A much needed break

It feels like I may have said this before, but at the risk of redundancy here we go: Don't get too wrapped up in gaming culture as much as you should the games themselves. Actually that goes for just about anything you really love. If this were sports, I'd rather spend time getting some friends together rather than arguing about teams and quarter backs. If this were film I'd rather be watching my favorite movie than writing an essay on why the cast of marvel's next movie is weird. Hell if this were about park conservation I'd even try my best to balance between activism/protests and actually enjoying a stroll through it while I can. Still for some odd reason there's an allure to go further with our hobbies, and that's understandable but really we've got to find some sense of balance and its one easily lost. I feel that's what's happened to me and judging by some others describing similar game ADD then I'd say its a shared feeling across some hardcore gamers. We start off by combining the internet and games to get more out of our games. Guides, behind the scenes info, experiences from others, reviews, and at one time cheat codes. Its great. Then somewhere down the line some of us get sucked into youtube video binges, comments hosting usually pointless debates and arguments, and somehow it can even boil down to the sad mess that started with the Quinn controversy. Being an opinionated guy that loves to write I especially get absorbed into some of the response stuff and thoughts that go into this. I'm willing to admit I've spent over an hour before on not just these articles, but simple comments before. I try to brush it off but honestly whenever I stop and realize that I have to question if it was worth it, and honestly.... the answer should be no 90% of the time. Ethnics, politics, business logic, and celebrity-like reputation all come into play with what once was just about the fun you had in booting up and playing a game. Its a bit absurd, and while I can see it needs to happen on a professional side it doesn't need to be that way for people like me and probably for those that read this (if anybody ever does read this).

I think the Quinn situation was a good reminder to me that the internet can be a mess but no matter what happens to the industry, the games that have been created will remain and will probably be damn fun. So I tried going on the web a little less and just sticking to playing the old Sly games on its HD collection. It felt pretty good but the test of time was yet to come. Well around the same time I also had an upcoming surgery situation and I knew that by force I'd see this tested longer. For the first couple days after surgery I couldn't even play my console (was able to play sly cooper 4 on the vita though :D) and I certainly couldn't sit right in my desk chair to go on the computer properly. Eventually I got better and I upgraded from just lying around 80% of the day to playing ratchet and clank on PlayStation 3 most of that day. I still had lingering crap in my head from the net, and was thinking of reviews and things from the series but over time my mind really bonded more with the game and without any online junk to interrupt me I just felt more whole. It was almost like a weekend when I was young again, I used to sit down and go at an old ratchet and clank game for hours and hours. I would truly experience and interact with the word and enjoy the characters and cut scenes again and again. No big internet distractions, no 3rd party analysis, nobody disputing stuff, etc. Don't get me wrong I love a good debate and exchanging views is part of learning and growing as individuals, but that's better left to things that matter more rather than just our escapist hobbies. When the two melt together gaming becomes less of escapism and more of... well something else. Not really a chore or politics, but something that sort of incorporates those alongside something you love. Its probably why the professionals are bummed out or less excited around gaming than the consumer is. That's not me, nor the path I really wish to be on. So I'm glad to be back into this moment of pushing out all the publicity, news, hype, and drama of the internet so I can focus on re-enjoying the world of ratchet and clank. Actually to be more specific I'm redoing the adventure and completing everything save for the skillpoints, and it feels damn good to be one gold bolt away from the platinum trophy anticipating that final capture.

R&C >>> this picture ^

I logged on for just a bit when I was able to stand better. I checked youtube a bit for any major videos, I quickly hopped on PS lifestyle, and I briefly looked for any special steam deals. Pretty much 80% of the news was over Destiny of course but I wasn't too sick of it at that point and so I just skipped over that junk and got around to what few good bits appealed to me and stayed away from comments and everything else. I was back into R&C fast and was enjoying myself again. Yeah Destiny is over-hyped and is hogging way too much attention, but honestly I don't care because I'm too busy enjoying games I think are better. I still hold the belief that journalism needs an overhaul especially in the hype and coverage sharing department (and I still really want to get around to going into details with that, but maybe another day), but regardless I'm using it less and playing more, and that's really all that could possibly count there. Still I'm not giving up the internet or anything like that. Heck part of gaming ADD is simply games themselves, not every game has the hook and amazement of R&C or Sly, but honestly there are still countless amazing games I'm simply not trying hard enough to stick with and that should have stopped. I'm glad I got a few days without it and I'm going to work harder for that rightful balance, and to drop some of the crap with web browsing. I'll still show up with a new article here, and I do love writing these. So that will continue, heck maybe even substitute the wasted time with comments. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go relax with an ice pack (still working on recovery) and grab that last gold bolt I need.