This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
This past Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent for most Christians. This begins with the aptly named Ash Wednesday service in which, Roman Catholics like me at least, have ashes spread across our foreheads. For anyone who may not be familiar with Lent, think of it as the conceptual opposite of the Christmas season. During Lent we contemplate and reflect on the death of Jesus and what it means to us as Christians. For Catholics that also means we don’t eat meat on Fridays and are asked to give up something, or do something special throughout the season. Clearly it’s not a time quite as joyful as Christmas; on Wednesday ashes were placed on my forehead with the words “Woman you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
As a kid in Catholic school, my friends and I missed out on the lesson that Lent was supposed to make us humble: we used our Lenten sacrifices as a way to compete with each other. “You’re giving up sweets? Well I’m giving up sweets and TV!”
It in that grade school spirit of competition that I decided to give up video games for Lent. That’s right: 40 days and nights without Sega Genesis.
Ultimately I was able to fill the time quite easily. By that age I was already an avid reader and I was involved in plenty of activities after school. Going over to friend’s houses were the only times I ever felt tempted. I distinctly remember watching friends play Super Mario bros. while thinking of ways I could justify breaking my promise. But still, I stayed strong, and looked forward to Easter a little more with each passing day.
Easter came, and as I had hoped there was a new game waiting in my Easter basket. My parents were impressed by my successful gaming fast and wanted to reward my persistence. Unfortunately, like so many parents before and since, they settled on a licensed game. So what was my reward for 40 (actually Lent is 46 days, Sundays don’t count) days of gaming abstinence? Disney’s Pocahontas: the game.
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Pocahontas is a bad game. Even my Mom has told me how disappointed she was watching me play it. Nothing in the Pocahontas movie lends itself to a game, so the “action” amounts to leading Pocahontas through a linear world rescuing animals in order to gain their “powers”. That doesn’t sound exciting enough? Well then imagine saving moronic animals with midi versions of the Pocahontas sound track playing on a loop. I knew the game was awful when the first power I gained was the ability to run. Apparently Pocahontas couldn’t figure out how to run until she released a deer from a bush. Within two hours I had beaten the game and moved on to better things.
That was the last time I gave up gaming for Lent. Looking back I wonder if Pocahontas had anything to do with it. Probably not, despite the considerable trauma that game caused. Over the years I’ve started to give up things for Lent with better intentions than just one-upping my friends. Last year I gave up meat, this year I’m reading the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, those kinds of things. Besides, my senior year of college is keeping me busy enough that I can sadly only manage about two hours of gaming a week. Lately I’ve been watching my boyfriend play my games while I do homework. It’s tragic in a way that Lenten sacrifices could never be.
Maybe I was meant to derive a spiritual lesson from Pocahontas being so god-awful. Perhaps the Almighty wanted to remind me that I shouldn’t delight in arbitrary prizes after a successful fast, but rather reflect on the spiritual gifts that come with sacrifice. Or maybe it’s just really hard for most parents to pick out a good game for their kids: it’s hard to say.