Master of None
I’m usually trying to find a set arc of things to write about in every article, but this is also a personal “blog”, if I can call it that. A lot of things here are based off of personal experience and opinions, but at the same time I want it to be worth reading and fun to read.
Sometimes I lament my lack of skill level in video games. Granted, I think I am better than a casual player. I think I am a little bit better than the average? And yet, place anyone who has even the slightest bit more focus on a game or type of game that they like and I can assure you they will be better than me. As I got older in high school I thought a lot about what makes my pride and identity as a video gamer important to me. The more I think about this, the more I realize there are certain things I want to be part of me as a gamer, and some that I really don’t care about.
Socially, I used to be upset that I wasn’t as good as other gamers, but personally, why did that matter? The joy people get from their competitive spirit is nothing bad, but to define myself and my value through someone else’s lens just wasn’t working out for me. I think there are three main things I tend to focus and work on as a video gamer.
I value the history, diversity, and humanity in video games. This is one of the driving forces behind me playing games that are perhaps more mediocre than others. I want to see what makes games that aren’t the best still likable. I want to see a development team improve over time. I want to see the struggles of trying to make good game design decisions. I love the stories of Iwata Satoru as he grew Nintendo, or the struggle of Eric Barone as he created Stardew Valley. All of this included, I think I value my versatility and diversity in the games I play.
In terms of piracy, I am always on the front of anti-piracy, not for the sake of capitalism, but for the sake of morality and humanity. Which is also why if it takes piracy to preserve history, I don’t necessarily discourage that side. I think it is the moral responsibility for developers to preserve their games and the games’ history, and if they do not it may be up to the players. This is the history side of my values.
Games that show humanity in their storylines and the poking at our lives to become better people are also very enjoyable. Games don’t have to be deep to be good, but some games can be good because they are deep. Undertale and some of the quests in Genshin Impact that really push what it means to be human and how we can improve are so valuable to me. My siblings and I often poke at anime because they tend to hit the hardest notes in what makes us human. I love the struggle between the self and what is right in Path of Exile’s implied lore. “We see ourselves reflected in those facets, twisted beyond recognition.” It remarks how people do not become mad in a single moment, but it is almost always a string of events unnoticed by those outside the mind. And sometimes how certain things in their simplicity are what makes them impact how we feel and think, like in Alan Wake. I wrote an article about that.
I value the spread of knowledge that is good. The only thing in the media industry I enjoy more than consuming is teaching about it. I love talking about game design and helping new gamers find their place in the field. I want them to discover what games really drive them to play. Few things are as enjoyable as seeing a new gamer find out that they really love in a series or seeing their skill levels improve as they put in their efforts to be better at a game.
I love seeing games as a diving board to raise interest in things. I love studying, so learning new skills like lockpicking because of its universality in video games has been great. Although, I’m still not as good as I’d like to be, trust me. Learning about how politics and misuse affect the everyday lives of people in Deus Ex and relating that to real life. Or other pokes like racism and refugee crises in Guild Wars 2. To learn and see from outside my mind is good knowledge from video games.
And bringing it back around, just people learning about the lore of worlds outside our own. That excitement, the fandoms, the burning passion of it all. These things are good knowledge because it brings people together and we carry joy together. Just lore of games themselves, even if not as useful in real life, that is good knowledge that I love immensely.
I value the relationship between myself and games. This has been kind of talked about in my Breaking the Fourth Window article. I value how games change how I treat others in positive ways. Understanding communication and how to better be myself around others. Setting boundaries and respecting boundaries. I am not a social person, so all of this is a good thing. I value how I feel about the characters and the worlds in these games. When people cry over a beloved character’s death, and moreover why they were close to them in the first place. Was it because they had a friend similar to them? Was it because we loved or hated a similar situation? Is it trauma? …was it because they were hot? Okay, that last one is not really something I could personally relate to, but to each their own in their video game relationships.
I think some people categorize my relationship with the game worlds as nearly as dangerous as what some…unhealthy fandoms do with characters, but I don’t relate to them in the same way. It is a bond to strengthen my values and ties to everything around me. I want to be with the hurt and misunderstood in games, to “talk” with them and interact and think about how I feel. It has helped me relate to those who have been hurt in real life. It is not that any of these relationships in our outside video games are fake, rather it is that they all uplift each other. And in one full circle going back to my first point, it helps me become more human.
Is this all a bit cheese? Maybe. Does it feel a bit preachy? Kinda. But all in all, it’s what I pride myself in playing video games to be. I think a lot of the reasons I play are for uplifting me and those around me. I want to help people be more human, or even just have good fun. Sorry if these rather personal posts are not as exciting as my other posts, but I just hope that we all have positive growth in ourselves by playing video games. I want to prove that there is so much more to video games than just violently shooting at demons. …although, that is fun too.
Stay safe, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time.
Elise
Game Praisers 
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