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  • marco-von
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2009
    • 133

    My video game intake nowadays is a game of fifa or call of duty round a friends place with a few beers.

    But to be honest i find it boring now maybe due to getting older....i prefered having a mouse and the wsad keys at the end of my fingers playing quake and having banter with people all over the world but now i don't even have a desktop pc and instead a mortgage. game over!

    56k modems thats was internet purity!

    Comment

    • endersgame
      Senior Member
      • Aug 2009
      • 1623

      video games these days..

      this is how we used to play, son..
      with your bk's on!

      Comment

      • DRRRK
        Senior Member
        • Aug 2009
        • 1195

        Originally posted by dji View Post
        eh you could level the same sort of argument at someone that holes themselves up and watches movies/reads books all day, it's just another form of entertainment and should be treated as such.
        It's not the same for me. I enjoy talking about books and films and music, which can reach me on an intellectual or emotional level and can be so much more than pure entertainment. It depends on the books and films of course and it depends on the games. If you regard games as occasional entertainment, fair enough, then I don't talk about you or anybody else here, when I say that an addiction to video games can alienate you from the real life.

        Comment

        • mortalveneer
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2008
          • 993

          Originally posted by DRRRK View Post
          It's not the same for me. I enjoy talking about books and films and music, which can reach me on an intellectual or emotional level and can be so much more than pure entertainment. It depends on the books and films of course and it depends on the games. If you regard games as occasional entertainment, fair enough, then I don't talk about you or anybody else here, when I say that an addiction to video games can alienate you from the real life.
          You're getting at the heart of the issue here to me; video games can prove to be a negative focal point for those with pre-existing addictive tendencies, or can themselves be the source of the addiction, depending on your perception of such afflictions. However, many people drink, and are not alcoholics. I myself smoke 1-2 unfiltered clove cigarettes a week, but am not subject to the negative mental, emotional, and physical effects of being addicted to smoking. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point. I've had friends who dropped out of college because of everquest (you guys remember that one?...pre-WOW type stuff...and the only MMORPG I ever tried...I didn't have the time as a freshman in college so I most assuredly don't now). However, I also have friends who are more "successful" than I in many regards, yet who also play far more video games than I consider to be healthy, or at the very least, acceptable for me.

          However, as something of a libertarian, I strive not to pass judgment on anyone other than myself, so if shopping at hollister and playing 30+ hours of video games a week are what does it for someone, more power to them I say, for it means my country back roads will be less crowded, and that's just one less person to compete with me over a grail item appearing in SZ classifieds between my refresh clicks every two minutes on a given slow work day...who am I to say my vices (pastimes?) are any more or less acceptable?

          I can confidently call myself an intellectual, and at least the majority of my pursuits qualify me as such, but this doesn't mean I don't occasionally seek "cheap" entertainment. At times I'll watch wonderfully stirring films that linger in my thoughts for days, if not weeks and months, and at others (just last week) I'll use netflix's "watch instantly" function to catch Steven Seagal's latest attempts at cinematic butchery, or other similar "b", or more likely, "c" movies. My occasional indulgences in the worst types of gas station snacks and energy drinks only enhance my appreciation of fine wines, sour ales, and cuisine when I weekly, if not daily, indulge in them.

          All this being said, my gf just got me an XBox 360 for Valentine's Day, so I am reawakening my enjoyment of video games after a more than four year period of dormancy. To get this thread back to the basics, I'm currently playing:

          Halo 3
          Mass Effect 2 (This feels more like an interactive 3d-animated sci-fi movie or TV series amalgamated with an FPS than a straight video game, but I'm definitely loving it)
          I am not who you think I am

          Comment

          • DRRRK
            Senior Member
            • Aug 2009
            • 1195

            ^Your approach may be more liberal, which is a good thing, but I don't see any real contradiction to what I said, or perhaps wanted to say.

            Comment

            • mortalveneer
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2008
              • 993

              Originally posted by DRRRK View Post
              ^Your approach may be more liberal, which is a good thing, but I don't see any real contradiction to what I said, or perhaps wanted to say.
              wasn't trying to contradict at all. I thought I began by saying I agreed...but upon second look, that wasn't too clear...
              Last edited by mortalveneer; 02-20-2010, 09:15 AM. Reason: I am at times only clear to myself...
              I am not who you think I am

              Comment

              • ProfMonnitoff
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 556

                I recently repurchased Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 for £2 each. Played through both, and am now tempted to pick up a PS3 just so I can buy the 4th. Also need to play the 1st again.

                It's my favourite series of all times, even though it's terribly flawed. The dialogue is long and at parts terribly written, the gameplay is clunky, and there's fanservice all over the place. So basically I really can't explain why I like it, I just do.

                I also really like the recent Mario Kart game for the Wii. Motion controls in a racing game make drinking + playing video games with friends just that much better. Ellbowing your friend to make his controller shake and thus making him drive off the road is a great pleasure.


                I don't think video games are a sign that society is coming to an end or anything like that. Played excessively they can obviously cause somebody to become a shut-in who is completely separated from the world, but so can anything else really. In small amounts it's mindless entertainment much like watching a mediocre movie or tv show, and with friends it's social lubricant.
                Originally posted by jogu
                i went out to take garbage out and froze my tits runnin down stairs , think im gonna chill at home tonite . hungry tho anyone have cool ideas on what to order for supper , not pizza tho sick of pizza

                Comment

                • Faust
                  kitsch killer
                  • Sep 2006
                  • 37852

                  Originally posted by merz
                  I work on massively-multiplayer online games. the subjects raised in discussion so far are interesting, though I have to dismiss that of online interaction being secondary or inferior somehow to face-time - in many cases, online interaction is the only sort I have with the vast majority of people I regard as friends. I have met many of them through such games and the experience of participating has, to a certain extent, shaped my person into who I am today.
                  This may be true; one of the reasons I started SZ is because I could not find people whom I could talk with intelligently about fashion in real life, but somehow I doubt that multiplayer video games are in the same ballpark as having an online conversation.

                  Ronin, epic post, something to think about.
                  Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                  StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                  Comment

                  • Faust
                    kitsch killer
                    • Sep 2006
                    • 37852

                    Originally posted by dji View Post
                    eh you could level the same sort of argument at someone that holes themselves up and watches movies/reads books all day, it's just another form of entertainment and should be treated as such.

                    unfortunately I don't have a great deal of time for games these days, in the past few months I've only had a chance to play through modern warfare 2 and uncharted 2 which were both stellar.
                    books are not mere entrainment. books contain valuable life lessons and philosophical problems. games do not (although i am waiting for servo to come up with some ).

                    EDIT: oops, looks like DRKKK got there before me. I concur!
                    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                    Comment

                    • ProfMonnitoff
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 556

                      Originally posted by Faust View Post
                      books are not mere entrainment. books contain valuable life lessons and philosophical problems. games do not (although i am waiting for servo to come up with some ).

                      EDIT: oops, looks like DRKKK got there before me. I concur!
                      I suppose the medium does somewhat define the message. It's difficult for games to have the same level of discourse as books because of their (somewhat) non-linear nature. I think the game that's gotten closest is Planescape: Torment (terribly written wiki article, but whatever). I'm sure somewhere on the internet someone has written about the various factions and their beliefs. Learning about their history is what made the game interesting to me, the gameplay itself was acceptable at best.

                      That being said I no longer have the 50+ hours it takes to finish a game like that, and I suspect that most people on here don't either, so I prefer my games as short bursts of fairly brainless fun.
                      Originally posted by jogu
                      i went out to take garbage out and froze my tits runnin down stairs , think im gonna chill at home tonite . hungry tho anyone have cool ideas on what to order for supper , not pizza tho sick of pizza

                      Comment

                      • Faust
                        kitsch killer
                        • Sep 2006
                        • 37852

                        Originally posted by mortalveneer View Post
                        I can confidently call myself an intellectual, and at least the majority of my pursuits qualify me as such, but this doesn't mean I don't occasionally seek "cheap" entertainment. At times I'll watch wonderfully stirring films that linger in my thoughts for days, if not weeks and months, and at others (just last week) I'll use netflix's "watch instantly" function to catch Steven Seagal's latest attempts at cinematic butchery, or other similar "b", or more likely, "c" movies. My occasional indulgences in the worst types of gas station snacks and energy drinks only enhance my appreciation of fine wines, sour ales, and cuisine when I weekly, if not daily, indulge in them.
                        Nothing wrong with that, one cannot be serious all the time. I think it was George Steiner who recommended (and did) reading detective novels to let the mind rest. I suppose much of it comes down to levels - to me, the Sherlock Holmes stories are entertainment, but their idiotic film adaptation by Guy Ritchie is on too of a low level for me to call it entertainment. That is a waste of brain cells.
                        Last edited by Faust; 02-20-2010, 03:49 PM.
                        Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                        StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                        Comment

                        • mortalveneer
                          Senior Member
                          • Jan 2008
                          • 993

                          Originally posted by Faust View Post
                          Nothing wrong with that, one cannot be serious all the time. I think it was George Steiner who recommended (and did) reading detective novels to let the mind rest. I suppose much of it comes down to levels - to me, the Sherlock Holmes stories are entertainment, but their idiotic film adaptation by Guy Ritchie is on too of a low level for me to call it entertainment. That is a waste of brain cells.

                          Having read all Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales, I can entirely concur.

                          Have yet to see the Ritchie adaptation and will likely wait until it is as costless as possible to me (likely on netflix watch instantly or at a friend's place).

                          And while I do have love for video games, I will admit I have yet to learn any important life lessons from a video game...
                          Last edited by Faust; 02-20-2010, 03:49 PM. Reason: faust can't spell
                          I am not who you think I am

                          Comment

                          • theetruscan
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2008
                            • 2270

                            I miss the Silent Hill video games.

                            I've never been able to get excited about horror movies, I always get distracted, bored, or otherwise lose interest, and never feel any terror at all. But, somehow being the protagonist changes all of that. The first Silent Hill was the only thing I can remember than managed to elicit yelps of terror, and actually keep me staying in a well-lit room overnight. I'm not sure why that's good, but I loved that game.
                            Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.

                            Comment

                            • dji
                              Senior Member
                              • Feb 2008
                              • 3020

                              Originally posted by Faust View Post
                              books are not mere entrainment. books contain valuable life lessons and philosophical problems. games do not (although i am waiting for servo to come up with some ).
                              heh fair point (although there are many books that are sheer tripe and don't even amount to mere entertainment ;) ), my comment was just a response to drrrk's statement about gaming isolating people from the world.

                              pretty big couple of months in gaming with plenty of top tier games recently or about to be released. mass effect 2 and bioshock 2 are sitting on my to play list (as is bayonetta although it is a tad more lowbrow than the other 2 ), will also be picking up heavy rain which looks like it will blur the boundaries between gaming and interactive entertainment:

                              Comment

                              • theetruscan
                                Senior Member
                                • Jan 2008
                                • 2270

                                Originally posted by Faust View Post
                                books are not mere entrainment. books contain valuable life lessons and philosophical problems. games do not (although i am waiting for servo to come up with some ).
                                I don't agree. Books and games can contain both of these, most don't. Most games are mindless action games, and, depressingly, most books are romance.

                                If I dismissed the entire medium because of the most common example, I'd be forced to dismiss every medium. The internet would be all porn, books all romance, movies all explosions (or porn again), games all shooting. Yet, clearly, that's not universally true. Any of them can contain serious substance.

                                Some very interesting things are happening in video games these days, I'm sad I never get a chance to play them. Going back to Myst, and others before it, there were deviously frustrating puzzles and thought experiments. Some of the long-term tactical games (sim city, civilization) require relatively sophisticated thinking and can teach useful lessons on resource management and so forth. Games coming out of collaborations with USC's film school have been some of the most effective training methods I've ever seen for medical knowledge (there's one about the immune system which contains at least a textbook's worth of knowledge in just an hour or two of play time).

                                Philosophically difficult questions haven't been incorporated into many video games yet, but give it time, it's a new field and I expect to see a different take on the questions because the player is forced to be the actor. I suspect forcing players to make, rather than merely consider, difficult decisions will lead to some "fun" realizations.

                                A few years back I sat in on a workshop about artificial intelligence directions in gaming, and learned quite a bit from it. Even in silly shooter games, the AI controlling the enemies requires "detuning" to keep it from outpacing your tactics and creating an essentially hard stop pretty quickly. Even these games can now require quite a bit of ingenuity, though most of them (outside of the ones used by the military) are detuned enough to let you get away without too much thought.

                                I know I should edit this, but I figure the point is there.
                                Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.

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