The Flaws

I fully and deeply connect with all my favorite games in an almost spiritual way despite the often glaring flaws holding them back.

Their flaws lead me to think more deeply about them in a way that fuels my own creativity and soul, think more about them than I would have if those flaws weren't there, in a process I believe is required in order to love something like I love these games.

I genuinely believe I haven't gone a single month without thinking about Death Stranding at least once since I first discovered it from one of it's trailers about 6 years ago, the way it's shaped my mind is vastly more valuable to me than any arbitrary "goodness" could ever be. I could ramble about both it's highs and lows in equal amounts of forever, and that's why it still doesn't have a page on my site! And shit like Below The Root and Captain Blood are pure unadulterated imagination fuel because of how frustrating their self-inflicted wounds are to me!

To be clear, I do think the art I love is quite good, but in most cases, part of that love stems from nitpicking it's "off" bits and missed opportunities alongside everything about it that has me connecting to it so hard.

You can always learn from and try to fix art you dislike, but with something that's almost there for you, the missing piece will burrow into the back of your mind and give you a powerful and resonant foundation to start with.

Art is like people: You love what is there even though it will never be perfect.

Bonus: The Roots

One thing it's good to be mindful of is where the "wasted potential" stems from. For example, I feel that Below The Root is a gem of a game grossly chained to a rock by hardware limitations. However, Captain Blood's hardware limitations actually add so much to it (that's a thing that can happen!), and it's ultimately the creator's misfires that hold it back.

It's "I wish these scrappy creators had the resources to fully realize their vision" VS "They're straight-up wasting what they have to offer"