(If you’ve not done so, search ‘Pac-Man’ in google desktop and play a free version of Pac-man in the search results)

When I was a kid, my family occasionally visited a pizzeria that housed the Pac-Man, Tempest, and Asteroids arcade games.

Of the three, I’ve always sucked at Pac-Man.

When playing, I didn’t understand the point. Sure, I got the mechanics easy enough, but I didn’t get the goal. The player completes a level and moves on in an endless series of mazes trying to avoid ghosts all the while trying to eat as many cookies as possible. Seems pointless to me.

However, all of this didn’t stop me from occasionally using one of my few quarters for the night on this seemingly pointless game.

I was recently asked, “why do you use games in all your posts?”.

The answer, because like a game, we are constantly compelled into choices and actions. Those actions are a result of successfully implemented rhetoric. For many, this is incredibly reactive. Others, not so much. Guess it depends on if you have some ghosts chasing you or not, but some people don’t believe in ghosts. So there’s that.

One of my core values is being intentional. I want to be confident that the choice I’m making is the one I want to make. I only have so many quarters. I’m not going to waste them by slotting into the wrong game.

Knowledge and awareness of rhetoric is much in the same light as being intentional. This is especially true for mundane rhetoric aka the rhetoric of everyday life. This blog focuses on that everyday life we all share.

There’s nothing more “everyday” than a game. We’ve all played games. We all know games take strategy and many games have a social component. Seriously, try playing Monopoly without getting a little heated.

I want others to recognize that we have control not only for what game we play, but what direction we point our own versions of Pac-man (or Mrs. Pac-man). In other words, we can decide the context in which we speak or, at the very least, control our reactions whilst in that context. You can’t always choose what level your on, but you can choose the direction you take in the maze.

At one point, this blog was meant as a conduit for me to explore rhetoric and prepare for a PHD. That has long passed as a purpose, but the themes have become a core and vital part of who I am. I make use of what makes the most sense to me. That is best used through games and personal narrative.

I hope that the pictures of games spur some thoughts about your daily interactions with others. The image of a game usually has something to do with the post itself. If anything, they are fun to make and just as fun to look at.

Like always, I hope you found something to add to your everyday rhetoric repertoire and that you enjoy the various pictures of games. You might find one resonates with you.