I think Santa got sent off to one of these brainwashing camps and he has beat his addiction to gaming and is now trying to warn us of all it's evils?
Oh shiiiiii- What do we have here? Keep this shit real, yar? Why do I play games? I've been playing games since I was about 6, sometimes briefly and sometimes really hardcore. Have always loved them, more than TV, movies, books, people, etc. I think I really started to love gaming when I played RuneScape, I'd play with an escapist mentality. As soon as I got home I would get on my computer and log in to RuneScape, and it was like a huge "ahhhhh, finally! I'm back" kinda feeling. I still remember the login screen with it's cool Runescape music and just having a huge rush of homeliness. Now I don't play games so often. Why? Because I used to be that guy that just played video games all day. Throughout my development I must have missed something because now I'm incredibly socially awkward and pretty anti-social. This caused me to play video games more and thus a terrible circle of logic. Now I'm lonely as hell and don't even play any games. After playing games for the "get away" or release from society I played them for fun and tried to get competitive. I always saw e-sports as being pretty damn awesome and as soon as I stopped playing Aion I had nothing that really that interested me other than Counter-Strike: Source. As I played through the ranks of this game I bought more FPS's, played some RTS's and the entire world of gaming just opened up. Not like a door, games had just ripped off the whole fucking wall. I guess I just love gaming because unlike movies or TV, or books, you control what's happening, you are literally in the game. I will never forget my favourite gaming experience; HL2. There was this one part in Half-Life 2 where there was a big fan, it was the size of the corridor and there were no other ways to get past, I figured, "oh, well, there's probably some bullshit side door hidden away back there", so I went and looked. I looked for over an hour of a way to get out. After no avail, I tried the impossible, "I'll just chuck this plank in the fan". IT WORKED. I was literally awe struck. I remember being breathless with my jaw on the floor. It was just that massive sensation of "holy shit, I'm not in this world anymore".
Why? Because games allow me to do things that I could only dream of in real life. Not that I'm a failure in real life, quite the opposite, but how many times in real life do you get to defend your territory from enemies, kill them, loot their houses and get praised for it? Games allow us to feel very primal feelings, without sacrificing the values our society has built up. I do love playing games, it's just a shame that there's so many other things I enjoy while time seems to be so limited...
It's so tragic that everyone except a couple so far have replied in defense, and with some hostility. It's like we're all so ashamed of finding this particular outlet of entertainment, we have to attack other forms of enjoyment or get into a psycho-babble discussion about the quality of life of a hardcore gamer. Well, gaming, why do I do it? Boredom, lack of imagination or creativity, and procrastination. Heavy procrastination. Kind of like typing in forums... I guess I should mow the lawn now.
Mostly this year I have played to help relax. I was so busy with real life shit (I know I'm Mr. Popular, right?!) work and school and homework, that the little freetime I got, I usually spent playing a game to put my mind away from everything else and just relax for an hour or two. But that isn't usually why I play, I usually play for entertainment, or because I am bored and have nothing better to do. Games > movies in a lot of cases in the level of entertainment for me.
I play games to kill time, the costs aren't that high and I like competitive gaming (on a casual base).
This'll probably sound pathetic/sad to most people, but video games have always been an escape for me. I was born with a pretty staggering list of medical issues and was very fragile when I was little, so my dad introduced me to video games when I was like 2 since I couldn't really do 'normal' kid stuff. All through my childhood I was never really able to be 'active' and never had many friends because I spent more time in the hospital than I did at home or school. So, video games served as my best means of entertainment and occasionally socializing(especially once online play and MMOs came around), and as I became more immersed in them, they would be an effective distraction from the pain I was experiencing or the fear of an upcoming operation. Once, when I was like 9 years old, I was in the hospital for 38 days straight. So far away from home that none of my friends or family could visit me except my mom who stayed the whole time. We would've gone fucking insane if not for my N64 I had decided to take. Because of shit like this gaming means a lot more to me than it does for most people, I'm sure. In recent years my life has finally reached a more normal state so I've drifted from the hobby a bit, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
I play If have no better possibilities like going to some place with beautiful nature. In general I play to get out of the hell that is around me... I really hate such over crowded cities like the one I live in!
In a way I kinda envy that dude. Not him particulary but there are times I sit there watching my daughter and thinking to myself how great it would be to be that young again, with no worries in the world, not being responsible and having so many people depending on you for everything, having someone else provide for you... I mean I can think of a million reason why being a kid was so fucking great! That dude that is 37 and living in his parents basement is just still clinging to that. And man I had a fucking blast as a kid, so can't really knock the dude. However, the reality is that where I am now with the life I have lived from my time in the Navy to getting married and starting my own business and raising my daughter I would never give that up for the joys of that untied youth that I envy of my daughter. I'm sure that dude is happy how he is. If things had gone different and he had built a different life of more outside of himself he might be happier, or he might not. As far as society goes he is a fucking waist of space. Not worth the air be breaths. He needs to get a fucking job. He needs to go to a rehab or join some gay ass 12 step program or some shit and get his life straight. He no different than a drunk or stoner who is being enabled. Hell, if we all could get away with being drunk or stoned 24/7 it would be great!
