What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

Well, this is easy to answer today.

Video games!

I want to throw out some clarifying information before diving into why I love video games. There’s a lot to be said about video games, and there’s always some kind of negative social commentary surrounding them, but those detractors are either isolated incidents with little supporting evidence or the issue is actually a symptom of something deeper.

What am I talking about? Well, lately, on social media (particularly Threads, for some reason) there’s this weird attention grabbing push from people who are asking questions like “Ladies, what’s a red flag/deal breaker for guys?” A lot of people are throwing video games under the bus here, and they’re saying things like “they’re a waste of time” or “they’re spending more time with games than with me/helping around the home” and things of that nature. (Ladies, I hate to break it to you, that’s an issue with the guy and his priorities, not the games.)

Video games have come so far from just being shapes on a screen. The stories and narratives. The interactivity and puzzles. It’s absolutely incredible! In many ways it’s better than just reading a book (I do love books, don’t come at me) or watching a TV show. There’s even a potential social aspect of them. Conventions, for in person stuff, or just online gaming in general. I know several people who met their spouses through online gaming.

The reason I love video games as a hobby is because in the same way I can get lost in a good book, I can get into the deep lore and narrative of a game. I can see someone else’s vision made manifest in a way that would be otherwise impossible, and further still I can take creative inspiration from them through this medium. (I know some people say video games aren’t art, and to you I say fuck off. The defining characteristics of “art” have changed over the centuries.)

So, excuse my rambling, but that’s I’ll leave you all with for today’s prompt. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!