I have a long history of not playing video games. When I was seven, Sony released the Playstation 2. My dad is the kind of guy who buys the cheapest brand of every grocery product, so he can buy the flashest entertainment gadget every fifteen years. So a box arrived at our house and Dad made it very clear that the Playstation 2 was for me and my sister. He stressed the point again: this video game console was for both of us.

I think he knew in his heart that I’d never play it. I was anxious and video games are stressful.

Then came the years of being invited to friends’ houses and desperately trying to persuade everyone that playing a video game was actually a terrible idea. Just to get me involved, my friends once adapted Halo to the difficult mission of ‘keeping Robbie alive’.

The feeling of satisfaction you get from improving these fictional peoples’ lives is unlike anything you could experience from watching a character make choices without your input on TV.

Then 2020 happened. We went into lockdown and everyone had to think of things to do that didn’t involve fraternising with our potentially diseased friends. I had downloaded Steam (an online shop for games) a while ago, but I’d never used it. Now was the time; with the world collapsing into a state of desperate chaos, I bravely downloaded a video game.

If you’ve never played a video game, it’s not too late. They’re not as hard as they look. If you’ve seen someone play a video game it looks completely baffling. How do they know what the buttons do? How are they moving their fingers that fast? How do they even know where they’re supposed to go or what they’re trying to achieve?

But play a game from the start, and it will teach you how to play. It will tell you how to move and what the point of the game is. It was difficult for an anxious person like me to accept, but if the game is unclear or feels pointless - that’s not your fault. That’s because the game is bad.

Also, there are thousands of different types of games. Yes, sure, a lot of them involve shooting people, just like most blockbusters involve superheroes, but you wouldn’t see a trailer for Avengers and assume you understood cinema.

One of the first games that got me hooked was Stardew Valley, where I played a farmer who fell in love, got married, had two children, and ran a thriving industry selling Ancient Fruit wine. Or maybe you’d prefer a puzzle game - how about Baba Is You? A game where you can move words around to change the fundamental rules of the game. If you can’t get past a wall, try writing ‘Wall Is You’. Now you are the wall moving forward to victory.

Video games have their own language and it takes a while to learn. It’s easy to forget that when a film cuts from one person to another, we understand that these people are in conversation. If it fades through black, we assume that time has passed. In 2020, we all know how to speak the language of film because we’re immersed in it all the time.

Video games have a language too, governed by the limitations of the medium, but it is worth your time to learn it. Play video games for a while, learn how they work, and you’ll understand how the designer is trying to guide you through the experience to have a fun time. Not sure where to go? Chances are the designers are shining a light on the path forward. It will take a while to understand the basics, but that’s why, like me, you play in secret, where no one could see your ridiculous, shameful, and embarrassing failures.

Most importantly, you should play video games because there is no experience like it. Unlike films or television, video games are a collaboration between the audience and the creator. The best game that I have played so far is Fallout: New Vegas. A game in which you wake up in a ditch in post-apocalyptic Nevada. Once you find out who robbed you and what was stolen, you realise there are a number of different organisations vying for control of this retro-futurist wasteland. It’s up to you to decide who should be in charge, or if it should be you.

Playing this game and trying to work the diplomatic angles, you discover something about yourself and your values. The feeling of satisfaction you get from improving these fictional peoples’ lives is unlike anything you could experience from watching a character make choices without your input on TV. It’s personal and revelatory.

This summer after a year of being isolated from others and stuck inside, I strongly recommend you isolate yourself from others and stay inside. Play something on your computer. Discover who you are; enjoy yourself. It’s amazing that we get to be alive at the same time as the existence of video games. They’ve only been around for a few decades! Enjoy them and try something new. Don’t let your sister have all the fun.