Is there any metric to measure the creation of products and services needed to sustain and expand life?
“So if I go to an arcade, and I spend money in it playing videogames, I'm growing GDP?”

Yes this is correct.

“Is there any metric to measure the creation of products and services needed to sustain and expand life?”

The national accounts reported by most statistical offices are often subdivided into different sectors such as agriculture, industry etc. if you would want you could exclude entertainment industry but nobody is doing that as an official separate measure because in economics we care about all humans needs not only the most basic ones like shelter etc. and entertainment is actually an important human need. However, you are free to make any measure of “progress” as you define it from those separate accounts. You can for example check gross product or gross value added by sector for European countries at Eurostat website.