If you have yet to play it, you probably know No Man's Sky for two things.  First, for the gigantic expectations surrounding it.  And two, if you believe a collective online mantra, an apparently gigantic let-down.

I'll be direct; if you are caught up in the first, you may fall into the second.  Not because No Man's Sky is not worthwhile, but because that's just how expectations tend to play out.  Considering four out of five members of our family are hooked on No Man's Sky (and the fifth is too young to play, so he just watches) it is safe to say our house has an incredibly positive opinion of the game.

But I'm not writing this to repeat Crabby's excellent article about enjoying a game despite a common antagonistic theme against it.  And anyway, No Man's Sky is doing well and already has some ardent defenders.  I'd like to write about what my boss said when I asked if he had yet played No Man's Sky:  "Yes," he sighed, "Way too much.  I've spent so long playing that game already.  I don't know why I keep playing it."  He's also said the same of his time in World of Warcraft and a few mobile games he plays frequently.



It's odd, right?  I've heard of a PC gamer who spent over a hundred hours in No Man's Sky and then asked for a refund because it didn't live up to expectations.  Battlefield 1's recent Beta once again brought out the Battlefield and Call of Duty fans who will complain endlessly about different aspects of said games, after spending dozens or hundreds of hours playing them- and they continue playing!

I hope it goes without saying that I'm not against being critical or complaints with legitimate issues with games.  But, is it common to spend such huge amounts of time into an entertainment activity and come away vehemently against it?  I don't think the folks who hated the film Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice went to go see it several more times.  If you hate a music album, you're not likely to listen to it more than another time or two, if at all.  Yes, many video games progressively develop and sometimes what starts slow all comes together, but I'm referring to the folks who spend more than just a few hours trying it out.  Personally, I think if the first ten hours of a game isn't doing it for you and you spend another ten hours with it, maybe blaming the game after that is no longer redundant, but kinda silly.


So why is this something we see more in video games than anything else?  After all, a game doesn't have to justify its existence since it is, by definition, inherently unnecessary in the first place.  Even beyond the more recent acceptance of video games as artistic expression, and the realization of their place in historical and contemporary cultural development, video games largely exist to entertain; they are a leisure product.  That doesn't eliminate their inherent value, but it cannot be denied that they have been and always will be at best an unnecessary addition to things we actually need.  Spending large chunks of time being entertained is one thing, but spending that time with an entertainment product (when to be entertained is still the goal) while admittedly not being entertained is, put kindly, rather strange.  Why do we see it, and see it more often?  I'm theorizing it has to do with the two recent developments of gamification and the internet groupthink narrative.


First, it cannot be discounted that the internet introduces a groupthink narrative. While not new, it has certainly become commoditized.  When it comes to funding, problem solving, or resource compilation, there are countless benefits to how social connection technologies have developed our world.  Unfortunately, like any technology, there are problems introduced as well.  Sometimes a snowballed, negative 'groupthink' identity attaches to a game or series.  "Unnecessary sequels," "should be free-to-play," and "dumbed down for casuals" are concepts that, once attached, can tank interest and sales for a video game. 

Some of my favorite gaming experiences are with games I'd never have played had I listened to popular narrative, or if that narrative replaced my own interests.  I don't defend BioShock 2, an "unnecessary sequel," because I'm easily entertained; I defend it because I found the story to be a mature development of the themes presented in the first game, plus it was fun to play.  I never found Evolve lacking content or fun, and while a free-to-play model is welcome if it gets more players to have fun, I have sympathy for the talented developers who read forums demanding their hard work be given away.  One of my middle son's favorite games is Happy Feet Two.  Modern thought has a triple condemnation for this one; a sequel, a license game, and a motion-control Wii game.  It is unfortunate that many would tell my son that he's having the wrong fun.


In fact, the same kiddo loves his Monster 4X4 3DS game.  Even though he owns and enjoys Mario Kart 7, which is objectively a better game in every sense, he plays and enjoys Monster 4X4, a game that has been reviewed as one of the worse games on the 3DS.  My son enjoys it and he doesn't even have a thing for monster trucks; he, like his dad, just finds games he finds fun and enjoys them regardless of anyone else's opinion.  He doesn't spend time on internet forums and game review sites.  He doesn't feel the need to explain why he enjoys what he enjoys.  It is the purest form of video gaming for the sake of fun; he just enjoys what he enjoys.  Do I enjoy it?  Ah, no.  Not at all.  I showed him Mario Kart 7, and he liked it too, but it didn't diminish his Monster 4X4 enjoyment.  Cool by me!

My other theory is how gamification has, well, turned everything into a game. And because of the success of gamification, that is how we see everything around us:  Fitness.  Career development.  Dating.  Fundraising.  Banking.  Mental Health.  Traveling.  If there is a method to attach numbers, track progress, set specific goals, compete, or otherwise make a game out if it, that's how it is done nowadays.  That's not necessarily a bad thing!  The problem is, when everything is a game, what happens to gaming for the sake of gaming?  If we cannot measure the benefit, if we cannot directly track the progress, if we have no measurable 'fun' of what we are doing, it is much easier to lose interest in a world that demands everything must be quantified and set to progressive, competitive numbers.   

This was apparent to me years ago when I was caught in the meta-game of Xbox achievements.  At my peak of Gamerscore hunting, I had stacks of non-360 games I really, genuinely wanted to play.  Yet I would often spend time on games that bored me, or more time with games I felt I wanted to be done with, all because of that meta-score.  I wasn't even actively competing for Gamerscore with a friend or anything; I just thought that overall number represented my entertainment net-gain. 


It wasn't a specific game or system that finally broke me out of the several-year habit.  It just sort of happened.  Suddenly, I realized I no longer enjoyed video games themselves, I was playing them for the sake of a number that honestly didn't matter to me.  I took a few months hiatus, and then started playing games for other systems again, and began to remember why I fell in love with video games in the first place.

Now I unabashedly play on easy mode for many games.  I open every game, toy and bonus item I get in order to remove any temptation to keep it only for resell value.  I make a point to play anything I have interest in regardless of reviews or internet opinions.  And you know what?  I enjoy video games now more than any other time in my life, rekindled from those happy childhood memories of a C64, NES, 2 liter of Coke, an overnight friend or two, and a whole Friday night stretching before me.

Gaming for the sake of gaming is a refreshing alternative. 
Perhaps achievements and trophies bring you that kind of joy.  If you play for them, I hope so!  Maybe you always give a chance to games you are curious about regardless of popular opinion, sequel-itis, or fanboyism.  I hope so!  Perhaps you can enjoy a game without some extra quantification explaining how entertained you are.  If so, sell me your gaming PC!

If you ever find yourself playing a game and end up asking yourself, "Why am I playing this?", I hope you give one of two replies.  Maybe it's because you're having fun!  Just not the kind of fun you were expecting, or can immediately quantify.  And if you honestly really are not having fun, there's so much out there that I hope your reply is, "Next!"

 

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