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There’s something upsetting that too many video games have in common.
No, not the $70 price tag.
No, not excessive violence and gore, that stuff rocks, actually.
And also no to microtransactions.
Those don’t rock, they just aren’t what I’m talking about right now.
No, I’m talking about balls.
More specifically, characters turning into balls.
For decades, we’ve been dealing with the spherical phenomenon.
It first reared its ugly head in the 1980s, and it shows no sign of slowing.
Do these characters have jet engines I can’t see?
Of course, theres alsoPokemon, which may be the most famous example of this phenomenon.
Whether for gigantic Gyrados or minuscule Caterpie, one size seems to fit all.
And what do they do inside the ball?
They may even become data, as the games let you store your extra monsters in a PC.
Then theres the other variation, where the character uses a ball as a tool.
What is it with this form factor?
Why do video games keep returning to the sphere over and over again?
Are developers like wizards, up pondering their orb?
Or am I the wizard who has lost myself within the orbs glassy depths?
