For the past weeks, I have been toying with the idea of delving into some gaming again. The two reasons why I haven’t done that are that I don’t know which game I would pick and that I am worried of how time consuming it would be.
End of 2011 – mid 2013, I spent a lot of time on Star Wars: The Old Republic. I loved the game to pieces and up to this day there is only one class (Sith Warrior) whose storyline I didn’t complete nor brought to level 50. The game remains one of my favorite but since I cancelled my subscription last summer, I feel that the game is behind me. It might sound silly as I still own the game and could play it again, but I don’t have a strong will to hop back into it.
I am extremely impatient for the next Dragon Age installment as this is a franchise I adore, but since the game doesn’t come out until next Fall, it isn’t an option right now! I’ve been excited about Dragon Age: Inquisition since I first heard about it. Just mentioning the franchise again makes me entertain the possibility of picking up my research on female representations in it. I might do just that after the new game, and this time include the other aspects of the franchise, besides the games only.
I’m already sitting on quite a few games, notably in my Steam library. A good many of them, I am not interested playing for the time being. Even after some brainstorming, I am still entertaining a few different possibilities. The first is to pick up Mass Effect again. More than a year ago, two friends of mine got me the first two installments of the franchise, as I had been eager to play it for a long while. I started the first game and was having fun, until I got stuck early in the game. I know I could just pick up another planet, but I still have a sentiment of frustration. Yes, I am aware this is a classical gamer’s sentiment!
I have also not touched Torchlight 2 since a few days following its release. I’ve spent countless hours on the first game, loving the simple game play and colorful design. I enjoyed the beginning of Torchlight 2 and will eventually go back to it. I like the uncomplicated aspect of the game. I love engaging games with solid story lines, but sometimes I just want to have fun, i.e. explore and kill enemies. One improvement I really noticed from start in the second installment is how they made all classes available for both male and female characters. I always prefer playing a female character when I am given a choice. I think that the big exceptions when I had as much fun playing a male protagonist – due to lack of options – were Final Fantasy VIII and The Witcher.
Speaking of Fantasy VIII, it still is my favorite game from this franchise. I played bits and pieces of other but Final Fantasy VIII is an all time favorite. Since I saw the game made available on Steam, I have been itching to purchase it, as I am unsure that my old copy would be friends with my Win 7 computer. Since purchasing new games isn’t something I would pursue right now, I am nevertheless tempted to try out my old copy on my desktop computer. I haven’t played it in years and every once in a while I feel like going through another replay.
The final game I have been toying with as a possibility for hopping back into gaming is Path of Exile. I am intrigued by the game. It looks right up my alley and I really like the fact that it is free to play. What worries me is the insane skill tree. I never really like those, but the special one they have in this game gives me a headache from start. I also am worried that I might invest crazy amounts of time in it, given how my only previous MMORPG experience, Star Wars: The Old Republic, saw me spend countless hours enthralled in the game, more than any other single player ones I played before.
Writing all my musing down makes me stir towards a few possible final choices; but I am still wary of delving back into gaming. Thing is that besides all the work I have been doing lately with crazy amount of writing – which makes me a very happy camper, i.e. researcher! – I had the luck to be able to vid again, like I hadn’t in a very long time. I am a bit worried that if I play video games again, my vidding muses might just run away.
I am starting to think that maybe gaming would be left best for once I am done with other videos I need to make for another upcoming blog series I want to publish this Spring, and that some of the TV shows I am currently following end their current seasons. I know that I could just divide everything in smaller patches of time to have a wilder mix of every hobby, but these days I don’t do as well in that regard and am more comfortable focusing only on a handful things at a time.
Natacha Guyot 