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Now William wasn't even a year old when Vice City came out (October 29th, 2002-- what a birthday present!), so he's seen me play this game for 2/3 of his life. During the last six months, in the lead up to the release of San Andreas, I spent a lot of time in Vice City, and William has been old enough to understand more of the game. He quickly became afraid of "cops" (something I've worked hard to correct) and whenever he sees a motorcycle parked anywhere, he always points at it and says "Daddy, you get that bike?" insinuating that I should appropriate the bike and jump over the nearest bridge. Because for a long time, William's favorite thing was to watch me get a motorcycle or a fast car, and perform some of the "unique stunt jumps" sprinkled thoughout the game. For those of you who've never seen the game before, imagine a stray piece of plywood leaning up against a building, a huge concrete utility station with an inclined side, or a pile of sand near a waterway. Imagine approaching this item at high speed and going over it, and as you watch, the camera cuts away from the usual over the shoulder location to a stationary vantage point perfectly suited to watching you and your vehicle sail through the air, in glorious slow motion. Sometimes you're perfet and land just right. Sometimes you come up short. And sometimes you hit a lamp post or clip a building, and your car spins madly as pieces fly off, the windshield shatters, and you laugh maniacally.

Ahem. Well, when William asked me to play Vice City by saying "I want you jump the water," you understand, right? I didn't do a whole lot of missions or anything more dangerous than jacking the occasional car after my last ride went into the drink or otherwise blew up. To this day, William still freaks out if someone attacks the main character in the game.

Now, with the release of San Andreas, there is a tension between William and I. Tommy, the star of Vice City, was William's first character, and therefore his favorite. CJ, the star of San Andreas, is my favorite. Not so much because of the character but because of the game that he lives in. It looks better, there's more to do, there's a bigger area to roam, and so on. When we play, William wants to play Tommy and I want to play CJ. Because where William originally couldn't make Tommy do anything at all, he's now grown quite good at getting into and out of cars, driving them around (although usually in a circle), and even taking vehicles away from their unlucky owners. William and I take turns playing, but lately I haven't been playing at all. He's playing right now as I type this out. If I'm not surfing, I might be reading a book or even just watching him play.

Now watching a three year old play a video game can be trying. He tends to drive in circles, and he can't usually drive or run in a straight line. I try to tell him how to do things that he wants to do, like find a helicopter or get a fire engine. but he tends to not follow directions too well. That comes with not knowing right from left, I know, but it can be trying. And when he gets really scared or frustrated, he thrusts the controller at me and demands "Get me away!" or "Get me big one" (a fire engine or ambulance, depending on what he's just seen).

The real question that comes to mind, though, is just how much of this is rubbing off on him. I'm an adult, and I understand that this game is tongue-in-cheek, completely over the top in a great many ways, and otherwise morally repulsive. I've already mentioned that he went through a phase of being afraid of police officers. Still, I wonder if I should worry when, while playing the game, he hands over the controller and says "Get me a gun."

Worry? Who, me?