Why do you game?
Do you think there are healthy and unhealthy approaches to this hobby?
I game for the sake of consuming media.
An example of an unhealthy approach would be someone who games.
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At this point, momentum
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I am a fine storm of hate and video games are made of it
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What is a thread
I’ve played video games to entertain myself and explore new things for my entire existence. It’s just what I do.
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Painfully sincere answer incoming:
I play games because it’s a fun and engaging hobby. It’s not the most productive or social hobby you can have, but it’s perfectly healthy as long as you maintain a social life that suits you, cultivate wider interests, and look after your physical and emotional needs.
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But what is entertainment? And what is fun?
I think if I had the money to travel I might not play games anymore, or at least not certain kinds. Like I’ll probably always be down with some Tetris or something as a time-filler.
The same reason I imagine cinema files watch movies instead of read all the books or whatever. There is a gut feeling that there is something worth exploring that games tap into that other mediums can’t. At least I think there is.
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because I get the references
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In general, i play video games because i enjoy simulation and constructed realities, and this medium uniquely lets me experience fiction from within using an avatar. I will always think that’s fascinating. That’s also why i gravitate towards games that offer more opportunities for individual player expression. I like that i can put my stamp on the experience someone else has created for me.
In real life, i like urban exploration and uncovering physical spaces just for the sake of it. A well-realized game world is appealing in almost the same exact way. It’s stiumating to discover and map out a space.
For games that require/reward more manual dexterity and input skill, i get a lot of satisfaction out of performing the input. i’d almost compare it to driving a car: i hate driving in real life and it stresses me out, but there’s an undeniable satisfaction behind manipulating the parts of a car and driving skillfully. Action games, fighting games, (obviously) racing games, etc. give me a similar feeling of satisfaction, without the risk of dying horribly inside a hunk of metal if it’s not my lucky day.
For games that are more about abstracted systems, like RPGs, i uhh think i just enjoy balancing spreadsheets and managing resources. It’s a different kind of mechanical satisfaction to action games but i think it’s related. Like, i don’t exactly have fun paying my bills or balancing my checkbook but it still kinda feels good to do, and again games let me experience that feeling with lower stakes.
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I can’t watch movies in 15 minute chunks
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I have never gamed.
I do, however, enjoy playing videogames.
Marking Time, Waiting for Death
you’re not trying hard enough
Certain unhealthy approaches to this hobby can be quantified by analyzing how much a given person has written the words “IP,” “franchise,” and “AAA,” and how much time they spend figuring out where to get the best preorder bonuses.
Other unhealthy approaches to this hobby can be quantified by checking and then evaluating a given person’s social media history for the term “Sarkeesian.”
It’s the only medium whose existence I have been alive for most of and which I can maintain a usefully encyclopedic knowledge of.
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Let’s not confuse entertainment and fun - I’ve been entertained by things that aren’t fun.
I’m not sure I can reasonably define “entertainment”. It’s one of those “I know it when I feel it” kinds of thing. I can tell when I’m really engaged by something and come away thinking about the experience long after I’ve had it.
(emphasis mine)
This, but for… inhabiting a body. I’ve never been coordinated and I’m getting less strong/mobile as my spine fuses but the fantasy of moving without friction/pain/strain in extraordinary ways is an escape. I’m captivated by cyborgs/androids/Wolfenstein/mechs/Kingsman movie henchpeople etc. because I want a body that moves how I want it to. I know that the way that they will actually come to be is horrifying, but I have this kind of simulation that I can enjoy.
There’s a strain of games criticism that talks, sometimes chidingly, about “competency fantasy.” My competency fantasy is that I move gracefully and effortlessly like a dance. A clutch dodge in Destiny; a perfect chain of acrobatics in Titanfall; an uber trick in SSX; a clutch hit of the clutch in Forza.
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