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I stopped playing Overwatch. For those of you that know me, that was hard. It was my go-to relaxing game, lots of fun, great FPS.
What changed my mind was watching the layoffs at Activision Blizzard. It was unnecessary and it felt like I was somehow supporting that. I thought about how the company could be focusing on making the game better, wondered about how much of management pay should go to employees. It started to make me ask “why am I playing this?”
Then as I watched the Anthem mess and others, I began to realize I really needed to go back to more and more indie games. I needed to support people who were innovating. I needed to support innovation. I needed to ask where my money was going.
Something felt “off” among a lot of big games and big companies lately. Oh sure, I’ll play some AAA games, but I’m going to be more selective. But I’m also going to think about who I’m supporting and where my money and time goes.
After a week or two, I didn’t miss Overwatch. I rediscovered some Early Access Games I’d let slide, and I found new ones. I explored more weirdness and fun at itch.io.
I felt like I appreciated games again. I appreciated the diversity of the many indie games I played. I realized how fun Early Access was to connect with people. It was kind of like if you eat the same thing a lot, you remember what it’s like to taste different things when you change.
I’m sure there will be more experiences to report, but this made me think. I do miss Overwatch, it really is a well done game (that deserves more), but it’s nice to taste diversity again.
Steven Savage