Sola Scriptura
Member
Its an amazing time to be alive if you love video games, right? Great games are being released regularly, many older games are playable on current platforms, the indie games scene continues to blossom, and so forth. Thanks to GAF and other communication channels, we are consistently fed a diet of information about earlier-released games we haven't played, new game releases, and games coming down the pipeline. Arguably, the video game player in the 2010s is in a more informed position about the video game corpus and future releases than players in previous decades.
But there is also a dark side to this. The aforementioned steady diet is conducive to FOMO ("fear of missing out") and "must-play" culture. Unfortunately, the information overload makes it far too easy to feel as though if you haven't played Game X or even have no interest in Game X, that you have somehow missed out on "one of the greatest game experiences of all time." The excess of new game releases only exacerbates this problem because very few people have enough time to play every major new release to completion. Show of hands: How many of us with full-time jobs and healthy social lives had time to play each of GAF's Top 20 Games of 2015 to full completion (if it was a game that could be completed), or fully unlocking everything, or obtaining all the best loot, or achieving a high rank, or whatever? And that's to say nothing of the games you may have liked that didn't even crack that Top 20!
Yet the pressure is there. The conversations surrounding the "must-play" games are being held without you. Game X does something truly amazing, and you, my friend, have done yourself a grave disservice by not playing it. Those "Game of the Year" award lists, "Top 100 Games of the Last Generation" lists, and "Top 100 Games of All Time" lists are staring down at you, their judgmental gazes peering into the depths of your very souls. "You think you know video games, yet you haven't played so-and-so? Begone!"
Melodramatic, yes, but you get the point. It's an attitude, an ethos if you will, that is pervasive across the gaming side of the Internet, and unfortunately GAF is no exception. While I would never assert that everyone here is guilty of it, I've lurked on GAF before joining long enough (i.e., years) to see it in action many a time. In my opinion, it's a toxic situation we, as a playing community, have put ourselves in. Playing games you may not even find all that enjoyable just to "keep up" isn't healthy for anyone. So what do we do about it? Do you agree it's a problem, or am I totally off-base?
I've had to bring myself to the point of attempting to care very little about the opinions of others concerning my playing habits, and it's been quite liberating, to be honest. Guess what? I have absolutely no desire to play any of the Souls games or Bloodborne. Just not my thing.
Judge away.
But there is also a dark side to this. The aforementioned steady diet is conducive to FOMO ("fear of missing out") and "must-play" culture. Unfortunately, the information overload makes it far too easy to feel as though if you haven't played Game X or even have no interest in Game X, that you have somehow missed out on "one of the greatest game experiences of all time." The excess of new game releases only exacerbates this problem because very few people have enough time to play every major new release to completion. Show of hands: How many of us with full-time jobs and healthy social lives had time to play each of GAF's Top 20 Games of 2015 to full completion (if it was a game that could be completed), or fully unlocking everything, or obtaining all the best loot, or achieving a high rank, or whatever? And that's to say nothing of the games you may have liked that didn't even crack that Top 20!
Yet the pressure is there. The conversations surrounding the "must-play" games are being held without you. Game X does something truly amazing, and you, my friend, have done yourself a grave disservice by not playing it. Those "Game of the Year" award lists, "Top 100 Games of the Last Generation" lists, and "Top 100 Games of All Time" lists are staring down at you, their judgmental gazes peering into the depths of your very souls. "You think you know video games, yet you haven't played so-and-so? Begone!"
Melodramatic, yes, but you get the point. It's an attitude, an ethos if you will, that is pervasive across the gaming side of the Internet, and unfortunately GAF is no exception. While I would never assert that everyone here is guilty of it, I've lurked on GAF before joining long enough (i.e., years) to see it in action many a time. In my opinion, it's a toxic situation we, as a playing community, have put ourselves in. Playing games you may not even find all that enjoyable just to "keep up" isn't healthy for anyone. So what do we do about it? Do you agree it's a problem, or am I totally off-base?
I've had to bring myself to the point of attempting to care very little about the opinions of others concerning my playing habits, and it's been quite liberating, to be honest. Guess what? I have absolutely no desire to play any of the Souls games or Bloodborne. Just not my thing.
Judge away.