61 Frames Per Second

Cooking Papa: Look at the World like a Game

Posted by Cole Stryker

Jane McGonigal at Avant Game has introduced me to an interesting RPG called Chore Wars, wherein players reward themselves for completing mundane household tasks by placing them within a fun role playing framework (You can follow Jane's progress at Chore Wars here). If I were a parent I'd be all over this.

It got me thinking about the way that games have impacted the way I view the boring parts of my life. Perhaps the best example is the way that I look at cooking. I started cooking regularly a couple of years ago, when I got married. I found that the mechanics of preparing a good meal are similar to managing a battalion in a real time strategy game.

It can be helpful to compare different kitchen tasks to those found in an RTS. It sounds stupid, but it works, once you have the right mindset. Think of each dish as a wing of your army. Preparing spice blends and getting your utensils together could be thought of like gathering resources. Think of cleanup as manging your base. When it comes time to actually put it all in and/or on the oven, it's like an attack formation. While cooking, you have to manage temperatures, get the timing just right, and be sure to manage each dish's needs, like stirring a pot or flipping an omelete. Juggling these different tasks to create a tasty, timely dinner is just as challenging as climbing a Protoss tech tree while avoiding a Zerg rush.

Does anyone else do this or am I the only freak in the room?

+ DIGG

+ DEL.ICIO.US

+ REDDIT

Posted Jan 02 2009, 04:00 PM

Filed under: cole stryker, real time strategy, chore wars, rts, cooking, jane mcgonigal

Comments

Demaar said:

A friend of mine actually bought his son a game that comes with a pedometer. Essentially, the more time he spends walking about, the more EXP his character gets. His son is pretty average in weight, but I reckon this'll help stem future problems... assuming the game is fun.

I wish there was more stuff like this hey. I do a butt load of tedious stuff in games for God knows what reason. Probably 'cause it gives a tangible sense of progression. If real life did this I'd be set.

Hell, I'd even be happy with the bleep-bloop of achievements. *bleep bloop* You successfully pegged out the washing!

January 3, 2009 11:44 AM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.