Reflecting on the Past and Looking Ahead to the Future: Video Game Resolutions in 2022
Shortly after Flora Eloise edited and scheduled the publishing of our yearly “A Video Game Thanksgiving” article, I learned that a life-long friend of mine had passed away. Since that moment, I’ve been scrambling to spend time with her family, spend time with my own, wrap up the first year of my PhD program, and make sense of the growing gap in my life where her presence used to be. Shortly after Christmas, I returned to my small apartment and unpacked. That’s when I got an alert on my phone that I’d set nearly a year ago before. It read: “Reflect on your 2021 video game resolutions – how did you do?”
There have been no greater reminders of how short life can be – how fast time can pass – than the passing of a loved one. When I booted up my computer and Google searched the article I wrote at the end of 2020, I got a chance to see all of the hope and optimism I had for the upcoming year. Did it turn out like I hoped? No, not quite. I imagine that’s probably the case for most of you reading this. But still, reflecting on my list (which you can see more of at the bottom of this article) gave me a sense of hope. With a new year comes a new sense of purpose. It’s a chance to be better than I was the year before, and an opportunity for a fresh start. Let’s talk about 2022 video game resolutions!
Play More Long Games
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve developed such an aversion to games that don’t respect my time that I’ve begun to avoid things that are longer than 25 hours just to be safe. With Elden Ring on its way in 2022, I’ll have no choice but to dive into some experiences that chew away at some of my free time. Reflecting on what I’ve played in 2021, there was a blatant shortage of RPGs – a genre I long considered to be a favorite.
There is such an inclination to jump from one game to the next, that it’s hard to admit to myself that the entirety of two or three weeks may be occupied by a single game. But I’m ready to face that fear head on, and hoping to (finally) get into The Witcher 3 to kick off the new year.
Develop a Review Habit
Some of my best friends regularly write a brief review of a book shortly after reading it. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to kick old habits and I’ve been doing full game reviews for the better part of a decade now, but I’d really love to look back a year from now and have thoughts available to me that were fresh out of the oven. Looking back on my game of the year choices, I wish it was a little easier for me to remember exactly how I felt a week or two after I completed the game. At the very least, it would be nice to have a log of everything I’ve completed and how I felt about it.
Putting the Controller Down
One thing I got a little better at in 2021 is knowing when it’s a good time to stop. I have a deeply rooted desire to complete everything I start – which is an especially unfortunate habit with the increase in bloated game times. The truth of the matter is, games are often front loaded and their best ideas are often integrated at the beginning of the game to serve as a hook. If a game can’t grab my interest in the first few hours, I want to feel more comfortable moving on to whatever is next. Sometimes putting the controller down is the best form of self-care.
This might help ease my fear of playing some longer games. I should only stick around for the hours if I want to.
Understanding the History and Science
Before the holidays, I set my mind on getting a new coffee maker. Involved in this process was combing through thousands of different builds to determine which coffee maker was the best fit for what I needed. It seems silly, but the deeper I dug into what machine worked best, the more I began to understand about the coffee I drink every morning. There is an entire chemical process that takes place that, frankly, I had no understanding of at the time. Now I have a deep understanding of concepts like extraction uniformity and ideal brewing temperatures.
That is all to say that, now that I know more about coffee, I have a deeper appreciation for it. One of our founders, Preston Johnston, believed that to understand video games as a concept, you needed to understand how they are made. One of my goals this year is to learn more about video game development – not just the software development, but the production and writing components of game design. If you’re reading this and have a good place to start, send me a message on Twitter @BengermanPlays!
Dive Into an Unexplored Franchise
Back in 2018, I played through the entirety of the Mega Man collection in about a month. Ever since, I’ve learned that playing games one after the other is my ideal way to soak up a franchise — a method that connects to my last New Year’s resolution pretty well. Seeing development ideas updated in real time is a lot of fun, and a familiarity with control schemes and play style make the transition between games feel effortless.
There are still a handful of collections I’ve yet to sink significant time into, including Final Fantasy, Yakuza, Metal Gear, and Devil May Cry. I’d love to go through one or more of them before the end of the year.
Reflecting on Last Year’s Resolutions
Did I effectively kill off the concept of “the backlog?” The truth is, I actually did pretty well here! Last year, I recommended to myself that I keep a much shorter list of games on hand (between 3-5), select one, and then play it all the way through or give up on it when I lost interest.
Instead, I found a better solution for myself: I kept a list of ten games on my phone, ranging from games like Contra (1987) to things I missed the year before, like Immortals: Fenyx Rising (2020). I could only select games from that list, and if I wanted to add something new, my only options were to beat the game or remove it from my list for an entire year (with the help of a MacOS app called Things). In spite of the defending my thesis this year and starting the first year of my doctoral program, I managed to play 38 different single player games this year, and completed 31 of them. A solid completion rate! I’ll likely be carrying this new system over to 2022, with a handful of tweaks.
Verdict: Resolved
Was I able to achieve the gaming setup of my dreams? Last year, I promised myself that I’d do away with an old and uncomfortable gaming setup and replace it with newer gear and furniture. This year, I’ve managed to build my own PC, build my own desk with some help from Ikea, purchase a new set of Edifier bookshelf speakers, and buy way too much from Grovemade. I still have quite a bit of work to do, including finding a better way to hide some of my cables, but I’m happy with the progress. The most important part is that it’s comfy and gives me plenty of room to operate.
Verdict: Resolved
Did I play The Witcher 3? Sadly, this continues to be my most significant failure going into 2022. Maybe this will be the year? Nay, this will be the year.
Verdict: Unresolved
Did I hit 25,000 VR in Mario Kart 8? This is a weird one, because while I didn’t hit 25,000 in Mario Kart 8, I did something similar that I’m much, much more proud of. The first thing is that I 100%’ed the game, including beating CPU time trials at all speed levels. I got myself a golden kart, wheels, and Mario. I’ll take it!
The more significant achievement is that I got all Super Smash Bros Ultimate characters into ‘Elite Smash’ – the online rank achieved with individual characters to signify that a level of expertise has been reached. This is one of those things where I’d never, ever suggest anyone in their right mind try. But I did try, and I achieved it.
Verdict: Unresolved*
Did I try something new? In 2021, I feel like I was one of five people on planet earth who didn’t get into Final Fantasy XIV. In a year where I had to be a little more selective about my time (am I allowed to say that, after having dumped 500+ hours into Smash Bros?), trying out an MMO sadly didn’t make the list. It seems possible that it’s something I could do in 2022, though. I did, however, put quite a bit of time into Guilty Gear Strive. It’s a pipe dream to spend more time with the FGC, who I admire more and more with every passing week.
Verdict: Unresolved
Did I play more games with people? The easiest resolve of the year. I got a lot of time to play games with friends and family, and I’m happy I did. More of this in 2022, I hope.
Verdict: Resolved
