I think we as a society – at least that part that uses social media – lost a collective remote and every issue now is at the same, very high, volume.

It’s hard for me to take any publication, video blog, whatever else, seriously when at the same level of intensity there are, for example, a piece about how representation is still lacking and after that another one about how achievements are bad, comma, actually.

By the way, in case it wasn’t obvious, I have a habit of using video games as an example to talk about anything and everything. I know enough about them to feel confident, but even if I make a mistake, it is no big deal. So this is not just about video games.

Maybe it’s just me, but we kind of lost our pet peeves. Issues that are there, but, you know, less important. That have less of an impact on the final score, so to speak. But instead of writing examples of my video game pet peeves, I decided to share some of my, for lack of a better term, pet joys.

I like it when games treat their worlds like real places. Instead of a marker on a map, the NPC tells you to leave through the southern gate, get to the river, and follow the right bank until you see three dead trees.

I like it when games take some basic mechanics and wrap them up in an interesting way. Instead of just upgrading your characters, you build a settlement that attracts new people, which can then help your character grow and get better equipment.

I like it when games are open about their puzzle design. Tell me up front if I can solve it now, or if I don’t have the right thing yet. Give me hints when I’m struggling (subtly, please, otherwise it’s annoying). And at the end of the day, do not be afraid to just give me tools to help me find, solve, whatever.