I've noticed there are some folks writing at length here on their experiences playing games, so this felt like a good place to ask. Do you take notes as you play, and/or after each session, then write out full thoughts upon completing a game?
Or are your reflections compiled only after finishing a game, no notes?
I've dabbled with different approaches, and haven't really settled on a consistent process personally.
I personally like to write some general things I end up enjoying about a game, while I’m playing (or during pauses), mostly because I plan on making a YT channel, but also because I like to leave useful reviews on GOG and Steam. The thing about making notes during early on is that you can check them later and see if anything overstayed its welcome. It’s also great to remember story details, if they’re relevant
The good thing about simply writing down, even generic notes like “good music” and “controls really well” can help create that memory path to the actual experience. You don’t need to be a “critic” to understand when something is great, good, bad or “just there”, but it can take some skill to write in a way that makes sense to other people, so writing about the games you’ve been playing is a good way to train that!
I keep a gaming journal, but it’s only for thoughts afterward. I keep it much simpler than I used to, as there’s a point where writing at length becomes work, and gaming shouldn’t be work. That’s the same reason I don’t keep a backlog. In my longer posts here and elsewhere, it tends to just be stream-of-consciousness writing derived from those journals entries, just cleaned up a little bit.
As for note-taking, I will almost never take notes on opinion/criticism during a play. Pretty sure that again, it’d feel like work if I took notes. I also rarely write about games I don’t finish unless I’ve played most of them (I tend to bounce off a lot of games lately). Other than that, my journal has the occasional random thought on larger industry trends, or a quick sort, like a toplist or the latest tier-making meme I saw. It’s interesting to see how my tastes change over the years.
I have a few games that significantly impacted me, like Morrowind, so when I read someone asking a question invariably there will be a significant moment from that game that pops out at me related to their question and I will relate that in detail if that’s what I think they’re looking for.
I also tend to write longer responses as a habit, so I’m sure that plays into it.
I like talking about my favorite games at length. So if you give me an inch I’ll take a mile haha.
I’m one of those posting walls of text so I guess I’ll throw in my thoughts on this.
I tend to write down bullet points about stuff that pops out the most while playing - I jump between many different games all the times so it’s a useful habit to avoid mixing my thoughts about them. I note these points shortly after play session (if I’m on my PC) or the next day (if I was playing on handheld in bed) and then expand on them after I’m done with the game.
Since I don’t really have anyone to talk about older titles my write ups tend to be on the longer side and read more like a draft than a thought out summary. My desire to include as much info as I can also doesn’t help with this issue. Lots of thoughts + no way to filter them through a third party + limited time do not make for a sensible process.
In the end, I just want to let people know about the weird jank I play. Bad and mediocre games need love too!
Heya, I dig the walls of text sometimes! I also tend to bounce around a variety of games, so I like the idea of short notes about each. Until recently I was writing similar notes digitally as separate notepad files and littering them throughout my computer, but I've been trying to make a habit of using stuff like Zim or Joplin to keep them better organized. 😅
Also right there with you on covering weird jank and "subpar" games, so thanks for writing about them!
I’m one of those people you’re probably referring to. I love writing about games after I finish them so I’ll give you my process. And you can see my approach in action on my posts.
Basically what I do as I play is I do miniature reviews at certain points. These mental pauses act like checkpoints for me and usually happen after each play session. I think about what I enjoyed and what I didn’t and what interesting mechanics there are. I really tear the opening of a game to bits and then reassemble it so that I know what it is I’m playing.
Now I myself don’t typically need to take notes, but I feel like I could and it would help me remember certain details. If you find yourself forgetting early parts of the game, do take notes.
I personally talk about games here because I like the innovation and the actual art that games are apart of. Think about the soul of a game and what that looks like. Think about what the soul of a game like Stardew Valley looks like. Its soul is about connection to characters, self improvement, community. It’s the human emotion or ideal aspects to a game. Then take those soul components and see how they’re attached to levers in the game. Ask yourself how the game gets you to feel the soul ideas as tangible. Then talk about all of that in sectioned out pieces starting with most important ideas.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask more or send me stuff if you want me to review anything :)
Hey yeah, appreciate the detail in how you go about it! I'm kinda surprised by the responses saying they don't tend to write anything until further in and/or completion, but it's reassuring in a way, as that's been my approach too for some time.
I also dig that you try to engage with the "soul idea" as you call it of games. It resembles what I've read elsewhere of a reviewer trying to evaluate in part on whether a game achieved what it set out to do or not, which I thought was interesting.
Side note: for anyone interested in taking notes, the steam overlay has a nice button for that. It’s also very helpful for games like Baldurs gate.
I’d recommend taking my advice and doing those pauses though and taking notes. My recommendation for notes when I have taken them is to evaluate the opening 30 minutes or so. Then wait until major stopping points or break points in the story. Or major shifts in your mood toward the game.
Then open up the Steam notes, jot down a thought or two, and keep going.
I don’t pen a word without 20 hours invested in the game unless it is a short title. I talk about the game with friends conversationally to get my thoughts in order, then I actually do a write-up if the game seems to deserve some word-of-mouth for innovation or refined design.
Sometimes, 20 hours isn’t enough for a game’s whole story, and it needs further investment to have a real analysis of scope - path of exile, elite:dangerous, any given mmo or fighting game, some 4x and rts, plenty of titles have zoomed-out takes that really take familiarity to understand.
Nothing bothers me more than clear beginner takes on a game written flippantly. Impossible to tell if someone is sharing an experience or just parroting what they read about the game when people talk about some titles recently, like gaming discussion has become infected at large by /v/ bandwagon culture.
It’s rare, but sometimes in talking or writing out how a game felt to play, I kind of change my mind about the experience. In the past few years I had the opportunity to just pick up a bunch of AAA titles as they dropped frivolously, since I sold a lot of dota 2 items from early TI events for mad steam bucks. I’ve noticed new IP in particular get a lot of hate from people who didn’t play the game at all and decided that without seeing any actual gameplay whatsoever, and going in to them I was kind of flippant myself, but by the end of the experience the gameplay always matters more than whatever the huge negative press cycle is focused on. Shitty dialogue? Level design woes? Random focus on a feature the genre typically does not have anyway? Sure, whatever, but I hardly remember anything from a game except for where the fun was derived when all is said and done.
Stephen King said the secret to being a good writer was to “Read a lot, write a lot” and keep that up. If you want to articulate your thoughts about a game, or even just improve at playing one, the same concept (practice) works all around here. I’m not going to say a disciplined approach is required for truth or validity, especially when it comes to games, but it sure helps you reach it in ways that literally just repeating what other people are saying cannot.
Interesting approach, and I get it for those more involved or longer games, as some don't even have all their systems in play till awhile into the game (which is worth noting in itself!).
Thanks for your perspective!
Oh yeah, and here's to Outer Wilds! Absolutely a game for the ages!
I’ve never really written about a game, but I’m admirative of people who are able to while still enjoying the game.
The only time I tried it was on Reddit to try to redeem Dead Space 3 and encourage people to still try despite what they could hear about it. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t well written at all, but it was really sincere as I enjoyed the game 😅
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