Have you ever tried stepping outside your known areas of interest? Sometimes I see people say there are no games on their system of choice. While this is certainly true for new systems, you may find you have skipped stuff. Sometimes games are ignored for good reasons, like when they are critically panned. When they aren't, however, do you feel the need to step away from your comfort zone? This is what I am trying to do right now, and truth be told, I’m having a great time.

The idea for this came from Culdcept, which I bought a digital version of not so long ago. The game came out on other platforms (Nintendo DS and Xbox 360), but I never gave it a chance. It looked complicated, boring, and something I could never sink into for long. The early 2013 emptiness led me to pick it up, however, and I played it for the first time earlier in the week. What started out as a disconnect turned into my understanding and appreciation for a different kind of game. Culdcept is a weird mix of strategic elements, decks of cards, and a Monopoly-like game board. It helped that the game has an involving story, too, which grabs you from the first minute. The game goes a lot deeper than a first glance might indicate; within an hour or so, I didn't want to stop.

Of course, there were things I disliked here and there. The battles went a bit long for my tastes, and sometimes depended too much on a lucky draw, but the overall package was inviting. If I hadn’t played Culdcept, I would not have known what people like about it so much. I would have called it ''not my cup of tea'' and slagged it off for being outside my interests. In this day and age where everything must suit you right away, making a curiosity purchase once in a while can be a good thing. Opening yourself to new experiences might be scary, but it does more good than harm.

In the last three years, I’ve made more of an effort to try things that wouldn’t be my first choices. In 2012, this consisted of games like Call of Duty: Blacks Ops II and Heroes of Ruin. My love for those kinds of games isn’t deep, but I genuinely wanted to try them and see what they are about. I am glad I did, because it made me want to try similar games and expand the scope of my interest. Call of Duty on Wii U showed me why the first-person shooter genre has the following it does. Heroes of Ruin made me understand the need for multiplayer experiences, even on a handheld like the 3DS. The journey is, however, never done, and I am constantly looking for new experiments.

Some of my favorite in the last couple years have been the most interesting in setting the tone of my current attitude. I have learned to appreciate games like Samurai/Dynasty Warriors, and can now see what separates the good from the bad. I went into downloadable titles without any expectations and came away happy with most. I went from the Inazuma Eleven series to expansive dungeon crawlers, which took me a huge chunk of time to get used to. My new goal for 2013 is to step outside my comfort zone entirely. In a year of transition, I can't be picky, and would be damned if I used this time to just stick with what I know. It doesn't create empathy or a better future for games, because it simply scares off creativity. This year, I am thinking of finally giving a Shin Megami Tensei game a proper go, and maybe even a Japanese game featuring gigantic mechs. That is at least something to look forward to, right?