Why do you Game?

[Infinatex]

I believe it is an addiction. I get a rush when I game. When I have no game I am sad. I think about gaming when I am not gaming. I sneak in hip-flasks full of gaming into work and meetings (PSP). I know I need help... But I can stop whenever I want to. Just not right now.

On another note I'm pretty sure you probably could get addicted to gaming just like anything else. Does this actually happen? Aaaaaanyway I mainly play because my friends do too and because I enjoy it. Some people like stamps and models, me, I like hitting the PS3 for a bit, releasing that stress form work

 

[RJ Dalton]

Because it's the only way I can have some fun, since I have no friends. Thank you very much for reminding me of that.

 

[thenoblitt]

I game to pass time, and buddy i have alot of time to pass

 

[Tarquinius Superbus]

Because I can. And it can be enjoyable.

 

[PDizzle418]

I play games because I like to do everything, I like to try everything once. Games give me a wider range of things I can do and not have to actually go find time to do them. That and read books both are good at that.

I play games because I like to see how they evolve, I like to see everything someone is doing to out do another. The originality of games is what keeps me coming back. Even if someone does something old really really well I love it.

But games that set themselves apart by doing something original AND doing it well are what really get me.

A few examples
Natural Selection: (imo by far the best humans vs aliens WITH an FPS/RTS/command element two rarely done concepts, an even rarer combination and it blended fantastically)
Red Faction: and the newest iteration Guerrilla (The geomodding in the original was ahead of it's time and made me sad when no one else saw it as a bonus, extremely original and a blast to use. Sadly missing the Guerrilla, however the ability to disassemble buildings is a blast)
Shattered Horizon: pretty standard fare shooting except for one thing IT'S IN SPACE, while the controls weren't the best and the game takes a bit to get used to the game itself implements the 3rd dimensions fantastically and even includes a sound simulation and a running silent mod to sneak up on your enemies. Absolutely brilliant.

These games aren't the best at what they do perhaps, but they have something many other games don't originality that makes them fresh and new something that changes the game so it isn't the same each time you play and let's you invent adjust and reimagine ways to win. This is fun to me being clever and out smarting your enemies is what I love. to me Halo 3 and gears of war are bland shooters where repetition leads to victory. Give me something that makes me think.

I love games because each one is different and I want to try them all. OM NOM NOM NOM!

 

[Insanum]

Because i can. Because i strike to be the best player i can be, And because i find it more challenging and mentally challenging than wathing the idiot box.

It'll be good in 60 years to see if people who have been gaming since the age of 5 have lower senality (Sp?) rates than people that dont.

 

[ShakesZX]

It helps me be creative. I like to let my mind wander (when it doesn't do that by itself) to think about problems I have. Sometimes one random thought about a video game i just played will lead to a cool idea about what i was thinking about before.

Also, a deviation from real life can be just what i need to calm down and get my mind straight.

 

[Always_Remain]

Because real life sucks. AND shooting people is fun.

Isn't this the part where I get arrested?

 

[ethaninja]

Same reason. Thats why I like Single player games the most. Because I can detatch from this world and immerse myself into the world of whatever game I'm playing. That and I've been playing games since I was 2

 

[Dr. Paine]

Because it's fun as hell, as long as you have a good story and characters. And sometimes, it leads to better things- Portal got me into poetry and sci-fi literature, between looking up the poems they parodied in the game and finding a fan-artist who later became a friend, and it's had a massive impact on my life.

Lame but true.

 

[Cain_Zeros]

Entertainment, pure and simple. If it's not fun, why do it? You deal with that enough at work.

 

[Unit Alpha]

Relaxation. Yeah, that's pretty much why I never play online.

 

[Pegghead]

Well I like to look at why I play various different kinds of games. I'll play something like Fable when I want to become the stalwart hero of the land with light shining from my every orifice (Or some hellspawn of Satan and Hitler), I'll play something like dead rising or prototype when I realyy need to blow off some steam and there are no convenient trains near my location. I'll play something like 'Splosion man, scribblenauts or a browser game when I want a simple little challenge to have the sense of "Wow I just figured out an incredibly complex and clever puzzle". And I'll play something like Half-Life 2 to have some FUN! The single ost crucial aspect to a game and the main reason out of all of these that I actually play, to sit back, relax and enjoy myself (Then again the same can be said about um, strangling the one eyed snake but this is different.).

 

[ShakesZX]

Same reason. Thats why I like Single player games the most. Because I can detatch from this world and immerse myself into the world of whatever game I'm playing. That and I've been playing games since I was 2

How do you remember? Studies have shown that babies don't form memories til about 3

 

[ethaninja]

Same reason. Thats why I like Single player games the most. Because I can detatch from this world and immerse myself into the world of whatever game I'm playing. That and I've been playing games since I was 2

How do you remember? Studies have shown that babies don't form memories til about 3

who gives a shit what studies show. Video recordings, stories, etc etc.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

it keeps me happy, keeps me from doing bad things

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Escapism, to be entertained, and so I can experience things I don't get to experience normally, so in other words, escapism.

 

[Nicolai]

I play to see what's emerging from an art form I have loved for many years. The best games are those which push sometihng to a new level and I'm particularly interested in seeing how people continue to develop the idea of the game. I'm seeking the new spaces between diverse explorations of artistic styles like Borderlands and interactive art like Flower, from mature story-driven plots like Heavy Rain to almost plotless games, from level design which can genuinely surprise me to old, beloved classics like NetHack and Star Control II.

I game because like the best of many things I can have my emotions drawn on and really feel in touch with something for some time and in the best of games that lasts far longer than many other things I can interact with. It's about beauty and interest.

 

[insectoid]

Because I feel like it.

[sub]..okay escapism, mostly.[/sub]