BIT LIT

A DILEMMA
An Editorial by Justin Johnson

I had a Radio-themed idea ready for this month's Bit Lit, but I have a more pressing concern.

I've been playing the game Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia on the Nintendo DS for a few months now. It follows a pretty standard Pokemon theme (catch Pokemon, list Pokemon in database, use Pokemon in battle, get new Pokemon) to follow an admittedly interesting story while utilizing the DS's touch screen interface to add more action into the otherwise stale turn-based RPG series. It's a very well-made game, and is very deep to be seemingly aimed at kids. The dialogue is full of information and is downright funny in sections (a rarity in video games), and all in all it's a satisfying play.

That said, I've been kind of going through a bit of a dilemma with Shadows Of Almia. In the game, you enter a battle scenario with a Pokemon by pretty much bumping into it. (By the way, if you don't know what a Pokemon is, then where the fuck have you been?) When you start a battle, you draw circles around the Pokemon in order to "befriend" it (silly how they word it, I'll admit), while avoiding its attacks and powers. The circle can be broken or powered up as you draw, and once you completely "befriend" the Pokemon (or my preferred term, "dizzy into submission"), they join you as you explore.

Here's my dilemma.

In the Pokemon series (and any RPG for that matter), you can choose to not fight a battle at that moment, as long as it's not a necessary battle. That's what many people find most attractive about the series and other role-playing games in general: the fact that you can play at your own pace. If you encounter an enemy that is too strong, you can leave the battle, go away and level up elsewhere, then come back and kick his ass. The option to leave the battle in Shadows of Almia is represented by a button on the battle screen. It's in the lower left-hand corner of the image to the left. Tapping this button with the DS stylus will bring up this question:

Is it OK to flee?

The first time I saw it, it didn't really register. I was young in the game, and couldn't possibly hang with the Pokemon I had encountered. I just left, got the hell away, and came back stronger. It wasn't until I was playing through the game, breezing past weak enemies as I grew stronger and stronger, that I began to take notice. Before, when I needed to leave a battle due to strength limitations, of course it was OK. There's no need to die for no reason, is there? But as I began to take on small opponents just for the sake of gaining experience points, it began to hit me. Was it really OK to flee?

First of all, the use of the word flee troubles me. In other games, it's run or leave or even escape, and that's fine. But to flee? Fleeing is seen as something weak people do. Fleeing is what rabbits do. Fleeing is not what we as humans are programmed to do. Yes, fight or flight does take over at some point, but even flight is better than flee. So it's definitely a kick to the stomach when you can overpower your enemy easily, but because you'd rather move on, you're being told you're about to flee.

It really is a strange dilemma. Let's look at it in real world terms. Say you're out walking in a park. There's no one really around except a 7 year old boy. You walk by the boy, and out of nowhere he punches you in the stomach and begins hitting you more and more. Now, he is seven years old, so the punches don't hurt much at all, and you're spending your time really just fending off any blows that may glance against any personally special body parts. All in all, you're just blocking until he tires himself out. Now, you could:

A. Just let him wear himself down, or
B. Get away from the tiny sociopath.

If you pick A, you don't really get any reward. Maybe a muscle somewhere stretches a bit. That's it. If you pick B, however, just before you go to walk away, someone appears and says, "Hey wuss, you sure you wanna flee this attack?"

How the hell would that make you feel?

Precisely the basis of my dilemma. I know I shouldn't be picking on these weaker creatures just for a slight benefit, but dammit, if I leave the battle, I feel like a weaker creature. As if I'm doing myself an injustice for not enslaving this random-ass animal-thing to follow me around. I've tried to just brush it off, but every single time I'm left wondering: Is it really OK?

I'd like to pull us back into the real world for a moment. You're a Spartan. You're one of the 300. Is it OK to flee? You're Will Smith, and you've just discovered you're not alone. Is it OK to flee? You're a mom. It's the day after Thanksgiving and you're outside of Best Buy at 4:30 AM. Is it OK to flee? The answer to all of these questions is simply:

NO.

It is not OK to flee. If we fled every time something we didn't want to do came up, we'd go nowhere, we'd be nobodies, and we'd do nothing. It is not OK to flee. No, Pokemon Ranger: Shadows Of Almia, it is not, fucking OK, to flee. Thank you very much for making me feel like a chickenshit. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go beat up a seven year-old.