A moon drawing

Luna's Gaming Log

I don’t need to ‘git gud’.

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2 minutes read time

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8 comments

I am bad at 3D platformers. I wish I could play games like Big Hops or Demon Tides, but I am aware that they are not for me, at least for now. Maybe this will change in a couple of years.

Metroidvanias are hard for me though I find them fun. I check the accessibility settings as soon as I start up games in this genre. I don’t really care if I need to turn on easy mode.

I am not an artist, yet I make art. My scribbles are mostly black-and-white and eventually adding a pop of color. The blog’s header was made by me using Procreate and it has a very flat style and the shades are as simple as it gets. I haven’t made much art ever since I went to university, but now I am creating in a frequent basis. I don’t need to be better at it, I don’t need to learn how to be a master of Procreate. I am able to make something I am happy with.

I am not a writer or journalist but I’m writing. Every. Week. The way I start my posts is sort of repetitive if you ask me. Then when I tried something different, it freaked me out about how it sounded like AI. But I’m starting conversations and I’m connecting with people I am amazed by, that I didn’t even know one year ago. I want to get better so I am able to express my thoughts, I want to have fun with it. But I’m just fine with not being great at it.

-Luna

Picture from the cover features the game Mina the Hollower, a game I did not play (but might one day, who knows).

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8 comments

8 responses

  1. Mo Avatar
    Mo

    I’m a lot like you in that I don’t have the time nor the desire to git gud. In addition to accessibility options I check out WeMod to see if there are any timesavers I can use because otherwise a game will take me 6 months to beat.

    Git gud is overrated for me, the focus should be on whether something I do is enjoyable and makes me happy.

    Reply
    1. Luna Avatar
      Luna

      Mods are such a game changer! (pun sort of intended).
      I definitely agree on it being overrated.

      Reply
  2. Margot Avatar
    Margot

    I love this attitude. Frequent doing of the things you enjoy inadvertently make you “better” at them but that’s maybe also subjective.
    Creating something is already more steps ahead than not at all.

    Reply
    1. Luna Avatar
      Luna

      That’s it, Margot! Practice is everything. I’m better at games than I was 2 years ago, even if getting better is not a focus on itself.

      Reply
  3. Your Friend Who Likes Games Avatar
    Your Friend Who Likes Games

    I’ve been thinking about *permission* a lot this year. For myself, it’s been permission to play games I’m interested in regardless of the year they came out. Permission to not chase relevancy.

    But in this context, creation, you’re absolutely right in that you don’t have to be good in order to participate. The hardest part to master, I feel, is that we have to let the meaning and value be for ourselves. The complex part of that is that it’s hard for art, writing, blogging, etc. to exist without an audience.

    But it’s all forms of communication, and I think as long as we are honest, we earn the permission to participate in the way that is best for us.

    Cheers, and thank you as always for your thoughts and conversation!

    Reply
    1. Luna Avatar
      Luna

      I love how you are using the word “permission”. And giving yourself permission to be irrelevant in a way by not chasing the latest hot game release.
      It doesn’t feel very sustainable as a creator (imo) to focus on catering for the audience more than playing what you feel like and creating what makes you happy.
      Well, assuming the majority of us are doing this without it being an actual full time job.
      Ok, I feel I can have a long conversation about this haha.
      Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Brian Avatar
    Brian

    This was a lovely piece, and I’ve been trying to make a deliberate effort to adopt a similar attitude to gaming and to other pursuits. It’s not always easy though, especially after being mired in an online gaming culture that gives weight to opinions and experienced based on one’s skill level. This was especially prominent to me in fighting game spaces, where it’s often remarked that the “real game” begins at the top of the ranked ladder and nothing below that matters. I’m involving myself in other gaming-adjacent hobbies too now, like writing about games and voice acting in them, and finding it easier to enjoy the process rather than just the results in those contexts.

    I can’t recall the source, but I remember hearing about a study that showed most gamers would rather drop a game outright than turn down the difficulty level. Sounded ridiculous to me until I realized that, hold on, that’s me, isn’t it? Toxic ego is a hard habit to break.

    Reply
    1. Luna Avatar
      Luna

      This is so interesting, how sometimes we can’t identify our habits until we take some distance to really self reflect.

      I agree with you that it’s easier said than done when it comes to different things. For example I was never competitive regarding work, and it actually put me down to work with people that were. But when it comes to art, sometimes I do feel blocked creatively due to comparison. Just recently I started being able to change my mindset when it comes to that.

      Reply

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