Destiny came out this week, and with its release comes a personal sadness. Because the game is lackluster, over-hyped or cliché? Most definitely not. If anything, the game is a stunning work of art and a sturdy step forward in gaming (at least from what I’ve heard). So why is it I’m all down then, eh? It’s the realization I had when I noticed it on Twitter: I was completely disconnected from the gaming world.
I can remember in high school, my average day went as follows: morning swim practice, school, afternoon swim practice, video games, homework, sleep…repeat. Now that sounds like a terribly boring life, but you’d be amiss to think so. It was the best. Life was simple. Coming home from practice and hopping online to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with my teammates never ended in a dull moment, and homework wasn’t an issue.
The day I got to college though, that all went away. This wasn’t really because I lacked interest, but because I knew Tech was going to weigh me down big time. Between school and swimming, gaming would be impossible. At least this is what I thought as a freshman. So as a result I totally lost track of what was up-and-coming, so I felt I was out of the loop with some of my friends that were managing to keep up.
I saw the news about Destiny all over Twitter and Facebook, and my immediate thought was “wait…so what is so cool about this?” I looked into it and was amazed at what it had to offer, but that amazement was quickly replaced by the sinking feeling that I no longer own a console and I wouldn’t really be able to experience it (and I own a Mac, so PC gaming is severely restricted).
Now this is by no means a huge deal. It’s just a big bummer. My schedule now is basically all school, swimming, the Technique, photography, and a couple other odd jobs; where’s my leisure time, where’s my time to relax and unwind?
Perhaps this is the true bummer, not gaming itself but the realization that my life has culminated into one giant job. I’d love to find the time again to sit down and knock out some games, and I’ve tried, briefly, in the past, but I was never able to keep it up.
As excited as I am to graduate from Tech and go out into the real world, I am genuinely nervous that I will lose even more time to the work-world. I’d love to keep up with what studios are developing and what innovations are being pushed, and to share in everyone else’s enjoyment, as we play, wide-eyed and childlike. I’d like to believe retaining a hint of childlikeness, and taking some time away from the real world every now and again will do wonders for stress and happiness. To those of you at this school who keep your grades and crank out gaming hours, I applaud you, and I hope to reach that point soon…because I am not going to miss out on the next Destiny-esque game.