Comment by Fannon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Fannon | Hacker News Reader

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So I come from where you come from.

However, I have mostly (60-80%?) retained my ability to focus on reading without distraction. But there has been something lost and sometimes it feels like an uphill battle to retain your ability to concentrate on one thing at a time. Would be curious what makes a difference here?

I did some conscious choices, not sure how they contribute but I have the impression that each of them helps a bit:

* Not using social media and treating messengers more like email. A real-time conversation may happen, but does not need to.

* I (mostly) avoid browsing news sites where there is endless scrolling / content. I try to mostly read and almost never comment (as this makes me curious on what the reactions on it are)

* I bought a Kindle to read without distractions. It's in airplane mode most of the time, too.

* I separate my work and private equipment

* Only play games casually and sometimes not at all for longer periods of time. I mention this, as games usually have "optimized" on (rather quick) reward feedback and I can imagine that this is very similar as social media in some sense.

Very relatable list.

Kindle also really ignited my love for reading again this year. I think it tricks my brain a bit into thinking “oh, it’s an electronic device anyway” :D Another thing that helped, was a bit of a challenge with my partner, reading books in bed together, and having reading dates, when we would just snug on the sofa reading each other their own book.

I really like the idea of a reading date but I also know that neither of us want to read or hear every detail of what the other is reading. Our book interests are quite divergent, although we do enjoy sharing an interesting passage or description of what we are reading every now and again.

Let me clarify: we just snug together reading our respective books in silence with a cup of coffee :)

Me and my partner have fallen into this pattern too, down to sharing interesting passages from whatever ebook we’re reading. I’ve read more books in the past month than I have the entire year!

Love the reading dates, thanks for mentioning that!

It's funny you place games in the "bad" side of things, this hich need to be reduced. I group gaming with reading because the kind of games I play require a level of focus and engagement, and my brain rather spend hours scroll HN and Reddit. It really is an uphill battle.

What kind of games? I’d like to stop playing addictive games and start playing games that are better for my mind.

I would recommend The Long Dark and Sable. Heavily focused on exploration and immersion. But really any game with an open world that doesn't hold your hand too much and lets you make your own choices.

I picked up Sable on a lark (also because I saw the Moebius-inspired art style and immediately fell in love). It's a fine game that you can tell was a labour of love by only a handful of people, for better and for worse. It hit that same vein of open-ended exploration that Breath of The Wild has and the same feeling of constant discovery the latter game has in its early hours. I do wish that Sable was less utopic, with dangers in the wild dunes from creatures or weather hazards, but that wouldn't work with the art style and doesn't make sense with the narrative. It's a great game, even if you can get around the often-janky flight model of the hoverbikes and bugs like occasional clipping into the environment.

Anything, including any game, can become addictive. As one of the aphorisms at Delphi said, “Nothing to excess”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_thyself

Having said that, there are many games that are more respectful of the player, with quieter user interfaces without design dark patterns to keep you hooked.

Here are some suggestions:

*Microsoft Flight Simulator* - Fly around Earth, preferably at a low to medium altitude with a small airplane. It can teach you about real world flying procedures if you are interested, with things like Vatsim. You can play with others without worrying about griefing as there are no collisions between airplanes modelled. If you want to shoot, too, try DCS World or IL-2 Sturmovik. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1250410/Microsoft_Flight_...

*Everything* - Meditative game about life and the relationships between all things. https://store.steampowered.com/app/582270/Everything/

*Balsa Model Flight Simulator* - Build and fly radio controlled airplanes! By the creator of Kerbal Space Program. https://store.steampowered.com/app/977920/Balsa_Model_Flight...

I find that keeping a physical journal, writing with a real pencil on real paper, while playing games, is good for my eyes and my mind, as is taking regular breaks and going for walks in the real world, every day.

PS. A childhood friend of mine started this website dedicated to relaxing games: https://yinindie.com/

You're probably aware of them but just in case, basically anything by Zachtronics fits the bill.

Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, for investigations and memory and "human puzzles". Manifold Garden, Opus Magnum (+ other Zachtronics game) for puzzle solving.

Outer Wilds became one of my all-time favorites. It feels so lovingly crafted in a way that so few games do now.

For a completely integrated puzzle solving Zen experience, The Witness is also excellent.

I had given up the hope of ever being as amazed by a game as I used to be as a kid, until I played Outer Wilds. It's truly a magical experience. And the soundtrack is amazing, it still gives me chills sometimes.

Try the witness!

Kentucky Route Zero has been the most intellectual of journeys I went through in 2020-2021. This game almost requires that I put it down every now and then to ponder and think. It calls for a glass of wine in a quiet place at 3am. I wish my friends would play it so I would have someone to discuss with.

Disco Elysium would be a good recommendation, I believe. It is almost all reading based, and the theme is philosophical/political.

The creators have revealed that the script of "Disco Elysium" consisted of roughly 980 000 words, and the 2020 rework "The Final Cut" was apparently even more massive, roughly 1.2 million words [1].

Its lead designer Robert Kurvitz is an Estonian novelist, and the development team largely consisted of members of a "small but loud" alternative cultural association. Another member of the team is Kaur Kender, cult writer and literary enfant terrible of late 1990s Estonia. I think his books are a required reading for Estonian high school students. It's a game made by poets, basically.

I'm not a gamer, but I think the game (entitled "No Truce with the Furies" during early stages of development) was largely based on a sci-fi and "proper literature" mashup novel by Kurvitz that imo gained a somewhat cult following in Estonia. The book pays remarkable attention to detail, and it took him about 5-6 years to write.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Elysium

Text adventures are perfect for that.

Get Winfrotz for Windows or Lectrote under Linux/OSX and download Anchorhead, Spider and Web, Make It Good, Vicious Cycles, All Things Devour, Enemies and Slouch Over Bedlam from IFDB, they should be in Z5 or Z8 format. "Heroines" and "Enemies" are good, too.

adding on some recs that aren't necessarily 'good for the mind' but great from a gaming as art perspective and not designed for addiction - co op: terraria, Deep Rock Galactic, and Magicka various interesting games: Subnautica, Transistor, noita, hyperlight drifter, control

Give crossword puzzles a look if you haven't in a long time. There are some very neat variations out there these days.

Too late to comment, but I wanted to add puzzle games like Portal or The Talos Principle. The world building is stimulant, and the mechanics can be really hard on your first play. Their downside is the rapidly diminishing replay value, unless you collect achievements, which defeats the purpose of a casual game.

When I replay one of those, I do it for the story, because the puzzles are child's play when you know the solutions.

Ok, yes I see your point - I should have be more differentiated here. I can see that there are games which could also force you to keep focus. What I had in mind were more of the "almost instant reward" game mechanics.

Based on the context, it would appear that he is referring to mobile games like CandyCrush and their ilk, "games usually have "optimized" on (rather quick) reward feedback and I can imagine that this is very similar as social media in some sense". I don't think that refers to the NYT Crossword puzzle.

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