I was recently watching a video by YouTuber Shirt, and in it, he made an excellent point of playing video games too efficiently. At first, I started to think that this was going to be a clickbait title for a bad take on how people play games today. However, he was spot on to the reality of the way that many gamers play, especially older ones with limited time.
So How Do You Play Video Games Too Efficiently?
The concept of efficient gaming simply means that you take the fastest and easiest path to win a game. That may sound pretty obvious, but let’s think about it some more.
If you’re like me, then you probably start a game and quickly get to the point that you just want to finish it in the fastest way possible. Essentially, you are seeking the boost in dopamine that comes with the success of seeing those end credits roll across the screen. However, when you do this you take away large parts of the experience.
Most video games are designed to encourage exploration and some even force you to take a methodical approach. Back in the day, you probably got stuck on a level and fought for hours, days, weeks, or months to beat it (or you could just rage quit). Nonetheless, that was part of the experience. When you end up in a similar situation today, you probably turn to the internet for a walkthrough after ten minutes of wandering around lost or losing a couple of times.
A Recent Personal Experience
I recently played Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and felt a similar sentiment. Normally, I would have a walkthrough up on my iPad as I am playing just in case I run into a problem. However, Prince of Persia is the rare exception where I didn’t find myself reaching for a walkthrough.
Granted, I didn’t really get stuck anywhere, but I also didn’t choose the most efficient paths. Instead of rushing to my next objective, I methodically went down each path to explore every inch of the map.
The entire experience was very refreshing. I had recently played Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which is itself an excellent game. However, I found myself constantly looking at the fastest and easiest way to get to the next mission. It gets to the point that checking a box to say you finished the game almost feels more important and exciting than actually playing the game.
Shirt’s Video on Playing Video Games Efficiently
What honestly caught me off guard the most with this video was the revelation that other people share my exact sentiments. As a kid with a limited number of games, I knew every square inch of the map and what you could do. Reaching and defeating the final boss was never the primary objective, because I would just start over again.
However, you reach the point in adulthood where you have all of the games you could ever want to play. Unfortunately, you rarely have the time to properly invest in a video game. That essentially leads to the problem of trying to play efficiently, so you can move on to the next title and check it off of your list.
Shirt mentions in his video that most people have about three hours a day (at the most) to play video games. That means most triple-A games would take weeks, if not months, to beat. Eventually, that can become a grind where you just want to move on to the next game on your list.
My Theory on Playing Video Games Too Efficiency
Get ready, because this is about to get heavy. I have tried to pinpoint when that light switch flipped in my brain from mindlessly driving around in The Simpsons: Hit and Run to practically speedrunning through a main campaign as fast as possible.
The moment my mentality around video games flipped had to be around middle school or high school. I vividly remember playing Xbox 360 games and even PC titles over and over without a care in the world. By high school, though, I do recall trying to play through games as quickly as possible in my limited free time.
There are two possible conclusions I’ve reached when looking back at the timeframe. The first is that I (and others) matured out of spending hours playing video games as we got older. There is certainly truth to that, especially as other commitments impact the amount of time we have.
However, my other theory is that by high school we have been programmed to be as efficient as possible. Think about it, you have time management drilled into your head the entire time you are in school. Then, when you have a job time management is an even bigger deal because time is money. So it’s not very surprising we are worried about playing video games too efficiently.
How Do We Fight Back Against Video Game Efficiency
One part is that you have to find the right game to play that really captivates your imagination. I honestly cannot get into exploring the GTA V map these days, but I can still go all out on The Simpsons: Hit and Run.
Shirt had an even better idea in his video, go to a game store like you would as a kid and buy a random game that looks generally appealing. Heck, add some extra realism to this by setting a budget. When you get home, take some time to get immersed in the game. Most importantly, resist the urge to look up walkthroughs and force yourself to figure out problems.
It’s important to stop thinking about how to get to the next goal and instead learn the game and appreciate the journey in the way that developers want you to. Stop thinking about games as so many hours until it is over or until you reach the next objective. Instead, take your time to smell the metaphorical roses.
Final Thoughts on Playing Video Games Too Efficiently
Unfortunately, changing the way you play video games isn’t going to be easy. Your brain is wired to do things the way you are currently doing them and changing that is difficult. I really liked Shirt’s advice of using positive reinforcement when you beat a hard level.
What makes playing video games challenging for me is that I feel guilty. Like I should be doing something better with my time. However, it is important that we all have a balance between work and play. By playing video games too efficiently we take away the joy that they are supposed to bring. Instead, turn it into an anxiety-inducing race to the finish line.
