As we near the end of our roughly two-month anniversary celebration, we are tasked now with taking a good hard look at our ourselves to decide how we, as gamers, have changed over the last decade.  Not only do I hope that I’ve grown in skill (though it’s doubtful), but my preferences have changed, as well, along with a rather strange side effect created by the prevalence of trophies and achievements…

Starting off with the most obvious point, have I actually improved at all as a gamer?  Sure, I often don’t find myself struggling through difficult games as much as I used to, but I can’t tell if that’s because I’ve actually improved or because games just seem easier these days than they used to be.  Then again, maybe games seem easier because I’ve improved?

So I guess that’s a conundrum that will never have a very clear answer.

One thing I do know is that I’m more patient than I used to be, which especially helps in platformers.  There are plenty of challenging games from my past that I used to really struggle with (such as the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy from my childhood).  Sure, those games aren’t so difficult anymore after decades of practice.  But it also just helps that I’m better at staying calm under pressure, making it less likely that I’ll make a mistake due to stress.

I’ve also become less critical of games over the years, as well.  I remember when I was a duckling, I thought a lot of games were terrible.  Nowadays, I’m able to play a lot more games due to having far more finances than I did as a child, and I rarely find any games that I’d truly call bad.  And I know games these days are not simply better.  I’m just able to appreciate them more.  Take FNAF: Security Breach, for example, a more recent game many people would say is…not very good.  But I still enjoy it, despite its many flaws, because I can see all the love that went into it, even if Steel Wool clearly was overambitious and, as a result, in no way released the product we were promised.  Was the game disappointing?  Yes.  But does that mean it has no redeeming qualities?  Absolutely not!

My gaming preferences are also a bit different from what they used to be.  As a duckling, I always preferred more exciting games, with fast-paced platforming or grand adventures.  And while I still love those kinds of games, I’m also far more into relaxing, chill games, as well.  I think the stress of being an adult makes me far more willing, nay, eager to play more games that won’t stress me out, like puzzle games or sims like Two Point Campus or resource management games like Spiritfarer.  After an exhausting day, I don’t always want to play a game that will tire me out even more.

Lastly, I’ve noticed an odd trend, and I think the inclusion of trophies/achievements might be partly to blame.  You see, in the past, I could play the same game through to 100% multiple times.  But nowadays, once I’ve obtained all the trophies for a particular game, I have little motivation to ever play it again.  There’s something about a game feeling like it’s “officially” complete that makes the idea of revisiting feel pointless to me.  Actually, I think recording games for Youtube also contributes to this.  For example, I recorded 100% playthroughs of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine.  I’ve completed the former game 100% once prior and I think I’ve finished Sunshine 100% multiple times prior.  But now that I have posted videos of myself completing these games, the desire to go through the slog of obtaining 100% completion is just gone.

Of course, being an adult over the past decade, the changes will be less pronounced than they were the decade prior.  Nevertheless, it was rather interesting to note that I have indeed evolved to a point, with an increased patience no doubt due to maturity (yeah, sure, I’m real mature with my growing plush collection…) and a new love of relaxing games thanks to the heightened sleepiness that seems to be a natural part of being a grown up.  We’ll just have to see how I change in the coming years…and if I manage to get over my inexplicable apathy towards games in which I’ve collected all trophies….