Leisure is good, and games are their own justification - in heaven, we’re all probably playing games with each other. In this world, the problem is when the game becomes the dominant thing in your mind at the expense of greater goods, rather than a nice way to spend free time. This is a difficult balance to strike.
At least Elden Ring happens to be a very good game. I shake my head at friends who play League of Legends - one because it’s not just one or two hours, but every minute not working is spent playing it, and two, because they all seem to HATE IT. They actively despise the game but can’t get off it. This is a problem.
Agreed, games, like many leisure pursuits should be restrained to leisure and not allowed to absorb all other time and interest.
Elden Ring is fantastic, as are all the FromSoft games, and it does have the advantage of an ending. I also play League of Legends but don't hate it which is all down to mindset about team mates, opponents, your own mistakes, once I started approaching the game like I do my writing, as a skill and not something to pass the time, my feelings about the game completely changed. The only problem is the sheer time sink it is so I only play a couple games a day or less. I understand getting frustrated at a game, I quit Elden Ring for several days because I could not beat Maliketh after a dozen tries, but actively playing a game you know you're going to hate is a problem.
Brother you gotta level vigor the draconic tree sentinel should not be one shotting you at this stage of the game.
In all seriousness, this is a great piece of writing and I feel it deeply, especially as it relates to bad games (like RDR2) that you still sink hours into, but I do feel like it’s giving games as an art form kind of a short shrift. Do you not think Elden Ring (or Metal Gear Solid, or Cruelty Squad, or Papers, Please or Norco or etc. etc.) offers an intellectually/creatively meaningful, thematically deep experience? It might not be Dostoyevsky, but I think Elden Ring is certainly a better, more enriching experience than reading, like, a Jonathan Franzen novel.
Ha yeah my Vig was way neglected when I wrote this. No it’s true, games can be intellectually stimulating and I got a ton from play Elden Ring and ended up writing a whole series taking seriously their themes. This essay was just a different angle. I love Papers Please!
I really identify with the central thesis of your post, and the list of examples of things that only make sense (dumping int into something) within the narrow silo of the game are spot on. I regret that I have so many memories in my youth of games, that can only ever mean something to me. Even other people who played those games don't care about your average gamer memory. You can play the most interesting game in the world, and no one cares to hear a retelling of what you were doing. A simple story about seeing an owl when you were at a campfire is 100x more interesting than trying to tell someone who plays counter-strike, how you won a game of counter-strike.
I loved this piece! As a gamer and a reader, I know how consuming games can be. And I loved what you said about the knowledge you acquire in games to be kind of useless, since it only refers back to itself.
There is a solution, however! Play games that broaden your kind as books do! Games that have something to say about our world, about who we are, like good literature does. Elden Ring is a fantastic game that I loved playing, but I can’t say it’s enriched my life in the way that you seem to be seeking. Disco Elysium, however - that is a profound work of art that I still contemplate to this day. It speaks to our world, not just its own.
"And above all: what did I do last and what should I do next?"
As someone playing all the Final Fantasy games recently, this is a most distressing thought. I'll intentionally save right outside of the location where I'm supposed to go next, only to pick it up a day later and wonder what in the world I was doing back at Baron Castle.
I have a similar "affliction". For years I consciously avoided certain types of games which I know will get me addicted and instead focus on shorter, indie titles.
But what really changed my perspective was a near-death scare. It shook me so much that I realized if I were to die tomorrow, I’d want to feel like I had truly lived—not just in terms of time passed, but by remembering and fully experiencing more of my everyday life. In that sense, gaming that makes time evaporate no longer fits that goal.
I still play occasionally, but it’s easier now. I know it's not that important and that I can stop anytime—and I actually do! Especially if the game becomes repetiteve, and I feel like I won’t even remember playing.
Excellent article. There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a two hour playing stint and realising you didn’t actually actually feel like playing. When it becomes compulsion rather than leisure.
Currently going through this with Monster Hunter Wilds! Haha. Thanks for the insight in your article. I only play video games when my kid is asleep, but there are so many other things I could be doing with that time, and staying up late is killing my mornings. I don't spend every night on it, but when you're married with a kid, your time alone becomes even more precious. Sometimes I like video games because they are an active resistance to a world that says you need to be hyper-productive every hour of every day, but the scales can definitely tip in the wrong direction. Thanks for making me aware of other people's mindsets around this subject. Would love to play Elden Ring someday, but now I don't think I will. Lol!
Dammit, really well said! This is a problem I've encountered over the last few years as I game, especially with games that have multiple ways to complete them and multiple missions to complete AS you complete them. The will to complete the game vs the possibility that I'll miss out on completing different parts of the game mean I end up possibly not finishing, or even not playing, the game at all, because of how much time it may take. You hit it right on the head. As die people writing here about "oh big bad scary video game addiction..." wow, I guess it takes all kinds, but that really sounds more like a them interpretation than a you problem.
Damn... A hard truth I needed to hear. This sentiment has been in the back of my mind since my brother got me into the One Piece Card Game, and I find myself in "down time" rushing to go adjust decks that will kill at the tournaments... that I ultimately get placed at the bottom of anyway... for what? The other kids are better because they're more obsessed. So the only way to get better is to obsess more, and outthink them... but for what? This isn't chess. I'm not going to become a grand master and travel the world to play the best. Simply put, this piece woke me up to what's been in the back of my mind and answered the question for me. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻
Thanks for the piece! I loved it and finished it wanting more. :)
As someone who has had a hard time getting things done their whole life, with or without video games, I love playing games like Elden Ring because, as you mentioned, it gets you so focused and so freakin' on-task. That focus and drive and --honestly incredible-- determination feels so good. While I was at my parents house around Christmas I was playing this old kids' game Psychonauts and it struck me how utterly bizarre it was that, in this vibey and cartoonish demo of real life I was flawlessly on-task for as long as I played.
How does that work?? I've tried to study my state of mind while playing video games (as well as video games' nature) to see if I can replicate that in any amount in my real life. I have a lot of thoughts on this, but if anyone else does as well, I'd love to hear!!
Leisure is good, and games are their own justification - in heaven, we’re all probably playing games with each other. In this world, the problem is when the game becomes the dominant thing in your mind at the expense of greater goods, rather than a nice way to spend free time. This is a difficult balance to strike.
At least Elden Ring happens to be a very good game. I shake my head at friends who play League of Legends - one because it’s not just one or two hours, but every minute not working is spent playing it, and two, because they all seem to HATE IT. They actively despise the game but can’t get off it. This is a problem.
Agreed, games, like many leisure pursuits should be restrained to leisure and not allowed to absorb all other time and interest.
Elden Ring is fantastic, as are all the FromSoft games, and it does have the advantage of an ending. I also play League of Legends but don't hate it which is all down to mindset about team mates, opponents, your own mistakes, once I started approaching the game like I do my writing, as a skill and not something to pass the time, my feelings about the game completely changed. The only problem is the sheer time sink it is so I only play a couple games a day or less. I understand getting frustrated at a game, I quit Elden Ring for several days because I could not beat Maliketh after a dozen tries, but actively playing a game you know you're going to hate is a problem.
Brother you gotta level vigor the draconic tree sentinel should not be one shotting you at this stage of the game.
In all seriousness, this is a great piece of writing and I feel it deeply, especially as it relates to bad games (like RDR2) that you still sink hours into, but I do feel like it’s giving games as an art form kind of a short shrift. Do you not think Elden Ring (or Metal Gear Solid, or Cruelty Squad, or Papers, Please or Norco or etc. etc.) offers an intellectually/creatively meaningful, thematically deep experience? It might not be Dostoyevsky, but I think Elden Ring is certainly a better, more enriching experience than reading, like, a Jonathan Franzen novel.
Ha yeah my Vig was way neglected when I wrote this. No it’s true, games can be intellectually stimulating and I got a ton from play Elden Ring and ended up writing a whole series taking seriously their themes. This essay was just a different angle. I love Papers Please!
I really identify with the central thesis of your post, and the list of examples of things that only make sense (dumping int into something) within the narrow silo of the game are spot on. I regret that I have so many memories in my youth of games, that can only ever mean something to me. Even other people who played those games don't care about your average gamer memory. You can play the most interesting game in the world, and no one cares to hear a retelling of what you were doing. A simple story about seeing an owl when you were at a campfire is 100x more interesting than trying to tell someone who plays counter-strike, how you won a game of counter-strike.
I loved this piece! As a gamer and a reader, I know how consuming games can be. And I loved what you said about the knowledge you acquire in games to be kind of useless, since it only refers back to itself.
There is a solution, however! Play games that broaden your kind as books do! Games that have something to say about our world, about who we are, like good literature does. Elden Ring is a fantastic game that I loved playing, but I can’t say it’s enriched my life in the way that you seem to be seeking. Disco Elysium, however - that is a profound work of art that I still contemplate to this day. It speaks to our world, not just its own.
I can recommend others, if you’re interested!
Thanks so much! Disco Elysium is incredible! Still need to finish it lol
"And above all: what did I do last and what should I do next?"
As someone playing all the Final Fantasy games recently, this is a most distressing thought. I'll intentionally save right outside of the location where I'm supposed to go next, only to pick it up a day later and wonder what in the world I was doing back at Baron Castle.
The expansive nature of titles like this is a major turn off for me. Give me a 20-40 hour game. Maybe that’s your methodone.
I have a similar "affliction". For years I consciously avoided certain types of games which I know will get me addicted and instead focus on shorter, indie titles.
But what really changed my perspective was a near-death scare. It shook me so much that I realized if I were to die tomorrow, I’d want to feel like I had truly lived—not just in terms of time passed, but by remembering and fully experiencing more of my everyday life. In that sense, gaming that makes time evaporate no longer fits that goal.
I still play occasionally, but it’s easier now. I know it's not that important and that I can stop anytime—and I actually do! Especially if the game becomes repetiteve, and I feel like I won’t even remember playing.
Superb. I couldn’t relate more.
The post I needed to see today - thanks for writing!
It’s frustrating. Why can’t I get as invested in a professionally valuable skill like I can doing something as boring as cataloging Pokémon?
Excellent article. There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a two hour playing stint and realising you didn’t actually actually feel like playing. When it becomes compulsion rather than leisure.
Currently going through this with Monster Hunter Wilds! Haha. Thanks for the insight in your article. I only play video games when my kid is asleep, but there are so many other things I could be doing with that time, and staying up late is killing my mornings. I don't spend every night on it, but when you're married with a kid, your time alone becomes even more precious. Sometimes I like video games because they are an active resistance to a world that says you need to be hyper-productive every hour of every day, but the scales can definitely tip in the wrong direction. Thanks for making me aware of other people's mindsets around this subject. Would love to play Elden Ring someday, but now I don't think I will. Lol!
Update: MH Wilds ended kind of quickly. Back to being productive. Haha.
Dammit, really well said! This is a problem I've encountered over the last few years as I game, especially with games that have multiple ways to complete them and multiple missions to complete AS you complete them. The will to complete the game vs the possibility that I'll miss out on completing different parts of the game mean I end up possibly not finishing, or even not playing, the game at all, because of how much time it may take. You hit it right on the head. As die people writing here about "oh big bad scary video game addiction..." wow, I guess it takes all kinds, but that really sounds more like a them interpretation than a you problem.
Damn... A hard truth I needed to hear. This sentiment has been in the back of my mind since my brother got me into the One Piece Card Game, and I find myself in "down time" rushing to go adjust decks that will kill at the tournaments... that I ultimately get placed at the bottom of anyway... for what? The other kids are better because they're more obsessed. So the only way to get better is to obsess more, and outthink them... but for what? This isn't chess. I'm not going to become a grand master and travel the world to play the best. Simply put, this piece woke me up to what's been in the back of my mind and answered the question for me. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻
Thanks, some games have been criticised for having short campaigns, you have turned that into a compliment in my mind.
Thanks for the piece! I loved it and finished it wanting more. :)
As someone who has had a hard time getting things done their whole life, with or without video games, I love playing games like Elden Ring because, as you mentioned, it gets you so focused and so freakin' on-task. That focus and drive and --honestly incredible-- determination feels so good. While I was at my parents house around Christmas I was playing this old kids' game Psychonauts and it struck me how utterly bizarre it was that, in this vibey and cartoonish demo of real life I was flawlessly on-task for as long as I played.
How does that work?? I've tried to study my state of mind while playing video games (as well as video games' nature) to see if I can replicate that in any amount in my real life. I have a lot of thoughts on this, but if anyone else does as well, I'd love to hear!!