We’re all guilty of steaming through games. Completing one, then moving onto the next one without really giving much thought to how it made us think or feel. Or even if we enjoyed it that much. A great way to reflect on what you’ve played is to write about games; whether that’s in the form of a gaming journal or online in some shape or form.
By taking the time to write about games, you have the headspace to think about what you really appreciated about them, or what you think could be improved upon. Then, the next time you’re thinking about playing a game from the same developer, or in a similar genre, you have something to look back on and think about whether it’s really worth your hard-earned cash!
Write to yourself; keep a gaming journal
The simplest way to begin to write about games is to keep a gaming journal or diary. For many people, writing a journal is something that teenage girls do in films. But bear with me, there’s a really clear reason why taking your time to collect your thoughts can benefit your time spent gaming in a big way.
Over time, our tastes change and consoles come and go. If you’ve got a couple of decades under your belt, then you’ve probably experienced a fair few generations of consoles come and go. Imagine if you could look back on how much fun you had on your first console. There’s plenty we can learn from our reflections on what we loved about our past gaming experiences, and use that to improve our sessions in future.
We’ve written about keeping a gaming journal before and even have a handy template you can use to get started. It’s very simple and asks very little from you we promise, so give it a go!
Write to others
If you decide that actually you want to share your views with others, then that’s great. Here are some benefits and ways of going about that.
Participate in the community
There are legions of gamers out there who are passionate about the same games or genres that you are. They’re waiting on online forums such as Reddit, to speak to like-minded people like you. The easiest way to find this is to Google “game name reddit” e.g. “Slay The Spire reddit”. Most games (and mostly anything to be honest) have subreddits dedicated to them where you can immediately start sharing views and opinions.
Build your knowledge
Games these days are so vast and there’s a lot to master. To speed this up, you could discuss it online to work out the best way to approach certain encounters or game mechanics. Some people might think that’s cheating, but for a lot of people gaming is a social activity and there’s no issue with working with others to solve puzzles that the developer has created. Don’t create rules around what you can and can’t do. You should do whatever will make the game most enjoyable for you!
Challenge other people’s opinions and have yours challenged!
When we’re really invested in a game and spend time getting good at it, it’s only natural that you have strong opinions on the way the game should be played. The great thing about posting your views online is that others can interact with you and maybe get you thinking about the game in a different way. It might even make you think twice about what you were doing and shine a light on another method that can take your sessions to another level!
Don’t underestimate your own experiences too. You can probably help other gamers who maybe haven’t mastered the game like you have and offer advice that will make their sessions more enjoyable. Plus it’s always satisfying to let some know-it-all online know that they’ve been going about it all the wrong way. But don’t forget to be respectful and polite at all times!
This might seem irrelevant to the topic that we’ve been discussing, but really writing online is very similar to keeping a gaming journal. When we post a comment, that creates a permanent record that can be reviewed and reflected on, so long as you don’t delete it. This means that at a later date, you can go through, review your thoughts and think about how the game made you feel.
Write game reviews for others
Another great way to reflect on games is to write reviews for others. Many successful gaming websites started out as blogs, and there’s no reason why you can’t be the next best thing in the space. By writing reviews, you’re not only reflecting on your own experiences and what you thought the developers did really well, but you’re also creating value for others. So many gamers read reviews before making a purchase, and your personal perspective might be really valuable to someone over a review posted on a big publishing behemoth like IGN or EuroGamer.
This doesn’t even need to be in blog form, just writing a simple review on Steam can be enough to get started. And providing that data can really help others discover games they’ll love (as our proprietary review analyser can test to!).
Why not start today?
Although it might not come second nature to you, there are plenty of benefits to writing about your gaming sessions. Over time, you’ll have an impressive database of what you love and hate about gaming. This information will help you take maximise your enjoyment from gaming and make sure your next purchase isn’t a massive dud!
If this has inspired you to write about games, then please share our work with others. Additionally, why not tell us all about it on Twitter? Alternatively, find some other ways to rediscover your love of gaming.
