Remeber the little moments (and the big ones too!) - cinders's Blog

cinders's Blog

Remeber the little moments (and the big ones too!)

Posted on June 29, 2009 at 06:46 PM.

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It was the top of the 8th inning when Halladay stepped to the mound to face what the Phillies had to offer him. The game was tied at zero and to this point, he didn't have much hope in his team. The Blue Jays had mustered only five hits to that point and had stranded a pair of runers in the previous inning. He knew that if the Blue Jays had any hope of winning the game, it would be up to him (and me, I suppose).

The first batter we faced struck out swinging. Perfect. Then it happened. The commentator said what I had been thinking, what I realized in the 7th but was trying to keep out of my head: I was five outs away from a no-hitter.

I'm generally not an excitable person but something about that comment from the scripted AI threw me over the edge, �you jinxed it,� I yelled. �Thanks a lot!�

Keep in mind this game as already being played at 12:30am. Not your typical game time. Perhaps I was just tired or perhaps I was just more excited than I thought but the next 1.2 innings was one of the most memorable experiences I've had in all my time with sports games.

I proceeded to dismantle the Phillies lineup. No one was close and the 8th inning ended with my hopes of a no-hitter intact.

As I staggered to the plate in the bottom of the 8th I had absolutely no confidence in my hitters. Roland was up first, and I managed a base on balls. Good start but it wasn't what I needed. Then a line drive from Overbay secured a runner on first and second. I was getting hopeful. Then I stepped to the plate with Jose Bautista.

What happened next was something I struggle with in video games. In many instances it can provide added tension and yes, it works in some genres but at that moment, in that situation, I decided that once this game ended, regardless of the outcome, I would turn it off for good. Controller vibration.

The excitement of the prospects of a no-hitter were throwing my very real heart into my throat with every beat of Bautista's fictional one. I watched to strikes and a ball go right by without so much as a second glance and then locked onto the fourth pitch. I swung and made contact. Fly ball to shallow right and Bautista was out.

My next batter was rookie Travis Snider, who was fared somewhat better in my franchise then he did this spring (hand in there Snider, you'll be back!). Needless to say the controller was beating with so much force, it made the tension almost unbearable.

I get it. I really do. I understand why they put it in there. It creates tension, drama and puts you in the shoes of the player. But have we really come to a point where we as a gaming community have become so used to the pressures of these situations that we need tension artificially injected? Have we become so desensitized that pitching a no-hitter and slapping a game winning home run just isn't enough. Maybe we've won one too many Stanley Cups, maybe the Super Bowl just doesn't have the same allure it once did, but come on! I'm dying here! Let me hit the ball in peace! I don't need the controller vibrating out of my hands to understand this is a critical juncture in the game. The tension of hitting with two men on in the bottom of the 8th in a tie game is enough, thank you.

He did it, by the way. Snider got the hit. A line drive to deep right and Roland came around to score. The inning ended with me up 1-0.

Then it started again. As if it wasn't enough to try to rattle me out of my hit, the control shook violently in anticipation of Halladay's last three strike outs. Then commentary started up again. �Just two outs to go,� it said. As if I didn't already know!

I did it though. A no-hitter. The last pitch was a well hit ball to deep left field but I caught up with it to secure the feat.

When I caught that ball I jumped up out of my chair, tossed my controller away (thanks for nothing!) and celebrated almost as wildly as the players on screen. Just a game. Just a video game, but a moment in my gaming life that I'll never forget.

I savoured the moment for a while, looking at all my batting stats and their sheer awfulness. Then, as calmly as could be, I made my way to the options menu and turned off the vibrations.

I know. I know I could have turned them off in-game. Thank the MLB gods that you can change everything in-game now! But I just wasn't thinking strait. All I could think about was getting that hit and finishing that game.

I expect my next moment of joy may come when or if we secure a playoff spot and I know I will be jumping around in happiness then too. But for all you out there who shrug these moments off, for all you who need the added tension of shaking controllers, I don't understand you. To each his own, but the next time you're faced with a significant feat in your sports game, whatever it might be. Pause the game. Take a deep breath. And savour the moment. This is what sports gaming is all about.