NINE PLACES TO BEGIN
曉 Akatsuki
Notes on decision paralysis, agency, and gaming.
25 stories · Page 1 of 3
You Didn't Forget the Game. You Forgot Why You Wanted It.
You didn't forget the game. You forgot why you wanted it.
Why You Open Steam and Close It Five Minutes Later
The pattern is always the same.
The Reason Yesterday's Game Doesn't Work Today
You played a game yesterday. You enjoyed it. You went to bed thinking about it.
Why You Want New Games When You Have 80 Unplayed Ones
You scroll through your library. Nothing grabs you. So you open the Steam store. You browse. You wishlist a couple of things. You feel productive.
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time to Start That RPG
The 80-hour RPG sits in your library. You bought it on sale six months ago. It's a great game, you know it's a great game, you've heard nothing but praise. But you haven't started it.
You Don't Owe That Game an Ending
You started a game three weeks ago. You played for ten hours. Then life happened. You haven't gone back, but you haven't deleted it either. Every time you see it in your library, you feel a small pang.
The Pile of Shame Is a Lie You Tell Yourself
"Pile of shame" entered gaming vocabulary somewhere around the rise of digital storefronts. Before Steam sales and Humble Bundles, you had to physically buy each game. Your library was self-limiting. After, the friction collapsed and libraries grew faster than playtime.
Why You Buy Games During Sales You'll Never Play
The Steam Summer Sale starts. You feel a familiar pull. You scroll through the discounts. A game catches your eye. 75% off. You're not sure if you'll play it. You buy it anyway.
You're Not Playing Worse, You're Just Older
You used to play four hours a night without thinking about it. Now you play forty-five minutes and feel done. You used to push through the difficult parts of a game. Now you switch to easy mode without ceremony, or stop playing.