I have recently started to question the media I consume. It is extremely easy to fall into the trap of doing the same task, endlessly, even if you no longer gain anything from it. I experience this in a variety of my habits like endlessly opening Facebook on my phone, scrolling through the feed and closing it only to open it a few minutes later and scroll again. However, I also do this with more long-form media, such as re-watching shows I have seen countless times, or playing games that no longer bring me joy. I think that when these tasks and actions bring a level of comfort, and stability, it is understandable.
I recently realized that there are many things I do purely for the endorphin rush, even if I do not truly enjoy any aspect of the act. As I have been reflecting upon myself, from the actions I take, to the ways in which I walk through the world as a whole, I felt like I needed to break some of these habits. I decided I wanted to spend more time doing things that felt fresh and new. Do things that challenged me in different ways. Essentially, I wanted to spend more time going on adventures and less time doing the same thing over and over. I found this adventure in a cute puzzle games called “Baba Is You.”
Photo courtesy of Hempuli
When I recently saw the release trailer for “Baba Is You,” I could not help but feel entranced. It was something that certainly felt new and fresh. One of the best ways to fully enjoy the is to take breaks. “Baba Is You” is a puzzle game, in which the rules laid out in the game are controlled by small little text modules. When the puzzles are so small and piecemeal, taking a break from the game can allow you to ruminate on potential solutions. For me, this stops me from wanting to always play it “just because,” or playing it solely to fill time.
Photo courtesy of Hempuli
In this image, “Baba” is set to “is you,” which means that you are controlling Baba. All the different text modules can be pushed and moved around. The strings forming these tiny sentences can be broken, breaking the parameters of the object it is tied to. For example, pushing any word from the phrase “Wall is stop” up or down, would break the sentence, and walls would no longer stop you; however, if you break the sentence “Baba is you,” then you are no longer controlling anything. You will need to rewind time or restart the level. Photo courtesy of Hempuli
Playing this game gave me the change of pace I needed. So frequently, I occupy my time with things that I feel do not really do anything for me. This is not to say I, or anyone, needs to be doing something at every hour of the day, but I do think it is important to consider what we fill our time with.
I have realized that filling my time by playing online games that are a time sink of repetitive actions over and over, is no longer something I wish to pursue. There are multiple games that I have clocked 100 to 300 hours in, and it felt like it was time for a change of pace. Mostly, I am lucky I found my next adventure so soon.