In praise of the video game starter island

I can still remember my first game of PUBG. Well, kind of. I can't remember how I did out there on the battlefield, which weapons I found or how far I traveled across the map. But I can remember that starter island - where everyone spawns while the game is gathering players. I remember just being really confused by it.

Where was I? Was this it? Were we off and playing? Did I need to be doing something? There were weapons scattered around - should I be using them? There were people everywhere. Should I be hiding?

I am familiar with the starting island now - in fact I love it. I spend a lot of time in games that use starting islands, from Fortnite to Among Us (not really an island, that one, but you know what I mean).

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