FIFA satisfies this Bengali’s need for a football fix
CHENNAI: Arjun Banerjee has always loved playing games. But his tryst with video gaming began when, as a four-year-old, he went to a cyber cafe by his father. “I saw a a group of guys playing a particular racing game and was completely fascinated by it. That's when I asked him if I can play for some time. That is where it all began,” says the 22-year-old Masters student at Christ University, Bengaluru. “After that, I started visiting the videogame parlour every day.
And then when we got a computer at home, the first game that I played was Heretic, a dark fantasy first-person shooter game,” he adds. He was also excited to play Road Rash, one of the most iconic games of that time, which has been revived now. What is really interesting is the fact that at first, Arjun had no clue that people can play games on a computer; he had only been exposed to TV video games. However, all that changed when his father brought home a computer one fine day.
“There are many games that I have played and aced over the years, but currently I am hooked to this game, Uncharted, an action-adventure platform video game. I also love the Assassin Creed series which I play in my PlayStation console, which is PS4. I also like God of War,” he smiles. Being a Bengali, football has always been an integral part of his life, and he always looks forward to the new FIFA games that release every year.
“I do not get time to play nowadays because of college activities and studies. However, I try my best to gather some classmates and play during leisure time, but that hardly happens,” he laments. But when he visits his hometown during vacations he plays for almost 10-12 hours. “Prioritising is indeed a tough task, but it is very important in gaming. Studies come first obviously, but to relax and have a quality time with friends, I think gaming is the best option.”
According to him, for youngsters, there is constant pressure from parents and teachers to do well in studies and therefore are forced to abandon gaming altogether. “There is so much competition these days and parents keep complaining that their children are playing way too much video games, and they also say that it is bad for their eyes. But I completely disagree,” Arjun says. “Gaming does not do anything to your eyesight. It’s the brightness of the screen which affects our eyes, not the game. So I would recommend not playing games in a dark room, especially on your phone.”
He opines that gaming is anything but relaxing and soothing. We should not overdo it however. There is also a thing which works psychologically too. For example, if A had a fight with his friend B and A comes back home and play a particular game, A will consider psychologically that the villain/opponent to be B. And if A wins, there is a feeling of satisfaction. This, in a way boosts you and gives you confidence.
Arjun recommends that everyone should play games as much as they want, but make studies their first priority. “There should not be any compromise on your future at all.”