I tried… but I still hate First Person Shooters

Day 7: My Black Thumb 

I am obsessed with the game PvZ on the iPad and play it daily.  When Pop Cap offered this game on the PS4 I could not have been more elated, until I realized it was an FPS. It is hard to be deterred when you feel such a connection with the art, ideas, or developer behind a game.  Even though I am terrible at shooters I thought I could overcome it to play PvZ on a new platform.  I was wrong but it isn’t because I didn’t try. 

When the music and bubble gum animation appeared on my television screen I felt a surge of joy.  Then I started my game and as the first wave appeared I was instantly stressed.  Yes, I know there is a targeting function that even turns red when you lock on to a target but I can’t even find the cross hairs.  They don’t stand out to me because shooter games are just not in my wheelhouse.  I tried a few easy levels with different plants but just could not find the same fix from playing this game in a format I don’t like.

Trying to play PvZ on the PS4 is much like the contradiction I currently face in my relationship.  I crave the familiar but even though the game has the same name, style, characters, and this music is filled with a familiar happiness: it is not the same game.  And one thing I know about myself is that I don’t want to play a first-person shooter but I picked up the controller anyway.  I only played a few levels before I changed games because watching a garden die over and over is never fun no matter how joyful the artwork.  

Playing: Plants vs. Zombies

System: PS4 & iPad

Developer: Pop Cap

Mental Note: Don't Shoot Your Husband 

Even if you plug in an old school Nintendo and blow out your old cartridges playing Super Mario Brothers or Duck Hunt will never bring the same joy it did when you were 10 years old.  Once you loose that innocence of experiencing joy without realizing you were living some of the best moments of your life they are just gone.  Just because you know they were amazing doesn’t mean that you can go back and re-live them.  You have to start over and find new joy.  This year I let go of the little house on East California and the marriage I thought I had. On a brighter note, it is probably good that I don’t like to shoot things when I am upset.

For me, 2015 is about finding new joy and not trying to force myself to like FPS’s.

*While playing PvZ on my iPad my kids decided we need some photos of me making zombie faces. Hope you enjoy some plants and zombie faces.