Editorial
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/28/playing-games-for-all-the-wrong-reasons
The take home point, for those that don't click articles or future times when it is most likely taken down, is that it's easy to use video games to achieve a false feeling of control. This is especially true when you are feeling outmatched by life or otherwise overwhelmed.
My take:
It's an interesting comment and I think it's a good one to have out there on a video game site. I think I've been there at times, but that it's not always such a clear distinction between playing games for escapism or for some feeling of control. For me last year, Skyrim hit at a point where I wanted both and I played it a whole lot.
Of course, I found the article on reddit, which, along with somethingawful, are some of my escapes when I feel overwhelmed by other stuff. And they give you an illusion of being connected to other people and of being especially informed.
I think I am guilty of some of these behaviors with RPG systems, oddly enough - if I can find the right one, other things will snap together. Or maybe it's just pure distraction.
In all these things, I think moderation is key, but when you aren't feeling 100%, figuring out what's moderate can be difficult. (This is true of food, alcohol, games, shopping, or basically anything that can make you feel better for a while, too.)
I will confess: as a grad student, who does repetitive things over and over, the idea that YES you are getting better by doing that is a very seductive one, though.
I say this having played Pokemon for a few hours last night. I was feeling so tired, and I'd cleaned up the garage some first and taught yesterday. I can't shake the nagging realization that if I'd put the effort into learning trees and actual species that I did into playing Pokemon as a kid, I could be a pretty good amateur naturalist. But I probably would've just read more sci-fi and fantasy books.
But at the same time, some of my friends are having kids now and I start wondering - how much should kids be allowed to play games? The games out now are incredibly slick and are designed to be addictive. Not that I didn't get addicted to some games as a kid, but the modern MMOs and microtransaction games are really on a whole different level.
I do think some access to games would work as a reward, but kids should still go outside and play with other kids. And have other interests that involve physical things or accomplishments. I still think things like Xbox Live conversations are pretty much the worst for kids (or basically anyone).
I find myself thinking a bit about the "state" of video games now and I don't really recognize it. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that craves integration on so many levels. The 360 can do your Netflix, browsing, games, everything. The PSP Vita is basically a phone with extra games hardware bolted in. But neither of those are what I'm looking for - when I play a game after work, it's to chill out, explore something interesting, and ignore my email and everything else for a bit.
I followed a lot of game news this year, thinking maybe I should pick up a PS3 or 360 to get some of the exclusive games, now that the systems have come down a bit in price. But I'm not going to. Hyper-realistic graphics and competitive netplay aren't really my thing. I'd rather play shooters on the PC and the Wii has pretty much everything else I like - adventure games, sidescrollers, jRPGs. There's not as many games but I don't blow through games very fast, either. And for anything else, there's still emulation - there's a lot of good old games that I haven't finished, too.
Basically, indie games are neat to me. Nintendo puts out games I like, if slowly. I'm not too worried about everything else.
Back to Pokemon, a lot of the fun for me is picturing the battles in my head. And the trainers. Right now my trainer girl is using a Grimer that follows her around, so I picture it trying to disguise itself as her shadow and then suddenly looming up. The Stadium games were a bit disappointing to me because the animated moves in them weren't as cool as what I had in my head.
The take home point, for those that don't click articles or future times when it is most likely taken down, is that it's easy to use video games to achieve a false feeling of control. This is especially true when you are feeling outmatched by life or otherwise overwhelmed.
My take:
It's an interesting comment and I think it's a good one to have out there on a video game site. I think I've been there at times, but that it's not always such a clear distinction between playing games for escapism or for some feeling of control. For me last year, Skyrim hit at a point where I wanted both and I played it a whole lot.
Of course, I found the article on reddit, which, along with somethingawful, are some of my escapes when I feel overwhelmed by other stuff. And they give you an illusion of being connected to other people and of being especially informed.
I think I am guilty of some of these behaviors with RPG systems, oddly enough - if I can find the right one, other things will snap together. Or maybe it's just pure distraction.
In all these things, I think moderation is key, but when you aren't feeling 100%, figuring out what's moderate can be difficult. (This is true of food, alcohol, games, shopping, or basically anything that can make you feel better for a while, too.)
I will confess: as a grad student, who does repetitive things over and over, the idea that YES you are getting better by doing that is a very seductive one, though.
I say this having played Pokemon for a few hours last night. I was feeling so tired, and I'd cleaned up the garage some first and taught yesterday. I can't shake the nagging realization that if I'd put the effort into learning trees and actual species that I did into playing Pokemon as a kid, I could be a pretty good amateur naturalist. But I probably would've just read more sci-fi and fantasy books.
But at the same time, some of my friends are having kids now and I start wondering - how much should kids be allowed to play games? The games out now are incredibly slick and are designed to be addictive. Not that I didn't get addicted to some games as a kid, but the modern MMOs and microtransaction games are really on a whole different level.
I do think some access to games would work as a reward, but kids should still go outside and play with other kids. And have other interests that involve physical things or accomplishments. I still think things like Xbox Live conversations are pretty much the worst for kids (or basically anyone).
I find myself thinking a bit about the "state" of video games now and I don't really recognize it. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that craves integration on so many levels. The 360 can do your Netflix, browsing, games, everything. The PSP Vita is basically a phone with extra games hardware bolted in. But neither of those are what I'm looking for - when I play a game after work, it's to chill out, explore something interesting, and ignore my email and everything else for a bit.
I followed a lot of game news this year, thinking maybe I should pick up a PS3 or 360 to get some of the exclusive games, now that the systems have come down a bit in price. But I'm not going to. Hyper-realistic graphics and competitive netplay aren't really my thing. I'd rather play shooters on the PC and the Wii has pretty much everything else I like - adventure games, sidescrollers, jRPGs. There's not as many games but I don't blow through games very fast, either. And for anything else, there's still emulation - there's a lot of good old games that I haven't finished, too.
Basically, indie games are neat to me. Nintendo puts out games I like, if slowly. I'm not too worried about everything else.
Back to Pokemon, a lot of the fun for me is picturing the battles in my head. And the trainers. Right now my trainer girl is using a Grimer that follows her around, so I picture it trying to disguise itself as her shadow and then suddenly looming up. The Stadium games were a bit disappointing to me because the animated moves in them weren't as cool as what I had in my head.