A day in the life of a retired evil mastermind

Recently I’ve been finding entertainment in strategy games and anime. This isn’t new, but the frequency of these two pastimes has been on the rise. I was wondering today if it was coincidence or if there was a reason behind it.

Anime offers stories, character and world development, and a particular aesthetic, but was there a key focus my mind was hunting for? I enjoyed the sweet story and positive emotional impact of one anime, and have shrugged off a couple weak stories more focused on action. Love always has meaning for me, and perhaps my romance and compassion reservoirs were dwindling.

Strategy games, even ones predicated on a role-playing narrative, are more often about the system mechanics than the story for me. It takes a really strong connection to shift my brain from the statistics and probabilities and pull my heart into the story when there is one. For those games that abandon story in favor of a sandbox, I don’t really develop my own assumed narrative along the way. The dense stat blocks serve a purpose, they are math that helps me solve a problem that is constantly evolving, but little more.

Heart Versus Mind

So, should I assume I’ve been disconnecting my emotions and using my head rather than my heart while gaming? Maybe. Why? To better address the issues as they arise from a position of logic rather than emotion? Perhaps. What if that makes me morally reprehensible or ethically bankrupt in the game? That’s fine.

Playing the villain has never bothered me, but beneath my cold ruthless mind is a warm and fuzzy heart that wants to snuggle the world. Perhaps these two opposing needs are finding balance together, or maybe I’m overanalyzing it. I let the fantasy-scape of media reinvigorate my creativity, and also refine my implements of problem solving.

How do you find balance these days between the needs and desires you contend with?