One thing I love about video games is that they are among those experiences where you can see actual improvement in your performance. Like in Batman: Arkham Asylum, for instance, I went from hardly being able to walk through an air vent to beating all of the game's combat and predator challenges. I could see a marked improvement between when I started and when I finally beat that last challenge.

And it feels good to see improvement in oneself, even in a leisure activity like video games. Improvement is something I don't always see as concretely in other areas of life, like in the workplace or as a parent or during any of my several misguided attempts to learn Japanese. I don't always see that improvement, so I don't always feel a payoff for the time I have committed. That's probably part of the reason I find games so appealing.

What I dislike though is how quickly you lose some of that skill when you stop playing a game. I played some Street Fighter IV the other night to prepare for Super Street Fighter IV, and it almost feels like I'm starting over. I've even lost some skill at DJ Hero, which I only stopped playing two months ago!

Just like with anything, I guess, you can commit to excellence at a single game (or a few games), or be generally good at many games. I've always been more of a Jack-of-all-Trades, dabbling in everything at the expense of mastering any one thing in particular. Some think that's the way to go. Some think it's the way to fail.

The choices we make in life, eh? Maybe I'll choose mastery at one thing next lifetime. :)