I've enjoyed video games my whole life, ever since the early days of the Atari 2600 (Yep, I'm that old). I wasn't especially good at any games, but I played for the entertainment value. Gaming was a great way to take a break from the real world. That's why I always preferred immersive games that took me to a whole new world to explore. I think my all-time favorite game was one of the first games I bought on the original PlayStation. It was called The Legend of Dragoon. I also enjoyed all the Tomb Raider games. Parasite Eve II and Star Wars Battlefront were also among the best games I played.

That gives you an idea of the games I like. Games that are fun to play, that take me away from the real world, that have an interesting storyline, and provide dozens to hundreds of hours of entertainment. These are also games that have an obvious progression and a clear end goal. I'm not an avid gamer, not by a long shot. I am (and always have been) a casual gamer, but that doesn't mean that I didn't love some games I played, or that they didn't play a role in shaping the person I am today. These are the games that I will always remember. More than that, these are the games that are part of my life and help to define who I am. 

There were other games I played that left a different impression. These were the games that were incredibly addictive, but ultimately not rewarding. Games like Tetris, Farmville, Zoo World, Bejeweled, and the countless spinoff games that followed. These were endless simulation or puzzle games that kept me hooked by tapping in to the addictive nature of my psychology to keep me playing. That's not to say that the other games I enjoyed weren't using psychology to keep me interested, but they were using an immersive story-telling method that only appeals to people who want to engage deeply with the game. The simulation and puzzle games tapped into a deep-rooted human psychology that gave these games massive appeal across a broad spectrum of humanity. The games themselves were less engaging but more addictive.

I'm not saying any of this to condemn or criticize because I enjoyed playing those addictive games. I played Farmville, and a spin-off game called Zoo World avidly for a while. And I got hooked on Plants vs. Zombies, Rise of Atlantis and its sequel Call of Atlantis. They were all good games that kept me striving to reach the next level or unlock the next achievement. But when I stopped playing them, I didn't feel the sense of accomplishment I felt in the adventure games I played. In those games, I followed a story line and helped a particular character grow in strength and skills until they reached the ultimate challenge, which we overcame together. When the game was over, I felt a sense of accomplishment at a job well done, but also a sense of loss that the story was over and it was time to move on to something else.

With the addictive games, I usually stopped playing because they were interfering with my life in the real world. I was staying up late into the night just trying to get past the next level or unlock the next achievement. I had to pull myself away from the game forcefully, and when I did, I looked back at the time I had spent playing with regret, usually feeling like what started as a fun pastime had become a terrible waste of time.

When I look around at the emerging world of blockchain gaming, I am disappointed to see (mostly) games that are more like the addictive games that typically leave me feeling empty and unfulfilled. Where are the games that can take me away from the real world for a while and leave me feeling accomplished and whole instead of empty and used?

I sincerely hope that these games are coming. It makes sense that the first games to enter this new era of gaming are the ones designed to make a quick buck by sucking in as many users as they can and getting them hooked on playing the game. Maybe someday soon we will see more high-quality games embrace the blockchain. And then, blockchain gaming will be every bit as fun as console or computer gaming has been over the past few decades.

Maybe even more fun.