For me it's strategy games like Civilization. It can be mentally challenging in a good way, but for me it's near-impossible to pause sometimes. But I also recognize that's a "me" problem. Ultimately Civilization is not *designed* to hijack people's limbic systems the way a lot of mobile/lootbox games are. Or literal gambling machines.
It is also a matter of opportunity cost. I prefer work, meditation, making money and being with friends and family over playing text based choose your own adventure games, and I prefer freemium games over long stretches of anxiety/bad mood.
In roughly 30-50 years, I think AI will program games for you. The game designer will only have to specify roughly what they want. This way, the games worlds will be so numerous and vast that you can't rely on online guides and maps to give you directions. You will be truly exploring the game world on your own.
For certain personality types, sandbox games can be a near infinite time sync and rather addictive.
The ADHD engineer type with hyper focus fixating on some simulation games tends to line up with my experiences.
💯
For me it's strategy games like Civilization. It can be mentally challenging in a good way, but for me it's near-impossible to pause sometimes. But I also recognize that's a "me" problem. Ultimately Civilization is not *designed* to hijack people's limbic systems the way a lot of mobile/lootbox games are. Or literal gambling machines.
How do you feel about Xbox Achievements and PlayStation Trophies in regards to the topic of this article?
It's funny you mention that, because I originally had a brief paragraph about trophies/achievements that got so big that I spun it off into it's own essay: https://www.staygrounded.online/p/the-gamification-of-games-a-rant
tl;dr How do I feel about them? Not great!
Thanks. Now I challenge you to read replies to my tweet. You will know which one. 🤓
It is also a matter of opportunity cost. I prefer work, meditation, making money and being with friends and family over playing text based choose your own adventure games, and I prefer freemium games over long stretches of anxiety/bad mood.
In roughly 30-50 years, I think AI will program games for you. The game designer will only have to specify roughly what they want. This way, the games worlds will be so numerous and vast that you can't rely on online guides and maps to give you directions. You will be truly exploring the game world on your own.
~David Goggins.