Passion

Leigh Alexander writing for Gamasutra:

I mean, I still don’t like the question, but I’ve come to dislike the prompt to passionately deliver a litany of “what I’m playing lately” a little bit more. The “lately” is the cloying part. As if for participation in this field it’s not just enough to enjoy games, to think critically about them, to play them sometimes. To spend all your time making them, as some do. It’s that you also must devote yourself to clawing ever uphill, passionately, as a consumer. Like if you were all at a buffet, and you came back to the table with only what you liked on your plate and not everything, you are merely a casual eater.

Casual! I am enjoying exploring familiar old design spaces. I really am excited to find the energy and motivation to revisit that Final Fantasy X HD remaster. And I am playing a lot of Puzzle Craft, an utterly inane but soothing and manageable “casual game.” And that is it. I reckon I am not very “passionate” about games, in the way I feel I am supposed to be. I am that woman who likes farm games, who everyone brings up in every sexist article about “games for women.” I feel pressured to apologize.

This may be my favorite piece of the year-to-date; chock-full of quotable lines and familiar feelings. Alexander’s sentiment cuts to the core of The State of Gaming. I rarely play video games. I average two AAA titles and a handful of indies as my yearly allotment. As a substitute, I scrape together bits of time to check-in on industry news; Five-minutes here, ten-minutes there. Rather than commenting, I parse together thoughts on pieces in a blog format conducive to my limited time and incessant need to “be in the know.”

While I’m able to justify why I game, Alexander eloquently justifies why I don’t. This piece is a must read.