Jason Bailey

He used to be called Jumpman.

Like, how do you get to the essence of that kind of style of game?

So I still dabble in sometimes first-person shooters or puzzles or these role-playing games.

Yeah, I mean, listen, we could be like, well, what does distance it from other things we experience?

Like, you could say nothing.

In doing this job and thinking more critically and deeply about the games I play, I oftentimes divide it into two different things.

I think all games are about the gameplay loop.

It's what you do.

It's the routine, which is also our lives.

We often have these routines.

We come to work.

People work nine to five jobs.

And games teach you either how to master a routine or how to break the routine.

And those are two very important life skills to have as you're going through your day.

And you're like, oh my God, I'm in this monotonous thing that I can't escape.

I'm in the Matrix.

You know, you got to break the Matrix.

So I think really great games can teach you to do both.

I think also another side of that, too, a lot of games are about death and about caring for the protagonist you're playing.

Especially when you're talking about early 3D games, like even Legend of Zelda, the reason why Link doesn't talk is because you're supposed to identify with the character.