My boy and I just finished Super Mario Galaxy 2. The final boss battle against Bowser was relatively short, but epic nonetheless. Strangely, as I helped Mario leap from planet to planet, launching them at Bowser, I could hear the voice of the introduction to The Mighty Boosh.
“Come with us now on a journey through time and space…”
As with many games that I have played over the years, the joy of beating the game was soon followed by the sadness that it was over.
I remember having a similar feeling with Kingdom Hearts years ago. Fortunately, when I reached the final stage of the game, I was given a warning that this was the “point of no return.” It was almost as though they knew people would want to put off the ending to explore the other worlds. I did just that, and made sure everything was buttoned up before finishing the game.
I often feel sadness after completing a game, knowing that I can’t unlearn what I have learned and experience it over again. I frequently put off finishing a game because I don’t feel quite ready for the experience to end.
I asked the Modcast about this recently. Their response can be found here.
Today’s image was a collaborative project with my son; it was his first attempt at using the Wacom tablet. At the time that this was made, he was really into Pac-Man. I love the fact that, in a day where most kids are inundated with Modern Warfare, GTA, and all of the other violent games that are made for adults, my child is able to experience the subtle enjoyment of Pac-Man.
Now that we have finished SMG2, we’re going to go retro – at least retro for him – and play Pac-Man World 2 for the Game Cube.
Shame, he should be playing Kinectimals