What kind of challenges do you find yourself going back to over and over? I find myself going back to arcade games like Metal Slug and Street Fighter II: World Warrior to see if I can do a 1 CC (credit clear). I surprisingly got close to doing it in each game. There's a point, however, where it goes from something you do for fun versus something you have to do.
There was a point where I was sometimes getting to Vega or Sagat doing a 1 CC attempt with Ryu. Around the same time, I was able to reach either the second-to-last or the last mission (I can't remember any more; it's been a couple years). Suddenly I was getting annoyed by every mistake I was making, and next thing I know, I was spending time late at night to try to 1 CC these games. It's like the closer I got, the more enticing it was.
Ultimately, one night, I was on a Discord call with friends. It was past the time I should have reasonably been in bed. I decided "Let's do it one more time." You're probably expecting me to say at this point that I masterfully beat Metal Slug, right? Wrong. Instead, one of my friends, who knew that I was attempting these challenges, decided to quote Sans from Undertale. I'll put the text in spoiler-ese, just in case:
Show Quote
"You'll never give up, evan if there's, uh. . . Absolutely NO benefit to perservering whatsoever. If i can make that clear. No matter what, you'll just keep going. Not out of any desire for good or evil. . . But just because you think you can. And bwcause you "can". . . . . . You "have to."
Thank you, Nick97_ on Reddit for entering that whole dialogue.
I was on Mission 3, and when he said that, I just kind of sat there for a minute, thinking. I've played Undertale, so I know all about the spiel. However, that quote really hit me that night, and I gave up my playthrough and wished him goodnight.
It's been a running joke between us now, but every now and then, I think about it, particuarly when I try to do a particular gaming challenge for no real reason. There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself, but I think you have to balance it. Are you trying it just for fun, or are you trying it because you feel like you have to?
Instead, one of my personal favorites to do is just to replay the game, as normal, and have fun; trust the process. Maybe I'll do better next time; maybe I won't. But at least I'm not (as often) obsessing over silly game challenges!
