A personal topic of my own thoughts and pontifications. I felt it was appropriate, as I reflected on my gaming in 2023 and noted a considerable amount of activity related to DT and FS.
I recognized the fact that I’ve reviewed only two games in Steam ever - one review contained a single sentence and a recommendation. The other, the one for DT, is two pages long and needed updating.
I’ve not pre-purchased a single game in many years, but I did pre-purchase DT. I’ve also not spent any money on MTX in as many years, until DT. I also noted that the last time I was active in a forum was Eternal Crusade. That was 7 years ago.
It’s evident that DT was important to me and not just in terms of gaming culture, but personal growth. I feel a profound “thank you!” to FatShark is in order here. So, thank you, FS -
Through DT I was reminded that I’m not immune to advertisement, marketing strategies and, mostly, my own wishful thinking as far as my favorited franchises are concerned. It wasn’t an easy thing to come to terms with, but I feel the ample reminders and examples DT provided helped overwhelm any cognitive dissonance I had.
DT allowed me to experience several brutal and obvious FOMO systems and made it necessary for me to practice resistance, restraint and patience. I’ve become much more apprehensive of such tactics and have successfully avoided a lot of wasted time and resources.
I’ve made dear friendships in the many hours I spent in the DT Discord, most of which I still maintain, long since having stopped playing altogether. Of this retrospection I’m mostly appreciative of, as the many hours spent discussing your work and deep-diving into the bizarre decisions around DT were the backbone for these bonds.
I’ve become increasingly more aware of how I spent my time with gaming. Breaking away from DT’s addictive loop allowed me to experience the most amount of new titles in years. It was a great year for gaming, but feeling I’ve wasted much of my time on DT drove me on to seek new ways to invest my time, and the payoff has been exceptionally rewarding.
Your crafting system is the closest I’ve gotten to gambling since I was a teenager. I greatly appreciate the slow process of getting a dopamine hit when I finally craft what I wanted on a weapon, then gradually losing that feeling the more I sunk the hours, to ultimately not even registering it. It was a profoundly illuminating experience and I’ll not forget it soon.
DT made me consider my skill. I like difficult games. I enjoy the process of improving. Getting good, as it were. In truth, that’s the most profound reason I kept playing DT after the first 100 hours. Getting to master it, doing the hardest content with ease. In pubs, with friends. Alone. That was amazing.
40K has been a beloved franchise to me for as long as I’ve had a taste. Your combat design, the music, the unique feel of the Tide. I experienced that, and I admit, in more than a few moments, it was perfect. Then the mission was over, and those moment had to remain behind, swept away by tedium, boredom and unwanted activity.
It was a journey. Even though my experience amounted to a lot of negatives, I appreciate having gone through it. And although I no longer play your game, I still check back in the forums and scroll through the Discord I no longer use, just to catch up on the strangest game I’ve played in a long time.
Thank you. DT was important to me, and I’ve become a better person through your game.
As to the future - I really don’t have anything to say. It’s been enough, as you can see above. I’ll gladly spend more time with DT, should the challenge improve or the crafting allows for experimentation without as much tedium. I would also gladly never launch DT again, having made some good memories and learned some great lessons.
Oh, and I’d love to read other’s reflections, if anyone feels particularly strongly.
Happy New Year!