video games

Video games surfaced during the era
(1980s?)
when it became accepted and common
for both parents to work away from the home.

As with books,
one can spend time
immersed in invented fanatsy worlds
of video games.

Unlike with books,
many of the journeys, plots, and details of video games,
on screens, however tiny or large,
can be shaped by the player.

One can choose a cartoon figure on the screen,
change the character's eye color, clothing preferences,
haircut, and other aspects of appearance to please the player.
The player decides at the start of the game:
This shall be me.

Then the player guides the cartoon figure like a video puppet,
along pixelated roads, forests, castles, and stairways,
(squares of data dots -
zeros and ones)
meeting up with treasures and dangers along the way.

Kids who have grown up spending long hours
of reduced supervision inside their homes
found entertainment and discovery,
developed complex skills through such games.
This has resulted in tremendous effects
on the minds of the players,
and on the physical world around us all.