I guess if I was to go see a psychiatrist about this recent pattern, they may suggest that it has something to do with trying to regain control in my life that I feel I’m lacking. However, I’d wager it’s more because it allows me to do something very different from what is possible in the ‘real world’.

I’ve played a lot of games over the long, long years. Many of them putting me in a position either impossible for me to emulate entirely or one that is highly improbable. I’d say that a couple that have affected me the most would have to be Harvest Moon and, more recently, LifeSigns. Let’s start with Harvest Moon, though.

Trying to build all the Wonders of the World in Havana. What could be more fun?

An issue of the aforementioned control could be brought up here (or saved for a future article), but I feel the biggest attraction to the ‘farm-simulation’ games for me would have to be the lifestyle portrayed. After a stressful day in the office/University/other-generic-place, what would seem more delightful than relaxing on your own farm. Free from the stresses of the rat-race, completely self reliant and in a town with a true sense of community and happiness. Alright, so the Harvest Moon games can still be fraught with it’s own brand of stress in trying to tend crops, woo women and milk your cows all in seemingly five minutes, but the thought is still there. The picturesque landscapes, the uncomplicated country living, the myriad of potential future wives… who could ask for more?

Lifesigns is another one of those games that gave me a view at what my life could have been (more theoretically than literally). I’ve always secretly admired those in the medical profession and, had I thought about it a little more when I was younger rather than dreaming of game designing, I could have been a nurse by now. Instead, I did neither and became a Film graduate and academic instead.

Those of you who've played Theme Hospital will surely be scarred by the music and constant announcements.

Anyway, I digress. The portrayal of life in the A&E department of a hospital appealed to the dreamer side of me. It may have been one of the reasons I found the game so enjoyable, as it presented the job in a form that I had always thought of. Exciting, ever changing, challenging… albeit with a little too much drama and stabbing (thankfully, less so than ER however). In that sense, I relished the chance to deal with patients as they appeared. I got a real kick out of diagnosing them with spectacular finesse and saving lives. Whilst it may be a career that is beyond my abilities in real live, on the DS I was able to experience it.

As attractive a farm-life is, a 6am start in the morning is not.

I guess what the above paragraphs are getting at in some long winded, meandering way, is that games offer a portal into another life. Not just in the obvious, space-marine-going-against-the-flood/reapers or wielding-a-hugely-out-of-proportion-sword-and-equally-outlandish-hairstyle kind of way. Premier football manager games, anyone? Not many people get to manage any team in the Premier League, nor do they get to actually BE Wayne Rooney (or, is he not popular anymore after the World Cup debacle?). Even games like Gran Turismo and Blur, to some extent, offer us a taste of a high-octane life behind the drivers seat. But do games actually affect your future career paths?

A date with one of The Newb Review team if you know which version of Football Manager this is. Answers on a postcard, please.

For me, gaming set me on the road I’ve lead through life quite significantly. Not by influencing me to take up learning how to be a Railway Tycoon or manage my own Theme Park, but by getting me interested in the medium and by offering me such rich experiences. As a near graduated film student I’m well aware of the influence film can have on people’s lives. The glances into cultures, countries and lives that if offers (as well as the blood, guts and gore that would make most people faint in real life).

Yet games are fundamentally different because of that wonderful thing called ‘interactivity’. Offering even you, yes you, that chance to become a football manager, a racing driver and of course, even Master Chief. Every game gives a unique experience that could never be matched in real life, a chance to dip in and out of dream jobs or lifestyles. To experience danger, then switch off when it all becomes a little too scary. To love millions of partners, friends and companions without ever meeting them in person. Ok, so maybe that sounds a little too grandiose, but it’s true, you know.

So, how about you? Have you been deeply influenced by any games? Are you looking to buy up a Premiership team because of Football Manager? Maybe you’ve even taken that step towards becoming a master surgeon because of Trauma Center?

- Sabbi Stone

Now, back in the present, our nameless hero is offered the chance to rejuvenate his grandfather’s farm. No payment, no agreement, no property agents involved… nothing. You’re just given the land and home with the verbal acknowledgement that if within three years you haven’t revived the farm to its former arable glory, you leave.

This wasn’t the point that resonated with me the most, though. What I really loved was the sense of community. There you were, a near stranger to the village, yet they all backed around you. Of course, some weren’t as open as others, but all of them grew warmer to you as time went on and you interacted with them. Everyone in the village of Mineral Town wanted to get to know you and, moreover, they wanted to see you stick at renovating the farm you inherited. People noticeably grew to like you more and more with a little effort, the bachelorettes in particular were a pleasure to please. Each time the heart displayed above the dialogue space changed to a different colour and grew bigger it was a mini achievement in itself. This is all without mentioning the festivals and personal events, of which there were plenty. Wandering into a new screen only to see the beginnings of a new event was exciting and the festivals offered a sense of togetherness that few games offer these days.

The reason I now question this sense of community that I had experienced comes after playing a later installment of the series, Harvest Moon: Rune Factory.  Sure, it was billed as a ‘Fantasy Harvest Moon’ but a Harvest Moon game nonetheless. This is why I was puzzled when even after a whole spring of getting to know the villagers, I still felt disparate from them.

I knew from the outset the girls didn’t have the heart indicator to signify their closeness to my young ‘farmer’, but I assumed their affections would show eventually. Of course, as with any game where an aspect is chasing after love interests, the other villagers were lower on my ‘to impress’ list. They did, however, remain an important factor in the feeling of community. So when after a whole season of farming, working and being involved in the village they’d only said the same repeated dialogue, I admit I was a little disappointed. Of course, this can be put down to the games development, but it was beyond that for me.

As I progressed with each cave exploration, sure, their subject would change minutely but overall to the same effect. “Be careful heading into Carmite Cave!” “Toros Cave is dangerous, so be careful”. The only respite that I was offered came in the form of the festivals, yet, as I soon discovered, even then they had little to say.

Was it the fact that my character in the game was an outsider with amnesia that made the villagers more wary of my existence? In the beginning people seemed cagey, yet after the first cave this seemed to change with their expressions. So, what was it? Was it the fact that I lived on the outskirts of town? I wasn’t quite sure. It was this that got my thoughts turning back to its Playstation brethren.

The community in Rune Factory made me reconsider my memories of the friendly people of Mineral Town. Maybe that whole community had always been fragile, built on the slightest of feelings. In each game our ‘Hero’ is set up to reside in a farm on the outskirts of town. Never inside the town, even if other farms are ran there. Sure, the issue of space is an obvious one, I’ll give the game that, but the other farms seemed to profit just fine!

Another thing is, you ultimately spend more time on your farm or mining than you do in the heart of the community. Even on festival days, a bulk of your spare schedule is given aside to harvesting those crops or rushing off to mine some more of that ore.

Once again the premise of the game is the obvious culprit; it wouldn’t be much of a farm simulator without an emphasis on farming. Even so, I can’t shake the feeling that it is rather rude to run off and do other things when other farmers or shop owners et al are willing to put aside a whole day of trade to participate in the festivities.

One of the clearer points lies in when you finally gain your sought after wife. Even if she was an important part in the community, she seems to give this all up to stay by your side at the farm. I know that certainly in Back to Nature, if you marry Elli she will still work occasionally, but not half as much as they did before the relationship.

It seems that even your wife has to eventually share in the partial solitude of your life. Well, I guess that must have been one of the vows when they did the deed, eh? “To live with forever, in barely sociable conditions till death do us part.”

I guess what I am trying to strike at is that, depending on your outlook or your quibbles with existentialism, Harvest Moon can either seem to be a friendly world or a falsely welcoming one. I used to believe that the villagers of Mineral Town cared about my existence, welcoming me to their festivals with open arms. Perhaps they only ever did that because I significantly improved the economy, outsider or not. I can’t see the townsfolk in Rune Factory minding if I kicked the bucket, in fact, it would probably only change a couple of words in their dialogue. “Be careful in death! I hear it is horrible!” or possibly “Wandering the eternal abyss is dangerous, you know!”

Then again, maybe I am being just a little too cynical. Who knows? Sacred Night is coming up soon and I think I’m just about winning Bianca over finally… one more date and she may be mine!