Which would you pick: The Great Rewind, or Moving On?

So I recently finished the game Bastion, created by Supergiant Games. It's their first outing into the gaming world and it's already critically acclaimed. I could go on about how it tells its story in a truly unique fashion, or about how the gameplay works, but that's not really the purpose of this blog. This blog is meant to look at the deeper aspects of games, something I believe I've sort of been lacking in. So, without further ado, the first big question.

To get the nature of this question, there are naturally spoilers. If you aren't interested in that sort of thing, then I suggest you turn back now. If they don't bother you, here's the deal: at the end of Bastion, the game gives you two separate instances in which you must make a difficult decision. We will be focusing on the second: whether to restore the world to its original form by rewinding time, or to simply move on and continue with the life you've got.

The game poses this question in a gutwrenching fashion. On the one hand, if you reverse the damage you've done, the world will be restored. But all the friends you've made, the love you've had, and the adventures you've gone on will disappear. If you move on, you can never restore the world, but you can keep everything you've earned.

This is obviously not an easy decision to make. I was stuck, paralyzed if you would, for several moments. I didn't honestly know which route to take. But after some thought, I was reminded of something one of the Kid's friends said:

"Nothing good in my life ever happened before the Calamity. Everything that's good about it happened after."

So I decided to move on with my life.

What are your thoughts? What would you pick in this circumstance? Would a destroyed world be worth living in as long as it had everything you held dear? Would you be willing to give up everything to save possibly horrible people in a horrible world? What's worth it to you?

Why would you choose to move on, like I did? Or would you want to try and make everything better? Just remember though...even though you've rewound time, there's nothing stopping that Calamity from happening again.

The Horrors of Gaming (or MTG Sets)

So as some of you may have guessed by now (but probably haven't), I love Magic: The Gathering. I've been playing off and on since 4th grade, with my love for the game having flourished thanks to its most recent sets. With the newest block of cards coming out on September 30th, I find myself about to bounce around my room in glee. Why, you ask?

Because Innistrad, as it's called, is a set all about gothic horror.

For those of you who are unaware, this means that Innistrad will be filled with monsters from classic monster movies and books, such as zombies, werewolves and real, non-glittering vampires (please don't get me started). Gothic horror is something I've always loved; for at least seven consecutive years, my holloween costume was that of a Vampire. With the way modern "horror" flicks are, it's hard to find people interested in the way the horror genre used to run. So, Wizards of the Coast gets props from me for bringing a set to life that focuses on everything from the Wolfman to Frankenstein.

But this brought me to ask a question: why? Why do I and so many others love gothic horror so much? Why do we love to see human beings battle against the living dead and things from beyond the realm of the living. Mark Rosewater, one of the lead designers for MTG at Wizards of the Coast, agreed that perhaps the number one reason people like horror is death. Death is an inevitability, and often the end of a story. In horror however, death is usually the beginning, middle and end. Horror fascinates us because it is the opposite of what we are: it is a world filled with death. We love to see people fight against the darkness, because it gives us hope that we could do the same.

It also serves as a great reminder that no matter how crappy your life is, at least you don't have to form up torch mobs every night just so you can live to see another day. Hopefully.