Wow that's a lot of words, what does it all mean?
I want to invite you for a moment to glimpse into my gamer life. Over the course of the last 2 months I have bought the following video games for myself. Numbers are loose estimates and not the actual price:
Ori and the Blind Forest ($15)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps ($15)
Baba is You ($10)
Deponia (4 games) ($2 each)
Lost in Random ($30)
GrindStone ($10)
Loop Hero ($20)
Yoku's Island Express ($10)
Figment ($3)
Moving Out ($7)
Darkest Dungeon ($20)
Tetris Effect: Connected ($40)
Mario Party Superstars ($60)
Nidhogg 2 ($6)
Castle Crashers ($10)
Risk of Rain 2 ($7)
Chicory ($20)
Night in the Woods ($5)
Oxenfree ($2)
Some quick calculator math later, that's 22 games and $298 dollars spent. Not bad given that some of those games were on major sale. Of those games purchased, I've put about 70 hours into Tetris Effect, and have greatly enjoyed both Mario Party and Nidhogg.
All those other games though, I've played only a little. Most I've played only once for maybe an hour or two at most, like Baba is You, Deponia, Grindstone, Lost in Random, Loop Hero, Figment, or Darkest Dungeon.
There are actually 2 games (I'm not counting Castle Crashes or Risk of Rain having bought them just yesterday) on this list I've bought and just never ever played - both Ori games. They're great games (or so I've heard) and yet I've never even started them.
Now every gamer has a large backlog, and not getting around to games is not an unheard of thing. But let's examine this slightly more in depth.
Of these games listed above I've actually purchased multiple copies for other people (presents and such):
Tetris Effect Connected (4 more times)
Castle Crashers (2 more times)
Nidhogg 2 (1 more time)
Risk of Rain 2 (2 more times)
Moving Out (2 more times)
Figment (1 more time)
Mario Party (1 more time)
Which brings my total count up to 35 games and around $575 dollars spent on myself and others for strictly Nintendo Switch video games in the last two months. That's a lot of games.
Why buy so many?
If you want my self reflective diagnoses, its a way to deal with depression I suppose. The constant feeling of wanting something new - yet always being ultimately unsatisfied with what I have, even when I acquire the thing that I once thought would bring excitement into my barren gamer life. Now, it's not all bad, 70 hours in a Tetris video game is not exactly a waste of money. A fun time in a game like Mario Party or Nidhogg is something I wouldn't trade away for any amount of money - but what about all the rest of those games?
Did I really need to buy Baba is You only to just play it once and never touch it again? Did I need to buy Loop Hero even though I know I'm not usually a fan of roguelike or roguelite games? Why buy Risk of Rain if I know I'm not a fan of that style of game at all? Why spend 40 dollars on Tetris - furthermore, why spend 40 dollars on Tetris so many times for so many different people?
Did I really need to spend 300 dollars to purchase a PlayStation 4, and then buy PS Plus on an annual subscription for 70 dollars and Kingdom Hearts 3 for 60 dollars, only to not really enjoy the game? Why spend so much money, and take so much time, playing video games that I'm either not going to enjoy, or only enjoy briefly?
What I believe is that the cost is outweighed by the fun I would have playing the game with other people. This I believe is the one thing that helps me step away from the steep precipice of overwhelming depression, is knowing that, even if only for a brief moment, purchasing and playing a video game can help me and other people have fun - genuine good fun. It is unfortunate that it is so expensive, but such is the price of medication I suppose.
Code stuff later.
Stay tuned!
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