I play games and I have no hesitation in saying so. It is not my addiction, but something bigger than an addiction. It is my "me-time", when I am completely myself. Like many people of the current generation, I am also a fan of gaming, but my gaming journey is a little different. Whether it is mobile or PC, I like all games, but I have chosen only two games, Clash of Clans and Call of Duty Mobile. These two games are like two chapters of my life—one past, the other present.
I used to play Clash of Clans when I was in college. Back then, I would team up with friends and create a clan in the game, attack the enemy's base. The laughter, jokes and plans in the game chat were another name for our friendship. But after college, my friends gradually dispersed, the clan chat became silent. At one point, I joined another clan myself, but I didn't have the same fun as before. Maybe the game hasn't changed, I have changed. Now I don't open Clash of Clans anymore, it's just a memory.
In the lonely days of Corona in 2021, I was introduced to Call of Duty Mobile anew. It started by playing in a team with my college friends. But over time, my friends got busy, and I was left alone in the game, but now I am not alone anymore. Now I have found new friends in the game. I play with them every night from 9 pm to 12 am. Some of them are from Dhaka, some from Mumbai, and some from Germany. I also talk to them in between game matches. Sometimes work pressure, sometimes study stress—if we share these, they also give us easy solutions.
I forget all the fatigue of the day, office stress, and home troubles when I hear "Enemy spotted" in my headphones. In that world inside the game, I am just a soldier. No other thoughts can enter my mind at these moments. You may think that playing games increases the tension, but we don't play that way. This is basically a place for us to chat.
There are only 4 people in a team, but we are more than 10 people. Then we create a new team and its job is to kill our other team members. We fight one team against another team all over the map and have fun. Gaming is not just a game, it is also a means of building relationships with people. My team members in Call of Duty are now like family. Some talk about exam stress, some tell stories about their child's birthday. Here, nationality, age, profession are no barriers.
Many people say, "Gaming is a waste of time!" I say, "Gaming values time." I play games for three hours a night, because I know this time is reserved for me. Before, I used to play games with my friends, but now I play on my own. It has taught me how to prioritize. Gaming has not reduced my productivity, but rather reduced stress and increased my energy for work.
When I see my team winning on the screen, I feel like even the small victories in life are worthy of such a celebration. And when you lose, you learn: "There is a restart button, just like in life. So to those who say, "Gaming is a waste of time", I say: "My gaming time is my creative time."