Practice introspection: VVVVVV

I played a game called VVVVVV which is a 2D platformer. It’s incredibly simple since it has pretty much only one mechanic: To shift gravity so the player goes either upwards or downwards. You are supposed to find few of your friends and collect items while you explore the world along with reaching checkpoints where you resume when you die.

From the very first minute I started playing this game I noticed many things that I really liked. Right away I was very fond of the look and feel of the game along with its simplicity. The music also made me feel very nostalgic (similar to Megaman) and kind of got me in the mood to play. I think that added a lot to the experience of playing the game and probably does the same for most retro-loving gamers. Some parts of the game were certainly frustrating and difficult so I had to repeat them over and over again but when I finally manage to get through them I felt rewarded with a strong feeling of accomplishment. Although I could have easily got too frustrated and quit the game several times, I kept going and now I just can’t stop playing. I would say that the overall experience was a mixture of being nostalgic, excited and frustrated. As weird as it may seem, this combination really did make me addicted to the game and love playing it.