My most loyal Riders know that driving games don’t exactly ‘do it’ for me, but none know that a large part (the disinterested-in-the-idea part) comes from the fact that I am licensed to drive real cars on real streets, and have been so for a long time. Going for lap times on ad covered digital racetracks just doesn’t compare to the life and death game of anti-tag that is played out at 70 miles per hour on our nation’s highways.

My weapon of choice in this struggle is my 1995 turquoise Ford Mustang. An actual marvel of American engineering, my ‘ride’ (if you will) has survived the freezing winters of the plains states and the scorching summers of the west coast, it’s endured cross-country drives and five-minute donut dashes, live to tell the tale after less then deliberate detours into muddy embankments and ten inch pools of water. But time and tide(pools) have taken their toll and soon the car that has seen me through so much in my life will need to be replaced.

So what is the point? I need a new car, and even thought I have been driving for years I am the last person I would ask about cars! Beyond understanding the mechanics of the internal combustion engine, I know next to nothing about them, and anyone who comes to me for advise on buying them (even myself) I would send them on their way (or just make something up that sounds good, which is what I usually do). I don’t worry about these people, since you can’t throw a rock and not hit someone who proclaims to be an expert on this topic (I’ve also found that you can’t just throw a rock, people don’t like that).

This whole scenario popped into my mind when a co-worker of mine at my day job asked me if I’m really an expert of videogames. After I laughed soundly (and internally) he told me he was looking for a game for his kid, and I engaged him in the same kind of conversation that any car expert would have if approached with a similar question. I don’t mean to brag, but since I did this sort of a thing for a living for years and was able to narrow down his options to about 10 possible games. I gave him a list and directed him to a nearby used game store to make his purchase (where I got the start in the industry that let all of us here).

I displayed a kind of specialized knowledge, that wouldn’t be particularly unusual if it was of some mundane topic, in a professional situation. There was no stigma attached to it, no one looked at me strange for being a late 20s gamer. Why? Because I wouldn’t let them, I never acted ashamed of what I knew, and you know what? This same guy came up to me the next day, asking about a game he played years ago, the “one game he really liked.” All he remembered about it was that he played as a wizard who shot lighting and looked for gold, and that he also saw it in an arcade. (Now I’m going to give you a moment to figure out the answer…)

Of course it was Gauntlet Legends, and when I told him he could pick it up cheap for his son’s system and play it with him. I have used my awesome power to bring a father and son closer together, now all I need a lift to work.

This is my stop.

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Back of the Bus is © 2007 by Seth “4:10” Robison, used with exclusive permission by gamertransit.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.