Preface
If you ask what the purpose of playing a game is, everyone..."To have fun"I'm certain that's the case.
(If you work in the gaming industry or as a writer, you probably play games for work, but...)
If you play games as a hobby, you're undoubtedly doing so because it brings you enjoyment.
There was a period when I found it difficult to enjoy playing games.
Back then, I couldn't really enjoy playing games, and even when I played games that were highly rated and considered fun, I played them with a sense of dissatisfaction.
I used to enjoy playing any game when I was little, so I wondered why I couldn't do that anymore once I became an adult.(*1)。
However, thanks to these experiences, I've come to the realization that enjoying games might not be something that can be taken for granted.
Before considering whether the work is interesting or not,I think the most important thing is that you yourself are in a state where you can enjoy the game.
This time, I'd like to share some of the insights I've gained about myself.
(*1) Added in April 2022
The reason for this is probably that when I was little, I couldn't easily buy video games.
When I was little, I didn't have a lot of money, so I couldn't buy new games very often. I tended to appreciate and play one game thoroughly, which is probably why I found it so enjoyable.
In what situations can you not enjoy a game?
The conditions for enjoying the game are not met.
I don't know if it's just me, but no matter what game I play, there are times when I think "This is fun!" and other times when I think "This isn't very fun..."
I don't know the exact reason why this happens.
There could be various reasons, such as not feeling well, not being relaxed, or having worries or anxieties.
However, one thing is certain:In this state, it's best to refrain from playing games and avoid touching them for a while.
In this state, even if you try to play various games, you won't be able to fully enjoy them.
Even a game that would normally be enjoyable might feel uninteresting under these circumstances, potentially leading players to stop playing.
This is a real shame, so I think it's important to take a break from playing in situations like this.
I believe that "enjoying" something is a very sophisticated mental activity.
If it's a job you're getting paid for, you can force yourself to motivate yourself and see it through, even if you don't enjoy it.
Work, whether enjoyable or not, is an activity that can be accomplished by performing some kind of task or producing deliverables.
However, "enjoying" something is a matter of hobbies and leisure, not an obligation.
To achieve the goal of "having fun," and this may sound tautological, "the act of having fun itself" is necessary.
It's fine if you have the technique to get yourself into a state of mind where you can enjoy something, but I think it's usually difficult to force yourself to enjoy something.
Since enjoying games isn't work or an obligation, I feel it's necessary to give myself some time to let the desire to play arise naturally.
I can't help but compare it to other works with different concepts.
After playing a game that I was incredibly engrossed in and enjoyed, that game leaves a strong impression on me for quite some time.
One thing I often find myself doing is comparing new games in the same genre to the one I was most engrossed in.
For example, I really love the Super Famicom game "Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War".
But at the same time, I also love the PlayStation game "Final Fantasy Tactics".
In terms of overall preference, I like the former more, but that doesn't mean the latter is inferior.
The two games have different game designs and concepts, and each has its own unique strengths.
When you play a really good game, you tend to become more critical of the next game you play, so it's a good idea to take some time to calm down.
Perhaps it's necessary to reset your mind by inserting works from completely different genres.
This is a bit of a digression.
When browsing free game download sites, I often come across reviews that harshly criticize two games with different concepts.
However, criticizing a game that boasts high difficulty as "too difficult to clear and therefore boring" is a matter of choice on the part of the player, not the creator.
(In the above case, it would be constructive to accept that it is difficult and then criticize the "degree of difficulty.")
Since free games are free of charge, you can easily download any titles that catch your eye.
However, that also means that your ability to find works that suit your own taste is being put to the test.
If you've paid for the game, you have a certain degree of right to criticize it.
However, a review of a free game that you can play for free, simply stating "it didn't suit my taste," seems rather meaningless.
What is the point of deliberately approaching something that doesn't suit your taste and then going to say, "This wasn't interesting"?
If someone says, "I thought it would suit me, but the game content was different from what I imagined based on the game description," then I think that feedback is meaningful because it suggests there's room for improvement in how the description is presented.
In short, the stance is not that criticism and critique are bad, but rather that we should stop slander (hurting someone by saying things that have no basis in fact).
I want to beat the game perfectly.
Some games include a lot of extra content and limited-time hidden events that are added along the way.
Some players, wanting to avoid missing any of these elements on their first playthrough, try to complete the game perfectly by consulting walkthrough websites and wikis.
I used to be that type of player too.
However, while playing a certain game, I missed out on a limited-time item and ended up overwriting the save file.
By the time you realize it, it's too late, and to start over, you have to play for dozens of hours again from the beginning.
Because of that, even though I was really enjoying the game, I lost the motivation to continue playing it.
However, after a while, I reconsidered, thinking it would be foolish to stop playing such an interesting game halfway through just because I'd missed one thing, so I started playing again.
This experience made me realize that you don't need to play perfectly from the start, and I feel like I can now enjoy games more casually.
If simply clearing the game once isn't enough for you, and you want to play it perfectly, then perhaps that's when you should start striving for perfection.
Looking back, even when I played Final Fantasy VI on the Super Famicom, I didn't know that I could save Shadow, but I still enjoyed the game.
Actually, after realizing I could be helped, I was excited, and I remember having a lot of fun playing through the game a second time.
These days, I think it's actually a good thing that there are elements that you might have missed, as that can be a motivation to play through the game a second time.
While every player has their own unique play style, if that style is hindering their enjoyment, it's worth considering.
Afterword
I've been thinking about the reasons why players might not be able to enjoy a game.
While there's a lot of discussion about the positive and negative aspects of the game, I felt like there wasn't much focus on the players' own attitudes.
I'm glad I was able to put into words the thoughts I had been holding inside that I hadn't been able to articulate until now.
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I also loved Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. It was a really great game. I remember playing through it about three times. It might be the best Super Famicom game of all time.
I couldn't beat Final Fantasy Tactics back then because it was too difficult. Later, I learned about the Arithmetic Holy spell from an online walkthrough and somehow managed to brute-force my way through it.
Final Fantasy VI brings back fond memories. I remember buying it for around 10,000 yen. That's an unthinkable price now that games are so much cheaper.
Speaking from personal experience, back then, games were expensive, so I played them desperately to get my money's worth, and that definitely contributed to the enjoyment.
Personally, I remember being furious when I found out about the true endings in Suikoden II and Langrisser III after I had already completed them, because I didn't want to have to replay them all. It's a good memory now, though.
I bought Langrisser 3 on release day and played it then, so I had no idea about the existence of the true ending. I was shocked when I found out about it later.
Thank you for your comment.
As you said, back then, video games often cost over 10,000 yen when they were released, and I was a child so I didn't have that kind of money.
Therefore, I feel like I would play the games I bought over and over again until I got tired of them.
That's probably why games I played in the past remain so deeply etched in my memory.
When a feature-length film has an irreversible element, it's really disheartening, isn't it?
Having had a similar painful experience, I too was desperate to completely clear the game in a single playthrough.
It's a fond memory now.