What Keeps You Playing Video Games?
This is a simple question that may be hard to answer. What keeps you playing video games? Doesn't matter if you started last week or 20+ years ago (like I did, actually more like over 30 but who is counting).
For me, I prefer older games but play a lot on my Android devices. I still love loading up Streets of Rage 2 and knocking some heads together. For a real challenge I will load up Final Fight and see how far I can get with one man. Other times I am loading up some of the various scrolling shooters on Playstation (Darius, Rayforce, etc). I also love to sit back and just play some Super Mario World on Super Nintendo (I still don't know where they hid the 96th ending/level exit).
Modern consoles often require some form of paid online service to fully enjoy them, then that service is cutoff and fans are left with nothing from that portion. I cannot see buying "Live" games for the Xbox 360 or One knowing that I will eventually not be able to play it because Microsoft shut off the servers. The same can be said for modern PC games that require "verification" with an online server. We also see this on mobile platforms - what happens when those servers are shut down. Are you going to patch the game to no longer require this verification process?
I just like popping a game in and playing. I don't care to sit through 20+ minutes of cutscenes (often that cannot be skipped) before I get to do much more than "speed up the text".
Maybe I am growing out of games. I have tried newer ones but I have lost all interest in playing another First Person Shooter where the only innovation is now it lets me play against 16 other players instead of the competitions 12 to 15 opponents per arena.
What are your thoughts? What keeps you playing?
Over the years, the reasons that I play video games has changed. In the past, the reasons to play would almost always be either to kill time or to attempt to relieve stress. Nowadays, more often than not I have a real purpose in playing a specific game. For example, I might play the mobile game Crossy Road while I'm home, but the purpose of doing so is to prepare to win on the redemption version ("Arcade Crossy Road") at my local arcade the next day.
I did not know there was an arcade version of Crossy Road. Interesting.
I don't play them myself, but based on what I have seen with my son, his friends, and college students I work with, I think it is addictive mind control. I've seen kids flunk out of school for these games, lose friends, and suffer financial consequences from constant playing.
On the flipside, I've had at least 3 students over the last years tell me that their education was so important to them that they decided to stop playing until they graduated. Then they went through days or weeks of withdrawals that include not being able to sleep, upset stomach, and inability to concentrate.
One kid told me the loss of his games put a hole in his heart (!) Another Engineering major belonged to an Engineering fraternity where games were forbidden to be played or talked about. You had to sign something when you pledged in.
Years ago there was an uproar in Japan because a version of Pokemon was causing seizures. In my opinion, whatever caused that issue was turned down - not removed. The more distracted people are by games, the less they can succeed in their hopes and dreams.
When I tell my son this, he answers that many people make their living playing these games. To this I wonder what that person could accomplish if not trying to earn virtual badges. And also - the winners are far outweighed by those who just spend money on games, accessories, and bandwidth. Someone is gaining by these games, but I do not think it is the average user.
I'm glad to hear you say that you feel you are outgrowing the games. I think that is a very good sign for your future. Upvoted and followed :)
What cause seizures were flashing colors in an episode of the Pokémon TV show. It had absolutely nothing to do with the games. The TV show isn't even produced by the same company.
In that case, it is definitely worse now if it is still on. They've got all kinds of tricks for tv. I've got friends who watch various shows and then need to go buy certain foods. It's nuts lately. I see posts that say, "I just watched XXX and now I need to go eat XXX like the people in the show did." That is how they phrase it and it is always a fast food place they "need" to go to. My suspicious mind says that's the day they put something in the food at those places and then watch through the tv to see what happens to the people after that. Didn't it come out the the "smart" tv's are spying now?
Smart TV's for the most part do track user viewing habits and other things. The most high profile one was Samsung a few years ago. They had a major PR backlash over the fact that the televisions with voice remote were listening to conversations (listening for keywords for instance).
The same thing with Alexa by Amazon, voice search Roku's, your cell phone (just look at the permissions needed by Facebook and Messenger to operate). My wife finally experienced the Messenger "listening bug" over the weekend. We were talking about McDonald's and getting something for lunch. Keep in mind, she has never typed McDonald's or searched for fast food on her phone. Also, we were in the country riding around so there were no fast food joints within miles of us. She opened Facebook and saw several ads for various McDonald's foods. She was not aware that her phone was listening to her.
My co-workers and me discovered this years ago and have fun with it. We talk about off the wall stuff and see anything close pops up on Facebook or banners while browsing the web. So far we are batting nearly a 1,000% with it.
Yup, I experiment as well. It's very easy to see once you start looking. You can get reminders of unfinished projects out of it. "Oh Yeah! I looked for that a couple days ago." What I watch on yt appears on fb suggested group topics. I join groups like a fiend and it is amazing what pops up and why.
I have a Thai phone and I don't know if they know it's me. I watched the lady who sold it to me give me someone else's name. She was all sketchy about it, but I had just watched her fill the paper out for the lady before me and it was not my name on the new form. I was all for it. I'm not sure if she thought my ID would not go through or if she could not read it. I never use it anyway, but I needed one to get a bank account. Everything on it is in Thai and I just have $4 credit on it forever, I guess. I'm sure the only one in Bangkok without a phone though. People here can't believe I survive like this. If i get lost, I ask the nearest Thai person to please help me with google maps and that's that.
I got rid of tv about 20 years ago and can't even look at the screens with whatever they've done to them. They hurt my eyes and pull on my head. I do elder care and lots of old people have trouble seeing the new tvs and deciphering what's going on. They like the old tvs better.
I can't get rid of my computer though so they can just spy away. They very best thing about my computer in Thailand is that the majority of ads do not come through and the ones that do are in Thai so I don't even see them. This was immediate relief when I got here from San Diego. I was not aware of how much it happened until it stopped.
That Mcdonald's thing is nuts though. You would think they would be more refined by now. I have more than once read posts like these. "I just finished show xxx and now I need to go to fast food joint yyy and get food zzz." It is always fast food. Then they often run out and go get it and eat it. Good poisoning opportunity.
The way the picture is displayed on modern televisions is different than old CRT models. CRT refreshed at 29.97 frames per second while HDTV's refresh at closer to 60.
OOOHHH! That'll do it. Jeez. I will stay on my "avoid" setting for sure.
It also doesn't help that most television stations have sped up older programming so they can squeeze in another commercial or two per half hour. That can cause disorientating feelings while viewing.
Video games, just like anything, need to be moderated. If you are not careful, anything can take over your life and slowly detract from it. I have gone through periods where games were all I wanted to do and realized, sometimes too late, that my quality of life suffered quite a bit.
Now, I make a decent amount of money (not a living) from writing about games on sites like Steemit, my own sites, and sites for others. I also run a PR firm where I work with many clients, a few are gaming related in some way but for the most part they are government contractors and such.
When I hear people on Facebook joke about being addicted to a game I just shake my head because they don't know what true addiction is. I know I have an addictive personality so I don't frequent casinos or the like. Unfortunately, not many people realize their shortcomings till it is too late, if ever.
Hmm... maybe you can go after the health effects of gaming as a topic. The only game I have ever really played was Pokemon Red. My son got it for Christmas from someone before he could read. He wanted to win. I helped and played and played and played. I think it was 200 hours but we won. He did not care for the walking around and only wanted to battle. So there's me - doing nothing else between Christmas and New Year's. Afterwards, I was all "Now what?" He's still a pokemon guy but not the Go version, thankfully. I'm pretty sure he's done all the rest and various other games.
I work with chronic illnesses and I know 100's if not 1000's of people in fb groups addicted and physically dependent on Rx opiates right now. Yes, that is another level for sure. But I'm pretty sure some of the gamers are actually suffering and not taking breaks etc. It may not be addiction, but it's still not healthy.
Good for you to be one of the people getting some money out of this :)
Were you a gamer back in the early 1990's? If so, do you remember NEC, later to be named TTI (after Hudson and NEC merged in the U.S.A.)? They had the character from Adventure Island, Master Higgins I believe, giving public service announcements in ads that ran in Electronic Gaming Monthly and the like. He would tell gamers to take breaks every hour, get up and stretch their legs, don't play for more than a certain number of hours per day, etc.
I may have to take you up on that idea of covering the health effects of gaming. It could be a rather interesting topic to research.
I don't remember that , but it's an awesome idea. I'm one of the lucky people who lost "half my size" and I do exactly that type of thing since I am on the computer all day working and writing.
I donno why I keep playing video games, most like because of something deep inside my DNA.
I liked video games the first time I encountered it, over 30 years ago. I then couldn't stop myself from playing video games. Only thing changes is the form factor.
Starting from Arcade game, to console games, like Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, N64, Cube, Wii, PS2, 3, PC, to handheld, GBA, NDS, PSP, now Switch! Don't forget mobile phones.
It just natural that I keep on playing video games, that all!
Ah, a fellow retrogamer. Glad to hear from you. What is your favorite game so far? Or franchise, if need be.
I like Ultima series (on PC) which is the first game I ever started with, I actually started with Ultima IV.
Shenmue series was my favorite on Sega Platform, I didn't completed them but I love the idea of a in-game Open World environment.
Mario Kart and Zelda are the best on Nintendo platform
Of course I was also very addicted to Ultmia Online and Everquest at that time, but now, just don't have the time to spend on MMORPG anymore.
Some great games there. I agree with you about lack of time and MMORPG's. They are definitely time sinks.
When you win, your body releases happy chemicals. I'm a big fan of that feeling.
Endorphins make life fun.
I feel the same way towards online FPSs but don't let that put down all of the other amazing solo campaigns or local multiplayer games out there. A few recommendations: Bioshock (all three) , Farcry 3, 4, and Primal, DOOM, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands. Also for a great online multiplayer game that I can't get enough of, try Rocket League.
I keep hearing about Rocket League. Going to have to check it out sooner than later.
I share your concerns about games with an online component or that require "always on verification". It's a real issue for game history to try and preserve those, and many games have already been lost to history. I personally try to stay away from anything like that, because I do not approve of those business practices. It's unfair to the consumers. Same reason I don't buy digital games. I don't want to lose access to something I paid for in the future.
I prefer physical games for sure but unfortunately, that is quickly becoming an option of the past. Especially for indie developers or smaller publishers on PC who flock to Steam to release their games.
It's a shame. The only current gen system I own is a Switch and a good 50% of its library is only available digitally, and for PC it's even more pronounced of course.
BAD DRIVERS lol
On the serious side I do play a lot less but they still hold my attention and I am still a gamer. I grew up with games and I'm going to 90 still playing games. That sounds bad now but I wont be the only one.
A back-log the size of Alaska.
Well, that, and the need to keep exposing myself to new stuff so I can continue to write about it.
But mainly my desire to whittle Alaska down to a more reputable size.
20 years before i played with some friends to kill time (or dont do badder things...). Nowadays i play with the 10 year old boy of my gf the same games like 20 years ago. He love thoose "old-school-games" on nintendo NES because nobody in his age knows thoose games anymore. They say: This is like a absolute new game!
Now they play donky kong and zelda on the NES on 65" flatscreen tv... and me too
Great story there. I can see how many kids his age are not aware of the classics.