2017 had a lot of good games. Supposedly, one of those good games was called Everything.
And so I have a confession. I will probably never, ever, ever play Everything. I refuse to watch more than a few more minutes of gameplay at a time. I’ve heard plenty of good things about the game, and it’s the kind of breakout experimental artsy hit that would be endearing to me. But there’s one huge problem: I cannot stand Alan Watts. Every word that comes out of his mouth fills me with an uncalled-for amount of frustration. I cannot listen to him without wincing and cringing. I cannot really explain why I have this feeling; it grew in me suddenly after a bad day. But now… I just don’t like his words.
Maybe someday, I’ll be able to get over this aversion. Maybe I can try to listen to Alan Watts’ lectures and play this game without having a compulsive revulsion. I can’t say. But for now, I do not ever intend to buy or even try to play this critically lauded game.
Do you ever find yourself refusing to play any games (or enjoying any art, for that matter) out of sentiment or spite, even if you know it’s irrational? Some games have political problems behind the scenes, or maybe an offensive element that just makes you want to avoid it entirely. (Another example: I find them interesting, and would watch a play through, but I probably won’t put down money for the new Wolfenstein games, as I, a half-Jew, do not really feel comfortable right now with their use of Holocaust imagery and Nazism.) Plenty of games have homophobia, racism, sexism, and so on ranging in levels from subtle to overt. There was a lot of discussion I saw about some of the transphobic undertones in a particular quest from Breath of the Wild, a game that quickly became one of the most beloved games of all time. Even as a transgender person, I still very much want to play it, but I can easily see why this would cause someone to steer clear of the game. Atlus has countless problems with these kinds of things, but many of us (myself included) feel an attraction to them regardless. These kinds of thing show up everywhere; they seep in through the roots of society and into the media we consume. Usually, we can chew through it, but at what point do you find yourself unable to stomach it?
And you know what? Sometimes, something just rubs you the wrong way!
Even if a game or piece of art is good or even appealing to you, what do you just not want to put your time into, for reasons thoughtful or otherwise?
