On my way home today I reflected on the fact that I had missed the release of SWAT 4 this week, blaming it entirely on my preoccupation with all things World of Warcraft. As I made my way down the street to our apartment, I noticed an extremely long lineup of police cruisers parked at the side of the street, complete with an EMS truck on standby. As I got closer, I saw an eight-man SWAT team standing on the grass in front of a townhouse complex across the street from our building.

My first reaction was that this was some kind of sign, a portent to remind me that I should be playing what will probably be the tactical shooter of the year. Amidst thoughts like, “that body armour looks awesome,” and “check out those helmets and headsets,” I was completely lost in the moment. I was lucky I didn’t hit any of the gawkers lining the curbs that were trying to see what was going on.

This confusion of gaming and reality disturbed me, because when the thoughts had passed I came to the stunning realization that I live here.