Why I Love Games

"Find something to believe in, and find it for yourself. When you do, pass it on to the future."

-Solid Snake

Hello steemians, I'd like to share my opinion about the good things that I could get from games, and I'd like to know about your opinions too. This post is not about game review or something like that, but there might be spoilers ahead. 

Many of you may has become a gamer since the 90s or even 80s. If you are, well I think you are lucky to have experienced so many great times in video games and follow its evolution. The first time I play a game is when I was in the 3rd grade, around 2007/2008. First games I played that made me realize gaming is a thing, and made me see that there is a whole other world where everyone could have fascinating experience from it, is Age of Empires II from an internet cafe, Stronghold Crusader, and Command and Conquer : Generals - Zero Hour. Yes, all of them were RTS games. From there, I began to discover more about video games. 

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Unfortunately I didn't grow up with video games much, there was a time when I cannot play games anymore for several years for certain reasons which really sucks, and make me missed so many good games at their greatest period. Sometimes I wish I can just press F9 to load game and go back to that point in my life and find a way to prevent it to happen, so I could join the excitement that you guys had. I could finally start to play games again in a few years back and has been trying to catch up with this "gaming world" by playing old games that I missed and the new ones. 

Anyway, some times ago a friend of mine asked me why do I love games, what do I get from games, and what's the benefits. So I started to think that if she is asking this to me, then everyone, non-gamer people, must have the same thought and may question about it too. I feel the need to tell them should they ask that to me, no matter they would take it nicely or not. After I think through it, these are the answers I came up with, the reasons why I love games

Playing games is how I enjoy stories

Story/plot is the element of a game that I prioritize the most before gameplay, graphics, sound nad music, etc. Just like books and movies, video game is also a media to deliver astonishing fictional stories. Better yet, while we satisfy our curiosity of the story of the game that we play, we also get to interact with it, we have our role in the story. Do you know that feeling when you read a good book with the story so good we don't want it to end, and yet we can't stop to read it before the end? That's the same thing I feel when I play games with a good storyline and I love it. 

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My most favorite game is BioShock Infinite. I thought it come to its end after Elizabeth drown Booker into the water to 'break the circle', to stop Comstock for being born and cause the mess in the game, and I really love this mind twisting story of quantum physics stuff. 

Turns out the game wasn't end right there. In the Burial at Sea the game shows the player that BioShock Infinite has something to do with the events that occur in the first BioShock which makes me love it even more.  

I learn many things from video games

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I'm sure many of us do, discover new things from a game and do some research about it, then we find out that thing is true. I don't know why but that makes me so proud for playing games. In my experience, this statement is often sounds to be nonsense to many people, especially non-gamers, because what they see from a gamer is only a person who is having fun (and only having fun) in the virtual world. What they don't know is in the middle of the "fun" that we have, we discover many new things whether we realize it or not (or at least I do). 

Eventhough only little things, they are still knowledge and are useful, like.. Other country's cultures and history, cool combat moves that are actually exist in real life, languages and accent, moral in life, art references, and many more that I couldn't specify. Because english is not my native language, that is the most  thing that I learn from games (but my english is still messy right now tho). 

Games is my source of "Fun"

Just like other who love to have fun by singing, hanging out with friends, fishing, read books, playing video games is simply my choice to have fun. Sure I do a lot of other things too, but it's just gaming is my favorite among them. We may have heard playing games is a waste of time a lot, but why waste our time doing something that we do not enjoy? Do what you love, love what you do. 

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Even Geralt enjoy playing a card game in his spare times with random stranger or even bandits that he met. What was that? Ciri is in danger? There are Ghouls, Wraiths and Werewolves wandering around the city? And the Wild Hunt spread chaos along their way chasing Ciri? Nah.. That's fine, it can wait until this next round. 

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Games is where I could find motivations and inspirations

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When I see my favorite characters work so hard to achieve their goal, I find myself feeling motivated and encouraged to do something to achieve my goal too, I'm pretty sure most of you also feel the same. Even a story as simple as running around the sewer to rescue the Princess could make someone motivated too.

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After I finished a quest with good storyline, or watching how awesome the cinematic in the game, or enjoying the cool gameplay, I really wanted to create a game as awesome as that, I wanted it to be my career path, and so is many other gamers who wanted to bring their imaginations to live by creating video games. But some people say that is not a good choice of career for my future, and I should find another profession. Are you a game developer? If you are.. You are awesome. 

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"Don't let anybody tell you not to try, whether it's exercise, writing, whatever it is you wanna do. They're jerks." 

-Ken Levine (Creative Director and Co-Founder of Ghost Story Games)

 

So what about you Steemians? If I throw a baseball to your head, what would you do? (Wait, no, what am I talking about). If anyone tell you to stop playing games and do something else instead, or ask you why do you love games so much that you spend your money on it or even wanted to create one, what would you say? 

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