How Gaming Alone Changed Everything (For Me)

Summary

In "How Gaming Alone Changed Everything (For Me)," the creator Furea shares a deeply personal narrative of transitioning from a multiplayer-centric gaming experience to discovering the joys of solo play. Initially entrenched in multiplayer games due to familial influences and later personal preferences, Furea recounts the shift initiated by the release of Elden Ring. The video highlights how gaming alone offered new perspectives on storytelling, pacing, and self-reflection, providing a fresh lens through which to view both games and life.

Highlights

• Furea always being 'Player Two' in multiplayer games growing up with an older brother 👾
• Building his first PC and transitioning from console to keyboard and mouse 🖱️
• Discovering Elden Ring and realizing the appeal of solo gaming 🌌
• Appreciating the world-building and pacing in single-player games like Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild 🌄
• Finding the balance between stressful action and calming scenery in games and life ⚖️

Key Takeaways

• Gaming alone can provide a unique perspective compared to multiplayer games 🎮
• Elden Ring serves as a catalyst for exploring solo gaming experiences 🌟
• Solo games offer moments of reflection and tranquility not often found in multiplayer environments 🌈

Overview

Starting as a 'Player Two,' often playing split-screen games like Halo and Call of Duty with family, Furea was initially steeped in the world of multiplayer gaming. Despite getting his own PS3 and exploring various multiplayer games, the underlying trend of playing with others continued, until the release of Elden Ring sparked something new.

Elden Ring became a turning point, introducing Furea to the world of single-player games which were previously daunting. The allure of the immersive world and exploratory freedom offered a contrast to the structured ranks of multiplayer games. Furea discovered a love for the serenity and introspection found in these solo narratives.

Embracing single-player gaming allowed Furea to draw parallels between the slow, introspective moments in games and the necessity of such moments in real life. It taught him to appreciate the present, offering a break from the constant rush and pressure of daily life, akin to the moments of calm found in both game narratives and personal experiences.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Player Two The chapter explores the concept of 'Player Two' in multiplayer gaming contexts, detailing how a second participant can be included in a game via various means such as an extra controller or online connectivity. The narrator shares a personal anecdote about always being Player Two due to being the youngest among siblings and cousins, thus never owning a gaming console independently and missing the experience of being Player One.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Early Gaming Experiences The chapter titled 'Early Gaming Experiences' is a reminiscence of the narrator's introduction to video games, focusing on iconic titles like Halo and Call of Duty. The narrative vividly recalls playing on split screens for local multiplayer sessions, always being on one side of the screen when playing with their brother. While the nostalgia is evident, it's also noted that split screen gaming wasn't the most comfortable experience, highlighting the limitations and awkwardness of sharing screen space. The chapter also hints at a transition from split screen to online gaming, as the narrator's brother eventually moves to playing games like Call of Duty online, perhaps signifying a shift in their gaming landscape.
• 02:00 - 04:30: Competitive Gaming Journey The author's gaming journey began on a low-performance family laptop, which could barely run games like Roblox. However, the allure of multiplayer games captivated them, and they discovered Minecraft through friends. During elementary school, the author primarily engaged in Minecraft servers, showing a preference for the multiplayer experience over the single-player survival mode, which they found less appealing.
• 04:30 - 10:00: Transition to Single Player Games In this chapter, the author discusses their transition to single-player games. Initially, they preferred multiplayer experiences with games that required interaction with friends. This included Co-op games, Online PVP (Player Versus Player), and PVE (Player Versus Environment) settings. The author then recalls acquiring a PlayStation 3, where this trend continued, citing examples like 'Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare,' 'MW2' (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2), 'Dungeon Defenders,' 'Skate 3,' 'Little Big Planet,' and 'Playstation All Stars.' The author also mentions having recorded gameplay from those times, reflecting a period of gaming on a large television set.
• 10:00 - 14:30: Discovering the Depth of Single Player Games The chapter explores the concept of playing single player games, highlighting the contrasting experience from multiplayer games. The author reflects on their initial hesitation to play single player games due to the eerie feeling of being in a world alone. Nevertheless, after upgrading to a computer, they embraced keyboard and mouse controls, and transitioned into playing online multiplayer games like League of Legends, Overwatch, and CS:GO. They briefly engaged in the Battle Royale trend with games such as PUBG and Fortnite, highlighting the fun, albeit challenging, nature of these games.
• 14:30 - 17:00: Reflections on Life and Gaming In the chapter titled 'Reflections on Life and Gaming,' the narrator reflects on their unexpected proficiency with a building mechanic in a game they played, despite it not leading to significant achievements due to the absence of a ranking system in Fortnite at the time. The narrator recalls the era of flexing wins on Snapchat. After the battle royale phase, the narrator mentions not engaging with other games except those by Riot Games, ending with a brief snippet of what appears to be gameplay communication in a multiplayer game.
• 17:00 - 18:30: Conclusion and Encouragement The chapter titled 'Conclusion and Encouragement' reflects on the author's personal journey through ranked and competitive gaming, highlighting the initial fear and casual gaming background with games like Minecraft. Despite starting with games like Halo and Call of Duty, the shift towards competitive grind is attributed to playing CS:GO. The author admits not achieving very high ranks in CS:GO, only reaching Gold Nova One, but the experience seems to have been a part of their growth in gaming.

How Gaming Alone Changed Everything (For Me) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 player two a term used for another person in a multiplayer game joining from a separate input device there are many ways to connect to player 2 an extra controller another person online and many more options however I always found myself being player to growing up with an older brother and being the youngest out of my cousins meant I never owned a gaming console myself which also meant I was never player one the only opportunity I had to play video games
• 00:30 - 01:00 was playing on a TV with half of the screen from my side it's not a bad thing but it's just where my background from video games comes from Halo and cod are the big ones that come to mind I vividly remember the split screens games used to have for local multiplayer and always being on the right or on the bottom half of the screen and [ __ ] on my brother every time just kidding however this didn't sustain for very long as split screen isn't the nicest thing for both my brother and I to experience so as my brother would play called online on his
• 01:00 - 01:30 PS3 I started gaming on a shitty little family laptop that could run Roblox at like Max 30 FPS maybe less that's a bit generous but one thing still didn't change for me and that was playing multiplayer games I found out about Minecraft through my friends and mostly played Minecraft servers throughout Elementary School of course knew about the survival aspect of Minecraft but never really played it as it didn't interest me that much compar compared to playing with my
• 01:30 - 02:00 friends at the time this was a constant theme in my choice of games I played no matter what another person was there Co-op Online PVP PVE I did eventually get my own PS3 and the trend pretty much continued I mostly played games like plants vers zombies Garden Warfare MW2 online Dungeon Defenders one Skate 3 the [ __ ] was it back then Little Big Planet and Playstation All Stars I still have some videos of me recording me playing this game on my [ __ ] big ass TV all
• 02:00 - 02:30 of these games were multiplayer with an exclusion of Modern Warfare 2 campaign but I never really played that because that [ __ ] scared me something about being in a world with no one else was pretty daing after I built my first computer I installed Le and OverWatch and this is pretty much where I fully transitioned from being a controller player to a keyboard and mouse and I picked up other games like csgo along with it besides that I did dabble in the Battle Royale Trend I played a lot of pubg wasn't really good at it but hey that was fun and fortnite fortnite was
• 02:30 - 03:00 something I was surprisingly good at I don't know the building mechanic kind of just clicked with me but it never really got anywhere because fortnite didn't really have a ranking system at the time and the only thing you could Flex was posting your dub to your Snapchat damn what a time after the battle royale scene I didn't really play any other games besides riot games oh I hit him on on two on side two on side last player stand
• 03:00 - 03:30 dude one enemy remaining you have a to right above [Applause] you at first I was very scared of ranked and competitive play in these games growing up with Minecraft I was a very Casual Gamer even though I started off with Halo and cod it's difficult to pinpoint where I got into the grind of rank games but my best guess would be around the time I played CS goo I never really got far in CS Rings maybe gold Nova one which isn't that good but
• 03:30 - 04:00 hitting that gold and getting out of silver felt really satisfying a climb for a higher rank became so much more appealing and I started to feel the rush of close games and the relief of closing one out I got Mercy heal me I'm done where is The Shield one one one kill me keep me up keep me up I'm coming rip both healers are dead I don't know about y got
• 04:00 - 04:30 got this yane with no bre yeah I was a kid during that so you know sh [ __ ] happens soon it got to the point where if it wasn't competitive or if it didn't have a ranking system then I didn't want to play it of course course as with anything competitive you
• 04:30 - 05:00 also feel the overwhelming weights of defeat and sometimes it can overpower the feeling of a win I think I felt this the most when I played OverWatch because the game was so fastpaced and it can really get your emotions riled up I never really got far in any ranking system highest I got in League was like silver gold Nova and CSG go I think the lowest or second division like Rainbow Six Siege and like PL and OverWatch but they all kind of changed when valerin came out
• 05:00 - 05:30 at first valent was just a breath of fresh air something different to the pace of csgo to combin my favorite competitive games at the time OverWatch and CS which got me excited deep down I knew I was competitive just because my mentality when I played OverWatch I got pretty far in the vient ranks during beta hitting low Diamond this is a pretty big deal for me because as a low ELO player in most competitive games Diamond seems like the threshold to separate the low ELO bad players to good High ELO players when the game officially came out I started to take it
• 05:30 - 06:00 more seriously getting a warm-up routine and constantly striving to improve something about my gaml whether it was aim movement or game sense and I saw results I climbed and climbed and eventually hit a mortal which at the time was like top 2% of total players in valer and that was truly something special to me as this was the highest rank I've ever been in any game and was considered good I became addicted to this grind putting in more hours striving for better better and better
• 06:00 - 06:30 results until I hit my Peak burnout was a huge issue for me in these games because it would be the only game I would play at a time nothing new and exciting was coming out and I never really felt like going back to OverWatch or League fully so I kind of just had this extra time to myself this is when I started to watch YouTubers play these big AAA games I've always wanted to try playing these games out myself but it was such a foreign concept to play games alone as I've grown up my whole life Shar in games with someone else going
• 06:30 - 07:00 through everything alone was scary I never played cod zombies alone and the same with campaign even boss fights were so intimidating to me that it would be reason enough for me to never touch these games but then February 25th of 2022 came around the release of Elden ring
• 07:00 - 07:30 Elden ring was a turning point in my gaming timeline I've known about these single player games but I've never experienced them fully myself always through another set of eyes and never fully immersed Alder ring was the first Souls games I got my attention I've heard about them being super difficult and never really found that appealing but something about the open world and the vibe the game gave drew me in the first time you open that door and see the world envelop around you or just getting to a new point of interest and looking at the scenery
• 07:30 - 08:00 Lendale is one of my favorites for moments like these and being in that moment just felt so surreal following the Grace's guy since the beginning of the games standing there looking at the Towering Earth tree looming over you remembering how far away it was and yet here you are close enough to its base finally being able to see the minute details in the goal you've been seeking for these moments felt slow and calming the complete opposite of what you would actually feel in combat when you're fighting tiny enemies that can kill you
• 08:00 - 08:30 in an instant now it would make sense for me to play other Souls games but I didn't it's still the only Souls game I've been to this day but hey I'm still working on it don't worry however it did introduce me to more single player games what separates games like valerant and Counterstrike to games like breath of the wild there are a multitude of things you can say but for me it's the players valer is a team game one where you need five friends or strangers while in breath of the Wild you only need
• 08:30 - 09:00 yourself bre of the wild is a great example of this you play as link who wakes up to a wasted Hy roll with no one around no companion by your side to speak to you as you explored the barren lands of Hyrule by yourself another game that I enjoyed was God of War 2018 a North sequel to the original God of War that follows our protagonist father Kratos and his son atraeus there are many things about this game that bring out Norse mythology into its world but I think one of the key factors into the W aspect in its presentation is it sheer scale of
• 09:00 - 09:30 creatures that inhabit the Norse world the first time meeting the world serpent or the dead giant are special moments in the game that really help Define its World these moments although short completely freeze your world as you react to the scene I've already glazed Elden already in this video and other games like near throughout my previous videos on my channel but a little quick rundown of just one special moment from near aomata was the opening sequence into the amusement park as everything coats together the music visuals the gameplay
• 09:30 - 10:00 all together to create this Indescribable feeling and vibe that really locks you into the zone of the game this is very specific to my experience of gaming as I do tend to gravitate towards the action adventure games but everyone has a different style for other games like this can still evoke an immense amount of stress so they would rather play comfy games like Minecraft stard Valley or Animal Crossing everyone is different and you can only really tell what games you like by playing more and
• 10:00 - 10:30 experimenting let's go back to action games they may seem to be filled with stress terrifying locations action elements with almost everything trying to kill you difficult bosses and even the story of the game is stressful there are many challenges that people will face when playing these games and yes it will be stressful it purposefully is it's to build tension for the player or else the game would be a snooze Fest like any competitive game a close game will always be more exciting than completely Bing the enemy team this is
• 10:30 - 11:00 all for a reason if you gone through Middle School English you should know about the basic principles about writing a plot you have your exposition to rising action and into a climax it's a pretty simple concept with other writing devices to deviate from this but the main takeaway I want to get from this is falling action a story filled with tension is exciting but it can only last for so long you can't always have constant Rising tension because it becomes overloaded which can lead to exhaustion or boredom for a viewers a story needs a moment of
• 11:00 - 11:30 nothing now what do I mean by nothing obviously I don't mean there's nothing happening at all but rather there is much less stress in the scene compared to what usually happens in stories like the mini games I mentioned before there is constant action where it's the norm and a moment of nothing is peculiar it's different and it's a nice change of pace for the viewer an extremely good example of this is in berserk you may know berserk because of
• 11:30 - 12:00 its artwork or because of the thousands of people that glaze over this manga it's all deserve by the way but that's not what I'm here to discuss berserk is an action field manga tons of fights and amazing Direction Through the artwork and an intense plot to back it up with story arcs like the Black Swordsman and the Golden Age there are many incredible moments of insane climatic twists and turns that many can point out in this manga but something that I see many people forget are the panels of guts just sitting there staring off into the
• 12:00 - 12:30 sky if you've been re berserk you know the constant scroll to read more and click the next chapter to see what unfolds in the story but for me moments like these make me completely stop and really appreciate the panel fully it's easy to get caught in the motion of it all as the action and storytelling are one of the best of its kind but slow moments like these are so crucial to let the reader stop and take a breather to digest all the information given to them it's like finishing a movie and going out to the theater to process what happened you're not going to get
• 12:30 - 13:00 everything in the middle of watching but analyzing these moments with full context for your understanding this is not something exclusive to storytelling but can be applied to games like I mentioned in all of the action it's easy to be engulfed into its world but a step back and you'll feel it the overwhelming mood of your surroundings the visuals and music combining together the world you take for granted as it allows you to be fully immersed in its characters in the story it tells letting one of the hardest bosses in the game can be very thrilling
• 13:00 - 13:30 in the moment but after the boss is done you kind of just sit there and let it all sink in that you've done it finally and to me this is what truly brings games to life player two a term I've known since the start of my gaming Lifetime and whether it be that extra controller connected or another Cog in the system of a team I've never been put in a situation to call myself player one until now it is through the lens of this single player that I am able to put in perspective the differences in the ways people experience different geners of games and how this has affected my
• 13:30 - 14:00 Outlook on my own life I've learned plenty of things through experiences like this that affect my outlook on life with everything going on my life time moves extremely fast as many say the world doesn't stop for you and they are right we're always in this constant state of motion School working or studying I remember hearing that we were getting a twoe break from school and here I am in my second year of uni nearing my 20s thinking about internships and my future career always looking looking ahead and then I
• 14:00 - 14:30 realized something I took a step back and it was calming we're always so caught up in life will I pass this exam am I going to be successful what if I fail what will become of me questions I've asked myself about the impeding future to come to many the future is exciting filled with opportunities to no end but for me it's filled with uncertainty uncertain of a future I'll be happy about however you're not living your life in the future but in the
• 14:30 - 15:00 present when I look back on the things that I've done that were so stressful like a big class project an exam I wasn't ready for or a big event at work and here I am doing fine as ever I realized that I've been through my most stressful moments in life and almost never think about them now because in my head I'm at a constant state of stressing about what's next it wasn't until I took the step back that I realized I lived through a lot of experiences and I'm still okay and so
• 15:00 - 15:30 will you you're living in a present so enjoy it while you're in it like the popular saying goes you don't know you were in the good days until you're out of it so capture it now as best as you can even down the line you reminisce on these good times and remember you're living in the moment and that moment can be a moment of nothing and that's perfectly fine now I'm not telling you to drop your competitive games like CS or league and pick up controllers to play Dark Souls hell I still even play CS2 and
• 15:30 - 16:00 OverWatch still it's just that maybe a change can do something for you as it did for me when I play these games it can give you a new perspective than just the angry tilting nature of these competitive games the stressful yet chill nature of a single player game with just you and your thoughts is something I think every gamer should try to experience once in their lifetime stories of danger Fearless back spect the
• 16:00 - 16:30 FL and P all of these GS of our own delusions are back we fighting in