Topic: Why do you play Video Games?

I'm sure the reasons vary widely from person to person, but for me personally, I like to play games which encourage me to think strategically and work things out, i.e to come up with the best strategy for overcoming seemingly intially overwhelming odds, or figuring out the solution to what appears at first to be a particularly devious puzzle, or just for escapism from the occasional stresses of modern life, diving into an alternate universe for a few hours for some sort of emotional or adrenaline-based cathartic release.

I also like playing more psychologically-focused/deeper games to perhaps look at the world differently, you know, games that have a message or messages in them but don't hammer you over the head with it/them.

But anyway, that's enough about why I play video games.
How about you?

Mainly for fun, but also for some escapism. I play for short bursts a few times a week generally, I’m not a ‘hardcore gamer’ by any means. But just half an hour here and there allows me to really switch off for a while, and just concentrate on the game rather than real life stuff for a bit! I find watching movies or tv and other passive activities don’t have quite the same effect on that regard. Gym, dog walks and gaming are the times I can zone out for a while.

I play to escape reality, and indulge in the worlds where anything is possible, for me it's preference over other media outlets such as Film or TV. Gym and PS5 are my main hobbies.

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN

I'm going to copy paste my profile blurb as it pretty much sums it up:

It's all about the stories, the world's created for me to immerse myself in and the characters that breathe life into them. And sometimes just blowing stuff up digitally 😁

And then to add to it... (uh oh, its a long one 😅)

I feel like for the most part, a game is way more engaging than other media because of this, and when done right there is infinite charm and wonder to be found, and this will simply make you feel good. It also makes you want to share that experience with others and it makes you feel like part of something bigger, in a way. A community that a game really clicks with is a joyful thing to be a part of. So all of my properly favourite games usually include really well crafted worlds and stories, filled to the brim with interesting, charming, or purely well written characters, and made with real love.

Then there is the other side, the casual dopamine releases of scoring a bunch of goals in "Fifa" in spite of the endless flow of idiots you collide with in that community that make you want to delete all traces of the game from existence. That is probably more of the slight addiction side of things, where some people hunt trophies, some go back to games that can annoy them because they know they can get that dopamine release, or because of social obligations, boo! 😪

But away from that element, that I am getting better at avoiding, it is mostly for the fun, and as was discussed elsewhere fun is a many sided dice and can ultimately depend on what you're in the mood for.

Perfection for me is a deeply filled, lovingly crafted RPG played for a few hours of an evening for pure escapism, immersion and joy. And that is mostly how I game.

And I know this comment has got exceedingly long, but another twist to the why is: because I always have done. Be it from handed down games and consoles from my brother and a completley casual approach, to playing entire games start to finish in monster sleepless sessions with friends without a care in the world. Gaming, on the whole, is good 😁

There are several of reasons why I play video games. First and foremost, it’s my way of relaxing and having an option for escapism after an arduous day. Secondly, I was essentially born with a controller in my hand, so it’s almost an extension of who I am as an individual. And lastly, not only are games fun, but they can also tell powerful stories that leave an everlasting impact. I remember playing The Last of Us for the very first time. That game inherently changed my life. And aside from that, I like being able to immerse myself in a visible world that I wouldn’t be able to explore, whether that’s a mid-evil past, or a science fictional future that is beyond what I’m going to live to see. And when you can do that, whilst simultaneously being able to relax me, give me joy by being fun to play, and also tell a compelling story that stays with me, then that’s a recipe for a medium that is unlike any other. That is why I love gaming.

My short answer: playing video games feels good, and if it feels good, do it.

My long answer: I'm hooked on interactive. I read books, play video games, and rarely watch any new movies or or tv series. For just watching it is the news, sports, old tv series, or old movies on TCM and more recent older movies on streaming services or my library. Like music, most tv series and movies began to rapidly nose dive in quality and content 20 years or so ago. Video games have nose dived recently too and is why so many are now playing older games.

For me I love interactive, problem solving, leveling up, creating my character, killing zombies, blowing up stuff, exploooosions, driving cars fast and furious, being the bad guy, being the good guy, plasma weapons turning rad scorpions into a puddle of goo, parachuting from great heights, and sometimes not opening the chute. All that and more.

Games spark my imagination just like reading books and watching movies.

It feels good to be in creative, outlandish, horror or charming worlds.

I would echo many of the thoughts expressed so far. It is a good question to ponder though.

And for me, I think the reason I play might be different one day to the next, which is why I have a few different game genres that I like. So I have times I need to escape reality, times I need to feel the satisfaction of solving a challenge, times when I want to learn something new, times when I want to turn my brain off and be spoon fed entertainment, times when I need to release frustration, and times when I need to connect socially.

@Ravix It definitely is, on the whole, but sadly not everyone in the world is not interested in gaming. It's all subjective at the end of the day I suppose, we can't all like the same things, despite gaming appealing to a broad audience some people would never think of moving past books, films/tv/radio or music.

Escapism.

I don't have a bad life - but it also isn't a fun one. I need something to fill the gaps in with some kind of joy, gaming is one of the best ways to do that in my experience.

To play video games.

It started out for me as an escape from the irresponsible, loud and violent adults that i had to be around as a child. My mom had a severe drinking problem and my dad was married to someone other than my mom. You can imagine how much time i actually spent with him. basically I'd spend alot of my days in my room avoiding all the yelling, chaos and shouting fits by escaping to another world in videogames. Eventually i developed a habit with gaming and the fascination of it all kinda sucked me in! I grew up in the 80s when all this stuff really started and most of the few friends i had were also into it. I'd spend nights at my buddy's houses and be up all night playing games. By the time i was 5 i started mounting quite a collection getting games for birthdays and Christmas every year or any old time. Now I'm 45 and own almost every game system known to man! At least every significant one released since 1979 and i still never let a day pass (if i can help it) without playing some form of videogame.

The short version of my story is, gaming is my happy place! 😉

to prove my skills to the world

It’s a hobby

Mainly to relax in the evening but also to socialise with some of the many awesome people I have met through gaming.

I also find myself less inclined to watch TV series or films now a days and when I do just end up thinking this would be pretty cool if it was a game...

As a scholarly reply, one or more of the following are why we play video games:

sensory pleasure, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, submission.

One of those core experiential outcomes is the source of one’s engagement.

I've been gaming since the 80s - really started for me on the C64 - I lived and breathed computing from then really. Fascinated by programming and problem solving, computing became a creative outlet for me. I remember reading Zzap64 over and over, dreaming about being able to afford some of the games they reviewed, marvelling at the creativity and new worlds they contained. It was a world that no-one else (or far fewer) knew about - and I got hooked. I have been fortunate to carry this interest into my working life and while the mundane is very much a part of work, the joy a new game promises (such as Astro) still gets me excited.

For fun! Whenever I’m bored, I can just boot up a game on my Xbox or my phone and just play for hours and hours, interacting and accomplishing tasks and whatever in it. I think I accomplish way more things with games than other hobbies of mine that are way more time-consuming.

However, I also play for escapism. My life isn’t trash, but I’m an extremely negative person with a low self-esteem, with being super busy, damaging family stuff happening over the years, being tired, and having little time to myself to do fun stuff all being a large factor in how I feel. Whenever I start up a game on my console, I just get so lost into the characters and worlds, and being put in the shoes of a fictional character and accomplishing tasks for a few hours is enough to make me happy and forget the problems I have in my life. There are so many games I can list that I had such a great time with and are special to me from the escapism they provided me, but it’d make me go on and on about them, so best I don’t! I had such a great memory playing a game over the course of two weeks last year and staying up late playing, and the stuff that went on in that game just made me super happy, and I would always look forward to playing it when I got the time to. I thought about the game so much after finishing it, and I still do even now! Even playing mobile games on my phone that don’t have particularly deep stories and characters is also enough to provide me escapism if the gameplay is fun...Playing a rhythm game on my phone in small doses for a few minutes can also help me just feel so happy after a rough day or if I’m feeling down. Gaming is just so special to me, and I’ll keep playing games till the day I die.

The good old Spectrum 128K got me hooked in the 80's and been laying ever since though I do have a bit of a blind spot from 2001 - 2003 when my son was born.

For me it is pure escapism, getting lost in other worlds and actually being part of it feels great. For the most part when I have a controller in my hand that is all I am thinking about and with some games even without controller in hand I am thinking about them 🤣

Gaming is just loads of fun and I love it