Games – A contemporary log of fragmentary pleasures

The Joy of LEGO

When I was a kid, playing with LEGO bricks was my life. I had a chunky red bucket filled with the things, mostly the basic shapes like cubes and flat pieces. But I’d dig through those bricks like a beachcomber through sand, because I knew I had the hidden treasures, those special pieces: the onesContinue reading “The Joy of LEGO”

FOMO Can Take The Joy Out, Pt. 4

See part 3 We can take advantage of the fact that the brain is plastic to bring back our joy. The Book of Romans says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to knowContinue reading “FOMO Can Take The Joy Out, Pt. 4”

FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 3

See part 2 The brain is plastic. That is, it’s a moldable and changeable thing. The basic cells of the brain, neurons, are arranged in pathways (circuits) that when activated, light up and reward us with dopamine, a chemical that mediates pleasure. Finding that rare shiny is one way to activate the pathway. Now, eachContinue reading “FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 3”

FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 2

See part 1. I’ve found that a forced break from the game is necessary to relieve FOMO. Sometimes the break has to be indefinite. I used to play daily throughout grad school a game called Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (SWGOH). I started innocently enough, choosing a Poe Dameron as my starter character since IContinue reading “FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 2”

FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 1

One of my favorite games is Pokémon Go. I’ve been playing some sort of Pokémon game since 1999, so I feel right at home. The old catchphrase was “Gotta Catch ‘em All!” but the mons were distributed among the versions of the game. For example, Meowth, one of my favorites was only found in theContinue reading “FOMO Can Take the Joy Out, Pt. 1”