I had a revelation today. Maybe the sleep deprivation, tall stack of assignments and excessive caffeine has finally driven me to insanity, but I think I’m on to something. I installed Office 2007 earlier today, and while it’s a rather lovely piece of software, it’s depressed with its’ existence. Why, you ask? It’s simple:

Office 2007 secretly wants to be a videogame.

It sounds crazy, but it’s true! My proof, as you will soon see, is indisputable.

Argument #1

Office, like every self-respecting videogame, decided that the Windows GUI simply would not do. File menus and tiny grey icons are nowhere to be found. In their place are big blue icons, tabbed toolbars, a complete absence of a File menu, and random bits that glow orange. What application would do such a thing?

For most, this would be proof enough. But not for you, sharp reader. Worry not, for I have more proof!

Argument #2

Most applications have quiet tooltips. Move your mouse over the “Back” button on your browser. Look at the tiny little thing, barely able to say a word or two. Videogames don’t do that, and neither does Office 2007.

Compare Office with Warcraft 3 …

Exhibit #1

… the similarity is uncanny!

Argument #3

While videogames have had kept scores since the days of Pong and Space Invaders, applications don’t feel the need to reward the player with points. Not Office 2007 though. It insists on rewarding the player every couple of moments. Exhibit #2, for example, shows a game of Word 2007 I fired up a couple of moments ago. Already, I have racked up 827 points:

Exhibit #2

Okay, so Word calls these points “words” for some reason, but it’s right there at the bottom-left of the screen all the time, mimicking games like the excellent Gridrunner++.

Exhibit #3

Argument #4

My final piece of proof will blow your mind away. I know what you’re thinking. You look at my excellent proof above and are not entirely convinced. You think it’s conceivable that an application can have a skinned GUI, gigantic tooltips, and scores without wanting to be a videogame. Perhaps. But answer me this: can an application have combo moves without secretly wanting to be a videogame?! This is my definitive piece of proof.

Observe. Exhibit #4 shows Ryu performing his signature Hadoken:

Exhibit #4

Now watch Office 2007 perform its’ signature “Increase Indent” move:

Exhibit #5

Like I said, indisputable.