On My Relationship with Video Games

I love video games. But it’s a rocky relationship.

as a vehicle for programming

Games are why I first learned to use computers; from ages 4-8, my parents only let me play typing games, drilling into me the importance of computer skills.

Games taught me to code. When I was 9, my parents let me explore video games, provided I knew how to make them. I learned to code in Adobe Flash (CS3, on Vista!), and uploaded my games to Newgrounds, Miniclip, and Kongregate - to poor reviews.

Games pushed me to program more. I dove into Minecraft modding and learned Java to make my own (buggy) mods with Forge. ComputerCraft motivated me to pick up Lua, and I learned logic gates through Redstone and RedPower.

Games were the first type of programming that I taught. In high school, I created a game development class for kids in Scratch.

Games were why I joined ACM at UCLA; the first events I attended were Studio’s Unity Tutorials.

I cannot emphasize how lucky I am to have learned programming at a young age. Video games gave me the life I have now.

as an art form

Video games created my favourite experiences:

• Portal 2 is my favourite video game. The art, music, and narrative is top-notch; the level design is stellar; the puzzles blew my mind.
• Antichamber made me question reality. This is the modern M.C. Escher.
• Hades is my favourite reimagination of Greek mythology.
• The visuals of Ori and the Blind Forest, Gris, and Transistor are breathtaking; Transistor’s soundtrack is equally mesmerizing.
• Breath of the Wild and Skyrim build worlds that rival the greatest fantasy franchises.
• Minecraft, Terraria, and Starbound are vanguards of creative building.

I’ll also shout out DOOM, Civ V, Borderlands 2, Slime Rancher, Stardew Valley, or Mini Metro.

as a time sink

My playtime in those games is dwarfed by just two: CS:GO and League of Legends. These are good games. However, …

Addicting is the right descriptor. Both consumed thousands of hours of my life.

Some of it was quality time with friends, but in retrospect, it was mostly mindless. I wished I spent time on other games instead - like The Witcher 3, Mirror’s Edge, or Hollow Knight. Or sleeping.

Playing competitive multiplayer games isn’t bad. I got too drawn into them, and they stopped being fun; that’s bad.

in the future

I still occasionally play League, and I just finished Gris and started DOOM Eternal. Moving forward, I want to spend time playing games that ignited my passion.

I’ll end by paraphrasing my friend in Discord, while we were playing League:

When I’m 50, I want to still be playing games. Not because they fill something missing in me. Because they’re fun.