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Dammit, we want you to tell us stuff! Stuff like why you play games.
This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know enough about us — more than you even want to, we’re sure. But, hey, we’d like to know about you, too.
Anyway, here’s today’s question…
Easy one: Why do you play games?
Honestly?
I’m an escapist – as much as i hate to admit it… i love traveling to another world and doing something new.. being a transforming robot one day, a NBA star the next…
I love being immersed in new experiences that separate me from the doldrums of daily life… i want to be the hero, the driver, the star, the bad guy, the undead, the unseen hand of god…
Most of all i just like to relax and stop thinking about money, work or what i may have to do sooner or later…
I just love playing games – they’re a part of me and i just can’t imagine a life without them now…
word. immersion!
plus gaming is on when you want: instead of TV to veg out, I game.
I think it started because my parents couldn’t stand them.
But now I think it’s about the wish fulfillment.
In games I can be anything or anyone… reality sucks by comparison.
I play games for the same reason I read books or watch movies: it’s entertaining.
But aside from the fact that it’s fun to be able to do things and go places you can’t in reality, I find myself really enjoying games that are more than just a flash in the pan. Much like Wildgoose’s favourites this week, I enjoy playing games that engage me on various levels. I love games like Diablo 2 for the sense of adventure, accomplishment, and expression in how I set out my character. But I also love games like Deus Ex that are ground-breaking, not only for games, but for media generally.
Overall, I find games that challenge and surprise me are the ones I remember most. And I enjoy that because I like pushing the boundaries of not only what I believe can be done in games, but in other areas as well. Portal, Bioshock, Assassins Creed, Beyond Good and Evil – in my mind, more than just games.
Even on his last day David does not let through my childish first post. A true professional. Now for my serious answer. I just want to interact with my entertainment. TV used to bore me as a kid because I had no influence over what was happening or going to happen. Games allow this.
I play games for training. You see, I am the world thumb wrestling champion… I find that gaming provides me with the much needed motivation to keep up the killer thumb abs I have.
Way back when, I think it was initially about the “challenge”.
I can’t recall what my first game experience was, but it probably would have been some platform game. Given a few lives you have the task before you to try and beat something that is designed to stop you and it was fun (and frustrating) trying.
Even today I still think playing through Super Mario 1, 2 & 3 from start to finish without warps, etc is a damn good effort. Things like that.
The other challenge was competitiveness, take turns in playing with my brother and look to see who could get the highest score, etc.
Today’s games have changed alot from the past, but they still have the same traits, they are still challenging and most of all, still fun!
I like to kill people without the side effect of jail and possible anal rape.
Thou if you have to twist my arm. I enjoy the challenges and being able to go to places I can only dream of and do things which I’d never be able to do
I play games to immerse myself in other worlds, to experience things I’ve never experienced, to see things I’ve never seen before, to wonder what reality is, to completely forget who and where I am for a while, and to discover who I really am.
Oh yeah, and they’re fun.
Primarily because they’re entertaining escapism, but I choose games over books, comics, tv and the internet for the interactivity.
I am a huge fan of fiction, and read and veg out, but I play games because they are interactive, filled with choice and make the experience of living another life less vicarious.
Easy, I play RPG’s for their narrative, and the fact they require thought and planning. I enjoy that side of the game.
However at nights, sometimes… just sometimes, the competitive edge comes out in me, and it’s straight into Quake Live / FPS flavor of the month for some straight up bitch slapping.
(it’s usually me getting slapped, I don’t mind so much.)
for me – it’s actually part of my job – playing a nuch of different titles, really seeing as well how many different types of games and spins on themes and genres. 😛 Plus when i get home it’s a great way to relax and unwind with mates.
Always loved games, always will. Fun!
Shiny colours and pretty noises.
But also, as most people would say, escapism. Nowhere else can I *be* the Batman, nowhere else can I save humanity from certain doom, nowhere else can I have amazing powers to shape the world as I see fit.
Plus there is a social aspect.
And some challenge.
Also, lightsabers.
Escapism, it sounds kind of depressing but anything to distract from reality is always good haha
for me, I play games cos I like interactive entertainment. I can get bored easily watching a movie or reading a book, but game playing always keeps my mind and hands busy!
There’s a great article over at Psychology of Games that explains perfectly why I play games. Recovery, mastery. Yah baby.
http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2010/08/27/gaming-for-mondays/
Escapism and I also like games with a good narrative. It doesn’t necessarily have to have mutliple choices either! I don’t mind a good linear tale as much as an open ended one.
Games are to me what prime time TV shows are for others.
I am addicted to them, plain and simple.
The thought of having an accident and permanently damaging my hands rendering gaming impossible, sends chills up my spine. (having my sight and hearing aswell, also a plus!)
Haha, I can completely relate to this.
The fact that the narratives in games these days are of a higher quality than most television shows, movies and even some books is also a factor.
But as Chuloopa said also, escapism and immersion are also big factors.
So all those, and the fact that I just love games!
I have quite a outgoing imagination. Playing games often allows me to let my mind run wild. The experience of otherworldly adventure or a hyper-reality is quite inspiring in this area. Certainly there’s an element of escapism in this mindset, but it’s not consciously done to block out or to run from life; its troubles or the more mundane aspects of it. I enjoy games because they enhance a part of my life.
I grew up in Papua New Guinea wasn’t a whole lot to do up there i.e walk over to a friends place (too dangerous) and normal stuff like that. So the old GameBoy and PS1 got a work out.
As above: escapism, let my imagination run wild, etc. I suppose that really reflects in my preferred games, which focus more on story and atmosphere- creating a believable world- than scores and kill counts. It’s impossible for me to force myself to care about games that don’t have a driving force behind the gameplay, like say The Sims or virtually any multiplayer FPS. I just want it to be me and the game world.
(Though I do understand the enjoyment of competition that drives things like Halo and Call of Duty, but it’s just not for me)
So many have covered the escapism the interaction vs the passivity (of other media) the immersion in a world of adventure the sense of importance one gets from games as positives and they are right but for me it is something more. In the words of a great being ‘we are not this crude matter, luminous beings are we’ the seat of our experience is our minds and I believe that we can grow through the experiences we have in games.
Just as in the matrix it was possible to download skills and be something else right now, games allow us to do this now with current technology. How many times have you died in an fps (I have died heaps) often by the shooter we didnt see so what is the lesson how many of you could have completed the game first time without dying once? Combat is not glorious or fun (except in games) in real life it is ruthless and unforgiving there are no save games and no extra lives.
This is only one of the lessons to be learned in only one type of game if you are open to it. There are so many more lessons and the more real the game the more transferrable to real life they will be. I have been a gamer for close on 30 years and will be till I die. (really banking on the neural interface for my old age 😉 gotta beat looking out the starin window in the old folks home)
Like a lot of people here, I play for escapism.
The thing that games offer that no other medium does is almost complete immersion, to the point where you are someone else and you are living in their reality. Games have been a part of my life since before I can remember, and I can safely say that I will not “outgrow” them, as my parents seem to think I will.
Why do I play games? They’re my medium of choice for entertainment. Plus, a good game will give your brain a workout, will train your reflexes, and will teach you when it’s best to use that uppercut. All essential skills in our modern world.
I’m surprised I’m the cirs to say this but here goes (I’m reallyskimming deeper subject matter though)
When was a kid and I was introduced to videogames I fell in love. Bright colours, cartoony, exhiliarating. More than that though it was something I was good at. I’m an average guy not unfit, but not too fit either. I never understood sports as my family was never into sports. Also it was easy to see immediate improvement. Remember that plant that surprised me with a fireball right after jumping that hole? Gotcha now!
Now though I find I really enjoy games because they typically (though it is starting to change) the friends and enemies are clearly defined, unlike reality.
In flames the monsters and people who control them are bad. Kill them. Myself and anyone who aids me is good. Save them. Learn skills/ levels, upgrade items and whoop ass.
In reality people are a multi-layered and very deep lot. And we don’t all agree on the best way forward, even if we think ours is the best or right way. Politics is a perfect example. In games I can just cut your head off and be the hero. The end.
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