are we going to live out in the desert? (yes). For how long? (as long as it takes). As long as what takes? (I’m searching for answers, and I’m not leaving without them). In the end, fear got them, and he set them back in their proper place in his air-conditioned house. Dylan missed them, but he understood.
Funny thing happened, though, when Dylan and company took their first steps into the desert. The stuffed creature brigade literally came to life. Their voices were audible, no longer in Dylan’s head, and he didn’t have to prop them up or move them forward, they moved on their own. He didn’t know whether he was delirious from the heat, or if this was just a miraculous occurrence. He chose not to question it and just accept their company and conversation.
Day 3 had come and gone. Survival was their focus during the bulk of the day. Shade and water, plenty of each. Brainstorming sessions were reserved for early morning and evening.
“So gang, how are we all feeling?” Dylan asked.
Sonic glanced at me, then looked at the other three and nodded his head. “Me and the other stuffeds were talkin’, D. We want to help you usher in another vision for video games or whatever, but you chose the middle of freakin’ summer to do it. We’re made of fluff, you just have some hair on your limbs and head.”
Dylan heard murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group. “What are you trying to say, Sonic?”
“We’re saying we’re hot, and we’re tired of being hot. Let’s figure this thing out and go home tomorrow, early, before the sun has its way with us again!”
“Yeah!” “Sonic’s right!” “The sun sucks!” Tails, Doraemon, and Isabelle, so quiet and passive just moments before, rallied behind their new leader.
Dylan nodded. “I understand. I too underestimated the power of the desert sun. He is a formidable presence, and he doesn’t care whether we live or die.”
“See, I knew you felt the same way! Doraemon didn’t believe me!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Please, friends, let’s not quarrel. The goal for me was to find answers in the desert. I would have gone alone, but you all came and joined me. For that, I am incredibly grateful.
“I have good news. I believe a solution is at hand. Today, while we were resting under the palo verde tree, the Father gave me an idea.” Dylan gazed at his four friends. “I’d like to share it with all of you now, but I want you to shoot me straight after I explain it. Do you like the idea? Do you think it could work? Don’t just say what I want to hear because you want to go home. Even if you don’t like the idea, you’re all free to leave tomorrow. I won’t keep you.”
Sonic, Tails, Doraemon, and Isabelle huddled close together and whispered softly to one another. After a moment of deliberation, the four sat across from Dylan and stared up at him. “Let’s hear it, D!” Sonic said
Dylan stood, knowing that he would pace as he talked. Such was his wont.
“Imagine if you will, a community of gamers, young and old, dedicated to playing and enjoying games together. This community originates in the Sonoran Desert, but you don’t have to live in the desert to be a part of it. Indeed, because of technology, we can share games and play them together from anywhere in the world. Its origin, however, its makeup, its personality, springs from the Sonoran Desert’s fertile, alien landscape.
“I call this community… the Sonoran Videogame Society. Initially, this will be a Substack, similar in style to the Retro Gaming Archive. However, the Archive was predominantly a solo journey, one focused mostly on my thoughts and experiences about games. These solo articles will likely remain to some degree, but the Society’s main emphasis will be on shared, communal experiences.”
Tails raised his hand. “What does that look like?”
“I’m embarrassed to say I don’t fully know yet. Perhaps, once a month, the community can vote on a game that they’d all like to play together. A game that’s easy for everyone to access. As we’re playing, or perhaps once we’re finished, we’ll all come together and give our thoughts on the game. And these thoughts can be an article on the Substack. This is just one idea, of course. I’m sure there are other ways to foster community that I haven’t considered yet.”
The sky was fully dark now and the only light came from the glimmering stars. Nearby, crickets chirped languidly. In the distance, a pack of coyotes yipped and howled in horrific union. Dylan could barely see his friends in front of him. He didn’t need them to agree with his plan, but he was curious what they thought of it.
The group was unnaturally silent. Dylan squinted harder in the darkness to see them. What he saw surprised and astonished him: they had returned to their stuffed form. He poked them all just to be safe, but they slumped over onto the dusty ground.
He listened hard for their voices in his mind, the way he had always heard them prior to his time in the desert. He fully expected to hear Sonic’s wisecracking tone, Tails’ sweet childlike voice, Doraemon’s husky bellow, and Isabelle’s comforting lilt. Nothing. Dylan brought them onto his lap and let the tears stream down his face.
What did his friends think? Why did he care so much? Could he make choices on his own without needing others’ input? Was that even wise?
He wasn’t sure if the Sonoran Videogame Society was the best idea the Father and the desert had to offer or if he was just taking the first concept presented to him. He decided to sleep on it, see if dreams brought anything that the waking state couldn’t.
Perhaps, in the morning, everything would be clear.
images courtesy of Pinterest, the author, and iStock.
I really love the concept here. "Communitive gaming" is a term I used to describe the 24-hour gaming marathon events I used to do and I haven't really found that feel anywhere else, but the idea you present here gives me a very similar vibe. People hanging out, playing games together, talking about games, and watching each other play games was amazing and I've wanted to find a way to make that a regular part of my life.
I've had a lot of thoughts and ideas after reading this and haven't really had a chance to organize them into a succinct format for typing out, but I didn't want to wait to say something, so I'll start with these initial questions: How will content be created for and posted on this Substack? Would you be kind of directing things, still contributing writes like your regular posts have been (maybe at a differet cadence), but/and also kind of serving as a editor or curator of sorts for content contributed by other members?
I'm looking forward to how this is going to grow and develop, and excited to be a part of it!