A Game You Found More Enjoyable than Life Itself?

[WhyWasThat]

A bold question. A scary one, even.

Is there any game (or games) that you've played in your lifetime which you became so engrossed in - or which were simply so enjoyable - that they were more satisfying and blissful for you than the daily reality that awaited when you had to switch it off?

For me, it was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Honestly, I think that game was more of an addiction for the several months that I played it than it was a pastime. And oh boy, did I play that game. Were it not for sleep, school and meal-times I honestly think I wouldn't have stopped. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours were spent adventuring in Cyrodiil and The Shivering Isles as though they were mere minutes. When I wasn't playing I was on autopilot; day-dreaming of the various quests, items and secrets that remained unexplored within the game.
I still play the game occasionally even today, for short periods. It's become a bit dated, sure, but it hasn't lost any of its appeal... And I much prefer it to Skyrim.

Needless to say, my school grades around that time were non-existent. A sobering reminder, really, of how potentially destructive our favourite hobby is when not enjoyed in moderation.

 

[hazabaza1]

...most of them?

Life is a dull affair full of actual pain and death and suffering and dumb NPCs, unless a game is really bad its usually more enjoyable than chilling around IRL.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

^ That.

Real life is mostly fucking boring. I wouldn't play games otherwise.

 

[Evonisia]

Quite a bunch, what you do in your spare time is better than what you do in your obligation time (or "life").

Life has good graphics and lighting, the solo campaign is too long, the co-op produces too many NPCs to cater for, the NPCs are all idiots, the multiplayer is a hell-hole that usually ends up with you out of pocket and the framerate chugs when you do anything other than eat vegetables and drink water.

 

[piinyouri]

Playing Morrowind for the first time.
I just knew I'd stumbled onto something special and I was anticipating falling head first into it's world.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Playing Morrowind for the first time.
I just knew I'd stumbled onto something special and I was anticipating falling head first into it's world.

Yes this game in particular. I picked it up because my computer wasn't good enough for Oblivion at the time and I was sucked into the world for months. And then even more months once I started modding it.

 

[piinyouri]

Playing Morrowind for the first time.
I just knew I'd stumbled onto something special and I was anticipating falling head first into it's world.

Yes this game in particular. I picked it up because my computer wasn't good enough for Oblivion at the time and I was sucked into the world for months. And then even more months once I started modding it.

This will sound really dorky, but when I looked around on the ship and saw all the boxes, barrels and sacks all had names, and then saw every container in the building could be opened and it had something in it, I had been fantasizing about a game with that level of interactivity for so very long, but I was sure it didn't exist. Morrowind was the first game with that level of detail, depth and interactivity that i had played to that point.

So it really very much was like finding the holy grail for me.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Playing Morrowind for the first time.
I just knew I'd stumbled onto something special and I was anticipating falling head first into it's world.

Yes this game in particular. I picked it up because my computer wasn't good enough for Oblivion at the time and I was sucked into the world for months. And then even more months once I started modding it.

This will sound really dorky, but when I looked around on the ship and saw all the boxes, barrels and sacks all had names, and then saw every container in the building could be opened and it had something in it, I had been fantasizing about a game with that level of interactivity for so very long, but I was sure it didn't exist. Morrowind was the first game with that level of detail, depth and interactivity that i had played to that point.

So it really very much was like finding the holy grail for me.

I'll join in on being dorky then because I had the same experience. It was the first game I played that truly felt alive, and it was the first game that felt like you could properly roleplay in.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Beat me to it in the first post. To this day, I just feel so at peace whenever I pop in that game. It's difficult to guess the total time I've spent playing between all my characters, but 300 hours doesn't feel at all like an over-estimate.

Persona 3 is another one. Oh man, if only studying was that easy in real life. Sly 2 is a game very close to my heart, as is the Ratchet and Clank series; Final Fantasy, Radiata Stories, I've been kinda missing The Sims 2 lately, which I played exclusively when I was eleven or so. Then there was MapleStory...looking back on it, that was a dark time, but I made it my life, so obviously I enjoyed it a lot more than the real world. Thankfully I got out of it before my high school years were in full swing, but I can't accredit that to self-control.

Honestly there's only one thing that's made me happier than playing my favourite video games and he's rather exceptional.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well, if life itself wouldn't be I wouldn't be able to enjoy all those wonderful games, now would I?

And no matter how good a game is it can't beat a nice afternoon snooze.

 

[Hagi]

Games are part of my daily reality. They're part of my real life.

I don't think it's a hobby that deserves labeling as me hiding away from reality. I'm simply enjoying a 100% real piece of software on a 100% real piece of hardware with gameplay, story and graphics developed by 100% real people. There's nothing not real life about it.

Games can't be more enjoyable than life since they're part of it. If a game is highly enjoyable then life is equally enjoyable at that moment.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

Back in the day Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Soul Blazer definitely qualified.

Lately I can't say that my life is sad enough or the games good enough to hold that level of greatness.

 

[Snowbell]

I really enjoyed Jade Empire and poured hours into it, sadly I'm still looking for a game I would enjoy as much u_u I came late to the Elder Scrolls series and started with Skyrim, which I didn't enjoy half as much as I thought I would

Suggestions for more enjoyable games to get me out of my 9-5 slog are welcome

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Wild ARMs has definitely shaped my life, in terms of how I view it. I've learned so much from that game. Likewise can be said of Grandia, Chrono Trigger, Persona 4 Golden and Arena, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore - the list of RPGs goes on.

I always had a burning desire for good stories, which is the main reason I like RPGs so much. I can say that a fighting game also qualifies for a good story believe it or not: that of Persona 4 Arena. If you question how a fighting game could have such a compelling story, I urge you to find the various story modes out on YouTube or, should you have a PS3, purchase the game and play it. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

All of them.

Stand outs include the original Mass Effect...months of time spent playing, replaying, and playing some more...KotOR, and Morrowind. I played them all at the time of release, and, sincerely, Morrowind was awe inspiring for the time.

Coming off that boat for the first time was magical. Looking back at the game now just makes me snicker, what with the ugly blocky models and all, but back then? Lovely. Consider my glasses a decidedly rosey color.

 

[Nazulu]

I'll compare the best parts of both. My best enjoyable moments in gaming is when I took 3 school days off to play through Super Metroid, or the 2 full days and nights I played Lineage 2 to finish off of a gigantic clan war. They were literally non stop excitement for me and I will never forget those moments. Hell, I want to become a game developer because of that.

My best memory's in my life so far would have to be when I raided a Village cinemas with eight friends to see how many free movies we could get through the whole night (we saw 5 and enjoyed them all). When my team won the finals in the table tennis competition, we were bad winners since we made of fun of them and then had a long messy party at a pool place, but it was awesome. A family Christmas where my whole family didn't all argue, my grandmother made the best damn turkey ever covered in bacon (really crispy), and I received every present I wrote on my wish list (N64 with Golden Eye anyone?). Yeah, I'm gonna go with 'life' because I have more to mention.

 

[WhyWasThat]

I really enjoyed Jade Empire and poured hours into it, sadly I'm still looking for a game I would enjoy as much u_u I came late to the Elder Scrolls series and started with Skyrim, which I didn't enjoy half as much as I thought I would

Suggestions for more enjoyable games to get me out of my 9-5 slog are welcome

Ever consider getting into Demon's/Dark Souls?
With the exception of Oblivion (my favourite game of all time in, case you couldn't guess from the thread), I've never played an RPG more mesmerising and engrossing - and flat-out brilliant - than the Souls series.

 

[stormeris]

Pretty much all?
Because real life is boring, frustrating, dull and depressing.
It's also hard and uncertain.

Big Rigs: Over the road racing is more enjoyable than real life.

 

[s0p0g]

Star Wars Galaxies - although its complexity (pre combat "upgrade") might seem a bit too much at first, it actually lead to a mostly (again, pre-CU) jedi-free Star Wars alternate-life-sim, with just the right balance of complexity and (a-bit-)easier-than-real-life
it was awesome, and it ate all my traffic i had back then; stopping playing it actually went with some pain of parting

good times, good times *drifting into nostalgic thoughts*