Yet More Destiny

Another week full of Destiny is under my belt. My best friend and I finished the Witch Queen Legendary campaign! It was excellent from start to finish, with only a little falloff in enjoyment when we cheesed the final boss.

I’ve been very happy with the game so far and there is a ton more to do! We have 2 other old campaigns to do, as well as strikes and dungeons. I’m also hoping to do a raid someday, although I may have to find a pick up group for that.

I’m not sure how long this hyperfixation will last, but I know that I’ve had a ton of fun. If I were to lose interest now, I would be very happy with the progress I’ve made and the experiences I had.

Decluttering

It looks like Destiny may even be teaching me something new. The game pretty much requires you to throw away old gear for resources. I’m the type of person who has a lot of stuff in real life. That is, in part, because I tie memories to objects (because my memory is bad), but I also can see potential in everything. I don’t want to get rid of anything I might want to use later, especially if it will be difficult to replace. The truth is though, that I will never get around to using many of the things I keep. So I need to find a balance. Destiny’s item management is looking to be a good proving ground for getting rid of stuff.

Learning to Enjoy

Destiny has also reminded me of a topic which I would like to spend more time writing about in the future: learning to enjoy new things.

I believe that, for many interests, the thing that separates people from enjoying that thing is familiarity. Baseball is a great example. I used to think that watching baseball wasn’t very interesting. That changed when I sat down and really focused on understanding the game. Now I’ve learned how to watch baseball: what good and bad plays to look for; where the community focuses its attention before, during, and after a pitch; what all the stats mean. With that knowledge, I can tune in to any game and have a good time.

With other things like soccer, anime, and sci-fi tv, I grew up watching them. So I learned how to enjoy them organically as I matured. With many other things, like country music, I’ve been able to develop a similar level of appreciation by pushing past the unfamiliarity.

Destiny had a lot that was familiar, but I’ve never played an MMO to this length before. Destiny also lacks many of the traditional handholding one expects from modern video games. So I had to research to understand the different mechanics and modes. I went through a similar process with painting miniatures last year. For both of these it has been very worth it! I wonder what other experiences are locked behind unfamiliarity.

Sportsball

The Crew lost this weekend in a pretty frustrating fashion. Since moving the Berhalter’s system in 2013 (which I believe Caleb Porter largely carried on intact), Columbus has had a lot of trouble when teams bunker down, whether with a lead, a tie, or even just playing for the breakaway. Still, I had fun watching the game with my parents at home.

Reading

My Kindle is now charged and Honor Harrington’s story continues. Book 7, In Enemy Hands, is a bit frustrating so far. I guess we’ll see where this goes.

The Journey Continues

Go out and try something unfamiliar that you’ve noticed on the periphery of your attention. You might be suprised what you find!

Stay chill and enjoy