What's your Gaming Philosophy?

[Saelune]

I play games to experience more interesting realities than our own. Escapism (guess where this site got its name). But also for entertainment.

As for what I play, I like variety, and will give anything a try, but I favor RPGs, especcially when they offer character creation. Having that creative control, if only on my own character, is something I love.

 

[Childe]

To simply have fun. If I will have fun by following the weakest possible build, so be it. If I will have fun by playing the weakest character, so be it. If I have to cheat to have fun (as long as it's not multiplayer), so be it.
That's the reason why I tend to avoid watching any competitive matches, like EVO or minor Dota2 Championships. I just don't like the idea of "Tiers" or some character being "Not competitive on higher levels" etc.

This pretty much for me. I play DOTA2 an Lol to win of course but I also play to have fun so I try things out sometimes even if people get really pissed at me

 

[Kyber]

Games are a part of my life, I usually pour myself into the characters I play. I take joy in adventuring taking on dangerous but rewarding journeys that would never be possible in the real world. For me, the most important aspect of the game is usually the story, and it's exploration. Games are something more than me, and that's why I play them.

 

[Tom_green_day]

If game is fun, me like game.
Pretty basic actually. I like CoD and Fallout and Mass Effect etc because they are fun to play. I do not like Battlefield and Batman games and Deus Ex HR etc because they are not fun to play.
'Fun' can sometimes be created by a good story or atmosphere or controls or gameplay etc, it isn't set in stone. I don't find things fun if they push too hard, such as when a game tries to have a good story, it sometimes feels forced.

 

[piinyouri]

Hmmm, after thinking about this, I think my philosophy when playing can be boiled down to "Explore the unknown."

Playing New Vegas for the first time and encountering the Legion was crazy. Then I learned you can play as them and I immediately started over and made a "made for the legion" character. I was too fascinated by the ability to play as that side, imagining what lay on it's side of the fence mechanically and writing wise. Most of the time I try to get in a characters head. Why would they be doing the things they're doing? Associating with who they do? Is it straight forward? A contradiction, that even they themselves are uncomfortable with, but realize is a neccesary action?

On the more 'game-y' side of things, in Borderlands 2 I was struck one day while looking at Salvadors trees with the idea for a Hyperion weapon based Rampage build. Those weapons get more accurate as you fire and that tree is designed to let you keep firing longer and longer, so I thought "I could have two shotguns as accurate as sniper rifles" and boom, I was on my way. It's probably not the most optimal build ever, but optimal very rarely filters into my decisions when making characters, unless I am in fact designing them to be as pointed as possible.

Once upon a time I think all I ever did in games was power play. I'd always sort out which was the "best" weapon/strategy/armor what have you, and I had a clear opinion on what was good and what wasn't. Good example being Fallout 3. Shotgun w combat armor and an AR for mirelurks, maybe an explosive weapon for fun/sticky situations, anything else I felt was a waste of time. It actually bewildered me why anyone would wear anything but the absolute best stuff.

I'm personally glad I've moved beyond that. It's allowed me to get a lot more (and more replay value) out of my games.

 

[Mitsozuka]

Dang guys, I didn't expect this many replies! (Although in Retrospect I guess I should have with a community this size.)


A vast and varying degree of replies as well, it seems there isn't really a common modus operandi at the crux of gaming philosophy. Not surprising, though, considering everyone will give you a different reason for doing the exact same thing if you ask them all separately.

Some real food for thought amongst these posts so far, and as OP, I'd just like to thank everyone who commented thus far and future commenters as well.

Also;

Put simply, I play games because I like being the potato Glados stuck to the end of a character's portal gun.

I gotta admit, that one got me laughing. PotaDoS is one of the best things ever, and comparing the Player to her was a stroke of metaphorical brilliance. xD

 

[Hectix777]

To have fun, to learn, to inspire, robe caught up on! And to hang out

 

[Lennie Briscoe]

"No life? I'm a gamer, I have many lives!" -some guy I saw quoted on the internet once-

I play to escape the everyday grind of real life. Whether it's Tetris, or The Last of Us, if it's more fun than the day I had at work, I'm diving into it head-first.

The more immersive the game, the better. Sometimes I'm in a pure "gaming" mood and I'll play something more arcade-like, such as Castle Crashers or Doom. But nothing beats just getting lost in Skyrim after a hard day's work. The Calm After the Storm, as I call it.

 

[Innegativeion]

"To explore the richness of the world's greatest wonder; the human soul, I delve into the soul's expression; beauty, profoundness, intellect, humor, all these fundamentals achieved at their peak through the collage of artistry that is a video game; an exploration of worlds impossible and yet real, within the soul."

Kind of pretentious, I guess. But that's why I do it. I feel at home in the expression of ideas and feelings, and I think interactive media is the best way to experience (hell, the word 'experience' doesn't even really apply to most other media) these kinds of things.

I seek great stories, characters, and worlds. The more it feels like a dev team poured their heart into a game, generally, the more I enjoy it.

 

[Tweg]

Fun is such a shallow word. I certainly didn't play Walking Dead for the "fun". Boring gameplay and all those sad moments, it was not "fun". I play to get immersed to the world and characters. So story and the design of the world are important to me.

 

[Evonisia]

If it's either fun, well written, has a beautiful design/world, good characterisation, replayability, controls which fit the theme or is able to sucker you in, it's worth playing and should exist.

Respectively, Saints Row, BioShock, FarCry, Silent Hill (except Homecoming/Origins), Halo and Amnesia are all worth playing and have a right to exist.

Alternatively if a game does not possess any of these qualities, play it to the end (or until your brain haemorrhages or something) to find out reasons for why you hate it and spout said reasons until the end of time.