The problem is that there is so much material accumulating over time. This is especially true with literature - to not only read the epics and classics, but then all the modern critical darlings on top of that. All while, more books are written, more films are made. Games however, I feel are different. Most games are a huge undertaking. They aren't like most books, which are usually 300 pages or less. Books take a week of your time if you read every day. A movie is the fastest storytelling vehicle, and a series can vary, depending on number of seasons. But a solid game can take anywhere from 10 hours to over 200. Yes some games are short, like Portal, but most are 20 hour romps. I've invested way more time playing games than I have reading or watching series.
To be able to choose games effectively and therefore enhance my life I use a list-based system. The list prioritizes all the books, films, series, podcasts and games I need to immerse my mind into. Not really a music fan, so I'm lucky I don't have another accumulating art to add to the list. By the way, because of this, I put gaming under my 'time management' skill set.
And yes there is a privilege to being able to spend leisure time engrossed in fantasies. I am fortunate no doubt. Though that does not mean the process shouldn't be optimized.
I don't go out looking for games to play due to the already substantial list, but in passing while browsing if I come across a game that looks interesting or someone compared it favorably to a game that I like, I'll begin the research phase. Also sometimes you come across little gems, where someone does an analytical breakdown of the game on YouTube or written essay, where you can tell they are passionate about it, enough that it is worthy of study. That's when I get really excited. This article is the sole reason I decided to play Chrono Trigger and it was glorious. Before buying the game, research must be done.
I find out if it has done well with critics. Usually if it scores low I probably won't pay any more attention to it unless I've heard good things, if there is a cult following or if the low scores were due to bugs/graphical things which modders can fix.
Next off to YouTube to see gameplay and trailers of the game. If it appeals, then comes forums, reddit and blog posts to see what issues people have with the game. Do they find it annoying or frustrating etc?
The other thing I look at before playing a game is the modding community. If a game has a restoration mod, and a good variety of mods it instantly becomes very high on my priority list. If people love the game enough to continue to mod it years later, chances are it's a good game.
Usually this means the game I play are a little older. This has several benefits, namely that the great filter of time will push most lower quality games out of the collective memory, meaning I won't be wasting time on crappier games. It also means a modding community has had time to build many stable and game-improving mods. The other bonus is my modern PC will handle older games no problems on max graphical settings.
Games are valuable and a strong contender for the future of narrative storytelling. Anyone who disagrees should play Fallout: New Vegas, Bioshock or The Last of Us. Playing games is important, because it offers a higher level of immersive storytelling, which is the same reason cinemas darken the lights. It's the same reason they made films even though books were an existing technology. If you don't 'game', I recommend you start.
God damn, I used a lot of "I's" in this post.
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