Musings At The End of 2021

It's 2022 -- Happy New Year! I'd like to share some personal musings from the end of 2021 that I originally posted to Instagram (here, here, and here).

(1): 

This is an ongoing problem: when playing games with a lot of text, I can’t read at the pace I want. It sucks because I was an avid reader of books when I was younger. But at some point, whenever I wanted to read with the intention of enjoyment/fun, my brain started getting hung up. I’d often end up re-reading lines/sections multiple times, mentally tiring out, and not making much progress. This is all a bummer since it affects me when playing text-heavy games I really want to spend time with (like VA-11 HALL-A or Persona 5).

I’m not sure if this is a health or mental-related issue…still, it won’t stop me from playing text-heavy games. I just have to adjust my expectations and approach to playing them (ex. play less in a given day, play games w/less text alongside them to break up the monotony of reading).

(2):

My backlog is not very big at all, but I’m still conscious about it. I guess that stems from guilt over all the unfinished games I had when I was a kid…for now, I’m not buying anything unless I’m going to play it right away or it’s a new fighting game I want to try. That applies to fighting game DLC as well — I realize I don’t want to buy add-on content unless it’s a game I feel like I’d truly dedicate a lot of time to.

Speaking of fighting games…I realize I mainly enjoy them for their aesthetic traditions! Things like character select screens! “Super moves”! Victory quotes! I like to see what each game brings in terms of these sort of things. The competitive scene behind these games and deeper gameplay discussions are interesting too, but I don’t think I’m the kind of guy who will ever get too into that. If I end up playing a fighting game online for a good amount of time and get somewhat decent at it, it’s a happy side-effect. I’m still figuring out what I like in terms of gameplay as well.

(3):

At the risk of sounding depressing: I think if some knew how I was living, they’d feel sorry for me. And to be honest, even if I’m better off than a lot of other people, I let my life get to me too. Still, even at my low points, I pick myself up and keep trying my best. There’s no alternative path better than that.

I try to hit some mandatory tasks over here, throw in a little exercise or Japanese self-study over there…and play some games. Bonus if a game really affects me on some emotional level, but it’s not like I can’t play something just for fun either!

Trying one’s best till the end…here’s to everyone keeping that energy strong in the New Year 🙏