Cordelia P.
 
David

So, what do you make of this? A grown adult scheduling time with you talk about videogames?

Cordelia

I think that's actually pretty cool.

David

[Laughs.] Why?

Cordelia

I feel special.

David

I'm glad I can do that for you. Well, I will tell a little bit about myself. I am 32, which I don't know how old that seems to you --

Cordelia

Very old.

David

I know. I was expecting that. But I grew up around videogames like you are.

Cordelia

Yeah.

David

To start off, what do think people should know about you?

Cordelia

Well, my name is Cordelia. I am 13 years old. I love videogames. Videogames are almost everything? Well, no. I also love food. Food is also something that I love.

David

[Laughs.]

Cordelia

Besides videogames, though, things that I do to keep myself busy are I just kinda walk around and read comics and make lots of art. I love making art and all sorts of other fun, cool stuff.

David

Just so I have the hierarchy right, it's videogames at the top, then food.

Cordelia

Then food, yeah.

David

Then walking around, and after there is comics?

Cordelia

No. It's more like: videogames, food, comics, art, then walking around. The outside is scary.

David

[Laughs.] What year are you in school?

Cordelia

I am going to be in eighth grade. Very scary. High school. [Shudders.] Not gonna be fun!

David

Oh no! What's scary to you about high school?

Cordelia

The people are gonna be so tall. I'm short. They're gonna be like giants.

David

Well, but you know. Girls mature faster. I'm sure you've heard that.

Cordelia

Yeah. True. But I am short. I am going to be short forever and it's going to -- but that's okay because all those tall people are going to be bonking their heads into the branches, so.

David

All joking aside, are you worried about high school?

Cordelia

Not too much, actually.

Because, well, I think that I can get in just fine but it's just really gonna be hard, you know? Because high school. That's difficult. Gonna have to get a job and that's not gonna be fun: I can't play as many videogames as I used to.

David

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask this, but do you have a feeling of what you want to be when you grow up?

Cordelia

Yeah. I kinda want to be maybe a math teacher. I love math.

Or a baker 'cause who does not want to be around donuts all day?

David

[Laughs.] I'm a writer for a living and was talking to a friend of mine who makes games about how we both wished we had worked in a bakery instead.

Cordelia

Cake. Pies.

David

Who has ever had a problem with their baker or with their bakery?

Cordelia

No one. That's who.

David

You mentioned comics. You play games. Is there anything else you spend your time on when not in school?

Cordelia

Sleeping. Annoying my sister.

David

Is she older or younger?

Cordelia

She is younger than me by four years, so she's nine.

David

Is she trying to be like you? Or what does she do to annoy you that makes you want to annoy her -- because obviously she started it.

Cordelia

It's kinda hard to tell. Honestly, we just constantly bug each other. It's just a love/hate relationship.

David

So you had mentioned you had spent this afternoon or "like four hours" playing Minecraft.

Cordelia

Oh yeah.

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David

This may sound like a silly or an obvious question, but why do you play videogames?

Cordelia

I play videogame for the fun out of it.

And honestly, I don't have too much other things to do but honestly I just love videogames. I've been raised with it. It's in my blood.

David

Well, yeah, your dad makes games.

Cordelia

Yeah.

David

Is that ever embarrassing or weird --

Cordelia

No.

David

Do you have conversations with him about games?

Cordelia

Yeah. All the time. We usually, like, talk about games or he asks what I've been doin' on videogames lately and stuff like that.

David

I'll ask you a similar question, then: What did you spend the last four hours in Minecraft doing?

Cordelia

I spent the last four hours in Minecraft trolling people -- well, not really trolling people, but me and my friends, we're big trolls. We like just rolling around and sometimes messing with people. But otherwise I was kinda just farming in Minecraft or hanging out with some friends.

David

Who are your friends you're playing with? Are these people you know from school?

Cordelia

One of them is someone I've known my entire life. Her name is Nora. She is -- yeah. Well, she's like the whole story herself. She's, like, awesome. But anyway.

I also have a couple other friends. One of them is named Kai. He's pretty cool. But I only just met him, but in the couple days I've spent -- in the, like, eight hours that I spent talking to him over Minecraft he is pretty cool.

David

When you and your friends go around trolling people in Minecraft, what do you do?

Cordelia

It's not too much. It's mostly just kind of running around and just poking them or something like that.

David

So you're just being goofy?

Cordelia

Yeah. Just crazy. Like usual.

David

You're playing with boys and girls. Do you feel like you get along with boys who play games?

Cordelia

Yeah. I get along pretty well with them.

David

Do you feel like the things you have to say, they're just as important as the things they have to say?

Cordelia

Yeah. Like, I do say something totally random and they just kind of give me a look, like, "What are you talking about?"

David

Have you ever had a boy tell you you weren't as good at games as him?

Cordelia

[Pause.] No.

No, actually. In other cases -- there's always been my sister. She's just gonna come up to me and be like, "I'm better than..." But never really boys. No. Not necessarily.

David

Are there games meant for boys and games meant for girls? Do you think there's a divide?

Cordelia

There is no divide. Everyone's a person, or at least hopefully everyone's a person.

David

Are you the only one who feels that way in your friend group?

Cordelia

I have no idea. I never really -- I'm only really friends with gamers because I can usually relate to them. I'm not really friends with people outside of the gamer group. I know a couple people who don't game too much.

David

The people who don't game too much, what do they think of your playing videogames? Do they have an opinion at all?

Cordelia

I think they could not care less.

David

[Laughs.] Do you think games teach you anything?

Cordelia

Oh yeah. Those -- gaming stories stay with me for a long, long time. Like, Pokémon.

Pokémon's one of my main games. I mean, I've been playing that for years. I would spend hours of my childhood -- when I was like, four, even just opening a Pokémon handbook and studying it for, like, hours into the night.

David

What are you learning?

Cordelia

Part of me thinks I'm kinda learning about, like, physics.

You know, water defeats fire and grass absorbs water and is strong against it. Kinda like stuff like that. Physics.

David

What got you into videogames in the first place.

Cordelia

I was just kinda raised with them, y'know? It just runs -- [Sighs.]

My mom and dad, when I was little, they would constantly be playing videogames around me and I would just kinda grab for the remote and just smash down on the buttons.

David

Do you remember what your first videogame was?

Cordelia

World of Warcraft.

David

Okay. Tell me about that.

Cordelia

When I was little, my mom and dad would play World of Warcraft a lot and I would just kinda sit there in their lap telling them to go kill something. "Kill the piggies!"

I would constantly be wanting to play my own characters so I could run around and kill all those things myself.

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David

You mention characters in games. Who are maybe your three favorite videogame characters?

Cordelia

Oh gosh.

David

Is that too few? Do you need more than three?

Cordelia

No, that should be good.

Probably, like, do -- let's see. My favorite character in Pokémon -- does it count if, like, the TV show? Or is it just the videogame.

David

I think either is fine, because it's part of that same world. Right?

Cordelia

Well, yeah.

Probably my favorite Pokémon in the Pokémon universe, though, would have to be Eevee. It's just so cute and cuddly.

David

[Laughs.] Okay. Who else?

Cordelia

Um. In World of Warcraft, my favorite is the Lady Sylvanas. It's like the lady of the undead. She's, like, the ruler of all the undead people. She's pretty cool.

David

And who else?

Cordelia

Hmm. It's kinda hard to decide.

David

Are you having trouble thinking of three? You know, when you get old, they say the memory's the first thing to go.

Cordelia

[Laughs.]

David

But honestly, I hate these sorts of questions too. I would be so bad at answering this, myself, though. How can you just pick something and have a favorite? You can like a lot of things.

Are you saying you can only get to two?

Cordelia

I can probably get to one more. Let's go with creepers from Minecraft.

David

Okay. And what do you like about these characters?

Cordelia

All of them, I could just kind of -- I just really like them all. They're all so cool and interesting to me. Either that or they're just cute and fluffy.

David

Is there anything in common with the characters and stories that tend to be in videogames? What do you notice that keeps popping up in everything I play?

Cordelia

In every single videogame that I've played -- it's the same thing with stories. There's always an obstacle in the way of your goal. Always.

Like, in Pokémon you want to be a Pokémon master, but there's these constant gym leaders and trainers getting in your way from finally trying to defeat the main guy.

Same thing in World of Warcraft. It's like you're trying to get your quests done, but there's always these monsters or some menial task that you need to do.

David

Well, wait, are you saying a lot of videogames are kinda the same?

Cordelia

Overall, most videogames aren't kinda the same, but they all have the same obstacles and goals relationship.

David

How about compared to books? Who are your favorite two or three characters in books?

Cordelia

In the Lightning Thief series, I really liked Percy Jackson.

David

Okay. How come?

Cordelia

I always thought he was kind of funny and had this always awesome attitude around him and is, like, a leader.

I also like from the comic-book series Amelia Rules!, the main character Amelia. She's kind of a stubborn, never-give-up person but also very caring, which I can also relate to.

David

Do you feel like there are characters in videogames you can relate to?

Cordelia

Yeah!

David

Like who, for example?

Cordelia

Probably all the goblins from World of Warcraft.

David

[Laughs.] Are you joking or are you serious?

Cordelia

I'm joking and kind of serious, because they're just so rude sometimes and it's hilarious.

David

Some people talk about relatability in videogames, and sometimes that's means for girls you have the option to play as a girl or a woman and if you're a boy to have the option to play as a boy or as a man or whatever. Do you like seeing that option to play as a girl in games?

Cordelia

Yeah.

David

How often will you choose to do that?

Cordelia

Most of the time. Every once in a while I'll choose a guy if I don't like how the girl -- eh, I mostly play as a girl most of the time. But I also play as a boy every once in a while.

David

What's different about playing as a boy compared to playing as a girl?

Cordelia

Not too much difference. Typically they're the exact same game no matter what you choose. Yeah. There's not too much of a difference. It doesn't really matter, actually.

David

Do you play games at school? Do they use games in the classroom?

Cordelia

Every nice once in a while.

David

[Laughs.] When's the last time that that happened?

Cordelia

The last time that that happened was I took a coding class during the school year and we were allowed to playing coding games. And that's really it.

David

Were there other games that got used in non-computery classes?

Cordelia

In math, there would be, like, math board games.

David

Yeah. Do you feel like those are a good way to learn?

Cordelia

Oh, yeah! It gives you the joy of learning it because you can have fun while you play, and learn to do that certain task.

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David

Do you feel pressure to play certain types of games?

Cordelia

Yeah. I have these two friends and they're just constantly talking about Destiny and I'm just kinda in the background going, "That has something to do with guns, right? Right?" I usually have no idea what they're talking about and I feel, like, this need to go and buy the game and buy all the upgrades and play all the story but I never do because Minecraft.

Minecraft is better.

David

[Laughs.] Do you not like games with guns? Is that what you're saying?

Cordelia

I find them really difficult to play.

David

What's difficult about them?

Cordelia

There's two joysticks and you have to look around and walk at the same time and it's difficult.

David

Yeah. But it has nothing to do with the fact that there's guns in it?

Cordelia

No. Guns are easy to shoot. You just kinda press a trigger and it shoots things. All you really need to do is aim it.

David

Who are these friends who are really into Destiny? Are they into a lot of gun games?

Cordelia

I think it's mostly just Destiny. They're also into Minecraft and Doctor Who. Nerdy things.

Doctor Who is awesome.

David

[Laughs.] Where do you get your information about videogames?

Cordelia

Online. I usually go to YouTube and I watch, like, Markiplier and Smosh Games and I watch and see what they're playing and every once in a while I'm like, "Oh yeah, that looks like a pretty good game."

And then I usually go and try and find out where to get it and I usually try it out to see if it's a good game or not.

David

What makes for a good game video on YouTube? What do you really really really like?

Cordelia

My favorite games that I like to watch are, like, funny but scary. So scary games like the Five Nights at Freddy's games. I like watching people play those because it's scary but also amusing at the same time because you're not being scared alone.

David

[Laughs.] How do these videos influence maybe the way you play? Do they have any impact at all?

Cordelia

Yeah. Every once in a while I'll get stuck in a videogame and I'll go online and I'll, like, look at a video and I'm like, "Oh, so that's what you do!" And then I'll go back and do what I saw in the video. And if it works, then I'm just gonna keep doing that.

David

Do you feel like that's cheating?

Cordelia

Little bit.

I mean, because it's not your original idea, but it depends on how stuck you are. It's kind of like a last resort.

David

That's my attitude, too. That's part of the game and part of the fun, sometimes, is just trying to figure it out and problem-solve.

Cordelia

That's the whole point about problem-solving games.

David

Are there games you play that you don't talk about with your friends that much?

Cordelia

No. I like playing games with other people most of the time, because it's lonely if you're kind of huddled in front of your videogame screen all alone. Except for Pokémon.

David

What's so different about Pokémon?

Cordelia

Because you have -- like, you know, all these little monsters that you just carry around with you and it makes you feel a little bit warm on the inside knowing you have, like, these little pocket monsters that love you and do what you command them to do.

David

[Laughs.] What do you like to play and why?

Cordelia

I like to play games where I can just freely run around and do whatever I please and play and plan out what I'm gonna do. That's something Pokémon, Minecraft, and World of Warcraft all have in common. You can just kind of run around freely but still kinda on a storyline.

David

What's the worst game you've ever played?

Cordelia

[Laughs.] The worst game I've ever played. I'd say the .EXE games, like, the really frightening, just gotta run in one straight line games. Yeah. I do not like those.

Because it cuts down on the whole you have options to do whatever you want. It's just: Run forward in one straight line.

Oh! I also don't really like Slender. It's fun watching people play Slender but it's not fun actually playing it.

David

Are you into Twitch at all? Do you like watching people stream games?

Cordelia

Not too much. I've never gotten too into that.

David

Do you have friends who are really into that?

Cordelia

My dad was really into it, but otherwise, no, not too much.

David

But that's what I had always heard, is that it is much more for people your age. Not for people as old as me or as old as your dad. Why doesn't it interest you?

Cordelia

It just feels kind of boring. If I'm gonna play -- I'd rather watch people on, like, YouTube playing. It's already been done. Actually, no. Twitch and YouTube are technically kinda the same thing a little bit with the whole videogame-filming system.

But I don't know. I don't really like going all the way to Twitch and just watching it. It doesn't interest me as much.

David

What other things about videogames or the things associated with them are you not that interested in?

Cordelia

Having to -- in all those darn mobile games where you have to wait, like, five hours to finish your, I don't know, batch of cookies in your baking sim or something like that.

David

Wait a minute. If you were going to work in a real bakery, don't you think you'd have to wait longer than five minutes for stuff?

Cordelia

True, but you're supposed to be playing for the joy of the game. It's just so aggravating when they cut down on the fun and the joy of the game by making you wait, like, a million years.

David

Do other games that aren't on mobile -- do they do things that also get in your way of trying to have fun?

Cordelia

Yeah. A little bit.

David

What do you run into?

Cordelia

I run into really hard puzzles or things that just aggravate me so much. Like, that one boss fight that you cannot defeat no matter how hard or how many times you try. Or that one darn block puzzle where no matter how many times you try and push the blocks into the right order, you can't get the right order.

David

Touching back on YouTube real quick: Are there some games you would like to watch but never actually play yourself?

Cordelia

Yeah.

David

Do you have examples?

Cordelia

Not really.

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David

What do you see as the difference between people your age and people my age or your dad's age who play games?

Cordelia

There aren't too many differences. Everyone just plays videogames mostly for the fun of it or to just kind of waste time or to avoid an awkward situation or something like that.

David

Do you ever see videos or articles that analyze games that are like, "Well, you think it's about this, but if you really think about it, it's about this."

Cordelia

Oh yeah, yeah. I actually watch a couple of those videos on, like, YouTube. It's called Game Theory. It's pretty cool.

David

What do you think about those videos?

Cordelia

I think it must take a long time to get all that information. I don't really care if it's real or fake. I'm just kinda in it for another story.

David

Do you see the appeal in games that were made before you were born?

Cordelia

Yeah. Like, in, I think it was Super Mario 64, I could see why people would enjoy that a lot. I mean, it looks like a lot of fun. It's all bright and colorful and happy.

David

Does that sound like games today?

Cordelia

Yeah. Yeah it does.

Like, one of the newest Mario games, Super Mario 3D World, I enjoyed that a lot. It was a lot of fun.

David

How do games seem to have changed from before you were born to what you're playing now?

Cordelia

Graphics. Graphics have definitely changed.

David

Anything else?

Cordelia

Story plots a little bit.

David

How so?

Cordelia

It's lately more action-packed. Like, Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty and all of those kinds of games.

David

Have you played those games?

Cordelia

I have watched my mom and dad play Left 4 Dead 2.

David

What did you think of it?

Cordelia

It scared me a lot.

David

Yeah.

Cordelia

But it was also really action-packed and really heart-racing and it's, like, "Oh no! What's gonna happen next! Is a zombie gonna come out of nowhere?"

David

What's the oldest game you've ever played?

Cordelia

Pokémon Leaf Green.

David

Does it hold up well? Is it still fun?

Cordelia

Yeah, it was still a lot of fun.

David

Are you curious about games older than that at all?

Cordelia

Yeah. I'd like to see what it used to be like, kinda like what my mom and dad grew up.

David

I mean, you could ask me about some of that. I'm a little younger than them.

Cordelia

What did they used to be like?

David

Well, there used to be arcades. They were places you would go to outside of your house --

Cordelia

I've been to an arcade before! [Laughs.]

David

What do games from back then seem like to you?

Cordelia

Puzzles. They seemed a lot more puzzly.

You could any word and "ly" to them and it immediately becomes an adjective.

They seemed very puzzly.

David

Yeah. That's actually a very good point. For me growing up, adventure games were very popular. I don't know if you ever played any of those, but the Sierra adventure games, LucasArts adventure games.

Cordelia

Not really. I don't think so.

David

Videogames, they were not nearly as popular as they are today. There was no Internet then, at least nothing like it is today. You had to hear about stuff through magazines or through friends. There were some action games, but I think a lot of people felt there was a wider variety of things that could be more easily seen at a glance.

I don't know how much variety you feel there is in videogames today. I'm sure you feel like there's a lot.

Cordelia

Oh yeah.

David

I think it's just changing.

Cordelia

It's changing.

David

What sort of variety -- like, what do you feel like there's a lot of in games today?

Cordelia

There's a lot of strategy and, like, role-playing games. Or at least it feels like there are.

David

What do you feel like there's a little of but is actively being explored in games?

Cordelia

I would say things are changing with, like, the Oculus Rift. You know, the thing that put your faces in. It feels like you're actually inside the game. I would like to try out one of those. They seem cool.

David

What sort of experiences do you hope you will get to have in virtual reality that wouldn't be possible otherwise?

Cordelia

Uh, running around Pokémon.

David

[Laughs.]

Cordelia

Being able to fight all kinds of monsters and just having all sorts of awesome adventures that you can't have in real life.

David

Do you see yourself playing games as an adult?

Cordelia

Oh, yeah!

David

Have you ever thought of wanting to make your own games?

Cordelia

I've thought about joining, like, a coding corporation or something like that.

David

What sort of games would you make if you could?

Cordelia

Probably, like, games kind of like The Sims. Like, do whatever you want to games. Just kinda plop you into a blank world and all these words appear and it's just like, "Do whatever you feel needs to be done."

Kinda like Minecraft.

David

Is there anything else about videogames you'd like to talk about?

Cordelia

No, not too much. I mean, we've technically kinda poked at every subject.

David

Every single subject.

Cordelia

Mostly.

David

I know now everything.

Cordelia

Yes. Yes. You know everything there is to know.

No gaping plot holes at all. At all!

David

So are you just gonna go back and play Minecraft now or --

Cordelia

Probably.

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