Have you ever read a book that was so darn good, you couldn't put it down? Every once in a while the same thing happens to me with a game.

"go outside and play!"

In mid April, I listened to a podcast (either CGW or 1Up) where a guest mentioned "gamer guilt". I was really excited to hear someone else describe this feeling and give it a name because it has had a big impact on me.

I love computer games but there is a point in many games where I just feel bad after playing for too long. I feel guilty. I feel like I just wasted my time, like I am wasting my life! I hear my mother's voice as she rolls her eyes with disdain for computer games. (Yes, I am almost 40 but I still hear her voice just like those anti-drug ads about talking to your kids say.)

What I have noticed is that I get the most gamer guilt with single player games, particularly RPG games. So I dont play them. I never finished Baldur's Gate; it took me 3 years to finish Neverwinter Nights. Strategy games like Civ4 and war games like Total War dont bother me too much and a good FPS game like Half-Life is what I live for but I generally avoid RTS games and RPG's.

I avoid them unless they are online that is. It may not be going outside to play but the multiplayer games are social (or at least they can be). My online friends kept me coming back to the virtual world even though it is hard to role play in MMO's as so many people are just focused on "leveling". But after playing EQ, and CoH, and a host of other MMOs, playing a single player RPG feels empty, lonely, even depressing. This pushes my gamer guilt off the charts.

entering Oblivion

The problem of course is that I discovered Oblivion last week and now playing this game is all I want to do. I have tons of things I need to do but all I think about is when I can fire up the game and look for a horse or explore another ruin.

Based on my tastes, I would not even have bought the game. But there was SO much positive buzz about this game all over the place, I wanted to try it.

What a treat Oblivion turned out to be! Forget the guilt, this solo-virtual world has totally sucked me in and gotten me to reflect on the differences between the solo and multiplayer experiences (and opportunities).

I also think Oblivion will be one for the history books. The level of detail in terms of world-modeling and graphics is reaching a critical point now and I think the breadth of praise and interest in Oblivion shows this.

Today is a very exciting time for the game industry. 10 years ago, it took a LOT of imagination to play these games. Not so much anymore... What will things look like 10 years from now? People have already joked about the addiction of Everquest (Evercrack) but I only see things getting better and better (or worse and worse, depending on your viewpoint) in the future. Exciting times indeed.