Adults who are into gaming - why?

Friendly Frida wrote:

zohan wrote:

It's an activity for losers.

And there are a lot of losers in the world.

I try not to be judgemental but this x 1000. All this idiot claiming 'video games' = art for decades have only been trying to SELL SELL SELL their nonsense for a couple decades now and I'm afraid it's worked.

READ-- or listen to-- A GAWDDAMN BOOK or go outside in nature or the city streets... even if you're homebound, there's still literature, music, tantric sex...

warmly,

FF

Gaming isn't an either/or option with everything else you mention. I'm into gaming but also spend a good deal of time reading, attending concerts and sporting events, along plenty of tantric s e x (wifey is into some fun stuff). I'm also logging 90 mpw and will break 1:08 for the half this year.

Stop stereotyping people and broaden your narrow mind.

Gaming is expensive? I suppose it can be. But its all relative.

Have you ran the numbers on how much time and money it takes to go out on the town and socialize. Going to restaurants and sporting events?

Run the numbers on that and get back to us if you still wonder why people are staying at home with their gaming.

Potassium wrote:

Gaming isn't inherently bad or just for losers. In fact, spending two or three hours a day probably benefits your overall productivity. Just like running.

Running is a lifetime physical actively, which benefits health and fitness in many positive ways. Socially, running can be done together with others, including at races, with the possibility of meeting new friends to share similar activities and perhaps find more things in common.

It's a fun way to pass the time.. simple as that.. why does everything you do in life need to have a justification? whats your justification for watching movie/tv, swimming, fishing, jerkin off? whatever it may be? its also competitive, when you beat the other guy you feel a bit of a boost in a way because you outsmarted them or your reflexes were better..

Mooiiiisssttt wrote:

Adults get into gaming because one can only masturbate to Internet porn for so many minutes/hours per day, and there has to be something else to occupy the mind the other 15 hours per day. I know plenty of 30-somethings who spend MANY hours every week gaming, usually during long sessions after work hours.

I work for a company that requires many of its technical staff to also use human skills to engage with other company reps, using actual people-skills and eye contact. It's astounding how many of the staffers under 30 cannot, or will not, engage face-to-face with other human beings unless they absolutely have to. Executives have noted these people-skills deficiencies to the point that recruiting strategies are being crafted to find humans who can actually engage successfully with other humans, in the real world.

It's much better than watching TV. It is very relaxing too.

As a competitive sport it is very neurologically demanding. You have to have fast reflexes and decision making. I once read a study about top eSport competitive players. According to the study they start to get slower already after age 24.

No comparison wrote:

Running is a lifetime physical actively, which benefits health and fitness in many positive ways. Socially, running can be done together with others, including at races, with the possibility of meeting new friends to share similar activities and perhaps find more things in common.

Gaming is a lifetime neurological activity, which probably slows down the aging of your nervous system and cognitive abilities. Gaming is frequently done with others including at gaming competitions and other gatherings.

This is why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja8OGsc0czo

anon. wrote:

This is why

That guy looks wayyyy out of shape.

anon. wrote:

This is why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja8OGsc0czo

LOL I know a guy at work that is WAY into gaming (yes he is a loser) and he looks just like that dude!

What you folks are missing is this: Gaming isn't real. Those big tricks you are doing on X game... that's just programmed into the game. It. is. not. real.

You might as well take credit for being good at football because you watch tom brady on TV.

jhkjhkj wrote:

No comparison wrote:

Running is a lifetime physical actively, which benefits health and fitness in many positive ways. Socially, running can be done together with others, including at races, with the possibility of meeting new friends to share similar activities and perhaps find more things in common.

Gaming is a lifetime neurological activity, which probably slows down the aging of your nervous system and cognitive abilities. Gaming is frequently done with others including at gaming competitions and other gatherings.

There you go. Both are lifetime activities. Both can be done either socially or alone.

5 x 1000. Replace gaming with TV. What's the difference? TV is mainstream. Gaming is not. Simple because gaming is more popular among nerds. In terms of vices there's no difference. Depending on the game, gaming could be better than tv.

If your actually spending your free time doing something productive and not watching TV, not trolling the internet and not gaming then good for you. My experience is that most people simply find different ways to waste time.

I play "historical" strategy games like Civilization, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron (ww2) and many of the Total War games (Just bought Atilla on sale). I sometimes enjoy the immersive historical feel (although sometimes it's a stretch). It's fun to change history a bit too. In Europa for example, I like to take a country like Sweden and kick some Russian butt (the swedes were close in real life at one point).

I see it as a hobby where I can relax a bit. I don't see myself as a loser any more than someone who turns on the TV and watches GoT or Vikings or something. Whatever cranks your scooter is ok.

Best gift I ever got was Christmas of 1987. The 8 bit NES. It made life so much better. The SNES was awesome at the time, but looking back nothing ever was so enthralling as my time spent with the NES. It was like giving an eight ball to an eight year old. Twice a day. Everyday. It was maybe the best time of my life.

The problem is, it's been so long and games are so much more complicated and appear confusing. It's like taking 30 years off from running. How does one get back into it?

Video games were invented by tech workers, they didn't originate as a kid thing. That was only during the arcade and early console era, and there were still PC games around then that were far more sophisticated than Pokemon.

So you are like someone who played "go fish" as a kid and now wonders why adults play bridge today. They played it then, too.

To get up to speed video-game adulting, get an accurate flight simulator like X-Plane. On a desktop, not mobile.

QuicknDirty wrote:

anon. wrote:

This is why

(link of burgertime nerd which I decently edited out - everyone who quotes links should be BAND)

LOL I know a guy at work that is WAY into gaming (yes he is a loser) and he looks just like that dude!

What you folks are missing is this: Gaming isn't real. Those big tricks you are doing on X game... that's just programmed into the game. It. is. not. real.

You might as well take credit for being good at football because you watch tom brady on TV.

That guy doesn't think he is really stepping on giant hamburgers. What he's doing is real-time strategic thinking. Sharpens the brain.

Do you read books? Watch movies or tv? Video games are not any different. Most video games these days are not mindless. They tell stories. Many of these stories are thoughtful, elicit emotion, and can make you question your own perspectives. Video games can tell a story in a way books, movies, or tv can't. Video games are immersive and can put you in the story. It's one thing watching a fictional character make a difficult choice in film. It's a very different experience when you're put to that same task. Play a game like bioshock or fallout where it pits you in the middle of a moral dilemma and makes you question your own morality. Play a game like uncharted or halo and experience an action adventure game that will take you for a thrill ride like any major summer blockbuster. Play a game like zelda or journey and enjoy the beautiful design and artistic story telling. Video games have evolved beyond the days of Sega genesis. They've become an artistic medium that puts you as the gamer in the middle of it. Every immaturity found in video games can be found in every other form of entertainment. The difference is what we choose to accept and what we choose to ignore. There's a social taboo that video games are for the childish and it needs to end.

I like to play Age of Empires once or twice a week. It really helps me de-stress. For the time I am playing that game I literally think of nothing else. Its a nice way to 'Veg' out.

A family friend of mine is the CEO of a large insurance company. He was always a big comic book guy, but said he couldnt keep up with all the new comics. He switched to video games. Great way to tune out.

to each his own I guess...

Gaming has at times provided a welcome escape and in that regard it doesn't seem healthy, but now that I'm older I use it primarily as a way to stay in touch with friends. I have maybe a dozen RL friends who have spread out through the U.S. and it would be pretty much impossible to hang out on a regular basis, but video games with voice chat provide us a nice outlet to be together. At this point I almost exclusively game for the precise purpose of being social with real friends who I just can't see very often.

Mooiiiisssttt wrote:

Adults get into gaming because one can only masturbate to Internet porn for so many minutes/hours per day, and there has to be something else to occupy the mind the other 15 hours per day. I know plenty of 30-somethings who spend MANY hours every week gaming, usually during long sessions after work hours.

I work for a company that requires many of its technical staff to also use human skills to engage with other company reps, using actual people-skills and eye contact. It's astounding how many of the staffers under 30 cannot, or will not, engage face-to-face with other human beings unless they absolutely have to. Executives have noted these people-skills deficiencies to the point that recruiting strategies are being crafted to find humans who can actually engage successfully with other humans, in the real world.

Engaging with other people is overrated. Most people are disgusting creatures that I want no part of anyway. Consider me one of those who are forced to, but not incompetent at, interacting with other people.