The Search For Perfection

I have an unnatural fascination with Wii Bowling. It is the continual need to try to get a perfect score. Maybe it is more than a fascination and is an obsession, but one day I will crack the 300.

It is more than just playing a game now. It is a constant revision of style, tone and pace in order to try to nail the perfect bowl every single time. It even comes down to a feeling of paranoia at times that the game won't let anyone bowl a perfect score. But, I am sure, it is more that the controllers and their sensitivity merely reflect the imperfection of my action.

I tend to spin the ball from right to left. I haven't managed to master the left to right spin, which is a flaw in my delivery, but something which can be developed and eventually implemented.

Playing bowls reminds me of the good old days of gaming when the top score was everything. All you wanted to do was to get in the top ten highest scores list. You wanted to master the game and imprint your initials on the arcade machine so that everyone else could see. However, Wii Bowling is sadly lacking a top score list. It would have been a nice touch to be able to compare your score to everyone else's. See how you fared on that machine. These things don't appear much in gaming. The use of a score as a point of comparison has slowly been phased out of gaming. We are presented with winners and losers. You either win the multiplayer or you lose it. You can't rate yourself based on a score. There is no possibility for considering what may or may not have been your personal best. It is a shame that gaming has lost this ability to be able to define itself in more ways than just winning and losing.

The picture that I have posted here shows the longest run of strikes that I have had. 9 in a row is the best I can manage. But one day I will manage to master the lanes and bowl a perfect 300.