What I learned from a video game (Bloodborne)

We live in a modern age where of course video games have the capacity to assist in teaching you some of life's biggest lessons. Bioware romances are the highlight of any Mass Effect or Dragon Age game for me while Fallout makes you feel loss and helplessness on an appropriate scale for the apocalypse, particularly in its latest installment. But, where I have been struggling with rejection trying to get published/an agent to hawk my wares, even these games fall short of inspiring me to keep pushing for that goal.

Why is that? I'm up against crazy odds--hell, in Mass Effect 2 they consider the endgame a suicide mission, says so on the soundtrack and everything. So what's the difference between that and a game such as Bloodborne? Well, the ramp up in difficulty for one. Games like Bloodborne expect you to bang your head against it a bit. Now, I'll admit, I've had an easier time than many because I ding my little co-op bell when I get scared, but there have been times and areas where I could ding and ding all day and it was just me and the giant-ass spiders. So, what did I do? Shut off the game and wait til the next day? Well, there were times I tried, but I'd inevitably go back (if I shut it off at all) and just say, "Well, I'm scared. There's a big chance I'll fail here. So...might as well face it head-on."

And so I did. And, you know what? I succeeded some of the time, just by being brave and running out there. And when I did get a companion who died to a boss or a tough bunch of enemies, I didn't always go down with them. I stood up and kept fighting and, some of the time, I won.

There is a huge metaphor for life here, not just in the way we approach our dreams but how we handle the everyday struggles.

It's weird, the parallel, and how my confidence has changed since meeting these virtual challenges. It doesn't hurt that this was a game I thought I'd play for an hour or so (not unlike Dark Souls, which, according to the save file, I lasted all of three hours in before hanging up the controller) and have since sunk three whole days worth of my life into.

 The result? Well, I’m approaching the submission and rejection process with a much healthier attitude. It’s hard and scary and I don’t like the odds. And I will fail, a lot. But there’s nothing like it, after all that pain, when you land that last, punishing blow on a boss you’ve been banging your head against for hours and you raise your weapon to the sky. The sweet, thrilling adrenaline rush of success.

I will feel that, too.

Even though I’ve hit a snag in my Bloodborne playthrough, I know, just like in real life--just like my book--to never give up.