I’ve never been the best gamer. In fact, I spent almost 3 decades where I would go through spurts of attempted gaming excellence but always fell short. As stupid as it sounds, the drive to beat the game outweighed the enjoyment of playing. So, I simply didn’t play. I have now accepted my gamer life but my fingers don’t always want to cooperate.
The first-person shooter is what I thought the game had become because that’s what my guys played. I didn’t bother to branch or try different types. Nor did I realize there were so many. Fast forward to a pandemic, and my hands and mind demanded I find a healthy outlet – enter my 3DS.
“…discover the chance to try again.”
Up until then, my gaming was pen and paper RPG. A slip up can cause a character you spent hours creating to be a frustrating memory. It’s immensely enjoyable, but the figurative stakes are high. While my tabletop gaming is fun, it requires other people and real time to play.
My 3DS taught me a different technique. I started out worried my hero would die in game only to discover the chance to try again. There was an option to play for minutes or hours depending on my schedule and willingness to play. I didn’t need to schedule anything or come up with story. I could just enjoy.
Enter gamer life
The more I paid attention to gamers, the more I realized that they share the ability to give it a shot, slightly tweak the response, and simply try again. This revolutionary concept opened my gaming mind to see there is something for just about everyone. I now have a Switch and laptop to add to my gaming stash. I’m still not good at gaming. These arthritic fingers don’t always want to work the way they need to, but it’s fun to try!