Why do you play games?

[Racecarlock]

This is a question I feel needs to be asked because answering it may help bridge some gaps in the community as well as finally understand some peoples' stance on other games. Now please try and make your answers long or at least detailed, this will help other people to get a better bearing on you.

So, why do I play games? One reason. There's a shitload of stuff I can't do in real life, some of which will get me killed, and others will get me burnt at the stake for crimes against humanity, and some of which doesn't even exist (IE: Plasma guns and magic). This is where video games come in. I can't be a race car driver in real life, so that's where racing games come in. But even then I play burnout to cause crashes bad enough to bankrupt cities and tear people to pieces. Then there's the mercenary profession, where i'd get headshot in the first 5 seconds in the field and I don't have battle mechs. This is where Just Cause 2, Playground of Destruction, and Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries all come in to play. You're probably already aware of the mechanics in play in those games. As for games like portal, well no one has a real life portal gun do they? Again, that's where that game comes into play. And I'm pretty sure we haven't invented regenerating shielded super soldiers yet, so that's where the halo games go. And then there's saints row 2 which fills the batman gangster villian without batman sandbox game niche quite nicely. How many of you dreamed of being cowboys growing up? Now you can be a cowboy in Red Dead Redemption. These games give me the opportunity to be things I know I'll never actually be, like a really really deep version of dress up.

So now that i've answered my question, what about you? Why do you play games?

 

[Racecarlock]

Come on guys, I want to understand you better. Can't you grant me that at least?

 

[Stall]

Because they're fun and an easy way to waste time. I don't really have any visions of grandeur about video games, nor do I think they are "art" or anything like that.

I honestly don't have any other reasons, nor do I really need to elaborate on them any more. I think games are fun, ergo I play them. Very simple logic, no?

 

[Ruiner87]

I play games because I enjoy them. In the case of first person shooters, it's because of the fast-paced, competitive gameplay. In the case of an RTS, it's the thrill of outwitting an opponent with a superior strategy (or superior unit spamming). In the case of RPG's, it's the ability to create any kind of character I want and enjoy an "epic" story.

 

[ChupathingyX]

A medium like no other, you can't change the way a book turns out, you have no say in what happens during a movie, you can't change the lyrics to a song.

I play different video games for different reasons.

*Some I play for multiplayer with friends (CoD, Dynasty Tactics 2, CTR, Dawn of War I and II, etc)

*Some I play for fun (Dynasty/Samurai Warriors, Mercenaries 2, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Destroy All Humans!, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, etc)

*Some can offer societal and political messages to make the universe even more interesting and present a great story told in different ways (Fallout 1,2 and New Vegas, Bioshock, Mercenaries: POD, etc)

*Some inspire me to learn about history (Mercenaries: POD, Dynasty/Samurai Warriors, Destroy All Humans!, etc)

To me, video games are many things.

 

[deserteagleeye]

I play videogames because they have something other mediums don't have: interactivity. Knowing that you control the outcome of a game, that the story can only proceed through you, is very immersive. I like to have that kind of immersion in a story. Though I do play games to just relax or vent. A good round of CoD or GTAIV can go a long way.

 

[Zhukov]

Because doing so makes me happy in a variety of ways.

I don't think I can put it any more succinctly than that.

 

[Sinoda]

I play for several reasons. The main one is that they serve as a distraction from my mental illness. Then there's the adrenaline rush, and I really like discussing games with other gamers. It seems the more educated gamers are easier to find than it is to find film buffs or something similar.

 

[Ashcrexl]

Two things are keeping me sane: other people and art. People are very unreliable, whereas art is always easy to find. Video games are the best form of art. Video games are very effective at keeping me sane. Quod erat demonstrandum.

 

[FalloutJack]

I really don't think there SHOULD be a reason beyond "Because it's fun!". It's why I do it and it's what they were intended for.

 

[Racecarlock]

Thank you for your responses. Keep em coming. I enjoy this kind of dialogue. No console wars, no "corporations are evil" crap or complaints about samey shooters. This is what I came here for.

 

[Adam Galli]

I play them because they're fun and they relieve stress.

 

[AndrewF022]

The fun, the challenge and the competition.. In that order.

 

[Erana]

Thank you for your responses. Keep em coming. I enjoy this kind of dialogue. No console wars, no "corporations are evil" crap or complaints about samey shooters. This is what I came here for.

Sorry, those do happen all too often on the site, but are just a bit more civil than some other places on the internet.

Personally, though, I like gaming because it is calming.
I just have to be doing something all the time. Cooking, cleaning, painting, just something. I can't stand just sitting there, watching things, and I listen to books so I can multitask.
And when I'm simply not functioning well enough to paint, I can go pick up a video game, and have it draw me in by the engagement without any responsibility.

And for me, video games have never been about the content of a game world, the conventions of the medium as it is. Video games have the potential to be as grand our ever advancing technology. The potential itself is something to revel in.

 

[redspud]

I play games to relax. Also because I can't go naked skydiving in real life.

 

[Cureacao]

I play games for two main reasons: Fun and Escapism. I usually play for number 2 and then number 1 comes with it.

As great as real life is, I enjoy getting away from it and secluding myself, thus games! I can put myself into a world which doesn't exist and pretend it does. While I can do this for books, movies and tv, games have the ability to become more immersive and I can loose myself for days. The best part is that it doesn't matter what crap I'm going through in real life, no one in the game world cares or even knows. Instead they throw upon me problems I can solve in a world where in I am praised for solving them. Games refresh my mind and help me wind down and relax no matter what is happening. That is why I play games.

 

[42]

Because i enjoy to play them? i don't get why people think videogames need an explanation as to why we play them. People don't play them to gain some sort've inner look into the human condition or play them because they consider it art. We all play them because we enjoy them. doesn't need any more explanation then that. i mean why do you read books? for a story. same things with movies, tv shows. while games do have stories that don't have to be a central focus for us to enjoy it. Forget escapism, Enjoyism. there i made up a word. u mad haters?

 

[Keepeas]

Usually to escape reality, avoid doing something, waste time, oh and one more reason...
To have FUN!

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Why do I play games? Boy, that's a tough one to answer.

Actually it's not, because the OP just stated my reasons FOR me, how convenient it is to have someone think just like you.

So yeah, it's because I can do amazing things, go on amazing adventures and see amazing things that I wouldn't otherwise do or see in real life. Video games enrich my life by adding these magical elements and making them available to me which helps ALLOT to make life less boring.

I get fully immersed when I play a game, when I play half life I feel like I AM a guy named Gordon Freeman who has a PHD in theoretical physics, works in a neat lab and can kick some serious alien ass.

When I play portal 2, I feel like I AM a girl named Chell who has a history with a begrudged AI who feels disgust towards me. I really feel connected to these characters, especially in valve games. I feel like GlaDOS is actually talking to ME specifically and is real and actually has a history with me and going through life with the feeling that I have thought aliens, saved the world many times and knows an AI underground somewhere who banished me from a super facility really makes life feel so much more rich and awesome.

Everyone should try putting themselves in someone else's shoes, especially in games because you get in some really interesting situations.