Random Musings and Lessons Learned

Over the course of the past year, having pushed myself to pay games an write about them, I find myself having learned a few things that I can't really find a place to write about. Some of these are small things, others lessons I should have learned well before now, but all of them I wanted to cover here. Consider this a sort of proof that I've grown, or at least changed, since starting this site.

Game Length

Despite what you may have been told, length very much matters, though maybe not in the way you may think. Going into this challenge, I was a huge proponent of shorter games being just as valid as longer ones, and for the most part, I stand by that. Instead, what I found was an appreciation for a game that knows how long it needs to be. For example, a game like To the Moon sits at a near perfect length, accomplishing what it sets out to do and telling the story it wants to tell without feeling rushed or overstaying its welcome. On the other end, The Witcher III, which consumed over 100 hours of my life, also feels like a pretty good length for what it sets out to do. The problem with longer games is that they become daunting to go back to. I loved The Witcher III and Dragon Age: Inquisition, but holy Hell do I not have it in me to play them again right away.

Examples of games that struggle with this would be Tales of Graces f, which could have cut the entire opening section and been all the better for it. Lord of the Rings: Gollum could have cut the experience in half and been none the worse for wear, though the problems inherent in that game go far deeper than just repetition. Ultimately, when people complain about how long a game is, the real question should be how long does it need to be, a question most games either nail or get way off.

Asexual Representation in Video Games

The best thing about video games is the ability to be anything, to do things you could never do, or at least shouldn't do in real life. Video games are an escape, a way to take your mind off the burning world around us, if only for a little while. The power of games lies in allowing the player to exist in another space, and like any form of media, players are drawn to characters, both playable and not, that reflect themselves in some way. This might boil down to a character that moves around the way you like, or characters that share your morality and sensibilities. This also includes representations of sexual preferences, which I can say video games have made great strides in the diversity available to the player. However, as an asexual, I find the representation to be.... lacking.

Asexuality is usually not even presented to the player, with the majority of characters either being straight, gay, or bi. The few characters who don't fall into those broad categories are generally shown to have no interest in sex, but I struggle to identify them as asexual. Sure, we have no reason to believe Mario has ever had sex, but when the world he's in exists in a state of childlike wonder, it seems less about sexuality and more about preserving innocence.

That's why I was thrilled to see not one, but two amazing examples of asexuality in my gaming this year. The first was Parvati from The Outer Worlds. She's a more than capable mechanic and can handle herself in combat, and she's the bubbliest and friendliest member of our crew. She also has a questline dedicated to her finding a partner, and worrying that her lack of interest in the physical aspects of a relationship will be a problem, as it has been in the past. She's a fully realized, mature character, and I love her for it.

Then there's Michi from Promise Mascot Agency. He's a tough former Yakuza member who has quite a bit of blood on his hands. He's shown to have a great reverence for his Yakuza family, and helps to play therapist to the group of misfit mascots we employ. It's not until one of the mascots begins to feel bad about herself as her flirting seems to have no effect that we learn Michi is asexual. Furthermore, we learn this information comes from a highly sexualized character who explains plainly that some people aren't into sex, and that's okay. It's not only representation, but even a normalization that, frankly, is amazing to see.

Finding The Character

A few of the games I finished this year were games that I had attempted to play, but couldn't get into for one reason or another. The Outer Worlds specifically I tried so many times to get into, and just couldn't. Finally, with a little help, I was able to get over this hurdle. Who helped me? Well, that'd be this idiot right here:

Art by Jan from FondlyFramed

This is Jaxxen, my go to character in games where I can make him work. Originally a D&D character, a half-elf monk to be precise, he's since grown into much more for me. Jaxxen is good at two things, punching and drinking. Anything else, well, he'll either wing it, or punch it. Any game that allows me to punch, I use him in, and this year I took him through Avowed, where he made plenty of idiotic choices, and Oblivion Remastered, where he punched his way to the top of the Mages Guild. I've also used him in Fallout games, and plan to use him more going forward. The point is, it's fun to play as my punchy idiot, and I adore when a game reacts to his stupidity.

For The Outer Worlds, I had to go in a bit of a different direction.

This is Minnie, the character that finally helped me care about The Outer Worlds. She's a retired lunch lady, equal parts terrifying and persuasive. She lost her eye in an incident that changes with each retelling, and she crocheted her eyepatch herself. When diplomacy fails, as it often does, she grabs her trusty flaming scythe, as old ladies are want to do, and takes care of business. Sadly, few of the options the game presented to me seemed to take her age into account, a problem I hope the sequel can fix.