Moods

 I think a big part of video gaming is finding the right game for your mood. I think there is an art to managing your library of games and finding a game that suits your mood. It is kind of like having a music library. It takes some effort to figure out what you are in the mood to listen to. 

One thing that happens is sometimes you have certain reliable games that always seem to scratch a certain itch. But as I mentioned about Elder Scrolls Online in a previous post, these reliable games can be a bit of trap that prevents you from playing other things.

So it is kind of an art to figure out when you are in the mood to try something new and to try to figure out what will suit the particular feelings you are having in that moment.

I think one thing that complicates this with video games is just that like there is kind of this idea of finishing games. This usually takes multiple sessions. I think sometimes I kind of have this idea that like I should pick up one game and stick with it until I finish it. There is something about this that is kind of appealing in terms of having an accomplishment that I can definitely state. "I finished game x." But sometimes I kind of feel like this is sort of artificial and the reality is that bouncing around from game to game is a lot more common or like suitable. There will be some games that get finished along the way but like maybe it is more important to get good at finding something that suits your mood.

And this bouncing around doesn't have to be really anything to do with the game. It is not an objective statement of a games worth if I say that it didn't click with me or I played it some and moved on.

I guess there is some kind of subtle moral claim in this. I remember that someone told me that they read a lot but they hadn't finished a book in a long time. I guess that is kind of what I am getting at now but like at the time I thought that was definitely wrong somehow. Like, obviously you are supposed to start a book and then finish it. You can also see this in that there are a lot of people who invest in the idea of working through their "backlog" which is the video games you have bought but haven't played / finished. There is something like eating your vegetables. You don't want to do it but it is good for you.

I think there is some value in just doing what you like and letting things happen naturally. But at the same time gaming is very goal oriented. There are endless lists and achievements for completing tasks. So I think it is kind of baked into the hobby that this kind of goal oriented mindset is a big part of it. So something always gets left feeling kind of unfinished when you are bouncing around a lot and that can kind of create a stress of its own. I think sometimes it is comforting to have a go to, even if it is just temporary. There can be a discomfort in bouncing around too much and not settling down on something.