I might have mentioned this in the past, but one of the fears I had in going into the game industry is ending up hating videogames or losing the passion for it. I have met many individuals within the trade who have lost interest in videogames or don't play them and treat their position in the industry solely as their job. I know this isn't a common habit within the industry as people want to work with videogames because they love them, but knowing that it could happen is rather frightening. Throughout the past few years, I've been heavily involved with the medium and have studied the history of videogames, game designs by various studios, and playing as many different games as possible. I have to admit that there are times where it really does feel like a job going through some of the games and figuring out all the bad designs and flaws a game might have. Also working as a publisher last year made me lose faith in the direction the industry is going. So some nights when I decide to play a game for fun, I feel hesitant and scared when I look through my library of games and can't choose a game I'd feel happy playing. It scares me whenever I get to a point where I can't seem to enjoy a game.
Then once in a while, a really good game comes along unexpectedly and captivates me entirely. In these past few years, games like Terraria, Demon's Souls, and Dynasty Warriors 7 has done this for me. It sparks an interest and sucks me in. I can play blissfully without thinking about what bad designs there were or what could be improved. While I'm playing, I think more about "what do I want to do next? What can I build? What can I experiment with?" If I can play a game where I lose track of the time, not become incredibly frustrated, and feeling good while playing, I know I have found a fun game. Then the other problem arises.
When I find a game I really enjoy, I can't stop thinking about it. When I play, I want to keep playing. When this happens, all other games I own suddenly are neglected while another handful becomes a lot less appealing. For most gamers, this is alright and mostly preferred so that they don't have to look for another game to play. But with me, I like playing all sorts of games and want to extend my knowledge of games as far as possible. Just last week, I was invited to the Japanese Closed Beta Testing for Phantasy Star Online 2. I loved it, and I couldn't stop playing. One day, I played for 7.5 hours which by my standards is a lot (I generally play 1-2 hours of videogames a day). I was so engrossed by the game's environment, the gameplay, the excitement I felt from fighting a boss, the intrigue of finding out what else was available in the game, and the adventure I got to share with my friends. I ignored playing Playstation 3, League of Legends (which I play almost everyday now), and Steam games that weekend because of how heavily involved I was in PSO2. It's a great feeling to know I still love games and am reminded of that by these types of games, but it also saddens me that I have several dozen games still waiting for me to play.
I know this is going to happen again very soon. How soon? May 15th soon. I pre-ordered Diablo 3 yesterday and should be getting it the day it launches (unless something happens to it on its way to my hands). I know I'll be a happy clicker killing demons, collecting loot, leveling my characters, and fighting alongside my friends for who knows how long. With the games mentioned above, I spent 102 hours on Terraria, 90+ hours on Demon's Souls, and around 70+ hours on Dynasty Warriors 7. I can only imagine how heavily involved I'll be with Diablo 3 when I have it installed on my laptop.
Source: Youtube Channel cvg
This year is bad for my backlog. Not only with Diablo 3 coming out, but with Guild Wars 2 and games like Dragon's Dogma, Xenoblade Chronicles, and The Last Story it's going to be difficult to get around getting through my other games. It's okay though. I love being reminded why I love games so much.
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