I’ve been a gamer for about as long as I’ve been writing stories. First on Atari XP, then on Intel 386, and finally on stronger PCs and laptops as well as game consoles. Whenever I need to relax a bit and I’m too tired to read, I switch a video game on. Games also help me when I search for inspiration, so it seemed like a good idea to share all the games that support my procrastination … erm, I mean my writing. These can be critically acclaimed and world-wide famous big games, little flash applications or classics only really old people remember.

But since I’m a writer, I’m not always interested in what other gamers want, and many times the games that excite others get as little as “Meh!” from me, and the other way round. So even though I intend to share my overall gaming experience, my final score would focus on the more writerly aspects: whether the game provides immersion, inspiration, helps to relax and if it’s a procrastination risk.

The posts will come up every so often, on a randomly picked Saturday (starting next one). There are few games I can share with you already, but the frequency of the series will highly depend on what I’m playing at the moment and whether I’m playing anything new. Some games are my addiction and I come back to them regularly, while others swallow me for a couple of weeks of somewhat intensive gaming and then I either finish them or take a break to play something else. I also consider myself a casual gamer with very particular taste when it comes to gaming, and these will be reflected my impressions. So if you’re looking for more “professional” reviews, please search the gaming websites.

The games will be judged on the following aspects: story, immersion, inspiration, relaxation factor and procrastination risk, and their values can go from “very low” up to “very high”.

• Story: how much story is there in the game, how engaging or interesting it is.
• Immersion: can a writer get lost in the game, feel the world around and experience it.
• Inspiration: will playing the game help come up with new ideas or offer fresh perspectives on things.
• Relaxation factor: can one relax playing the game or relieve the every day stress, and can it help to clear the mind before sitting down to write.
• Procrastination risk: how likely it is for the game to suck the writer in (assuming, of course, they like this type of game in the first place), eating away the precious writing time.

Also, this is not a series to cover the most up-to-date releases and big games (especially that I’m not really excited about many of them). This is something all the gaming websites cover well enough, providing proper gamer reviews. Although I love games like Skyrim (and Morrowind that came years before it) or the Dragon Age series, at the moment I prefer to focus on less known or even forgotten titles, and provide a writer’s perspective on them. I hope that among the titles I’ll cover you’ll find something worth your time, that will bring your procrastination to a whole new level. I mean… will help you relax and get fresh ideas in your head.

And if they don’t, feel free to post your own suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for new distractions… ekhm… inspirations.