Weekend Reading: One Year, Just One Game

I’ve already written about how I have to create just the right environment in order to be able to enjoy most video games away from work, and how I suspect many other dedicated players sometimes have problems getting the necessary energy to actually enjoy their playing time.

Much of this is the result of gaming monoculture, becoming fixated on just one title, be it Call of Duty or Planescape Torment, for a long period of time, getting to know all its details but missing the wider evolutions of the gaming world.

Yet, I sometimes find myself thinking about how it would be to just play one game for an entire year (something I clearly cannot do) and about the possible candidates for the position of early obsession.

My most obvious candidate would be, as some might have guessed by reading previous Weekend Reading articles, the most recent entry in the Football Manager series from Sports Interactive and SEGA, a game I have sunk more than 200 hours into and still actively enjoy.

Another would be Civilization IV, as long as I am able to bring in mods, because the core structure of the Firaxis-made turn strategy supports a number of very different experiences, from the fantasy-based Fall from Heaven to the science fiction Dune universe.

I could also imagine someone being fine with just playing a solid multiplayer shooter like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or a MMO that delivers constant content and is best enjoyed with a group.

I wonder how such an experience would change one’s vision on gaming, in general, and on the chosen one year game in particular.

I also wonder how coming back to a full buffet of titles after 365 days of enjoying just one kind of dish would be for most of us, who tend to get at least one new title during one given month.