My 2010: The Importance of Being Patient

I'm sitting here, like most of the users on this site I'd presume, with an unavoidable urge to write some kind of Game of the Year blog. I am afraid that if I did the same I would just be telling you all that Red Dead Redemption is awesome, Super Meat Boy is nails, and Minecraft destroys free time. So to avoid this boring mess I've decided to write about how I've personally changed as a gamer this year, and those games which formed the change. Let us begin:

I'm nearly 22, and for the first 20 years of my life I was the gamer who rushed to the end. I used to love being the guy who could rent and finish a game, all within one or two nights. That guy was a dickhead. That was the guy who came home from Uni a week before his exams to lock himself in his room and play through GTA4 in 2 sittings, before returning to Uni the day after, barely seeing his family. That was also the guy who finished MGS4 start to finish in 1 day, skipping no cutscenes.

Perhaps more importantly, Trophies happened.

I used to be one of those guys who would hate on the 360's Achievements system because "It makes people play games for the wrong reasons" and adds to the whole "Doing stuff so other people in internet land can see how cool you are". (Sure, there may even be some subconscious PS3 Fanboyism in there too). But 2010 was the year I "got" it. Something happened this year which made me bloody love Trophies, and I'd like to think that it wasn't one of those reasons mentioned above. In fact, I'm fairly sure the reason was Uncharted 2, the persistent bugger. After finishing the story and delving into the multiplayer I just wanted more out of the game, I wanted to spend more time with Drake in his sexy world, and so I did, shooting 500 people with every type of gun that I was told to, until I got the Platinum. Since that experience in January I've gone on to Platinum InFamous, Uncharted 2, and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time.

I'd like to think I did this because these games deserved my undivided attention for longer than the main story would allow. (Those bloody blast shards make me potentially doubt this though.)

2010 was also the year I started playing games on Hard.

This is potentially an offshoot of the Trophy obsession, but this year I've tried to begin all my games on difficulty settings above "normal". Potentially inspired by Jeff's constant "THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD PLAY HALO/GEARS/COD etc" and InFamous' "So after this mission you seem OK, wanna play on hard? (It means you don't have to play again for the Trophy? OK SURE!)". This has lead to some experiences I would never have had if playing on easier difficulty settings, the pride on finally finishing InFamous for example. But similarly it has lead to some FRUSTRATING AS HELL moments; I'm yet to finish, my recently-acquired, Modern Warfare (It's just some game I've heard about, I'd reccommend it) and Ninja Gaiden makes me curl up in a ball. But I'm hoping when I finally finish them, the sense of achievement will be MONUMENTAL.

(*NB I may/may not have just googled "Baby Gamer" , I'm hoping i'm not gonna get sued/attacked by the parents. Also, that's a pretty cool Wii door no?)

Oh yeh, the RPG happened.

Due to my previously mentioned speed obsession I never managed to sit through an RPG as a kid.

"Turn based combat? Fuck off. This is a VIDEO GAME, not Monopoly."

I'd like to think this has changed this year. And I put that down to Giant Bomb. (Can you see what's coming here?) 2010 was the year I finally got Persona 4. I'm yet to finish it as I've only had it 2 weeks but that still counts right? I'm 20 hours in and loving every minute of it. Never have I wanted to savour every minute of a gaming experience before, and never have I had as much fun as this. (CLAIM!) Similarly, this was the year I finally bought Final Fantasy 7, finished Valkyria Chronicles and played through Yakuza 1-3. I appreciate that these last 2 aren't really RPGs and I'm sure by mentioning them in this section I've annoyed some geniune RPG fans,and I'm sorry, but they do act as an easy access point into the RPG world, especially for someone who finds that world rather intimidating.

There's something about long-ass RPG/Action RPG games you can't get with any other genre; an investment in both Characters and Actions which is unattainable in any other genre/medium.

Also, Japan is nuts.

2010 was the year I learnt to savour things.

Is that better than "patient"? I hope so. I think the most important development for me, personally, which I struggle to fully comprehend, is the new focus I have on harder games and the rewards I get from playing them. Whether those rewards are Trophies or personal satisfaction. The real reason this is so important to me is because it highlights something that has always been interesting to me, especially in my teenage years;

To what extent are the things we do dictated by how people will see us?

(I hope this isn't getting too John Hughes for everyone)

I'd love to think that my new Trophy hunger is born out of an inherent need to test myself, to see whether or not I'm quite as good as my interest in gaming would suggest. But I can't quite abolish the idea that trophies are simply an extension of the "About Me" section of social networking sites. It's a place to show off how dedicated you are to your hobby. I'd love to know your thoughts on this because it's a pretty important issue for me. Is it possible to completely rid our concerns of "how-we-are-seen" yet still hunt for Trophies and Achievement points?

This blog is getting pretty long and pretentious, so I'll return in a bit with more of a concise list of my 2010 games. I'm betting it will be games from 2008/9 with a hint of Red Dead.

Thanks for reading this rather long blog!

Fraser