Digital Detox

Should you take your Switch on Vacation?

I was on vacation last week. Slightly ironic, since I don’t exactly have any responibilities to escape from. Still, it was nice to get out. I met some friends up at a cabin in the rural part of my state, right on a little lake. I even got to go out to restaurants, like a person.

I pet a goat!

It was one of those trips that are oddly hard to pack for. The weather can go from 65 to 95 in two days. You have to pack for a cold hike, a hot hike, hot and cold bike rides. You get the idea. A lot of picking out shoes and activities that everyone will make moves at playing then ignore.

A road bike? Vintage badminton rackets? A pudgie pie maker? Sure, pack that shit up. We’ve got a whole van.

The question I puzzled over the most was- do I pack video games? Which system?

Which is a loaded question. I’m trying to make it as a video game content creator. Of course I should bring games. My Switch, maybe? It’s not that hard to stuff a dock into a suitcase. It would also mean I could force friends to play my only multiplayer game- Fightcrab.

Fight you a crab

Then again I could bring my 3ds. It’s easy, and fits in a small purse even with a charger and all it’s games. gloriously efficient. A little old school.

Plus, animal crossing on a dock? So good.

However, in the end, I decided to go with no electronics. Not even my laptop. A full digital detox if you will.

I did not trust myself to not binge games once it was an option. Plus I really didn’t want my computer going with me. This was a chance to ditch so bad habits, and I was going all analog, baby!

It was hard to leave Brewster

Start the day with some single-origin french roast that needed 4 pieces of equipment and a 20 dollar bag of beans, and a copy of Braiding Sweetgrass. 

Getting back to basics, if you will. 

Which was great. The coffee was strong and made up for staying up late drinking too much around the bonfire. Finding Sweetgrass might be the perfect book to read while staring at a lake, enjoying the beauty of nature. 

It goes into the nature of our relationship with the land and with plants and nature. It’s beautifully written. Relaxing but deeply meaningful.

It was a transcendental fucking experience. 

So naturally, at the end of the trip, I discovered a friend I don’t get to see often and lives out of town had brought her switch. 

I had so many games I wanted to show her! I could have made her play Fight Crab! We could exchange friend codes so much easier! 

I was missing out. I should never have abandoned my Switch. Didn’t I know it is my god??

Transcendental moment ruined. I should always shove my switch in my bag. Just in case. For emergencies. 

I blame Nintendo for not having a version of Street Pass on Switch. I don’t get that fun little connection if I bring it everywhere. Her characters wouldn’t show up automatically in Animal Crossing or Mario. 

As a late adopter of my 3ds, I really wish I could have a chance for those little connections. They’re so cool and would be even better on a system everyone I know plays. 

At least I got to read my book in front of some plants that were in the book. 

I guess that’s an analog version. 

So this week, as I prepare to lock myself in my room for at least a couple of days this week to make up for having a bunch of summer plans, I remind myself that games don’t have to be my house arrest style hobby. They can also be something I can socialize with. 

except for trying to make small talk about Boktai. People don’t like that.

You can only play it in the sun! It’s made by the Metal Gear Solid Guy! Come back!

So perhaps in the spirit of post-quarantine, I should start taking my hobby outside. There’s a game bar up the street from me after all. I could sit on their patio.

But let's face it. I will probably just move to play my 3ds outside on the porch instead of 10 feet away on the couch. 

Like an explorer. 

So that was my week. Mostly game-free, relaxing on a pond. Hope you all get the vacations you need this year! I will be back in your inbox to talk about frogs later.

-Julia