Topic: Why do you still play games?

[BeautifulShy]

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?

[KDR_11k]

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.

[NWR_insanolord]

Yeah, I'd thought about saying just "Fun," a one word post.

[King of Twitch]

They're comfortable

[Peachylala]

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.

[Invincible Donkey Kong]

People who argue about games on the internet actually play them?  News to me. 

[ShyGuy]

escape. control.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Exercise Fist in the virtual dimension.

[Guitar Smasher]

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.

[KDR_11k]

escape. control.

You need to hit shift too if you want to open the task manager.

[Ian Sane]

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.

[Stratos]

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.

[KDR_11k]

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.

[Morari]

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.

[Gameboy Freak]

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.

[MoronSonOfBoron]

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?

[Stratos]

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.

[Ian Sane]

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.

[EasyCure]

Ian sounds like a proud Canadian American!

[Mop it up]

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.

[Dirk Temporo]

I don't know. Why do you listen to music/read books/look at artwork/watch movies?

[EasyCure]

Someone already said that

[Dirk Temporo]

Yeah, but I said it AGAIN!

[mattjames2010]

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.

[Hero_of_time113]

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.