A Gamer's Woes: Tick Tock, Stop the Clock!

 

“Wow, the complete Assassin’s Creed collection going for 50% off! That’s such a steal!” – My exact words about 6 months ago during the Winter Steam Sale. 

Why are you waiting for, my inner voice went. Assassin’s Creed is a good game. 50% off for the entire series was the best you can get. My cursor slowly went towards the add to cart button. In just a few minutes, I could be in Jerusalem, or Venice, stabbing Templars and exploring my heart out.

Ah, another voice more deep and menacing, but will you have TIME for it?

Well, shit.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about till now, this basically outlines the story of every gamer who faces cheap deals and offers for various games. It’s not the deals that are bad, of course, they’re super great! It’s the lack of time to finish said purchased games is what I’d like to highlight.

But they’re just video games! Sure, they may be just that. But inside each video game is a story waiting to be told. It’s like buying a dozen books from a bookstore and putting them on the shelf to collect dust. That just won’t do! I want to know how Altair eventually regains his honour among the Assassins, to see Mass Effect’s Shepherd finally repelling the Reaper’s conquest and bring peace to the galaxy once again, and to experience how Joel and Ellie cope with the wasteland in The Last of Us.

But I can’t do that, because of constraints. I’d have to work, obviously, and there are commitments towards the family, and friends.

Now, I’m not saying I would rather cut ties with my social life just to finish my games. But sometimes, I’d just like to sit down and finish a whole series without being interrupted. I’ve too many damn games in my Steam account that’s just begging to be played and I can’t seem to find the right time to do so.

During a week’s break, I actually played through the entire Mass Effect series and boy, was I glad. It felt so good knowing that you’ve accomplished all that first-hand, instead of reading boring text from some Wikipedia page. I spent about 100 hours (because I’m an over-achiever in these type of games, I might need help soon) on the whole game, and I’ve no regrets; it was a good tale worth the duration.

But there’s still plenty for me to go, and that’s a long road for me to walk. With the upcoming Steam Summer Sale 2013, I’d best be prepared for more unfinished stories to carry while I attempt to clear the ones I’ve already have in my hands.

Rushing through these games kills your enthusiasm for it too. When Borderlands 2 first came out, we had very little time to play, and we ended up skipping many side missions to complete the game itself. In the end, we were pretty burnt out and had no idea where the story was leading us. It ruined the experience for me, and felt like a chore to play the game.

But why not just stop buying them? Isn’t it that easy? It is easy. I could just unsubscribe my credit card off my Steam account; try to avoid the internet for about a week, and presto, no more worries! But gaming is in my blood, and these deals are like nectar, even though it may seem like a no-brainer to some. There’s always that little tiny voice inside me that comforts me, telling me that I’d definitely make the time for this specific game, despite the other ten it convinced me to buy during previous sales.

I may sound insane, but this is common to many others who are familiar with such gaming deals. Our blog is even based off from the problem (now you get it). It may feel like a psychological problem, but it’s not a horrible driving need, more like an annoyance, knowing that you can never complete those great stories waiting for you back home while you’re stuck at the office.

Sometimes, I’d wish I could just freeze time and space, turn on my computer, finish all my games, and let real life resume. But unless I stumble upon a universal remote controller straight from Click, I’d take my chances on salvaging what time I have. Real life isn’t all that bad, of course. Family and friends are still the way to roll on Earth, in the end.

But just let me stab the Templars first before we decide on the weekend’s plans, please?

-Airalien