Why did I play League of Legends, or any game for that matter?
It definitely isn’t enjoyable as it might seem to be. Let’s get that out of the way. In fact it fills me with a fraction of self-disgust every time I touch the game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing shade at people who play the game. This is more so out of self-contempt, and others who have struggled with the issue will come to understand.
Growing up playing games have been a huge aspect of my life. A statement uttered by so many avid gamers that it makes everyone else just roll their eyes. Girlfriends have complained, parents have rubbed their brows raw in frustration, but the problem continues.
One way to describe it is addiction. I'll let the psychologist and scholars push and develop that thesis. Then there’s also understandable social aspect. Not everyone is capable of meeting up at a park to play ball, or catch some coffee given distance, time, and physical circumstances. Sometimes we want to fit in. The drifting wallflower finds sanctum amidst the blind competition and is given room to truly blossom.
To me, however, forever and always, it’ll be like the bouncing of a ball. Call it escapism, a silent scream for help, but the act of playing a game –learning its mechanics, techniques, and maybe finding something to smile about – it makes life a bit more bearable.
For those of us who don’t make a living doing it; when the moment comes when we find another calling in life there will be times where we pick up the controller and just reminisce. The joys, the sorrows, the C majors of our lives…
After all, we never forget what we’ve been through, flaws and all.
To 2017.