Load-shedding and gaming in Pakistan, a pain in the neck

Rolling blackouts may have damaging effects on the economy of the country, yet it affects everyone’s personal life as well in a number of ways, one of which is gaming.

While many, myself included, will be of the opinion that the effects of load-shedding on the minority of the country’s population who play video games. Yet, every minority needs a voice and while this one may be ignored by many, it still deserves the right
to be shared.

Studies have shown that playing video games can be used as therapy, because in essence they are simply simulations of challenges which give the player a sense of accomplishment and reward, without having to move an inch from the couch in the living room.

Health side-effects aside, isn’t that what this country could do with? Sitting at home feeling good about yourself for “earning a trophy that is not real, but is” – Kevin Butler?

It is a great way to blow off some steam and get some of the day’s built up stress out of the system. Whether it be playing FIFA or Call of Duty or maybe even driving around a virtual city at break neck speed; it helps a person escape from the problems and
issues of today and be someone else entirely.

However, it seems the Water And Power Development Authority or WAPDA want to rob everyone of this right as well. Because while people have found a way to get everything else going during the blackout, the video game console remains off.

With summer soon approaching the load-shedding hours will increase in frequency meaning that having one’s game close down just before an important event will lead to higher levels of frustration among the aforementioned minority.

True, this is not a huge problem that people need to ready themselves for, yet it is a simple way to highlight some of the problems of rolling blackouts in the country. It seems that no matter what a person does or wants to do, there is no escape from the
plague of the darkness.

If you have read this far, well that could mean two things; either you are a gamer or secondly, you hate WAPDA.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=10184

Posted by Musa Afridi on Jan 23 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry