There are two types of people in this world. Gamers and people who haven't been born yet.
The parallels between life and games run deeper than we realize. Perhaps that's why video games are so addictive. It's like looking into a mirror of reality.
The concept of 'Gamification' of anything isn't new to people for tackling real-world challenges.
I recently watched a video titled 'How you play games is how you do everything in life'. It was an eye opening perspective for me. But I would argue how you do everything in life is also how you play games. In fact, how you do anything in life, is how you do everything in life.
I don't play much video games anymore. But my last foray into that beautiful realm was 'Sekiro' - a cult game and one that deserves each one of its accolades. As it's an open world game, I couldn't stop drawing similarities from it to what we experienced in real life. And that's the essence of this post.
The game doesn't come with an extensive tutorial. You are expected to learn it as you progress armed with only a brief back story to set the stage. Sound familiar? At various points, you are faced with multiple challenges at the same time. But the game doesn't force you to select or complete any missions in any certain order. Accepting the mystery, isn't that the beauty?
Here is where things get even interesting. You start the game, as a shinobi, not a samurai. I realized this a lot further into the game. To be frank, I didn't even know both of them were different. I died a lot, and I mean a frickin lot of times hacking and slashing through the opponents. But you were not supposed to do that in the first place! Because you are a shinobi. And shinobis are ninjas. The darkness, speed and stealth are their best friends.
This realization hit home. While growing up, we might wear different masks to fit in with what seems the 'obvious'. And we act in a certain way just to understand that you were not meant to be doing this in the first place. Some people play their entire life not knowing this. Some people realize this epiphany too late. But the sooner you understand who you are, the easier it is to adapt to your strengths and play the game of life.
Sekiro humbles you. Just by the sheer amount of difficulty and perseverance needed to defeat a boss. This game, in time, will unwrap or amplify the true you.
I remember barely defeating one of the bosses early in the game after countless tries only to be utterly dismantled by the next. And that's when I quit the game for the first time only to pick it up a year later. I realized that I had missed a fundamental skill called 'Mikiri Counter' which was essential to defeat that boss. Nor did I know how to deflect even. These were the bread and butter of combat in Sekiro.
Trials and tests in life show you how unprepared you are. When nothing's wrong you are ready to take on anything. But once you meet the "Boss" in your life, you see how heavily unready you are. We might've 'speedrun' through life, just to make progress. And we do the bare minimum in order to get through it fast. But in this game, the fact that you reached the boss doesn't mean you deserve to win or even a chance to fight. So, was that even real progress?
So, every once in a while, we should go back, grind and get the basics correct. In ever-changing times like these, the fundamentals are what never change.
And if you win the game (or in life), you gain honor and nothing else.
Ready to press start?