I Turned My Love of Video Games into an Outdoor Adventure

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There are two things I love doing that, at first glance, seem diametrically opposed to each other. One is hiking in the woods. The other is playing video games.

Hiking is all about getting away from screens. It’s just me and the dog surrounded by trees. We’re unreachable, immersed in nature, ignoring the clock. I talk to myself during my walks. I admire mushrooms blooming on dead logs. I pause to ponder a heavy branch that arcs into the earth and wonder if it’s a portal. If I walk through it, I might find real magic (and maybe some more mushrooms).

With video games, the screen is the only thing that matters. Every move is calculated and intentional. My favorite games are 2D side-scrolling platformers featuring a lost hero on a vast quest.

Both hobbies share one critical feature — they allow me to briefly escape my life. It makes sense that the two hobbies are starting to influence each other. I think about gaming when I walk and I think about walking when I’m on the couch, locked in, and trying to beat the game.

I didn’t realize how much I thought about games when I wasn’t paying them until I began “gamifying” my walks by turning them into mini quests. I imagine myself as a player moving through an unknown land…