Quite often, after a performance, I have audience members come up to me and ask what I do for a living (hint, it's being a musician... I get paid to play music... well, at least before Coronavirus came along I did!). It is always such an amusing question... but I do understand it in some way, as most people perceive music not as a job... but a relaxing (or challenging...) hobby in their own lives. So, it is more a question born of different worldviews rather than one of rudeness or anything like that. In a similar way, I am often quite confused why people would work in a job that involved sitting around and staring at a computer or shuffling papers until the uch awaited end of the day!
So, I have to say that I LOVE performing on stage as a job... and in many ways, I'm much less jaded than some of my musician colleagues... and I still really enjoy playing music! So much so, that I'm always happy to play... regardless of if I'm being paid or not... of course, it is better if I'm being paid as that is my primary source of income, but I'm not quite as mercenary as some!
In fact, I still sometimes find myself playing with amateur ensembles... just because I enjoy playing, and because I find their love of music and excitement for playing in front an audience to be quite inspiring!
... that said, it ISN'T MY HOBBY!
... my favourite hobby is by far and away... GAMING!
I've been a gamer since I was old enough to remember anything. Before computers were easily accessible, I would love my board games... and the hard-core board game simulations and RPG books like BattleTech, CarWars and Dungeons and Dragons. They were always a place to lose myself in an completely fantastical universe... with your imagination allowed to run rampant. In many ways, I preferred to be building characters and worlds instead of actually playing the game!
So, when my father got an early Apple through his work (he was a Mathematician, so it was pretty work related) in the early days of computing, I was on board with the new-fangled "gaming". It was awesome... all that mechanical and numerical legwork was handled by the silicon, with the mind free to wander and get lost in the simulated worlds! When graphical interfaces came along... my mind was blown, and I was hooked for life!
These days, I have a few trusty gaming tools with me... with different power and requirements depending on my current life schedule. Of course, when I am at home... I love to use the gaming rig that I had built up in the attic. Decently powerful with an eye towards Bang-For-Buck... it is a little beast that still can knock down modern games (without ray-tracing!).
On the go, I have my XPS15 and Switch as my gaming companions.... portable, with a great library of games, the Switch has really hit that super sweet spot for travelling gamers. Meanwhile, the XPS15 is a nice blend of productivity and power in a beautiful package! I am looking at finding a new gaming laptop as my wife needs a new laptop and she will get my hand-me-down, which is more than good enough for her! Stay tuned!
My tastes in gaming has always been for the hardcore mechanics... Grand Strategy, Simulations and RPGS are my core preferences... the more unforgiving the game, the more satisfying the long struggle to eke out a small victory! But these games take so much time and energy to really get your teeth into... and when you are a parent, both those resources are in pretty short supply. Still, when I'm on tour... I do manage to have a bit of extra time.
There was a time when I liked FPS and multiplayer competitive gaming... but those days are long past, I got too old and slow. Plus, I started to tire of the feeling of running around like I was in a hamster wheel with no real progress. I started to crave development again, a story arc and a narrative universe again.
So, as a father... I'm quite conscious of the types of games that I give my kids. I like to think that I'm a bit of a connoisseur of gaming and I am often quite appalled by the quality of games that non-gamer parents give their kids! Often these games are no better than Skinner boxes of terrible gaming quality... and parents don't seem to be able to tell the difference. Why give your kid sugar-high junk food when there is real quality food that is both healthy and tasty?!?!?!?!
So, I carefully vet every game that I give to my kids.. I play them for a bit... and they have to be lovingly crafted, with great narrative... and a real challenge for their brains... none of that flashing lights and noises to kill time with. I want them to grow up appreciating the gaming genre as real conessuirs of fine gaming and not mindless consumers of the equivalent of fast food!
After all, gaming is not just a pastime... it is a way to engage your mind, getting yourself lost in a simulated universe, engaging your brain with mechanics and balances, whilst following a well-crafted story whether it is emergent or
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