My blog is a place where I often talk about everything and anything I like (or dislike) in life. Often I talk about the things I love and my hobbies, such as reading books, beauty, skincare and just life stories. But one of the hobbies I’ve never really talked about before is gaming. This isn’t due to a lack of love or anything like that, and many people who know me could tell you how much I like playing games. However it could be a bit due to impostor syndrome as I worked in the industry for a while. Although that’s a discussion for another day.
It’s never really felt ‘right’ for me to discuss games, especially on this space of the internet. And honestly it still doesn’t as I’m writing this. So I’m going to write a quick post that declares my love for games, whilst focusing on a more comfortable topic of books. And I most likely won’t continue the topic of gaming too much on this space. (Although if you are interested I do talk more on my personal Twitter).
Today I wanted to discuss all the amazing positives of books and why many book lovers will find these same qualities in many games. Despite the mass media attention that Fortnite, Call of Duty and FIFA get, games are much more than these 3 styles of games. Gaming is just as much a form of entertainment as film, TV and books and is just as diverse in styles too, which creates similar experiences and emotions.
(The links below are affiliate links)
A Good Story
Not all games are shooters and full of violence! Many games have amazing story-lines and plots for gamers to follow, with many of these games being critically acclaimed. If you’re a reader who loves getting stuck into the story of a book, then you can find similar experiences in games too. Similar to books, different stories are subjective for each player, and it sometimes takes a few tries to find a game with a story you love. So don’t give up if you don’t find a story you don’t engage with. Games that include good stories are:
- Life is Strange
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Submerged
Favourite Genre
Like with books, TV, and film there’s different genres on display in games. Although games often come in genres of ‘first person shooter’, ‘puzzle’, ‘real-time strategy’ etc, there are many that utilise genres that are present in books. If you’re an avid fantasy lover, then you may also love diving into a fantasy world in a video game. Or if you’re more of a mystery lover then finding detective based games or puzzles may work better. Finding your favourite genre in a different media format can help you transition from one to the other, as you’ll find elements that you already enjoy.
Fantasy:
- The Witcher
- Dragon Age
Sci-Fi:
- Mass Effect
- Bioshock
Mystery:
- L.A. Noire
- Whispering Willows
- The Haunted Island
Horror:
- Dead Space
Looking at games descriptions you can often find different genre influences similar to books.
World-Building
One of my favourite things about both the books I read and the games I play are the wonderful worlds I’m introduced to. Whilst reading allows your imagination to run wild, games allow you to fully explore these worlds. I’ve spent many an evening leading into late mornings exploring video game open worlds to the best or my ability.
Often these worlds include a lot of backstory, lore and expansive world building which you learn throughout the entire game. I can admit I’ve spent too much time reading the books in Skyrim instead of reading the books on my own shelves or playing the actual game.
Character Arcs
A lot of readers love reading about characters and seeing them develop throughout the book. Many games have similar fascination with their cast of characters, and there’s some brilliant story arcs written into the games narrative. You know those characters that you just can’t get out of your head? Many gamers have a similar to reaction!
- The Last of Us
- Tomb Raider
- Red Dead Redemption 2
View Comments (15)
i got deja vu reading this post ;)
but, no, in all seriousness. these are some great selections and i like how you focused on different aspects
oh I wonder why 😉 but glad you enjoyed it the second time round too!!
Another one is The Sims4. You create your own Sims and their world and you create the story. Or you can create characters from books you've read and get them to act out the book. It's a fabulous game.
This is a great post, and I love games for a lot of the same reasons! There's also been a surge in indie visual novel games like Sunless Sea, and those are so incredibly fun to play.
Oh Lauren is always telling me about different indie games I should try - and Sunless Sea is one that I hear about all the time!
See this is why reading books is amazing for anybody. I always tell this to everyone who likes gaming and can’t decide what to play next.
Hack, if only more people gave them a try cause we got a vast variety of genres and stories in every page!
I completely agree!
Great share, I'm like you that I feel a massive imposter syndrome effect kick in when I talk about games. Whenever I do talk about them I stress the "casual gamer" because true gamers will understand that I pick and choose what and when I play rather than being obsessed with everything and needing to accomplish every tiny little badge.
The games I've been loving (but haven't been able to play much this year :( ) are Subnautica, Conan Exiles and Jurassic Park Evolution and I finished The Last Guardian on PS4 last year while also getting into the Uncharted series last year as well.
The Last Guardian and Uncharted are very much stories with puzzles to figure out while Subnautica and Conan Exiles are open worlds where you collect resources, craft, build, learn and solve puzzles while having to occasionally fight. Jurassic Park is totally a building game where you get to build and manage Jurassic Park. Its cool although a little slow since each island pauses when you swap to do other stuff but owell. No game is perfect.
What are you into at the moment?
Oh Jurassic Park Evolution is such a good game!! I've been playing it on and off since it came out😄 (I grew up playing zoo and rollercoaster tycoon!)
And I'm playing through the newest Assassin's Creeds atm, as well as Zelda BOTW on Switch!
Awww, I love this post! And yaya for queoting Life is Strange, The Last of Us and Bioshock! I would classify Bioshock not exactly as a sci-fi but something that enter the punk category, even if I'm not 100% which kind of punk that can be.
I'm playing it right now again. And yes, there are a lot of of mostly bases action game but with time, the plot became a very important part of the whole project.
Assassin's Creed is good too, but one sad thing is that the franchise expanded so much that some in game stories... ended up being continued in comics?!Anyway, some other great game is the Dishonored series! The tellgame series of The Walking Dead was super good too, too bad that the company shut down!
So happy you love this post!! Thank you 😄 I've heard a lot of good things about Dishonoured and The Walking Dead telltale games!
What a wonderful post, Becky!
I have incorporated gaming into my posts, although I don't do them quite as frequently.. but it's nice to know we are able to whenever we like - and yes, you should too if you really want it ! ☺️
Of course Sims has been a love of mine, aswell as Zelda & pokemon that i've basically grown up with. Though I now falled into Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon/Story is Seasons aswell ahaha mostly described as "casual games" but eh.. 🤷🏽♀️
I play all of those too! Got a bit too addicted to Stardew a couple of months ago haha
Loved this post! Dragon Age is my favourite fantasy game, and replaying it at the moment is reminding me of how great the world building and story telling is!
I've been following all your tweets with envy as my PS4 is packed away and I won't have a TV in my new place until I can afford one 😅 I love how good the crossover is with gaming and books though!