Papabear,

After switching fursonas a few years ago, I really want to know how to get motivated to create more and more inventive art for my character, Crafty the California Coyote. How I came to know him is a long story and I wouldn't want to bore you with the details, but I have grand designs for him. And yet, I find myself often wondering if it would be even worth it to go ahead. I love him, I dream of writing children's books or marketing him somehow. I want to make this a reality but sometimes, I just don't know how.

California Coyote

* * *

Dear Coyote,

You love Crafty, right? So the only thing holding you back is your fear of not getting the approval of others for what you are drawing and writing with him as the focus. You worry that if you come up with a children's book, it won't sell, or that people will not like the art you draw.

The key, then, is to lay this fear aside and not worry about the approval of others. Once you stop wondering what others will think of your work, then you will no longer be second-guessing yourself, and this will set your creativity free.

Many great artists, past and present, did not get the approval (at first, or sometimes ever) of what they were doing. That goes for scientists, musicians, and other forward-thinking individuals. This is often because they were ahead of their time. No one was doing what they were doing or in the way they were doing it. But now, in retrospect, these people are considered masters and innovators.

If creative people who broke the mold had censored themselves, we would not have Van Gogh's Starry Night; we might not have reached the Moon had Robert Goddard listened to the newspapers call him a mad scientist; George Lucas might not have gone through with making the first Star Wars had he allowed nay-sayers to influence him.

Progress and creativity were never born from the loins of those who only did the things that were guaranteed to be approved by the mainstream.

Go. Create. Have fun!

And once you have something in hand you think is marketable, that's when you start worrying about how to sell it, okay?

Hugs,

Papabear​

Hello, Papabear,
 
I just had one hard question: every time I draw and post art online other furries hate it. Although I’m making a project for a comic book, they hated it and sometimes they report me for hate. I don’t hate furries, but all I did is draw humans the good guys and they’re Mexican soldiers fighting anthros, saving the world from evil creatures. Every time I post them, furries blocked me and some are cool with it. This has to do with my Christian religion and I always thought that furries are open minded but I believe they’re open minded but limited to things. Furries I talk to are aholes sometimes and I meet new friends on the fandom. And I meet Christian furries that do understand me.

Ronnie Alvarez (age 28)
 
* * *
 
Dear Ronnie,
 
Wow.
 
This is not a “hard question” at all. You are drawing art in which anthros (portrayed as evil) are being attacked and hated by human soldiers, apparently. Now, look at it from the other side, which you actually do in your letter. Don’t you hate it when people don’t like your art because it is homophilic (favors humans)? Don’t you feel persecuted for your Christian beliefs by feeling that the furries aren’t tolerant of what you are doing? Can you seriously not understand that furries would feel the same way about your art?
 
Complaining that furries aren’t open minded enough to accept your art is to misunderstand what it means to be open minded. Open minded doesn’t mean accepting hatred. Furries don’t dislike you because you are Christian (as you noted, there are Christian furries in the fandom), they dislike your art because it inflames their sensitivities of already being persecuted.
 
Your question is like asking why black people wouldn’t appreciate hooded KKK members marching down a street in Savannah, Georgia. KKK members espouse Christianity, too, you know. Doesn’t mean blacks don’t like Christians (many many African Americans are Christians); it means they don’t like hatred.

​You can say "I don't hate furries" all you like, but actions speak louder than words.
 
Understand?
 
My suggestion: either seek another (non-furry) audience for your art or draw art that furries will enjoy. Continuing to do what you are doing just deliberately stokes the fire of hatred.
 
Papabear
​

Third time! This time though, it's not as personal but a lot more complicated.

So I'm a big part of the Transformation/TF part of the fandom, a largely fetishized group with some very unique art. While I have yet to contribute, I have hit a small snag that bugs me. 

I knew this artist, we'll call them Carlos, who was a moderately decent artist with some glaring flaws and almost no following. He came across very abrasive and rash, which may have pushed people away. I got to know him and he was the same with me but seemed like a good guy. But then he dropped a major bomb.

There's another artist in the TF world, let's say she's...Joan. So I met Joan first and she is CRAZY popular, bursting onto the scene of TF by saying she needed money for a pet's surgery. Her fame skyrocketed with her clean art and tfs, albeit more on dA than FA. And it was through her, or him, that they revealed themselves to be the same person. 

So this mediocre male artist created an account to be a female artist with sympathy fans, and the same kinda mediocre anatomically incorrect art, but had done so in such a way to build up a massive following. Through this lie they amassed tons of fans and money, and nobody knows about this other than me. 

This female persona had a very specific niche for tf, let's say she only did Foxes. And she was very strict about doing anything not fox related, and having a list of fox species for people to pay and pick for their tf. But then for some reason, perhaps nobody else wanted foxes, she bails on this and accepts all animals out of the blue. For no reason other than more money. 

Then his normal male account posts a journal about getting tired of doing tf and I respond, saying that they might lose some fans if they drop tf altogether, but then they get all defensive at me, saying I'm the reason they quit skype, saying that dirty art is impure and filth among other things. The journal also insulted the furry community, calling it an emo ridden group of losers and just a horrible journal of horrible hate. It was so vile...he was dwelling on the clean days of tf but everything is dirty, nothing is ever 100% clean. It's not like it just started becoming naughty in the last 2 months.

Oddly, when we had chatted during skype and I expressed some disinterest in this person's affinity for chiptune and foxes, they freaked out at me. That may have been the downfall of our relationship.

Then, I blocked the male account because I was sick of being harassed by this liar and manipulator...but then I should check my messages a few hours later and find a note from the female account asking to talk things out. I ignored the note for a day cause I didn't wanna bother, but then when I decide maybe to give it a shot, guess what? She/He had blocked ME now! 

Here's what she sent me:

“So lets talk like actual adults before anonymity on the internet. Clearly you're upset, clearly I misspoke, a lot of it lacks context, and I think that lead to a lot of wacky insults and mudslinging.

“So if you'd like to actually hear why I feel the way I do, with details, instead of assuming I'm a run of the mill miserite troll scapegoating a community that does not deserve it. 

“And hey perhaps you could convince me otherwise but either way our last discussion was clearly some old salt in the wounds. Lets say we can heal like logical reasonable human beings?”

And so I can normally just block and remove a person from my life right? But this person works in the same vein of tf that I like and draw for, so every time I see their icon or name I just get knots in my stomach. I have a problem forgetting things and it's especially tough when I see their name everywhere. 

My final question is this; How can I move on and not be so bitter? Sure we both said some things, but the hastiness of the blocking and the inability to accept each other's opinions, but was it just a doomed friendship? Or is it just a moral sensor going off in my brain whenever I see the people she's/he's duped on their account praising this liar? Should I expose them? Clearly they won't leave the tf community when they have so much money coming in from selling out their ideals by taking other species, so I'm at a real crossroads.

Thanks a lot Papa!

From your favorite Malayan Civet (since I'm the only one in the fandom lol),
Cassidy~! (age 17)

* * *

Hi, Cassidy,

The Internet is such fertile ground for drama, isn’t it? And the online furry community is certainly no exception. Whenever I get a letter such as yours, Papabear listens to his gut, which always tells me one of two things: either there is more going on here than meets the eye, or I’m hungry. If I’m hungry, I eat, and then get back to the problem, which is this....

Carlos/Joan (hereafter CJ) has some serious issues going on with him/her. These are emotional and possibly psychological problems that you likely know nothing about. You only know what CJ posts and chats with you about, and that’s it. When something upsets CJ s/he lashes out and acts somewhat irrationally. Joan seems to be the slightly more rational side, while Carlos the more fiery, defensive, and angry side. CJ may be bipolar or have cyclothymia or bipolar disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Sufferers of these illnesses go from depressed states to high states to various degrees and frequencies depending on the type of problem. Another possibility is some form of autism, such as Asperger’s, which can cause someone to overreact or react inappropriately in social situations (and become hypersensitive to any kind of criticism). This would explain the reactions to comments about his/her TF work and about the TF art community in general.

One of the more difficult interactions in any community is to express empathy and to show compassion and support to someone you just met online who appears to be a mean person. It’s hard because you can’t usually tell if they are that way because they are troubled or if they are just mean by nature. What Papabear usually tries to do (not always because some people are so unbalanced that I just hope they see a doctor, but I can’t afford the time to deal with their many problems), is first assume that someone is that way because they are unhappy. Then, instead of criticizing them, I ask them if they need a shoulder to lean on and a sympathetic ear. I certainly would not criticize something like their artistic skills and, instead, would encourage their desire to draw and express themselves (a very healthy activity). Even if they are poor artists now, with encouragement, they could improve. (If people criticized me harshly for my piano playing, I would be sad and would stop trying, but they are encouraging me and that is why I am slowly improving).

I wouldn’t bother to “out” CJ as being duplicitous (and you’re probably incorrect in assuming you’re the only one who knows s/he has two online profiles). It’s not illegal and it’s really none of your business (are you jealous that Joan has seen some success because she is really Carlos? Perhaps Carlos is actually Joan? Who knows? Who cares?) Many artists get commissions, I’ve noticed, especially among furries, by pleading they need help financially for something. It’s a way of supporting people. Perhaps it’s a bit disingenuous, but it’s called feeling some sympathy toward others. I always look at it as a “there but for the Grace of God go I” phenomenon. What if I were not so lucky as to have a job and a home and a family? Wouldn’t I cry out for help, too? I would. I’d be asking you to buy my books, even if the books didn’t interest you or you thought they stank up the place.

I believe what you are experiencing with CJ is the cacophony of a cry for help. It can hurt the ears, indeed, but one way to alleviate it may be to give them a big hug, some tea and sympathy.

Hope that helps,

Papabear

Dear Papa Bear,

I've written to you once before for advice, and you'll be glad to know it helped a great deal. I've found a small hobby in perler beads to help pass time and build my confidence while I slowly learn how to sew. I've also discovered that, even if I'm not the kind of successful the world wants me to be, I'll still be so if I'm just happy with what I'm doing and how I'm living.

I currently have a job at Wawa, which is close enough for me to walk or bike to, so I can get some exercise in my daily life. I also built a brand new PC, have some money to spare for having fun every so often, and good friends. There is even a very sweet man who loves me (and will never let me forget it). Overall, I'd say things are going well.

However, I find that following these pursuits is difficult. My usual routine involves what I know to be too much time on said PC and not enough on other interests. I believe part of the issue is me working second shift, which is often early afternoon to late night, often getting home around 11pm or midnight. When I visit my friends, it's often for the sake of playing games, largely because our D&D sessions have stalled. (They were a nice change of pace from video gaming.) I enjoy my time with the beads though, and don't worry about any of your 5 “les facteurs de merde” when making objects. It's just fun. Strangely, I specifically wanted to do these things, and never act upon that desire when I end up with the tools/materials necessary.

After buying a $70 sewing machine, it's been sitting and collecting dust and scraps of material.

I've largely attributed said failure to follow my words to my parents and their failure to instill the drive to succeed in me. But am I wrong, and looking for a scapegoat for my own laziness?

To boil it all down, how can I break this addiction and focus more on the other things I enjoy, as well as caring for myself?

Apologies for such a long-winded question, and thank you for taking the time to read through it all.

Vince

* * *

Hi, Vince,

I’m glad life is improving for you and that you’re having fun with beading. Perhaps you have moved beyond les facteurs de merde, but you have still been practicing avoidance techniques. One avoidance technique is to fill your time with other activities unrelated to what you believe you wish to do, and then, voilá, you conveniently have no time left to do that thing. This is the case with your playing games with friends and then not having time left for sewing (are you trying to make fursuits?). Another avoidance technique is to buy lots of stuff related to that goal without actually doing the activity itself. I see this with “writers” a lot. Buying books on how to write, buying a new laptop, etc. I’m guilty of it, too, to the point where I once flew to the Maui Writers’ Conference (really fun! but I didn’t write a damn thing while I was there!) as an elaborate way not to actually get the novel done.

In my previous letter to you I advised you to find a mentor or mentors to help encourage you. Have you tried that? It really helps to have people around you who urge you to pursue your creative activity (this is why I pay for piano lessons; if I didn’t have the routine of taking lessons and having an encouraging teacher, my keyboard would probably gather dust in a corner of my office.)

If you just need to break the gaming habit, I can refer you to this column about gaming addiction.

The other thing is to stop blaming others: don’t blame your parents for not instilling in you a drive to succeed, don’t blame friends for making you want to play games with them, don’t blame a bad work schedule, and don’t blame anyone else. This is on you. Only you can sit down and do the activity you supposedly wish to do.

But I can offer you a little trick that might help: create a reward system for yourself. My personal reward system actually depends on others: when I get a thank you letter (or a nice comment like yours at the beginning of your letter) it gives me a rush that makes me not only want to write more columns but increases my enjoyment of doing it. With crafty projects, such as beading, your reward system could be to give finish projects as impromptu gifts to friends and family and then see their eyes light up at the unexpected present. Or, on the somewhat more selfish side, when you finish a project or a milestone of a larger project, buy yourself a little treat, or, perhaps, take a photo of the item you made and post it on a social media site and read the comments from friends. These are called “positive reinforcement” techniques (I don’t recommend negative reinforcement here—ack).

Finally, try to adjust your attitude from negative to the positive (this relates to les facteurs de merde). Again with my piano, when I see myself making progress and getting better, I get more optimistic and this makes me enjoy practice a lot more. I’m guessing that with beading there are certain levels of the craft, too: some beading skills are more complicated and difficult to master, yes? Urge yourself to take your craft to the next level, and then, when you reach that new level of skill, your heart will fill with the pride of accomplishment and this will really drive you to do it more. It’s kind of like a runner’s high. When someone starts running for fitness, it can be very difficult, tedious, discouraging. But, after doing it for a while, you will push through a wall and suddenly it becomes a joy to run (for a lot of people—I, personally, hate running LOL)! You already enjoy beading, but you can increase this joy by challenging yourself to become a master of the craft. Remember, of course, to always do this for your own personal satisfaction.

Good Luck!

Papabear

Hi Papa Bear, hope you are doing well and thank you for reading this question. I have been in a bit of a funk recently and have been clinging to Skype and FurAffinity to help get me through the day these past few weeks. 

I have been trying to write and find inspiration these past few weeks. However, each time I see or try to write a new story I get a pang of doubt or jealousy for some reason and spend the afternoon languishing about being grumpy/sad. 

Do you have any suggestions for clearing my head and find inspiration? 

Trentonfoxbear

* * *

Dear Trentonfoxbear,

All writers go through what you’re feeling right now, mostly due to self doubt (thinking everything you write isn’t good enough), and sometimes due to writer’s block (simply no ideas come to mind). The first thing you need to do is explore your motivation: why do you want to write. Which of the following describes you?

1. I want to write because I want to have to see my name on a book or in a magazine or other publication.
2. I want to write so I can sell my stories and earn an income.
3. I want to write to inspire and bring joy to others.
4. I want to write to be famous and get recognized.
5. I want to write because I enjoy the writing process and creating things out of my imagination (i.e., I like to write for my own gratification).

If you answered 1, 2, or 4, put away your computer right now and abandon all hope ye who enter here, because you are writing for the wrong reasons. Go pursue some other interest. If, however, you chose 3 or 5, then we may continue.

Papabear’s main reason for writing these days is #3. It is for that reason that I write a column 4-7 times a week, and I would do more except my workaday job often wears me out (and sometimes I just run out of letters, or have a lot of people wanting me not to publish their letters). If your answer is 3, as well, then jump-start your creative process by imagining people reading your stuff and the smiles it will produce on their faces. You can do this through the process of meditation. Reconnect to your original reason for writing by contemplating your pure motivation. You want to make others happy and inspire them. Therefore, it really doesn’t matter if, sometimes, your writing might be a bit clunky; the important thing is to get your message across, what you want to convey. What is your message? What are you trying to say? Reconnect to that, and it will get you going again.

Note! And this is very important! You are not writing for approval of your readers; this implies you want some positive feedback and recognition (#4). No, you are writing for them in an unselfish process of giving to your audience without expecting anything in return, including any acknowledgment.

If you chose #5, then it seems you have gotten a bit off track because you’re not enjoying writing at the moment. To get back to writing, do the following:

• Set aside one hour a day to write. Find a place where you have no distractions—turn off all electronic devices! And I mean all of them.
• During this time, write. If you are temporarily stumped about your current project, practice free-flow writing. Free-flow writing is simply putting pen to paper (or typing) and writing anything that comes to mind. Just write it down, without editing, and keep writing whatever thoughts are in your head. Continue for one hour, then stop for the day. That evening, or the next morning, read what you have written. It’s very possible there will be some inspiration there.
• Declutter your head. Writers (and other artists) often become befuddled not because they have no ideas but because they have too many. They start working on multiple projects and never finish any of them because their thoughts and imagination are too scattered. Focus on one piece to work on and concentrate only on that. If—as often happens—a cool idea for something else pops up, scribble down that idea, but put it aside for later and return to your main project.
• Break down large projects into several smaller, bite-size projects, and set milestones for yourself. For instance, if you are working on a novel, make your first project to write down character descriptions; when that is accomplished, make the next an outline of your story; when that is done, your next milestone might be to complete the first chapter (break it down further by promising to write at least 1-2 pages a day). Don’t think of the full book, just focus on writing that first chapter. It’s less intimidating if you break things up.
• Know where you’re going. This one is what helped me complete my novel. A lot of writers begin writing a story with no idea how it is going to end, they lose their way, and get bogged down and frustrated. Writing like this rarely works (the greatest example of it working would be the movie Casablanca, my favorite film), so what I did is I figured out the conclusion of my book first, then, once I knew where I was going, it was much easier to go back to the beginning and write.
• Don't fret, rewrite. Another thing I learned was not to worry about problems with the manuscript because I could always go back and rewrite them. That’s the cool thing about writing—and something that the computer age has made ridiculously easy compared to typing on paper—is you can go back and easily make changes. For example, say you’re writing along and you decide in chapter 20 that it makes more sense to the story if the heroine once had a son who died in a tragic accident, but the earlier chapters have no hint of this. You can go back and make changes to the earlier parts of the book and suddenly it looks like you planned it all along because, heck, readers have no idea what you originally wrote. Rewrites like this can make you look brilliant ;-)
• Join a writers group. Writers groups are a great way to share your work and get feedback, and good writers group help to motivate you to keep writing (e.g., “Hey, we liked what you did in this chapter and can’t wait for the next one. When can we see it?”)
• Experience life. The best source of inspiration for a writer is real life. Go out and meet people and do stuff and you will get ideas for plots and for characters, too. If you read interviews with famous fiction writers, they will often tell you that many of their characters are based upon people they met in real life.
• If you get really really stuck, set aside your writing for 1—but no more than 3—days. Then go back and read what you have written. This can help you get a fresh eye on what you are putting down on paper.
• This might seem unrelated, but it isn’t: get plenty of sleep and exercise, and eat healthy foods. Being tired and sick will always work against you in your writing.

Hope this helps! Good luck! And keep writing!

Papabear

Dear Papabear,

It's been a while since I wrote you. Thanks again for your patience with me back then. I still like to come back to your site since you always give great advice and things to think about. However in one of your last letters you said something that keeps bugging me:

http://www.askpapabear.com/letters/hes-frustrated-and-angered-by-humans
“I think that a lot of furries get it (which is why it bothers me that too many of them anesthetize their brains with obsessive game play; some gaming is fine, but too much is a trap and a waste of life, and it also plays into the hands of the corporations seeking to suck people dry of their money).”

While I'm pretty sure you didn't mean it like that, to me it sounds like you were trying to say: „I think video games serve no purpose and keep mankind from evolving.“ That's why I wanted to give my opinion on that topic.

Are video games a waste of time? Yes, they are. Just like watching football games, going to cons, playing board games, drawing/writing without charging any money or reading books without any productive content. While all of these things sure are fun and might bring people together (just like video games), they don't serve any actual purpose except to kill time and to escape reality. We humans simply have too much time to spend after all.

Video games CAN cause addiction, that is true, just like many other things. But the definition of video game addiction is still pretty vague. For example there are people who play four hours a day and are not classified as addicts. Most of those people have some other problems which they try to escape, but the games are not the source of these problems. If there were no video games in this world these people would find another way to anesthetize themselves.

Yes I know, there are always exceptions, but saying video games keep us from evolving is like saying shooter games are the cause of homicides (which has been disproved many times already, but people still tend to think so).

Are video games sucking people dry on their money? Unfortunately that has become very true over the last few years, many game companies have stopped caring about the quality and only care about the profit, especially companies like EA. That's why most of my video games are indie titles, games by people who actually work together with their communities and care about their work.

What do I personally think video games are? I think they are an art form. Many game publishers, especially the independent ones, have proven that games can be as a matter of fact very fine art. Just take a look at „The Vanishing of Ethan Carter“, a game of such visual beauty that most triple-A publisher couldn't even hope to achieve. Or „Cry of Fear“, a game created by a 12 years old game engine, yet much more atmospheric than any horror movie I've ever watched. Yet media still likes to shame video games for being evil, simply because they keep people from consuming 'normal' media. (For example, I haven't been watching TV for years now.) The law still refuses to acknowledge video games as an art form, which is why many movies, comics etc. get away with thinks that get heavily censored in video games. For example, I live in Germany, and while there are tons of sh**ty movies showing the Hakenkreuz, in every video game it get's censored.

In that letter of yours you said there will be some point in history where mankind needs to adopt to their natural roots. I totally agree with you on that, but that doesn't mean we will give up on most of our technical achievements. There are many new yet strange things that are still trying to fit into our society, and video games are sure to keep us company for a long time, AND to evolve with us, because they are our creations.

Some time ago I read an article about the military using video game simulations for actual war simulation. That actually made me hope that some day governments will start to realize their wars over political and ethical disagreements only cause the death to millions of innocent lives, and instead will solve their fights via CounterStrike or Battlefield. I know that sounds dumb at first, but imagine this:

Nation a) and Nation b) both want the control over a new discovered gold mine that lies exactly on their frontier.
Nation a): “That mine is ours! Prepare for war!”
Nation b): “Whoa whoa, wait! We are no barbarians, who are we to send our people to kill each other over our greed?”
Nation a): “You're right. Then we challenge you to a game of CounterStrike!”

And then their best players face each other on a neutral VAC-protected server.

Admin: “That's it, Team b) wins!”
Nation a): “Aaargh, they were totally cheating!”
Admin: “No, they were not! We checked.”
Nation a): “Okay, let's face it like gentlemen, you people won. Take the mine.”

Sounds funny? Yes, but I honestly hope that some day in the future we will achieve something like that. Video games are not our enemy, they are what we want them to be.

I know what you said in that letter was out of context, that's why I hope to hear your view on that subject.

Kind regards and best wishes! Oh, and to your husband too.
(Sorry for my grammar, I hope my letter is still readable)

Hyperion

* * *

Dear Hyperion,

Thank you for your letter, and I apologize if I wrote something that wasn’t clear. My position on video game play was, and is, and always has been, that playing games for recreation is fine, as long as it doesn’t dominate your life to the point of obsession. Play, as any psychologist will tell you, is healthy. It stimulates the mind and gives us a chance to relax from the daily stress of life, whether that is video gaming, watching a football game, or going to the theater. When does it become an addiction? You say there is no formal definition of that for video games, but actually there is: gaming becomes a problem when it interferes with your life and normal function in the world. I’ll give you an example. I attended Califur recently and met a friend of a friend there who said he refuses to play video games. When I asked him why, he explained that when he played his first game (I think it was Sonic), he sat down and played for 54 hours straight. When he finally set down the controller, he discovered that his job had called and fired him for not showing up. He felt he was too much of an addictive personality, therefore, to handle owning games. That is the perfect example of a problem. I have also known furries who obsess so much about games that they have a huge library of them and, meanwhile, neglect to pay bills or even eat. This is what I’m trying to warn people about.

Another clear sign of addiction is if there are withdrawal symptoms should the addicting behavior be taken away. There was a recent study, for example, in which college students were asked to not use their cell phones for a week. Some were okay with that, while others reported experiencing definite symptoms of withdrawal, such as anxiety, nervousness, and, of course, a strong desire to get the cell phone back. I myself must admit that I'm a bit addicted to checking my messages and chatting on my phone or on my computer.

In the letter to which you refer, I meant that playing video games for a big chunk of your life will mean you won’t have time to develop more important parts of your being, including the intellect and the spirit. When it comes to spiritual evolution, the question is this: at the end of your life, when you look back, will you consider your one chance to really live to have been well-spent if for most of the time you did nothing but play games, video or otherwise? Do you really believe we are put on Earth to press buttons and jerk joysticks frantically back and forth? Do we get a true sense of accomplishment from winning points on a screen or getting to the highest levels of an RPG?

To comment on other things you wrote: yes, the military does, indeed, use video games—primarily, my understanding is, they have one that is used for recruiting and aptitude testing. About video games and art: it might interest you that there have been exhibits at art museums celebrating video games as art, such as this http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/games/ and here http://www.movingimage.us/, so, actually, video gaming is considered by many to be an art form, and I don’t disagree with that.

As for the scenario about nations in the future battling it out on a screen: sounds nice, but I doubt that would ever happen. I’m reminded of the episode “A Taste of Armageddon” on the original Star Trek series in which two planets fought a war using computers. Whenever the simulation said that a populated area got hit, some people were declared dead and voluntarily killed themselves in disintegration machines. The idea was to have a war without destroying the culture, architecture, art, etc., of their civilizations, but people still died. Kirk quickly put an end to that (violating the Prime Directive, as he often did, the scamp), noting that war has to be ugly or else people get too used to it and it becomes an eternal state of conflict. Now, say we had something like what you suggest where the nations have a game brawl—the difference between this and the Star Trek episode is that people don’t die, which sounds better. So, the two countries have it out and one wins and the other loses. Guess what happens next? The country that loses says, “Okay, you win,” shakes hands, goes home, and launches a nuclear strike on the unsuspecting other country.

Human nature is too aggressive to agree to fight without actually hurting someone (especially when the ones making the decisions don’t have to go to the war themselves). Furthermore, war isn’t just about power; it has now become about money. America’s policy in recent decades to bomb countries in the Middle East and Asia is designed to make companies like Exxon and Halliburton rich, and any pretense that we are somehow “defending freedom” is utter baloney; playing a video game to solve a political conflict isn’t going to make any company rich and, therefore, won’t work. Much as we try to deny it, we are animals and, indeed, in many ways worse than animals. Perhaps, one day, we will be able to solve differences without bombs and guns, but if we do it would be more likely an exercise in diplomacy, rather than gaming. I, for one, believe that it would probably take a worldwide threat to make us all come together out of necessity, such as one sees in the movies Independence Day and the brilliant Watchmen. Even better would be if we did evolve into a much more spiritual state and gave up all the things that lead to war, including nationalism, religion, materialism, and general hubris.

Looking back over your letter, I didn’t really see a question, per se, so much as an objection to my original statement. I suppose the question was, “What is your full opinion about video gaming,” so there you have it. An interesting topic, and I bet we’ll hear more about it in the future.

Hugs,

Papabear