C2V wrote:
No. And I have a great deal of difficulty understanding why anyone does. Really - I've actually read psychological studies on this because I just can't understand the appeal. I gave up looking into it when one study claimed people use it to get a feeling of accomplishment, like they have accomplished something in their lives because they got to a certain "level" or whatever. It was too depressing from there on out.
It's the same as the reasons for any hobby, really. Which is to say, it varies wildly.
In my case, it provides the challenge, excitement, and general entertainment I need. It also gives me stuff that makes me actually have to think (watching TV and such never would) which is very important to me, and it lets me constantly work on things like mental processing speed (which at this point i'm *really* good at) and general reasoning. My coordination is also fantastic as a result.
Note though, I'm not playing the braindead shooters you see on TV all the time... there's SO much more to it than that. But some of the "big" games out there (even if they're not actually bad, as some are quite good) can give non-gamers a really bad impression of what it really is as a whole. People look at stuff like Call of Duty and think that there's nothing else, it's all just that, which is the opposite of true.
It's also led to some BIG changes in my life, most of which have been positive. It's amazing, really, what something that some people consider so "unimportant" can do and cause for someone. Often in ways they never expected. I sense that quite a number of hobbies are like that as well, though it depends on the individual person. In my case, well... experiences such as my first (and not last) time flying across the country on my own (and travelling on my own in general, usually by car, which I now do often, when years ago I thought I'd NEVER be able to handle that), or the development work that I now do (which actually is a *very* direct result of my skill in a certain type of game), among other things. I've had alot of interesting and unique (and weird) experiences at this point... but none of them would have happened without this. Not to mention there are numerous friends that I would never have met.
I can tell you one thing though, there's no point in reading or watching studies about this sort of thing, which is probably something that can be said about any hobby or major interest. I've seen stuff like that, and I facepalm every time. Only someone who is truly into it (whatever "it" is at the time) can REALLY give you an explanation of it at all, and it's going to be different things to different people. Really, I dont know why they even DO studies on this sort of thing. It's impossible to fully quantify.
Also, as for the topic's question: I think the answer here, for me, is as obvious as the answer to "do rocks obey gravity?"
03 Feb 2017, 7:06 pm
. As a teen liked pac man, Space invaders, And Donkey king. Tried newer video games and was not great at flying the helicopter and really dislike violence in the newer games. Prefer Donkey King or more peaceful games.
