In 1997 I was 13 and decidedly not a gamer. I liked film, music and Stephen King novels \u2013 but I had been \u201cblessed\u201d with two parents who believed video games rotted your brain. They did, however, invest in a home PC, seemingly under the impression I would be drawn only to its educational functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their faith was misplaced when I discovered Blade Runner (1997), an adventure game based on the 1982 Ridley Scott film that I had not seen. Before, I had understood games as \u201ccollect coins, jump on enemies, avoid spikes, get a high score\u201d. Now I was a detective conducting something called a Voight-Kampf test. I was scouring crime scenes, analysing CCTV footage and piecing together the narrative of a crime that kept escalating the more I proceeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end I was grappling with whether to turn my character\u2019s back on every part of their life, whether their memories were their own, whether they were even human and the broader question of how a person can act morally when they cannot be certain of themselves \u2013 or their perception of reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was my entry point into a lifelong love of video games. I\u2019m still enamoured with their ability to directly involve you in the story, to challenge your decision making and values, knowing the consequences would play out in front of you, affecting situations and characters you had become emotionally invested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is growing evidence that factors such as burnout from passive streaming culture are increasingly encouraging people towards video games \u2013 and yet many people still feel excluded from them. If you\u2019re among that group, you may assume games are all too violent, too juvenile, too technical, or simply \u201cnot for you\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The great shame here is that games tell deep and immersive stories and present beautiful worlds in ways that are wholly unique to the medium. If you don\u2019t engage with games, you\u2019re increasingly missing out on meaningful new stories and aesthetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are three different kinds of potential player and the video games I would prescribe for each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potential player one is an \u201caesthetic wanderer\u201d. If this is you, you love music, immersive visual arts, installations and exhibitions. You find yourself are drawn to places, whether urban or nature, that evoke mood and feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n