Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: BeautifulShy on January 28, 2010, 03:23:06 AM
Title: Why do you still play games?
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 28, 2010, 03:23:06 AM
I'm sure many of us have been playing games for a long time. I myself have been playing since the 1988. What drives you to continue to play. I would imagine that after so many years one would grow tired of it. I ask this out of curiousity.
What brought you into gaming in the first place and is the reason you started playing the same as the reason you play now?
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: KDR_11k on January 28, 2010, 04:44:21 AM
They're fun?
Seriously, there's no other reason. Sure, some part of playing Pong back in the day was the novelty but games are games and fun.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 28, 2010, 05:00:52 AM
Yeah, I'd thought about saying just "Fun," a one word post.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: King of Twitch on January 28, 2010, 05:02:53 AM
They're comfortable
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Peachylala on January 28, 2010, 01:11:54 PM
1. I'm bored. 2. I like games. 3. I want to be a game designer, so playing games and researching the different design choices is an absolute must.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Invincible Donkey Kong on January 28, 2010, 05:45:47 PM
People who argue about games on the internet actually play them? News to me. :reggie:
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: ShyGuy on January 28, 2010, 06:58:21 PM
escape. control.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 28, 2010, 07:29:59 PM
Exercise Fist in the virtual dimension.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Guitar Smasher on January 28, 2010, 10:37:36 PM
Brief moments of entertainment.
I don't play enough anymore. This is equally explained by my other time-consuming commitments, and the lack of appealing games.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: KDR_11k on January 29, 2010, 05:27:07 AM
You need to hit shift too if you want to open the task manager.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Ian Sane on January 29, 2010, 01:05:37 PM
A good game sucks me in. I enjoy discovering a new fantasy world and doing things I couldn't do in real life.
You might as well ask "Why do you still read books?", "Why do you still listen to music?", "Why do you still watch movies or TV?" It's all about the escape.
Videogame aren't just for kids. It only appeared that way because we were the first generation to have them.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stratos on January 30, 2010, 05:52:03 AM
Videogame aren't just for kids. It only appeared that way because we were the first generation to have them.
And the ones with the most time on our hands when first were hitting the streets.
I guess I stick with them since they have become such a part of me. I don't have the time or money to get and play as much as I'd like to but I still like to squeeze in some time where able. I like to play a game for a while before bed and I find many of them to be relaxing.
There was a point where I thought I would abandon them completely. I guess I grew up hearing teachers, parents and other adults telling me I would 'grow out of them' and it kinda imprinted in me that it was normal for people to grow out of gaming. Also hearing pretty girls in middle school chide me for being a child and how 'they were surprised that I was still acting like a kid at age 14-15'. I'm sure that impacted my resolution in the long run even though I was stubborn and didn't give the hobby up because of their comments. I even tried to walk away from them as an adult during college and that turned out rather poorly. It was a bit of me finding myself actually because I realized I was being silly to treat them that way. I only need to be who I am and accept that, not be someone I'm not just because someone said that's what I had to do.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: KDR_11k on January 30, 2010, 02:44:26 PM
Videogame aren't just for kids. It only appeared that way because we were the first generation to have them.
The first trial run for PONG was in a bar, I don't think there were many children around.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Morari on February 01, 2010, 12:20:45 AM
I play them because it makes me look cool and allows me plenty of opportunity to converse and impress other like-minded professionals. Besides, women really dig a man who plays video games.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Gameboy Freak on February 01, 2010, 01:21:36 AM
I have been playing video games since 1992 when I was 4. My first game was Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo.
I still play games because they are very fun and enjoyable. I also like how they look, play, and feel. The music is also another reason why I still play. Also I want to be in the video game industry someday whether I am creating or reviewing them.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: MoronSonOfBoron on February 01, 2010, 05:50:40 AM
I first started playing video games because—surprise, my parents wanted me to. My uncle bought this neat little toy called the Nintendo Entertainment System, and as a wee tyke I had a blast blasting ducks with the Light Zapper. I'm sure you heard about this all from Kairon already: we would take turns making maps for Legend of Zelda.
So really, video games were, for me, a way to socialize, and they still are... which is why it's sad to see the state of online gaming being what it is today, with companies moving away from dedicated servers and families being so divided over this entertainment format. Then again, it's been a while since I've been able to engage with my own parents over video games long before all this started happening... hm...
Nowadays I see games kind of like how some people see books; it's how we digest mythology and ideas, and how we seek to communicate them. It's a frustrating inspiration, because like many moviegoers we wonder "Why don't they talk about these issues?" and yet complain when we're forced to watch Crash or Birth or Babel because the Academy Awards said so. And then there's a City Of God and we're like "Okay, maybe we can do this!" It'll be fun watching, if not being a part of, the evolution of games as a cultural and intellectual medium. Everyone has a Great American Novel in them, everyone has something to say or a story to tell... why not a Great American Video Game?
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stratos on February 01, 2010, 01:45:43 PM
It's funny you mention that, MoronSonOfBoron, as I was talking up the new Prince of Persia movie to a coworker and when I said it was based on a game she was all 'oh...' until I explained the story of the Sands of Time game and she was all 'wow, that's all from a game? You actually made me want to play it just to see the story'. So I'd say that there may come a time when we get broadly acknowledged 'Great American Games', it will just take some time to get there.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Ian Sane on February 01, 2010, 02:35:39 PM
Quote
I was talking up the new Prince of Persia movie to a coworker and when I said it was based on a game she was all 'oh...'
To be fair I play videogames and if you talked to me about a movie based on a game I would have the same reaction. :) Movies based on videogames SUCK.
I think the Great American Videogame would be something like Super Mario World (which ironically isn't American). As a videogame it's flawless and timeless. It has virtually no story and doesn't really say anything but it's a perfectly crafted videogame. I would admire it like I would a great architectual or engineering achievement.
You could look at something like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid and say that clearly the developer was trying to use videogames as a medium to convery a certain message or tell a certain story. The problem is most videogame stories are embarassing trash. So the most perfect videogames tend to not put as much emphasis on telling a story, but rather focus on the player's experience. Game developers that try to use videogames to tell the audience something are usually not that great of game developers. Metroid Prime, however, would be a fantastic example of how to tell a story in a videogame while still making a good videogame (and it's American, so there you go ;)).
To make the Great American Videogame one has to make ideal use of the medium. You have to make it in such a way that it would only really work as a videogame. Too many games that try to be artistic come across more as using the videogame medium to show a movie. I wouldn't share music with the world by painting sheet music and hanging it in a museum. It's the same thing with videogames.
Regarding me playing videogames in the future, even as I have less free time I plan on having a wife and kids someday, and surely my kids will play videogame and will want their father to play with them. So it will never truly go away. Even if you regard something as childish, parenthood and grandparenthood will eventually bring those things back into your life.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: EasyCure on February 02, 2010, 09:53:31 PM
Ian sounds like a proud Canadian American!
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Mop it up on February 03, 2010, 03:25:56 AM
I've been thinking about this for five days and I can't really come up with much of anything. I'm a complete introvert, so solitary activities have always been my preference. I guess that's why I developed interest in games to begin with, as they are something with which I can interact that isn't another person. I've got a wide taste in games too, so there are a lot of options out there for games I'd enjoy. Sometimes I need to be in a certain mood to play a specific kind of game, which is why new games can sometimes go months still in shrink wrap.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Dirk Temporo on February 03, 2010, 01:29:00 PM
I don't know. Why do you listen to music/read books/look at artwork/watch movies?
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: EasyCure on February 03, 2010, 01:43:22 PM
Someone already said that :P
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Dirk Temporo on February 03, 2010, 02:24:09 PM
Yeah, but I said it AGAIN!
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: mattjames2010 on February 16, 2010, 01:14:44 AM
I don't really get to play video games much anymore.
1. They are time consuming, and as of right now I don't have time to be consumed. 2. Games are too pricey, and I lack money. 3. For the new generations of consoles, I thought they would be making incredible games. Instead, all I ever see are "Shoot em up" games. Which I'm not into. The games that I am into, just go back to my first two points.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Hero_of_time113 on February 21, 2010, 02:12:53 PM
I have been playing games since about 1997 (I would have started earlier, but my dear parents thought they were "of the Devil")
I play because of the world it takes you to. I very rarely play games set in the hear and now because, well, that's where I'm allready stuck!
If I can be pulled in to a story and a world, get attached to the characters, and become emotionally invested in the cause, that's an incredible feeling. And I can't wait for the day where a game makes me cry. ;D
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: D_Average on February 22, 2010, 03:45:22 PM
I play games because they're fun and the pain meds I'm prescribed potentiate the desire to play them.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Halbred on February 22, 2010, 04:06:19 PM
I enjoy experiencing the art direction in different games. Wind Waker and Bioshock were particularly eye-popping. I also play games to relax and unwind after work.
Also, you know, bewbies.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: iDraTion on February 23, 2010, 06:05:21 AM
Alright so the "Great American Video Game" has nothing to do with anything Japanese. Let's just get that out of the way right now. It's not Mario, it's not Zelda, it's not Metroid. Those are toys in fun worlds. The epitome of games has to be one that utilizes the medium's advantages well. In games you play the character through the world and story. Mass Effect gets closest to showing what games can be because not only is it an incredibly well-fleshed out world where every aspect is detailed (to the point where game mechanics are no longer game mechanics, they exist because they are arbitrated by the world and its components and they couldn't have existed any other way), you define the game by how you define your character. You create the protagonist and define how they interact with the surrounding world and characters. You then decide outcomes of plot points based on the character development you employed for the protagonist. This is the only medium that lets you do this. If you wanted to do this in any other medium you'd have to be a writer and write your own novels; even then you're only creating your own single protagonist for other people to enjoy.
That's why I never understood people docking the game because of regurgitated combat areas and other flaws. The game is the beginnings of the realization of the medium. The flaws just seemed to fall by the wayside in insignificance because I felt the impact of what was happening to my character and the weight of what my character had to decide, and I was just so engrossed in the world I didn't care about the repetition until my fourth playthrough. I used to play games because they were toys and I enjoyed seeing and playing improvements on genres as the years went by, and my interest in gaming was kind of waning until the ME games because they're just such a landmark in the progression of games. I wouldn't have called gaming a hobby for me until them; now I feel there is legitimate cause to claim that games are just as worthwhile as music, paintings, and novels, and Sands of Time was absolutely a major stepping stone for that.
I still play games because ultimately I'm mentally engaged in an interesting way. NSMBW was fun, but it doesn't hold up for long because of how second nature all the motions are, I don't have to think about it. I still find them fun, but I don't get to employ my imagination like I can with ME and like I used to do with Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters toys. Which is ironic because I started by saying how ME is NOT a toy, but the way you imagine your character acting and feeling uses the same mental faculties as imagining the Turtles taking down Shredder with a calculated attack plan on the Sewer playset like I used to do as a kid. I think that's a testament to the game because it's enjoyable in very similar ways, but you also get a great sci-fi world and story along with it.
I think the best games can only come out of Western developers because, frankly, Japanese developers just don't get why people connect with stories and novels. It's usually some garbled muck with infinite strangeness that inevitably conveys how the power of friendship can overcome amnesia. If you can relate to that in a personal way, that's a great, unique thing, but that story holds no weight for me. Maybe a lot of Japanese people deal with that, I don't know, but I do think Western developers will continue to be the ones to push the medium as they have in recent years.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 23, 2010, 07:09:24 AM
No offense, but iDraTion just perfectly summed up everything I hate about the way the game industry, outside of Nintendo, has been going.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: iDraTion on February 23, 2010, 12:36:36 PM
Which is fine because games are about having fun, I just appreciate more depths that are being brought into games. If everything were heavy, involved games I'd hate it, but Nintendo will always own the pure fun games so there will always be both sides to gaming, which is exactly how I ideally want it to be.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Dirk Temporo on February 23, 2010, 12:40:13 PM
No offense, but iDraTion just perfectly summed up everything I hate about the way the game industry, outside of Nintendo, has been going.
So you hate art. Good to know.
Mass Effect is just now barely BEGINNING to catch up with what was presented in Deus Ex. I don't know how many of you ever played it, but it really was an experience totally unlike anything else, and pretty much proved that games can be as powerful and interesting as any other artistic medium. Choices that mattered, characters who you felt attached to, situations that made you go "wtf" and slowly revealed themselves over time as you uncovered more things while you played. Mass Effect has much more in the way of dialog choices, but Deus Ex had more choices relevant to the actual gameplay, and the things you did while moving around and through an area.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Mop it up on February 23, 2010, 10:28:07 PM
No offense, but iDraTion just perfectly summed up everything I hate about the way the game industry, outside of Nintendo, has been going.
I hear that.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stogi on February 23, 2010, 10:40:38 PM
Oh god, please don't start the "Art vs. Toy" debate. I always hated that one.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 23, 2010, 11:49:25 PM
To be fair, I love Mass Effect. I'm still on the first one, and I haven't finished it, but, if it stays as good as its been so far, it's one of my favorite games ever. I just don't like the fact that it seems like everyone in the industry is beginning to almost exclusively focus on "artistic" games. I hate that it's not enough to just make something fun anymore, unless it's a downloadable game. I believe in the Miyamoto school of game design, in which you include as little story in a game as you can get away with. There are exceptions to that (see my Mass Effect praise earlier in this post), but I'd much rather see an industry dominated by Nintendo-style games than one filled with "art."
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Mop it up on February 24, 2010, 12:13:41 AM
Okay now you're just reading my thoughts.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: D_Average on February 24, 2010, 10:24:16 AM
Fun games aren't going anywhere. No need to worry.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 24, 2010, 03:14:57 PM
It only appeared that way because we were the first generation to have them.
Video games have been around in one form or another since at least the early 70s, when you had Pong and so forth. Then there was pac-man, donkey kong, space invaders, etc. Then there was the NES era and on and on. Anyone who got hooked on video games back in those days is an adult now, and what's more is they probably have kids of their own who are playing games. We have at least two generations of video gamers now. 10 years ago video games might only have been for kids, but nowadays its also for balding virgins who live in their parent's basement, lol.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Dirk Temporo on February 24, 2010, 07:12:01 PM
I'd much rather see an industry dominated by Nintendo-style games than one filled with "art."
That's exactly the same as saying you'd rather see the movie industry dominated by Death Race than one filled with movies like Where the Wild Things Are and District 9. Or that you'd rather see the music industry be dominated by Lady Gaga instead of one filled with people like Aesop Rock.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 25, 2010, 12:29:46 AM
I don't look for the same thing in games as I do in movies or music. I want to be sucked into a game because of the gameplay, not the story or the characters or the setting. If I want those things I'll watch a movie or a TV show or read a book; they get in the way in a game.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stogi on February 25, 2010, 12:43:20 AM
Same here. And as much as I like a good single player game, I enjoy multiplayer far more.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: KDR_11k on February 25, 2010, 12:38:51 PM
I'd much rather see an industry dominated by Nintendo-style games than one filled with "art."
That's exactly the same as saying you'd rather see the movie industry dominated by Death Race than one filled with movies like Where the Wild Things Are and District 9. Or that you'd rather see the music industry be dominated by Lady Gaga instead of one filled with people like Aesop Rock.
Nintendo isn't exactly mass produced pop, they're very different from everybody else and if they were a smaller company everybody would probably call their games art.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Dirk Temporo on February 25, 2010, 06:34:44 PM
If I want those things I'll watch a movie or a TV show or read a book
Man I love when people use this argument. Too bad it's bullshit. Games offer a 100% unique way of experiencing all the things that you mentioned BECAUSE of the gameplay, and the idea that you would completely dismiss games as a viable medium for telling a story or experiencing a world/characters is mind-boggling. Games have the potential to be SO much more than what they are right now, but unfortunately viewpoints such as yours are hindering the further development of the newest art form available to mankind.
Quote
they get in the way in a game.
Yeah, if it's done poorly. And guess why it keeps being done poorly? Because people like you aren't interested in it, and so companies either pump out meaningless stuff, or they half-ass the aspects you mentioned, which leads to exactly where we're at right now, with people saying games shouldn't be treated as art just because we already have other mediums available which do it better.
Nintendo isn't exactly mass produced pop, they're very different from everybody else and if they were a smaller company everybody would probably call their games art.
Nintendo is very much mass-produced pop, especially with the Wii. The gaming industry in GENERAL is mass-produced pop, which is a direct result of being born straight into the age of mass media. We're finally developing the technology to be able to do things with games that nobody has ever seen before anywhere, but everybody is so rooted into the idea that games HAVE to be fun and nothing else, or they're crap.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 25, 2010, 11:57:21 PM
I'm not completely dismissing games as a storytelling medium. I know there is a tremendous amount of potential in that area, and that games are capable of things that no other medium is capable of. It just doesn't interest me most of the time. I play games to have fun; if other people want to play them to experience stories, more power to them. I love Mass Effect, but I'd rather see one Super Mario Galaxy than ten games like and as good as Mass Effect, because that's my taste in gaming.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stogi on February 26, 2010, 12:04:30 AM
Dirk, I get your point. Videogames do have a massive potential to tell stories and better yet, have them be deeply engaging because of what a videogame is. That said, I'd rather gameplay comes before story any day. When a developer is thinking of a new game, I don't want them to think about the characters first, I want them to think about the mechanics of the game first.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Mop it up on February 26, 2010, 03:28:34 AM
I've never understood cutscenes in a videogame, that's bad game design. Any moment where I don't have control over something, anything, shouldn't exist in a game.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stratos on February 26, 2010, 06:03:09 AM
I've never understood cutscenes in a videogame, that's bad game design. Any moment where I don't have control over something, anything, shouldn't exist in a game.
So the controllable camera-bot in MGS4 cutscenes is right up your alley? ;) j/k
I actually enjoy good games that convey stories and plots well. I think when it is perfectly melded into the game is best. But games with cutscenes in them can still help underscore points but they shouldn't be a crutch that hinders gameplay.
I remember playing Dragon Quest 3 and there is little story there Iwould argue. Sure, there is the overarching plot point and side quests,but the in between interactions and character development isnon-existent. I would actually make up the interactions between thecharacters when I was younger and it made me more attached to my partyand not want them to fall in combat.
Nintendo games actually like to leave a lot of the story up to you. I'm still surprised by the amount of depth people pull out of Ocarina of Time through a tiny suggestion or allusion in the game. This makes those games deeper and personalizes the experience for each player.
Fire Emblem does both because not only is there a story already in place and a lot of character depth and interaction, but the act of pairing up your units and deepening their bonds causes you to grow attached to them and make the play through different for each player.
I know they aren't examples people were necessarily thinking of forgames telling stories, but it is a method that can and is being used.How many of us 'paired up' units in our minds to be friends, lovers andcompanions when we were younger or even now?
Games like Metroid Prime and Mario Galaxy do nice jobs of melding them as well. It's part of the reason I side with the Prime series truly being First-Person-Adventures. You are the character exploring the planet and stumbling across bits of information that reveal more and more of the overarching story. It really feels a lot like a more streamlined and accessible Myst-type game with action elements. In Myst you explored a world and uncovered clues as to the story's big picture as you progressed. Prime took that and applied it to action games.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: iDraTion on February 26, 2010, 11:21:16 AM
^I do like the aspects of the games you mentioned because I enjoy when there's parts of the game I can fill in with my imagination. I've never felt motivated to do so with Mario games, but definitely with Metroid and Zelda, imagining what the character's thinking/feeling as ridiculous things are going down around them. Most of the more complex, plot-driven games don't do this because they just feed you everything. You don't get to mentally be an active part of the game. It's the different ways that games find to do this, and new ways that they develop to engage your imagination that keep me playing.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stogi on February 26, 2010, 05:00:40 PM
I play games so I can come on here and bitch about how they're never good enough.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 26, 2010, 05:50:55 PM
Lots of good responses thus far. I am going to have to agree with iDraTion. I found that I like playing games to explore the worlds in games and try to use my imagination to try and figure out things. For the most part these days games rarely spark my imagination.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: D_Average on February 26, 2010, 08:52:41 PM
No that I think about, escapism is the real draw for me, a completely new world to get lost in, hence the reason I avoid FPS's, too realistic for me.
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on March 13, 2010, 07:05:06 AM
You wanted to change YOUR ASS?
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stogi on March 13, 2010, 07:10:17 AM
LOL at his name!
Title: Re: Why do you still play games?
Post by: Stratos on March 13, 2010, 07:22:21 PM
