NOVARIAN GAME FRIENDS

Novarian Games is the name given in Aristasia to what are we believe, in less enlightened lands, known as Video Games.

Aristasians are keen on up-to-date films and music. Anything from Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo to Doris Day and Kathy Kirby. But do not forget that Aristasia has a futuristic dimension too.

Those of you who are doubtful of the propriety of these games should take a look at a charming essay by the Silver Vixen on the subject, which I am sure will put your mind at rest and cause you great merriment at the same time.

So, having dealt with the moral and philosophical side of the question by the time-honoured method of letting someone else deal with it, let us get down to the fun. As the Vixen says, the games we Aristasians tend to like are of the bright, sunny, colourful variety, and for those we are best served by the Eastern company of Nintendo. Here is a form of entertainment that (with the obvious use of caution) Aristasians can embrace wholeheartedly. Here is a source of innocent charming fun.

Oddish - the cutest grass-type Pokemon? But more than that, here is a wonderful asset for a budding Aristasian world such as Aristasia Friends. Here is something we can all share. Something on which we can exchange news, anticipate coming events, tell of our adventures, experiences and achievements.

But wait! There is more! We can play together - and isn't that what friends are for? Not only can we meet together in real life to play games, just as we can meet for cinema outings and things, but very soon we shall be able to play together in Elektraspace. The new generation of games machines, which is just round the corner will include the possibility of plugging into Elektraspace and playing with each other even when we are physically miles apart. Already this is possible in Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast machine - even now one could share a world of adventure together. Within a year it should be possible on the Nintendo machines.

And even where actual playing together is not possible, we may be able to swap cutie monsters from Pokemon, for example.

Pokemon raises, perhaps one of the doubts that Aristasians are likely to feel. Is not the Pokemon phenomenon a part of Pit pop-culture; just the sort of thing real Aristasians avoid? Without going too deeply into the question, I must confess I tried a couple of recordings of the television programme (we have no receiving television) on the off-chance that being originally Japanese they might not be too Pit-poisoned. The monsters were as darling as ever, and if only the monster part of the programmes had been there they might have been watchable. Unfortunately, the music, the clothes of the human characters and many other details were really too much of the Pit to be possible. So, sadly, no Pokemon films for us.

Jigglypuff On the other hand the games seem perfectly good in this respect. If a few of the characters are intended to be a bit bongo in appearance, frankly the Gamebaby is not capable of representing it to any offensive degree*. The music is entirely charming and the whole thing is adorable. I can utterly recommend it as a wonderful fantasy-world with all sorts of strange and exciting encounters and odd, often delightful creatures.

Oh, and just in case any of you thought the games are based on the television programmes and films - they aren't. The games came first.

Of course, as in up-to-date films there is a certain em-eh-ell-ee element in Novarian Games. This is inseparable from any use of Tellurian materials, from Shakespeare to Trentish films to Quirrie songs. On the whole this is less troublesome here than most places. In Pokemon, for example, you can give the central character any name you choose (your own if you wish), and you can easily see her as a girl - the same is true of your main rival, though you probably won't want to give her your own name, as she can be quite rude to you at times. In Pokemon Crystal you will have the option of choosing a distinctly female character as is the case in many games. In other games characters like Mario and Mickey Mouse are hardly really that-word-that-rhymes-with-ale. They exist in the asexual world of Toonery. I can't imagine them troubling the purest of Aristasians.

The main machines at the moment are the Gamebaby (called, we believe by the arcane name of Gameboy outside Aristasia) - a delightful hand-held thing whose tiny screen opens onto countless worlds of magic - including those of Pokemon, Mario and Mickey Mouse and the Nintendo 64 - the big sister who projects brighter and three-dimensional worlds onto a television screen. There are, of course games for ordinators too, though I have little experience of them (except for a rather topping pinball game). They always strike me as being a bit grey and grown-up, but they can't all be, I suppose. Have any of you girls any experience with them? They have the advantage of running on machines most of us will already own.

Oops! The Princess takes a tumble in Mario Tennis The wonderful Gamebaby will be replaced in some months by the new Gamebaby Advance. This will be just as small but with a bigger screen and capable of creating even more remarkable worlds. All the old games will still run on it and it promises to be more delightful than ever.

So, we hereby announce the Novarian Game Friends Club. If you want to join, just write to me. Even if you don't join you can drop in on our meetings at the Clubhouse in Girls' Town. Do tell us your own game experiences, review games for us, ask questions, give your views. Participation is what will make the Club work. Later I hope we can swap games, have real-life meetings and join up for games in Elektraspace.

And if you have any questions about getting started in the world of games, do write to me. We are here to help you.

* It is worth bearing in mind in any case that this sort of thing probably does not mean the same thing culturally to the Japanese as it does to us - for example, loose and asymmetric clothing may be to them somewhat redolent of Samurai dress even though it is taken from the most degenerate elements in the West. Looseness, sparseness and assymetry have quite different meanings in the Eastern image-mind from those they have in ours. That isof no help to us, of course, when we see the worst forms of Western degeneracy mirrored in Eastern productions - we cannot avoid seeing them through Western eyes and being affected accordingly. But it is worth noting, when they are not forced upon us, as here, that they probably are not symptomatic of quite the same degenerate mentality as their Western equivalents and originals [Editress].