I Finished Playing a Video Game

One problem with working at a video game company is that there are a lot of different games to play. That makes it tough to actually finish one as I often get bored with one and move onto another. Well this evening I actually finished playing Bioshock Infinite. There was a driving force to finish the game as another coworker just finished it and wants to have a conversation about it with others who have completed the game. Everyone in the office has been waiting for me to finish so we can talk about the ending. I can't say I was surprised as I figured it out before I got to the end of the game. Tomorrow should be fun at work though as we can finally have this long-anticipated conversation.

Finishing a game comes with a huge sense of satisfaction. It also comes with a bit of sadness as now I won't know what to do with my evenings. I have replaced all television and movie watching with game playing. Now what am I going to do with my evenings when I am alone on the boat in California?

Fortunately there are a number of video games to choose from. My own library is quite full of games that I own. There are also a whole group of games that I have started but never had the patience to finish. There are also a number of games I have that are still in the plastic shrink-wrap. Then there is even a larger of inventory of games in the game library at work. Finally there is the video game I have been writing over the course of several years that is actually getting close to being done. Of course I could also take a break from video games and do other things.

Console Games vs. Mobile Games

When people find out I work for a video game company, the first question they ask is, "What is your prediction for console games?" This is because everyone seems to be playing mobile games and the mobile market has turned the entire video game industry on its head.

If I look at my own video game habits, I spend much more time playing mobile games than I do playing console ones. I always have my phone with me and so whenever I have five minutes to spare, I pull out my phone and play a quick game of Risk or some other casual game.

However for the past two weeks I have gone back to Bioshock: Infinite and it has been a lot of fun. Instead of watching television on my boat, I have put in a couple of hours every night playing on my PS3 console. It is tough to stop for the night and so I have a self-imposed hard-stop every evening at 10:30. Otherwise I will continue playing and never go to sleep. This isn't an every night occurrence but accounts for 5 or 6 hours a week of entertainment. If I were to add up all of the 5-minute mobile game sessions in a week, I am probably only at 2 or 3 hours total.

Mobile phones are getting much more powerful and we are beginning to see some complex games that far surpass early generation consoles. While it is possible that full-featured games will appear on mobile platforms, I think that Triple-A titles like Uncharted and Bioshock: Infinite are best experienced in the luxury of your living room with a comfortable chair or couch, large screen TV, and plate of nachos close by. Therefore I don't see console nor console games going away any time soon.

Don't Start Bioshock Infinite Unless You Have Time

Earlier this week, I downloaded a copy of Bioshock Infinite for my PS3. The artistic rendering of the characters made it seem interesting to me and so I started playing it. My oldest son had played earlier versions of the game and coached me through the first few minutes. He instructed me to spend time looking around and collecting items. It was good advice.

My son had to head back to his apartment at school and left me to play alone. It is a good thing I was playing at home on the TV in my bedroom. When my wife got tired she came in and told me to turn it off and go to bed. Had I been alone on the boat in the Bay Area, I would have kept playing all night long. When I did turn it off, I was half tempted to wait until my wife was fast asleep so I could keep playing. I knew better though because if she woke up and caught me sitting on the end of the bed playing a video game, I would be in serious trouble.

Bioshock Infinite is a great game for me. I like first person shooter games but have grown tired of the constant attention you have to pay to keep from getting killed. This game has a little bit of puzzle solving, a little bit of exploring, and a little bit of shooting. It all adds up to a fun game that I have enjoyed playing the last few nights. I think I am doing pretty good at not playing during the work day as that would be easy to do.

I downloaded the game to my PS3 from the PlayStation Network as it is free this month for PlayStation Plus members. This game alone makes it worth the annual fee for PlayStation Plus. I highly recommend it.