Column 2 took approximately three years to complete, but not for lack of trying. Prior to this blog, I wasn’t very systematic in my approach to completion, I just played what I wanted and when I got bored tried to finish a game that was shorter or didn’t have much to it (looking at you, Goat Simulator). My initial approach […]
Column 2 took approximately three years to complete, but not for lack of trying. Prior to this blog, I wasn’t very systematic in my approach to completion, I just played what I wanted and when I got bored tried to finish a game that was shorter or didn’t have much to it (looking at you, Goat Simulator). My initial approach was also to complete all of my console games so I could prioritize their sale. Part of this project after all was focused on decluttering not only the virtual shelves but the physical ones (more on the first of this here: PS3 and Parting Ways).
After playing through my PS3 games, I focused on Column 2 mostly because I had progressed furthest on it when I officially started the project. Completing it felt monumental. There were some heavy-hitter titles/series, including Fallout, God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War, and Halo.
Quick list of the games of Column 2 (link to the whole list here):
As you can imagine, some of these games had arbitrary goal posts (how does one “complete” Dota 2?), but the spirit of the project dictated I give the game the good ol’ college try (for a minimum of 1 hour), and then call it whenever I saw fit after. There were games that failed to run smoothly (DOOM III, GTA I and II), some that were NERD RAGE worthy (Dark Souls), a few disappointments (Dead Island), and some awe-inspiring (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture).
Finding time to play was the biggest challenge for me. The level of responsibility that increased as I entered my 30s and progressed in my career made playing games feel counterproductive to progress at times. Almost like a decision conundrum: if I decided to sit in front of the screen, I was “missing out” on doing all the other things I wanted to do. And there were a LOT of things I wanted to do.
I’ve always been a bit of work-a-holic, often working multiple jobs in high stress environments. At one point I was working two night shift 12 hour jobs and going to school full time for my master’s degree. In the meantime, I picked up a bunch of hobbies: making/playing music, photography, home theater, bowling, hiking, on and on and on. Gaming became almost sacred time in which I would come home from a long day (or night), disconnect from reality, and plug into the many universes created for my exploration.
Unfortunately for me, this disconnection became synonymous with some awful habits based on a lifetime of hardwiring and faulty coping mechanisms. Gaming meant late nights, crappy food, and too much alcohol. There were no marathon gaming sessions without playing through booze-colored glasses. The first Dishonored was grocery store red wine. Emily Wants to Play was Mickey’s green. The Far Cry games were (regrettably) Four Loko gold.
How I broke this cycle is a story for another post, but the growth over these three years I think is what made the milestone feel so huge. Gaming no longer was an escape I needed to cope with the stresses of life, or an excuse to behave badly, and by the time I picked up the pace and started to really live my life, the appreciation for games as art and entertainment increased phenomenally. I felt the impact of great story telling, I fully appreciated thoughtful level design, and I tasted accomplishment so sweetly.
With the completion of Column 2, I decided to recognize the games that stood out the most to me along the way. In the next post I’ll introduce the coveted “Column Awards”, going over the best and the worst of this part of the SBP journey. By the way, in case you haven’t already, feel free to also follow along when I play, live on Twitch!
khalfroyo games 