Metacognition: Throwing Away the Plan

We’re back with our “thinking about thinking” series! If you’re interested in our previous deep thoughts, check out the Metacognition series.  Join us for some deep thoughts (and maybe the occasional not-so-deep thought) about gaming. If you find one you’d like to answer, you can either comment below or write a post and share the link so we can all read your fantastic thoughts!

Do you set gaming goals/challenges for yourself, or do you “go with the flow”?

I mean, there was that time I orchestrate an entire Year of RPG and challenged myself to play eight RPGs in a single year. Or the time I played all the Dragon Age games before Inquisition was released, and the entire Mass Effect series before Mass Effect: Andromeda came out.

Of course, there is also my usual MO of adding new games to my “to play” pile and perusing it at the end of the day when I’m looking for a game that I just happen to be “feeling” that evening.

But not that I apply myself to thinking about this, I think I usually do have a plan, much like anyone. When I start a game, I see it like a story, so my goal is always the same: to finish the story within a time frame that allows me to remember the details of the story and game mechanics from one play session to another.

I suppose at the end of the day, yes, my play sessions tend to be goal-oriented, with a very broad definition applied to the term “goal.” That goal is oftentimes to experience the story of a game, or to relax and unwind at the end of the day by absorbing myself into the life of another person for awhile (and without the responsibility of actually being really responsible for their lives), and sometimes, like now, I find myself racing against the clock to complete a story by a certain date.

At the end of the day, I’m a pretty goal-driven person, and having goals to reach motivates me to, well, do something to achieve them.

What about you? Do you set gaming goals for yourself, or do you just go with what feels good at the time? Has your approach changed over the years? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~Athena

Do you like what you’ve read? Become a revered Aegis of AmbiGaming and show your support for small creators and for video games as a serious, viable, and relevant medium!