Why Would An Adult Man Play Video Games?

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To be honest, I thought this guy was just trolling everyone with this article. Seriously, why would a guy even ask that question? Then I read the part where he said "sometimes when I’m playing I can hear my books making fun of me" and I knew he was actually being serious. It's worth clicking the link just to read the comments. ;)

A video game is a tiny, stupid world. Even in the most sophisticated there are only about five things you can actually do, and it’s usually some mix of killing things and preparing to kill; half the time it feels like you’re staring at some twitching hybrid of a spreadsheet and a snuff film. If you play too long you end up feeling awful — crampy, grit-eyed, obscurely guilty. But the tiny, stupid world of a video game is suffused with meaning, and with clarity. Each one of those five stupid actions was put there, on purpose, for you to do; when you do one of them, you know you were supposed to do it — you’re told that you did it, you’re told if you did it right, and then you’re told to do it again.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
The comments weren't worth giving that idiot a click.
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Oh, I don't know. This lady hit the nail on the head:



Random Lady said:
You take yourself way too seriously.

I'm a woman and I play video games. It's fun. It's not hurting anyone. Some games are actually more interesting than 99.9 percent of the movies that are coming out now (i.e. The Last of Us, Arkham Knight, Uncharted).

So, why do you care? You think your books are mocking you? Once again, get over yourself.
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Typical bigot. I don't like it, therefore everyone who does is stupid.

I could write an article about why would a grown man sit near a lake with a string in the water for days on end doing nothing. Every action you do while fishing is to catch the fish, or to prepare to catch the fist. And each of those stupid fish was put there on purpose for you to catch. And what do you usually do after catching them? You release them back. And then you're told you did it, you did it right, and then you do it again and again.
 
escape and to pass it on to the next generation. I'm more of a collector than gamer at the moment but its nice to distress after work. why did the last three generations go to the bars every night after work ? thats a huge shift. it gets tiring hearing everyone call people younger than them lazy millennials they forget the greatest generation on earth called them lazy hippies
 
Maybe someone else wants his attention, and it is making him feel this way. I remember a study where girlfriends had an effect of when whites, blacks, and hispanics quit gaming. I remember it because minorities cared significantly less what their girlfriends felt about their gaming habits. I think it was on gamsutra's website.
 
This dude reads books? Is that while he waits for his nails to dry? I wonder if he does it with one hand so he can adjust his coiffure constantly.

I only hunt dangerous carnivores with my bare hands in my spare time anything other than that makes you a sissy. I don't understand all of these metro-sexual types and their metal and wood working hobbies.
 
I feel the same about people who watch golf. Doesn't mean I have to write a huge article about it. People do what they want, its nominally a free country still.
 
I recently thought about if I will still be playing video games when I get older and then I said to myself, HELL YEA. Video games are a way for me to get away from it all and everyone has their own method to their madness. Different strokes for different folks....let's keep it clean.
 
Quix said:
Why would an adult man watch movies, tv or sports? There are 0 things you can do!

This logic is expandable to almost any leasure activity.
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Absolutely. Also, you cannot compare interests 10 years ago to those today. Technology changes everything.
 
Seems to me as an adult I have to be more aware of he opportunity cost of gaming, missing out on outdoor activities, spending time with In person with family and friends, career advancement, etc.

That being said, I mainly enjoy the social/community aspect and use it to stay in touch with friends as most of us live hundreds of miles apart. I don't play through games solo much, and if I do I share my reactions with friends to do the same (example, Starcraft 2 plot is phenomenal)

There's a sense of nostalgia for some games, for me the hardware component is even more compelling, and I can actually fees the need now to build cooler things, better funding than when I was a teenager :)
 
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sadsteve said:
Don't put me there, I'm old (63) and I game pretty much every evening (UT2K4, Fallout 3 & 4, Grim Dawn, POE, etc). It's much more entertaining than watching TV/videos/movies (most movies).
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I'm 50, but don't game NEARLY as much as I did in my 30's and early 40's. But I can still get hung up for a few hours a week in a game I like. I can't be with my wife all of my off time, I still have my sanity to keep.
 
Free time is free time. One hobby is no better or worse than another. Almost all hobbies incur some level of expense and gaming is more expensive than some and cheaper than others. Now that I am in my 50's I don't have the desire for all night gaming sessions anymore but I love to spend time with both old and new games. Definitely enjoying gaming on my new ultrawide monitor. Much more immersive for play.
 
Some games use this solid base of purpose and clarity to build some larger structure of meaning
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When you put, purpose, clarity and meaning in the same sentence as "game" you've lost the whole concept of "gaming"
Game= "an amusement or pastime"
Stop overthinking it, just play and have fun. If you're not having fun, get a new game. Easy.
 
I didn't read the article, but some people DO lose interest in video games; I am one of them. Approximately 7 years ago, I quit playing WOW (cold turkey) and stopped playing all video games on the PC and console. My interests suddenly shifted into more outdoor activities. Occasionally I'll play GTA 5 on my daughter's PS4, but games don't captivate my interest anymore. Then again, having worked in the IT field for 30+ years, I'm a little burned out on computers and electronics as a whole. I rarely go home and turn on the laptop...
 
Well, to be honest, WOW needs to be in a category of it's own. A grown man playing WOW is a bit weird. Unless it's a casual thing to game with a friend a few hours a week. But we all know what MMO's are. Time Sinks.
 
M76 said:
Typical bigot. I don't like it, therefore everyone who does is stupid.
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I think it is less about hating video games, and more asking about if it's a good use of your time, and if not, WHY we play them.
 
Ultra Wide said:
It's interesting to see how old people think. ;)
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A lot of young people too, you can tell that from the "oh, i'm not talking specifically about men but that sexist bro culture is on the way out anyways" line. It's an effort to make themselves look different to attract women. I've rarely game since my mid 20s but I'm not going to call myself holier and superior than people who do. You have to be very insecure in yourself to worry about what others think of you.
 
Translated: Why would you play silly, violent video games when you could buy a new scarf, or take pictures of leaves, or dance in the rain, or just read constantly.....which is just another obsession.

It's called choice.
 
This same 'journalist' called Dwarf Fortress a 'video game folk masterpiece' in 2013. Sounds like he's baiting for hits.
 
I'm so sick of this BS where we are suppose to be apologetic for things we enjoy doing.
You play video games for the SAME REASON you read a book, watch a movie, or play a sport. It is entertaining to you. The PROBLEM is that most women don't find it entertaining and many just don't get it. My wife is one of these. She just doesn't get it. The one time she complained about me spending time playing games I told her like it was.
I said "Now look; I don't drink, I don't smoke, I'm not a sports fan spending all my free time on my arse in front of the TV. I don't go out at night and hang out with friends or otherwise run the roads. I'm home most all the time; you know where I am and what I'm doing. With a word, I will pause the game and do whatever you ask. What is the real problem??"
I know the answer to the question. She is feeling left out. And she isn't barred but she has no interest in it (which implies, I shouldn't like it either). I would LOVE it if she was a gamer girl. For her to play multiplayer with myself and our son; what fun! Couldn't talk her into it. Now all that said I really don't game much at all anymore because I'm just too busy. So in a roundabout way she got what she wanted.
 
Nukester said:
Well, to be honest, WOW needs to be in a category of it's own. A grown man playing WOW is a bit weird. Unless it's a casual thing to game with a friend a few hours a week. But we all know what MMO's are. Time Sinks.
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your subject can be replaced with any activity. This is the point people are making here, a form of enjoyment that someone likes may just look like a 'time sink' or waste of effort to someone that doesn't like it. Entertainment is all the same, it is done for self enjoyment and doesn't need analyzed, or better yet nothing useful can come from analyzing it.
 
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I'm sure every other activity he pursues advances mankind in some way.
 
raz-0 said:
I think it is less about hating video games, and more asking about if it's a good use of your time, and if not, WHY we play them.
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What hobby/pasttime is a "good" use of your time?
 
Darunion said:
your subject can be replaced with any activity. This is the point people are making here, a form of enjoyment that someone likes may just look like a 'time sink' or waste of effort to someone that doesn't like it. Entertainment is all the same, it is done for self enjoyment and doesn't need analyzed, or better yet nothing useful can come from analyzing it.
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Great post. I was about to reply with essentially the same thing. I'm sick of people sniping at things others do that they don't like, or choose to spend time on.
 
Dude finished the article, then sat on his porch reading "50 Shades of Grey" while yelling at the neighbourhood kids to get off his lawn.
 
Yeah this is kind of a black hole of stupidity. First, there are all the reasons everyone pointed out, people amuse themselves in different ways it can be stupid to judge others on it, but second, games can have amazing atmosphere that go well beyond gameplay mechanics. How was the music, sound design, and lighting of the last book you read? Third, if you want a game with a strong narrative where you don't kill anything, there are hundreds of point and click adventure games that fit the bill perfectly. So this article is saying "I'm bigoted AND stupid AND ignorant of the topic I'm complaining about." Journalism in the modern age.

(edit)

I spoke too soon. After reading the article, it looks like he is basing his entire opinion of all videogames having only played some of Bloodborne. Good job, writer.
 
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