Six months ago my son Zac started to play a video game I knew very little about – which, as a games journalist, I found slightly disconcerting. Created by the Canada-based developer Digital Extremes, Warframe is an online sci-fi shooter, originally launched in 2013. Though little discussed outside its fanbase, it is consistently one of the biggest titles on Steam, with 75 million registered users. Set in a distant future version of our solar system, riddled with warring alien factions, the player takes part on the side of the Tenno, an ancient warrior race that employs barely sentient cybernetic fighters – the warframes of the title – as their primary weapons. Each day, Zac spends hours whizzing between planets, carrying out missions or exploring, all the while fighting enemies including a brutish clone army known as the Grineer, and the diseased, monstrous Infested.

Even in the era of endlessly updated live service games, "Warframe" is a unique success story. Launched in 2013 to little fanfare and middling critical reception, the game nonetheless found an audience after Digital Extremes stitched numerous ambitious updates into it, creating the Frankenstein's monster of the online gaming world. Slowly but surely, a humble cooperative shooter gained an emotional storyline, complex character progression systems, first-person murder mysteries, enormous spaceships you can pilot with friends, catchy musical numbers about labor rights, open-world planets, hoverboarding (with tricks), pets and fishing.

For the millions of people largely stuck indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, finding ways to pass the time is half the battle. But what to do if you've binge-watched all the shows on your list, got sick of doing puzzles and you can't stomach yet another classic sports rebroadcast? Video games are here to help. Not only are they a great way to stay entertained, they can also be an excellent group activity, whether you're playing "locally" on the couch with your immediate family, or online with friends to spend quality time together while social distancing. If you've been thinking about getting into gaming as a new hobby, here are some tips on getting started, as well as some game suggestions.

In'Dauntless,' team up with other online Slayers to hunt massive beasts known as Behemoths, before they consume what's left of the world. Dig deep in your pockets and be honest – if you have more loose change and lint than bills and credit cards, keep on reading. There are some seriously good computer games that are free to download and play – if you know where to look, that is. You probably know about high-profile freebies like "Apex Legends," "Fortnite Battle Royale," and "League of Legends," but there are many others to choose from, representing every genre. Some of these titles are older, mind you, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing given they'll require more modest computer specs to play – and hey, chances are if you don't want to pay for a $59 computer game, you might not be so eager to upgrade your hardware either.

"Games as a Service" has become a buzzword in recent months, especially in the wake of November's Star Wars Battlefront II lootbox controversy. The lootbox association has also tainted the term, tying it inextricably to what's at best seen as a "necessary evil" in the industry. But the basic idea behind Games as a Service is a net positive in theory: The games you like get expanded upon after release. It's what people liked about MMOs, but for all genres--the silver lining to this digital future, with its Day One patches and all the other stuff players like to grumble about. So let's celebrate the games that got it right.