Date: 2011-04-25 20:24:12 Created: 2011-04-25 16:23:51
In my current focus on doing fewer things better, I have eliminated the space electronic games used to have in my life.
This did not start nor end with Speedball II for IOS (Iphone, Ipad and Ipod touch), but the game somehow made the process all the more obvious to me. I loved Speedball II for the Amiga. I played through the leagues countless times and against friends whenever I could. When I heard it was coming to IOS I was cautiously optimistic, and when it got solid recommendations from friends and reviewers alike the purchase was made without hesitation. Speedball seemed very well suited to quick sessions, just the kind one might have on a mobile device inbetween other things. I do not play games very often any more, but a good Speedball version seemed more likely than most things to find a spot or two in my schedule.
Still, here I am a month or more after purchase, still not having played more than a handful matches. My reason? The controls threw me enough on my first few attempts that I have not bothered making any more attempts.
For quite some time now I try to devote my energy to doing fewer things with more focus. Doing well at work is of course a first priority. At home, I like to focus whatever productive or creative energies I have left on exercise, writing and programming. I try to do as little as possible of activities which feel like empty timesinks, such as watching TV and surfing randomly. These attempts to focus are where games get into real trouble. Games do not fall into the ”productive or creative” category, and thus they only get a shot at the attention I have left after doing things in that category.
When I have played games recently, I have not wanted to be challenged. I have wanted to keep moving, not get too stuck, have the experience and come out on the other side within reasonable time. I have, in short, wanted to finish and move on. There just happens to be another medium much more suited to having a visual experience in a short amount of time without encountering gameplay challenges: movies. Two hours, plenty of experience, no challenge, done, on to something else. Also, since no skill is required to have a good experience it feels easier to fit a movie into a few idle evening hours than a game which might potentially require some amount of concentration.
After movies come books, which work much like movies, only offering more depth in return for more time spent.
One more questions: could games make a comeback? I do not know. I would like to think so, there are so many good games out there with so much to enjoy. But as long as I continue along the current path it only seems to become less likely.