Game Theory

Several nights went by after I wrote the Linda chapter. I made mention to those that I raced against on Xbox that I had written two extremely long chapters. "Why'd you write it?" some would ask. I'd respond, "I'm not sure, but I think I might write more." As with the other nights, when everyone else was asleep, I went on a journey.

I'm amazed in my writing development that my third chapter was Game Theory. In just reading my words from the Linda and Emily, I can't believe the increase in maturity from me. Also, I went from telling a story to telling the reader as to the "why" of things, and every concept I came up after Game Theory must be attributed to Game Theory.

After my diagnosis, I didn't seek out the "what are the signs of autism" after reading the website that stated there was no hope for me. I didn't know the rule that people on the spectrum crave sameness or routine, but in the game theory chapter I identify this trait about me and also note the difference between being in a game with rules, or being in an open world situation where a thousand different rulesets are in play at the same time.

I still crave the world of games to this day. I'm finding it harder and harder to pick up and learn new games as I crave what I know and not what I do not. 

While most of the time I keep the "I don't need to win" mentality, and that it's about the game itself, there have been some games that have breached that and I did have to play to win the game. The pursuit to be #1 in the world was a vicious one, and the most brutal game I went through with this was Bejeweled Blitz Live. I did ascertain that top spot in the world, but at a great cost to my mental stability. It was not healthy, but just because I wrote that I didn't need to win in this chapter wasn't a blanket statement that has held true in all aspects of life.

I reference this chapter weekly, or more, it seems, and it is a big part of my presentation. There are so many metaphors that can arise from games that I love that I came up with the description I did in this chapter, and I hope the readers of my book have a bit of a shock factor as they go from reading the stories of a teenager's ill-fated relationship to immediately going to words of understanding the mechanics of the autism spectrum.