In the Fall of 1996, I was beginning seventh grade. To this point my established identity felt pretty clear. I knew I was an athlete. I had no doubts in my head at this point that if I worked hard enough I could accomplish some things that I had been dreaming about in the near future. I loved football and basketball and would watch every single game I could of every level. I would shoot and dunk on my 9'6" rim, anxiously awaiting for my calves to become stronger than my love of pizza.
But, there was always another strong, STRONG pull. Interests that would be decidedly less popular to the mainstream than that of the athlete. The niche world of fantasy, art, and the beauty of being able to escape reality through imagination.
I loved the fantasy world of books, movies, television and other forms of storytelling I could get my hands on. After watching Jurassic Park in theaters, I was reading the book. I read R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series during math class. I had been reading at an advanced level for most of my youth devouring young adult fiction as well as the titillating horror of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Comic books and the X-Men animated show on Fox were all consuming for me.
The worlds imagined and put onto the screens felt real to my child heart and imagination. I could feel my soul escape to those worlds, and it would bring me such an enveloping sense of joy.
It is in the dynamic and split headspace that I find myself in the cafeteria and passing a group of male peers playing a card game that catches my attention.
While the players held their cards as though they were playing poker, it was clear that these playing cards were vastly different. The back of all the cards appear to be the same with a brown background, a logo in light blue that reads Magic: The Gathering, and five gems in the center positioned in pentagram. The front of cards varied, some with large symbols and looking identical to each other, while others featured numbers and seemingly whole paragraphs printed for instructions.
While I had no cards, I couldn't hide my intrigue and took an open seat at the large circular table. As it so happened, one of the kids, Joe, had invited me over to his place a few weeks earlier and showcased the PC strategy game World of Warcraft to me for the first time. Joe was my lone "in" to this new world that seemed kind of like a Dungeons and Dragons concept but perhaps more simplified and visual.
I didn't know anyone that well besides Joe outside of a class here or
there. It was made up of maybe 4 other guys who, between them, had played 2 full games of flag football, but might have already won 6 scholarships for robotics.
I watched as they took turns, occasionally moving the cards on and off, turning them on some occasions, turning them back on others. The system beyond my grasp in the moment, distracted by the amount of things going on in both the art of the cards and the complexity of a card game. I felt slightly anxious as I felt their eyes creep over to inspect me as if to understand why someone who looked like me and had a reputation closer to that of a jock or a jester, had any interest in their table.
I felt out of place.
And that was pretty much going to be the end of my infatuation with Magic The Gathering.
Until the game recently debuted across the smartphone over the past 2 years.
Now, in the comfort of my car, in the waiting room for a doctor, or any other part of my life where I don't need to be particularly engaged, I can escape into a world that I couldn't fit into years ago.
The game is fun and interesting, with variances for play styles and deck building, but ultimately still a card game that will depend on logic and luck of the draw.
By moving to the digital space, Magic has opened itself up to a vast new world of would-be nerds and geeks that don't outwardly project the typical image that existed in mid 90's.
Magic it seems, is finally for everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment