It’s late on a Saturday and I’ve got a rant essay cooking but needs more time to really give it its due and it’s late on a Saturday and I don’t want to rush it, so in the meantime, here’s this one.
Destiny 2 now has fishing.
It’s one of the new activities this Season and I think I really like it? When you complete missions and other activities in the video game you’re given bait which you can then use to, well, fish at various spots in the game. All you do is stand around a fishing spot with whoever else is there, hit a button to cast a line and, when it bobs, hit another button when it bobs, and then pick up the fish. And repeat. I think you can get some gear and loot eventually, but I haven’t done as much. For now, I just enjoy fishing itself.
And I don’t know why. It’s simple, there’s very little coordination or strategy involved, it’s just hitting a button. Maybe it’s because it requires me to very much be there and pay attention (can’t miss that bob!) while having a finite amount of bait at which point I will have to stop. It’s odd, because I’ve tried fishing in real life and found it incredibly dull and not something I’d seek out. But in Destiny 2 where I, an armored space warrior, can go fishing on the unstable centaur 7066 Nessus? Why not!
I think here again I find myself with the question of being present. I’m really bad at slowing down, I like getting stuff done and moving on to the next thing — mindfulness is something I struggle with. Maybe this silly thing in Destiny 2 helps me with that, like my precious film camera and record player and books, something that forces me to stop and do a thing right now. Some time to think.
Either that or it’s a very simple Skinner Box where when I push the button at the right time I get the shiny thing and that activates my lizard brain. Which is less healthy.
Eh, it’s probably one of the two. So now I’m going to go fish (virtually, in space) and think about that upcoming rant essay.
Essays, Not Rants! 