Gaming Goals Aren’t Fun For Me – Blaugust 2

I’ve noticed over the years that a lot of bloggers post their gaming goals at the start of every month. I’ve always found this both fascinating and puzzling. I myself can’t think of a time when I’ve ever made long-term planning goals for any games I’m playing.

My goal-all the time, every month, every day, every time I log into any game-is to experience something fun or interesting or entertaining or challenging or surprising.

When I think about strategizing my time in games, it sounds like work to me. Planning and scheduling and project management are the things you do in a job, sitting in a cubicle in uncomfortable business casual attire, when someone is paying you for your time. I don’t particularly want to bring the working world over into my games if I can help it.

That’s a great way for me to lose interest. If I had to plan and organize to play a game, I’d drop it in a heartbeat.

One exception just occurred to me: My Dark Souls Remastered Casual Nostalgia tour (plug!), which I planned rather extensively. But in truth I was planning the video series, which is a creative work, a sort of unpaid job. In that case I got enough satisfaction from the finished product (which actually isn’t finished yet) that I didn’t mind the “work” involved.

I do like to note my progress in MMORPGs, though. I have been known to keep a spreadsheet of my daily status in Final Fantasy XIV during the times I’m really active. And I very often take screenshots at every character level up.

I should stress here that I don’t mean to say that setting goals is a waste of time. Planning and measuring progress is incredibly useful for maintaining productivity over long-term projects.

I guess some people innately enjoy the planning process as if it were a game itself, but for me, at least, it’s not very fun.

Photo is an industrious squirrel trying to get into a squirrel-proof back yard bird feeder, taken in 2007.