Getting the Game On: The Battles of the Artists and the Executives

I have a confession to make: I have recently become a computer gaming addict.

Oh, the warning signs were there before, I'll grant you that. In the 80's, I spent far too many lunch hours at the big machine in our lunch shack, playing Space Invaders.

But, I recovered and became, once again, a fairly normal, productive member of society. Until an online friend told me about Pogo.

I soon had a membership, and found myself in the online casino, playing blackjack. But, as everyone knows, you start with something little, and move on to the big thrill.

Before long, I was visiting Big Fish Games daily, mainlining "hidden object" adventure games. They distracted me from days and nights of pains, soothed me during bouts of  pain-induced insomnia. Why, they're actually--a health experience!

Let's face it: I've found my drug of choice, and truthfully, it's not a bad one. If you haven't ventured into the world of gaming lately, it has become art.

My all-time favorite, Mystery in London, offers breath-taking graphics, 360-degree viewing, and art so crisp, so precise, so beautiful, that it can seem more real than a travelogue. Wandering through a cathedral experience, I found myself marvelling at how true-to-life it all was: it almost felt like a return to some chapels in London.

Oh, I've been elsewhere. I've dived the Titanic, am now chasing a heinous crook across Europe (I'm assisting Interpol), am touring San Francisco, and am following a generations-old mystery in Rome.

Games. Everything from the crude, street-corner, poorly-designed roll-or-bake-your-own efforts to clever, sophisticated and beautifully-done fine art.

There. I've said it. Fine art. But, as always, money and art, which need each other, often collide, as this article points out.

Enjoy. If you need me, I'm about to crack two million points in Big City Adventure: San Francisco. And then there's Rome.