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Eh, I like to game occasionally in what little spare time I have. I'm in my 30's, have a successful career (pilot), am an active person (runner, mountain climber, etc), and I travel extensively and enjoy experiencing new things. I also love photography and devote a great deal of time and money to it. Am I wasting time doing photography? It's just a hobby that doesn't actually add to my life's productivity. Any passive activity could be said to have the same issues as playing a video game. At least games are interactive. Want to hear something interesting? Where I'm currently employed, there was an extensive computer-based 'cognitive abilities' exam that lasted several hours as part of the long interview process. It consisted of math problems, memory recall, complex problem solving, among many others. Nearly that entire phase was similar to playing a video game. The 2 guys that didn't make it through were older, one of which outright stated it wasn't fair because he was too old for video games, hahah. It definitely favored those who had the ability to multitask while performing complex problems utilizing extremely precise hand-eye coordination. It was a difficult exam that filters out as many people as the technical/professional questions phase. I definitely feel that playing games helped.
I view it as no different that those who watch tv, or facebook, waste time on the net, or listen to music, read, etc etc. It's just a way to relax and forget your troubles for a while. Any of the above can be detrimental if done in excess. That's not a problem limited to playing video games. Those who game to the point it is an addiction most definitely need to step away, but that can be said for any activity in excess.
That also depends...because I think I have learned many things from TV, I enjoy documentaries and Mythbusters has taught me some interesting science stuff now and then. TV isn't always a waste of time. But I think that the tactics and problem solving one learns from many games are largely wasted in today's society. Not always. But I can't tell you anything useful I gained from working my way through a Mario Bros run or Diablo or endless hours of daily quests on WoW. And when coupled with neglectful parenting, video games have the potential to bring harm to the minds of the young, in my opinion. Of course the burden for that lies squarely on the shoulders of parents, not game developers. As the Mom, I've got the right to tell my 13 year old that he can have GTA franchise games when he grows up and moves out of my house, and not before then.
I've learned many things from fairly sophisticated JRPGS. More along the lines of life lessons.
Not a big complainer about gaming becoming such a big thing.
I don't own a console and have only played PS and XBox related games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil due to friends having systems.
Good way to get together and hang out, not to mention get into stupid arguments about!!
Anywho, my gripe with games is how things like the "First Person Shooter" got so big.
No real story lines, graphics that give me vertigo/nausea, and to me the excitement lulls after not too long.
Only video games I play right now are ones I download on my phone and can play off-line when waiting for liquids to be loaded or unloaded into my tanker and no 4G is available.
Ive been playing video games since the first time I dropped a quarter into Space Invaders sometime in the late 70s. At times its been a big interest of mine, other times its mild or dormant.
I'd say it was already a thing back in the 70s with Pong, Atari, Intellivision - although no one used the term gaming.
To me its no different than other adult hobbies/activities - golf, bowling fishing, hunting, motorcycles, model trains, RC planes, to name a few. All are time sucks on which you can spend lots of money.
Well if one is unclear on how gaming became more popular and/or socially acceptable, that's a pretty long and complex matter, but a few points come to mind. One is, people born in the 1940s-1960s had no ability to become gamers, they didn't grow up with the technology. Children born in the 70s and 80s did, and have aged into adulthood. So you now have massive segments of the gaming consumer base that have their own money and the legitimacy, so to speak, of being adults who openly game, cause that's what they've done since they were a kid. Greater populations of adults doing it lends itself to being socially acceptable whereas a lot of those middle aged folks in the 80s and 90s, born before the 70s, didn't have the interest and many looked down on it as not a suitable way to spend one's time, or "just for kids".
Things have moved far beyond the very unrealistic 2d sprite era, so many have broadband internet, gaming became more social with online multiplayer, games became a lot more sophisticated and many have been geared towards an aging gamer populace. Also with things like the Nintendo Wii massive amounts of casual gamers have been brought into the fold, not to mention tablet and phone games becoming popular with people who never really played games before. If a kid is dangerously neglectful in his life towards other aspects of his life due to excessive gaming, then the attention should be on the lack of parenting. If any young, middle aged, or older adult who pays for their own stuff chooses to spend X amount of time playing games, then that's really their business. The OP seems to create some weird idea that there's this universal scenario that if your life is in shambles and you've never accomplished anything and yet also happen to play video games you can just simply say "but I'm a gamer, so, ya know" and everyone's reaction would be "oh, that's fine then" when I don't really think that's the case, or reality.
There are responsible people who pay their own way, and irresponsible people, there are gamers among BOTH groups. People who pay their own way and have those massive gaming collections, had to pay for them somehow, so they worked for it and can spend their money as they please. Some people game only casually, and then there's stories from Asia about people dying in internet cafes playing Warcraft and not eating or leaving their kids home starving, but there are extremes in any hobby or activity.
Let's face it, the world can be a terrible, scary place for many, and for those people gaming and virtual worlds provide an invaluable escape. Especially if there is an online, social aspect to the game or world where they're still interacting with real people. People have gotten married and started families from meeting on things like Warcraft or Second Life. Our society is becoming more and more jacked into technology, the digital, and virtual worlds, not less. Full immersion virtual reality is being worked towards. Some people actually think this can be a good and positive thing for humanity, while others choose to live as the Amish or like to proudly declare they don't even own a TV. What's for certain is technology will only advance and become even more immersive...I think those who resist this sort of thing and adhere to only the physical world and physical activities will be in an ever dwindling minority.
I get it, it’s a hobby but one that can and has sucked the motivation out of many people, rather than devoting time and energy into more productive pursuits. Or so it seems anyway. I don’t know, seems kind of brain numbing and non value added.
Actually, it's a brain stimulant and there are also professional gamers that make quite a bit of money.
What exactly do you call "more productive results"? Going out and partying with friends? Which is more damaging to the mind, gaming or drinking? We spend at least a third, upwards to two-thirds of our life working. Should we then come home and do something "productive" in the spare time that we do have? Is my raising a child, being a husband, owning a home and providing for my family not productive enough that I can't spend my free time gaming and refer to myself as a "gamer?"
It's no different than playing basketball, baseball, golf, chess or Monopoly with friends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
Anywho, my gripe with games is how things like the "First Person Shooter" got so big.
No real story lines, graphics that give me vertigo/nausea, and to me the excitement lulls after not too long.
It's clearly the competition involved. You want to have the best K/D ratio in the match and continue to do so.
It's not my cup-of-tea, but it's pretty apparent why people like it.
I would advise the OP to stop worrying about what others are doing with their time and lives and focus on themselves. The world would be a far better place.
The industry really did well with this one. It’s brilliant really...branding a time sucking and arguably wasteful (yet entertaining) activity as “gaming” – pure genius. When did this activity turn from being thought of as unshowered lazy guys with no motivation playing video games in a basement to “hey man, I’m a gamer!” I really admire the industry for pulling that off.
We played video games too when I was young but those who were consumed by it didn’t have cool labels to use as excuses for not having a life (or striving for one). A 30 yr old man who played video games back then was a bum. Today, he’s a gamer; part of a group of people on their way to getting something done. A person who is made to think he’s accomplished something by getting to level x or discovering weapon y.
I get it, it’s a hobby but one that can and has sucked the motivation out of many people, rather than devoting time and energy into more productive pursuits. Or so it seems anyway. I don’t know, seems kind of brain numbing and non value added.
Entertainment and decompression is great but I feel like branding the activity in the effort of making it seem like a worthwhile pursuit is fooling many into believing that an excessive and unreasonable amount of time spent on it is not only sensible but productive. I mean after all, they’re not just spending tons of time on a video game, they’re a gamer, a somebody.
This all struck me when I saw that gamefly commercial. I’m cranky today I guess.
Most Americans work 40 hours a week. What they do after work is their business. Nice troll thread though.
I know it has now morphed into what you're talking about with video games, but us old school gamers know that a real gamer is one who plays tabletop RPGs.
Not a big complainer about gaming becoming such a big thing.
I don't own a console and have only played PS and XBox related games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil due to friends having systems.
Good way to get together and hang out, not to mention get into stupid arguments about!!
Anywho, my gripe with games is how things like the "First Person Shooter" got so big.
No real story lines, graphics that give me vertigo/nausea, and to me the excitement lulls after not too long.
Only video games I play right now are ones I download on my phone and can play off-line when waiting for liquids to be loaded or unloaded into my tanker and no 4G is available.
Or I read a book I just picked up.
This thread is a lil irritating to read, but Im also not a fan of First Person Shooters. I know this sounds shallow, but how can one prove that one is a loser because they play video games? The OP sounds like they are against anyone playing and calling themselves a gamer. It also sounds like he is upset with either the people around him that are gamers or someone close to him is a gamer and he resents it. Why else would he care what people do with their free time? The more people that waste time the more we productive people can gain. Its like being in a room full of attractive women and getting upset because homosexual men come in the room. The more less productive people around the more success for you OP. I love when people at my job slack off and dont bring their A game, its an opportunity for me.
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