Home » Technology » Online Text Games » Computers, the Internet, and a Pathologically Eclectic Escapist

Computers, the Internet, and a Pathologically Eclectic Escapist

© Dina Ely

Three words describe me: "Pathologically eclectic escapist." The first two words are a quotation from my friend Michael Levine (creator of the "Gimme a Break" Kit-Kat and "Wacky Wild Kool-Aid Style" jingles, composer responsible for the orchestration of the Any Given Sunday soundtrack, long-time musician & all-around great guy), who has in the past used the phrase to describe himself-and during my "rough" college years, to describe me.

"Pathologically eclectic" sums me up pretty well. I'm full to the brim of wanderlust, both physically (I travel to Europe every 4-5 months) and mentally (my interests, passions, and needs are constantly redefined and shifted). I'm never the same person twice. And no, I am not mentally ill (and yes, I am in therapy, though not for pathological eclecticism!). I am simply fascinated with people, places, concepts, things...simply fascinated with things I'm not, and sometimes, with things I am.

That's where the escapism comes in. And you can call it many things, but at the end of the day, the need to explore outside the boundaries of my everyday real life is just what it is-escapism. I am not content to accept that faeries don't live in the trees outside my window. I'm not happy with the idea that dragons don't exist. I want to live fantasy. I want to eat, breathe and sleep adventure. And if it won't happen around me, I'll make it happen.

Roleplaying games have been a lifelong passion for me. I grew up first with Atari, then Nintendo, then Genesis...I experimented with the Philips Interactive CD-I. I had Apple computers, and MACs, and PCs (I've recently acquired the fifth PC in my "More PCs Than A Human Being Will Ever Need" collection). I find that with roleplaying games, I have creative ideas. I lose myself-temporarily-in the roles I play. It's a great way to relax & unwind at the end of a tough day. I get inspired to write, to draw, to sing & make music. It awakens my Muse.

It was only a matter of time before I stumbled upon text games. I started in the early days of RhyDin on AOL. Basically, we roleplayed. We rolled the dice. And some of us rolled around in the virtual hay. It was at the point when the gaming got all about being a virtual singles bar, and not about playing a character, that I bailed.

And then I came upon MUDs. Wow, was that ever an epiphany. It was like stepping into a fantasy novel, writing my character's history, defining her (or his, I play both ways, bay-bee) present, and shaping her future with every keystroke. I immediately fell in love with the format. I could interact with other players, and with artificial intelligence (sometimes, more intelligent than the other players). It swiftly became my favourite pasttime.