14 Jun 2023
Hey, Listen!
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Hi there! During one of the Off The Grids held by Fuse Games every Friday I decided to play Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, with the initial aim of writing down my thoughts on the game experience. I started to jot down a bunch of notes, delving into the excellent gameplay mechanics, the narrative context, sublime audio and visual style – however I was also jotting down how it made me feel.
Playing this new Zelda game got me thinking about the power of videogames, or music, or books, or movies – or other forms of media – how they can reach out and pull at our heartstrings and make us feel ways in which are special to us.
This Off The Grid was during May and that happened to be Mental Health Awareness month. I’ve learned over the years that speaking up and sharing with others is important and can often help encourage or inspire others to do so too.
Years ago, I used to enjoy writing poems - I found it fun to layer multiple meanings within a word or sequence of words. However, I stopped - Never really seem to have the time alongside usual things.
But here I was - a Friday afternoon... Inspired by this wonderful game and - with time!
So, with this all in mind, I was inspired to write a poem.
I wanted to write a poem sharing a little of my own difficult journey with depression while weaving in references to the Zelda series that inspired and helped me over the years. It felt great to return to this old pastime and I appreciate having the time to do so during this Off The Grid.
Take care of yourselves,
Adam Stone