Video games. . . please explain the appeal

[sbj405]

My SO has been in the same chair for the last 8 hours playing some dumb game. No food, no bathroom break, etc. For some reason, I just don't get the whole video game thing.

So please explain or alternately flirt me with since he doesn't recognize that I exist.

[Broken_Hero]

1. I dont' know

when I was single I was neck deep in video games, and RPG's as well. Since I've been married....2 1/2 years, I probably have dedicated 2 days total, to playing video games...not much time, and my desire to play them has gone down substantially. The last game I played was GUN, and that was for my wife's project at work...

on edit:spelling

[Zhade]

36. Well, if you're playing too-short hackwork games like GUN...

...no wonder you don't play more! XD

(Seriously - great cast, interesting story, and that's about it.)

[Broken_Hero]

41. well Gun

was for my wifes project...I'm usually a fan of Devil May cry style rpg games, GTA games, Diablo, and fighting games like tekken, and of course sport games like madden, mlb baseball.....

[libhill]

2. Well-

I play p.c. games, which I guess are similar... war games, mostly. Just a pass time or hobby if you will, but they can be absorbing.. guess it's mainly a guy thing -:)

[sbj405]

4. I guess. We had hobbies before.

Mostly involving the outdoors. It was beautiful today and he sat inside ALL day. Maybe I'm just a bit more hyper.

[libhill]

11. How old is your boy?

If he's young enough, maybe you can entice him out of the house with a trip for ice cream or a hamburger... if he's a teen, I think you're outta luck girl...

[sbj405]

18. No any suggestion that he stop playing is met with . .

I'm trying to change who he is or I'm controlling. :eyes:

[libhill]

Aw, the joys of parenthood..

ain't it a hoot? Hmmm.. ice cream cone and burger are out, let's see... a movie? Or maybe a new video game on mom's credit card? Just kidding...

[sbj405]

25. It's actually my SO though sometimes it seems like parenting

:evilgrin:

[libhill]

28. lol

I thought you meant son - me thinks you're out of luck - I've spent entire nights on the p.c. playing games, which are essentially the same as video games... you really do get caught up in it. Who needs to eat or sleep? The only suggestion I could offer now would be inappropriate :)

[Fuzz]

3. Depends, what game is he playing?

oh, and ::wink:: :)

[Broken_Hero]

5. if he is playing Halo

or Everquest...he might need an I/V...:)

[sbj405]

6. World of Warcraft

:hi:

[Fuzz]

7. Oh, then I understand

Those games can be VERY addicting. I still play Asheron's Call occasionally and it's been nearly 7 years. That game is very similar in the way it works.

[Bombero1956]

16. I play City of Heroes/Villians

I've been playing for about 3 years. I've made some good friends on the game, mostly because we've formed a supergroup and always play together and help each other out. Unlike most other games we have a fair number of female players, in fact we have 4 husband and wife teams in our group of 75. As with most other activities moderation is key.

[Fuzz]

17. I lost a guildmate to that game

:(

[Broken_Hero]

8. that was my third guess...

man, might as well dump cold ice on him, he won't budge an inch...I have seen this disease infect other people, usually Halo/Everquest, but I have seen two of my friends go catatonic playing WOWC....:)

[ComerPerro]

14. hahahahahaha

World of Warcraft is a great game with fantastic replay value, since it is such a large world, there are always things to do, there are always new people to interact with, and just about every experience is a new one.

Its pretty consuming

but it is a very well-made game

[ComerPerro]

15. and just think of it this way:

A monthly subscription (for server access, bandwith, etc) is $15.

So the more hours he plays in a give month, the lower the hourly rate becomes, right?

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

21. Thats a good one. Haven't renewed my subscription this month though

What server is he on? Also, I'm guessing he's in a raid if he's been there for hours without breaks?

[TimeChaser]

22. Oooh!

What server?

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

23. Which server are you on?

My main is on Frostmane

[TimeChaser]

38. My main's on Spirestone (Horde),

but I RP on Scarlet Crusade as Alliance.

[IChing]

42. I'm on Gul'Dan 59 druid

but I haven't played since I got back from Colorado in early August,
it is truly an amazing game, my neighbor got me hooked on the game she (36) now has a boy friend in Tennessee she met in our guild
she is very serious with this relationship. It is a game that must be played for they have created a living breathing world.

One person had a cancer operation and his guild helped him financially get through the tough economic times, this story was on the web.

[derby378]

9. Don't take it personally...

A well-crafted video game is an excellent way to immerse yourself in an alternate reality. Those DUers who've used computers since the mid-80s know how engrossing Infocom could make a simple text adventure game. When's the last time you saw a text-only game for sale? But when I first purchased Zork I, I sat up all night exploring the world it dropped me into.

There are a few other games that'll suck me in like that. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was one such game - very violent, yes, and not one I'd recommend letting children play, but it drops you into an interactive world where you can go almost anywhere and do almost anything. You play the game at your own pace, explore the nooks and crannies of Vice City whenever you wish, make a few extra bucks on the side, etc. Your only limits are your own personal moral code and your own ambition to stick it to the man who double-crossed you to begin with.

As for flirting - well... :*

[qnr]

12. Yeah, the infocom games could do it. Star Raiders on the Atari, too n/t

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

43. I've actually been playing a free text based game recently called

Nationwars. You just play it through your browser. Unfortunately, if you don't find a well off clan at the beggining, your pretty much screwed

[qnr]

10. No idea. They've never really interested me. I had some marathon

sessions with a game called "Empire" back in the mid-eighties, but that's about it.

[Mz Pip]

13. I asked my son about this

He's 27 and plays video games, some are the kind where you have a headset and play with other people.

He said he would much rather come home from work and play video games than just beg out and watch TV. Now the stuff he plays tends to be interactive rather than solitary so there is probably some social aspect to it.

He told me that one morning he was playing and one of the guys he was hooked up too had to log off because he had to take his kid to school. Oh wewll.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

20. Those are the best kind. You get to talk to people in a friendly setting

and just screw around and have fun

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

19. Studies have shown they actually release endorphins in some people

I love them. I've spent hours and hours at a time playing them. Another thing is they give you a chance to do things you can't do in real life

[Karenca]

24. EIGHT HOURS?

That would concern me.

[sbj405]

26. Going on 9.

I really can't imagine doing anyone activity for that long.

[Karenca]

27. Wow!

Me either.

I don't know what to say.....Without trying to upset you, it's a bit bizarre.

[libhill]

29. Nah,

not bizarre at all. It happens, trust me.

[sbj405]

31. He's been playing several hours per day for weeks.

Here's hoping for a power outage :evilgrin:

[citizen snips]

39. you should try playing video games

[Karenca]

44. Thanks, but no thanks.

I have no desire to try them.

I'm not putting video games down,
but 9 hours in one chair and not even getting up to pee
is too strange.

[Jamastiene]

30. Do what?

You mean you are not extremely addicted to at least one video game? Where have you been for the last 30 years? :wow: I thought we were all addicted to at least one video game.

Btw, your SO sounds just like me when I first got my computer. My current addictions are the Lounge and Runescape. Otherwise, I am just doing boring housework, homework, or watching boring sorry ass television. I simply cannot believe I was glued to that boring contraption (television) before the internets came along. Life really sucked back then, but I didn't know it yet.

[sbj405]

32. Nope never played games. Never watched much tv.

And I can even go days without visiting DU. :wow: Maybe I'm the odd one.

[Karenca]

34. I don't think you're odd

I never watch TV either
nor have I ever played a video game.

Maybe then, you and I are odd?

I don't even know anyone who plays those games, so it's not just you.

[libhill]

33. I'd have to agree,

TV really does suck. The Internet is the most entertaining thing that ever came down the pike, in my opinion. How did humanity ever get by without it?

[citizen snips]

37. I agree

I use to be addicted to The Sims and Oblivion. I am now waiting on the Godfather to come out on the 360.

[Zhade]

35. That's really unhealthy.

Don't think all gamers are like that. We're not.

Please forgive me, but your SO sounds obsessed. I've played lots of games, I'm an avid gamer, but 8 hours with no break? I don't care what s/he's playing, that's not good for you!

The appeal is just like that of movies, television, or books, all of which are less interactive art forms than gaming (books somewhat more than the others, of course): immersion in another world. Experiencing what one often can't in real life. Characters and situations that reveal more about ourselves.

Is every game like that? No. But then, neither is every movie or tv show.

(Thanks for asking, btw - it gives me another chance to gloat that that fucker mr. benchley, who always insulted us gamers, got banned and is no longer welcome on DU. I love saying that!)

[citizen snips]

40. I have never played 8 hours of video games

I probably have gone for 5 but not 8.

some games are just too addictive.

[Rabrrrrrr]

47. I will second you in the gloat on that fucker mrbenchley.

Good riddance, you fucking ass!!

[Deja Q]

45. There are things I could do with you that he obviously doesn't want to do.

:*

He finds a game to be more engaging and allows him to uses his hands and eyes in ways you're probably not letting him. :shrug: Mind you, if the game involves killing then maybe it's for the best...

And why be plugged into a computer, when... :blush: that's TMI territory, isn't it?

Games are only useful at work, since they play you like a game there.

[ForrestGump]

46. Hey, baby...

Come here often?


Haven't played any computer games in years -- got too busy with real work in greaduate school, even though the games were a good little break from all that work for a while -- and never got into many of them that much. Used to play stuff like Spin Doctor (came with my first Mac laptop), mah jongg type games, and so on, with the only real shoot-'em-up I playee being Duke Nukem 3D. Had a lot fo fun with Mr Nukem. From my first encounters with a computer game (on a friend's computer in the early '80s, back when the games played on a cassette player hooked up to the computer) I could see how it's easy to sit for hours while playing one, at least for a while, but I don't really understand hgard-core gamers. Maybe 'cos I never got into D&D stuff, role-playing games, networked games, etc, or played Nintendo or Playstation or whatever. Still, eight hours is pretty extreme, I think. Hopefully he'll get it at least somewhat out of his system....