This piece was aired at 14 East’s virtual live storytelling event on the theme of wilderness in May.

Venturing into the wilderness to me is exploring my mind and the capabilities it has. I’m still discovering my new fascination and appreciation for animation, so I thought what better way to express the world of video gaming but through an animation? 

Video games and animation are already a world in themselves. I wondered how I would piece together a video with the restrictions of quarantine, but animation has let me express my vision. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in indoor activities to entertain, cope and keep busy during these times and video games is one of them. 

According to a report released on March 17 by Verizon, American video game use has increased by 75 percent since social distancing guidelines were put into effect nationally. By April 9, Verizon announced that number jumped to 115 percent. 

Video games let us escape our own world and venture into another one — a world we have more control in compared to this one. Because of its capability to let us escape this reality and enter another, it can either be a good coping mechanism or a bad one.