Use the Right Tool for The Job

I can’t emphasize the importance of using the right tool for the job.  The right tool concept can apply to anything from carpentry, to coding, and even gaming.  In gaming your tool is the platform you use to run the game.  It can be a PC, hand held, or console.  If you don’t have the tools like a good graphics card, reliable internet connection, or enough RAM your gaming will suffer.  Now, with a nice healthy gaming spin let me offer my childhood story to drive home the right tool concept.

My Dad and Grandfather loved their tools. They had a vast array of wood working tools from hammers to chisels and planes. I would ask why they needed so many. They would always respond that a person needed to use the right tool for the job. As a kid I didn’t quite get it until one day.

I was building a tree fort with my brothers and a friend when the task of cutting a rotten board (you think we had good lumber?!) arose. Did we have a saw? Nope. Did we have a hammer and nails? You bet we did, we were building a tree fort! After wedging the rotten 2×6 board into the notch of a tree I got to work hammering it to size. Basically, whacking–cutting the rotten part which was a third of the way into the board. After a few thundering over head whacks the claw part of the hammer ‘scratched’ across my scalp. I asked my friend if I was bleeding after doing the clap-your-hand-on-your-head-to-check-for-blood test. Nope not bleeding from hand and friend. So, whacking –cutting continued until wiping ‘sweat’ from my eyes indicated that, yes, I was bleeding. This was also confirmed not only by the hand test aforementioned but also my brothers and friend. So, I did what any 10 year old would do. I ran screaming to the house indicating the need for medical attention.

I reached the house after the quarter mile sprint, slammed through the back door, and interrupted what I know remembered to be a lunch party for my parent’s old college friends. My Dad, who could keep his cool through anybody’s hysterics, brought me into the kitchen to clean me up. He asked what had happened and I hesitantly told him about whacking–cutting. He then provided wisdom which I will always remember and finally sunk in with a hammer blow to my head. He said, “Use the right tool for the job.”

As you can see there is much symbolism presented in the story.  Building a tree fort with friends and family is your general in-game experience.  Using a hammer instead of a saw could symbolize a dial-up connection instead of broadband.  The screaming we have all done over lag kills and disconnects.  The father figure here could be your friends or guild-mates telling it like it is.  They don’t want excuses they want you on your game.  I’m sure there are many more symbolic pieces but I’ll leave that at therapy.

Quite simply, get the tools you need and have a great game.

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