On Mindful Gaming

 I was going to post this on Monday, but since I'm trying to keep to 3 posts a week I decided since I posted on Sunday with the introduction to this blog I would save this post for today.

So what is Mindful gaming?  First I'll start by defining mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the concept of being completely present in the moment.  An example that is often used is mindful eating.   You're eating slowly, paying attention to flavor and sensations, but also being aware of when you are full.  It is both a way of taking time to stop and actually enjoy your meal, but also paying attention so you are not overeating.

So in the context of gaming, when I say mindful gaming, I mean becoming immersed in the game.  Almost turning the act of playing into a routine or ritual to help relax, calm, and unwind.  It is moving away from meta gaming and blasting through games just to get as high of level as possible or just playing for hours and then wondering where the time went and what you were doing. 

For example, one of my current favorite cozy games I'm playing, Cozy Grove, actually has that built in.  You can only do a certain amount of quests a day, and some quests may take two, three or even four days to complete as you wait for resources to become available.  Yes there are things you can continue to do, such as crafting, fishing and even exploring the small island, but I like using the quests as a way of setting the game down once I've completed them.  It allows me to become this little spirit scout for twenty minutes, maybe a couple of hours, a day, and I find it a great way to start or end my day depending on how I feel.

I've been slowly learning to apply this all types of games, from cozy games, to my favorite RPGs, like Dragon Age.

I've recently started a new playthrough of Inquisition, and instead of blasting through the story and the quests and skipping out on things like codex entries, I've been trying to take it slow.  Yes I still tend to move through the quests easily enough, but I'm stopping to read the codex entries, even going so far as to go into the ones I may have skipped or don't pop up on  the screen when you click them, and read them there.  And in doing so I've found some cute little Easter eggs and lore I wasn't expecting, like a nod in the codex entries on bears to Steve Irwin.

With RPGs I take the mindfulness a step further.  I try to become immersed in the character I'm playing story.  Be it a character I created or one that is already named.  I figure out their backstory and then, instead of doing what I would always do which is pick what I think is the best answer for the highest friendship, I do what I think my character would do, regardless of what his companions would think.  I'm finding that I'm enjoying the game more this way and find playing in this manner has actually made it more relaxing.