Topic: Why do you play Video Games?

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Hi! I also like playing games that are thought-provoking and require a strategic approach. It’s like when the task seems impossible at first, and then you find a solution, it always feels good. I also like to dive into alternative worlds to get away from reality, especially when the game has cool design and visuals.

As far as the artistic side is concerned, it’s no less important to me. If the game is not only deep in content, but also well drawn, it makes diving even more exciting. For example, there are studios like Game Art Outsourcing Studio(here their site https://ilogos.biz/game-art-production/) that can really surprise with their elaborate style and colorful worlds. Their work is fascinating, especially when the details of the game world complement the plot.

If you, as I do, are interested in good design in games, I recommend to look at their projects, they create something unique and always pay attention to the quality of graphics.

Life can be extremely mundane, I play to feel something. Sorry, I couldn't come up with something lighter. 🌞

I don't know to be honest.

Sometimes I question why I play video games especially when I become so frustrated with them, I can let it ruin an entire day (or days).

I guess I play them because that what I've always done.

@BookhouseBoy i 100% can relate . it’s such a habit…..or addiction?

I game for the same reason that Data is obsessed with the holodeck in Star Trek: TNG.

@nomither6 Yeah, I've been wondering for a while now whether it's an addiction. It doesn't bring me much joy any more and yet I can't seem to stop or feel like I have anything else to do with my free time.

@PorkChopExpress It sometimes scares me when I think about what I could have accomplished in life if I dropped video games in my 20's. The thousands of hours have amounted to nothing really.

@PorkChopExpress I'm not sure if it's just because I'm older or games have just plateaued in terms of tech and creativity, but nothing wows me anymore and I'm finding myself disliking more and more games that everyone seems to love. I feel very disconnected from it all but can't seem to keep my eyes off it.

If you're still young I'd definitely recommend finding something else that's worth your time.

@PorkChopExpress Yeah, we're very much in the same boat. It must be an age thing with certain types of people I guess.

I used to be more into movies, drawing, reading comics, books and other things but I feel like all that has completely in favour of video games now.

I'm not excited for any games next year so could be the year that I take an extended break from them indefinitely.

@PorkChopExpress @BookhouseBoy Enough room for three in a boat? I have lost interest in many upcoming games so my backlog is fairly limited, limited to the games already on my Wishlist and then those coming out in 2026 or potentially even later are the only ones that vaguely excite me, planning to take around a year off from 2025-26 and then after those few games maybe just leave it indefinitely. I am also interested in guitar, movies, art (my latest and freshest new interest) books and comics etc. So maybe put some more time into those things going forwards. I'm at a similar age in life to you guys.

@BookhouseBoy Completely relate friend, the last few months I’ve been convinced I hate gaming now but kept pushing that rock up the hill. I’m trying to break my habit of being hyper focused and spreading my energies around other things I really like but have neglected in service of video games. I’m not sure if it’s age, though it is definitely a contributing factor along with raising kids and also being very jaded with most things. It ebs and flows.

This seemingly simple question really did get me thinking!

Why did I start gaming? Those under 40 may not relate, but as a kid I had so much fun playing arcade games, and they were everywhere. In the pub on holiday (Wonderboy!), in the leisure centre each week (Rastan Saga), at the Swindon Oasis when it was a friend's birthday (Quartet), at the local takeaway (Super Pang!). And then the Sega Master System arrived and I could play these games at home, in COLOUR (as opposed to my Spectrum 48k and it's monochrome graphics)!

Gaming has never been an escape for me, it has been a fun hobby! But it's changed over the years. For a long time I owned consoles without really playing much, with Uni, work, band, the pub, etc all getting in the way. But a couple of years ago I got an Xbox series X and started playing all the games I'd missed out on over the last 10 years or so. And last week I got a PS5 to play all the PS exclusives I've missed out on... Different, experiences, I now like action RPG's instead of quick arcade games, but it's always been about FUN!

Probably an age thing... I've spent 20 years working all over the place, home and abroad, playing in bands, 15 years doing lots of sports, but now I'm pushing 50, gaming is becoming my main hobby. I've probably played more the last 2 years than any previous point in my life! Maybe it'll change in a few years when I've "caught up" on everything I've missed (I'm already in deep with the backlog haha)...

My OCD makes games like Skyrim, Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild, Starfield, etc a nightmare, I can't finish playing and move on until til I've left my character in a happy place with all the best gear, etc etc... it got really bad with BOTW haha... OCD and RPG's can be a dangerous mix!

@Dimey took me back to where all the various arcade games were situated around my town as a boy. We had a great independent video shop with all the classics (Street Fighter 2, Final Fight, Golden Axe, R-Type, Shadow Dancer, Bubble Bobble, WWF Superstars)… and then we had a few chippys with a couple of coin-ops each too. One had P.o.W and 1942, another one had Gradius and Double Dragon and the last one had Altered Beast and Moonwalker. Good times.

@colonelkilgore amazing... Chase HQ in my halls of residence at Uni in '94 was such a strong memory - first arcade game I ever finished!!

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN @Bob_Salat Just going to reply to both of you here as you're both kind of making the same points.

I just feel like gaming as a hobby has become very intense (for me). There's a lot of fomo that comes with gaming now and with models such as PS+ and Gamepass, there's just an overwhelming amount of games to play and a certain pressure to keep up with the latest releases.

I've recently tried to restore the feeling of what it was like to play video games when I was a kid. No backlogs, no subscription service, just one game that I played until I was completely done with it and on to the next one.

@Dimey no way… I never played that apart from the home computer ports. I’d imagine the arcade was incredible.

It is interesting reading the thoughts and experiences of those who have fallen away from gaming. I completely respect anyone who feels they have lost their love of the pastime. Over the years I’ve waxed and waned in my engagement with the hobby, but I always came back and have never completely abandoned it for very long. Usually it was social things that would keep me away, or divert my interest. It still occurs now, but much of the time that I am at a social gathering, with friends, or busy at work, I’m wishing I could be at home with my PS5.

The way some of you have reported how you feel about gaming is how I currently feel about TV, movies, and books. I used to really enjoy watching hours and hours of movies, at the theater and on my TV, but now I barely can manufacture an ounce of interest. I try to get pumped about movies and shows people talk about with such great enthusiasm, but it ends up feeling like a chore. I’d rather be grinding levels in an rpg. Or watching sports, or running around outside doing something.

My free time has dwindled and I wish I could spend it all gaming. But I purposefully do other things to keep me from turning into a zombie.

@colonelkilgore @Dimey I remember playing arcade machines, my favourite were the ones when the cabinet moved. I think Outrun, Star Wars and Afterburner spring to mind. My first full time job there was a ten pin bowling alley opposite, so I used to spend most lunch times playing Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat and Time Crisis.

Also had the old Commodore and Speccy machines. Think I started with a +4 then gradully upgraded to later models and the Speccy's. Anyone remembeer the game Head Over Heels? Probably one of my earliest gaming memory.

@JohnnyShoulder haha yes, I had head over heels for my 48k+... made by Ocean, had lots of their games... baffled by it, don't think I got more than a screen or two into it. Most of those old spectrum era games were absolutely baffling to me haha

@Dimey And no guides to refer to either! Had to wait to see if there was one in a magazine, and often not there was not for the game you were playing.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah I had a Spectrum and C64, don’t think I had Head over Heels though. Journey’s End and Jet Set Willy are two of my earliest memories on those… but I do have a vague recollection of my uncle pulling out a dusty Magnavox Odyssey one evening that he was baby-sitting for me and playing Pong. I must’ve barely been 3.