This is delightful

No hate, no obligatory forced thing to make it SW worthy, just all around good feels.

Sure it's a sappy ass video, but it's the good kind of sappy, the kind of sappy I like to think we can all get behind to a certain extent. So this thread is simple, it's as easy can be: why do you game?

Why is it that after the recent political shit, or the dumbing down of games, or this indie movement, or publishers trying to butt **** us, or what have you, what is it that continues to get you to still playing video games. Do you still love em, or are they just a time kill these days?

I'll keep mine simple in that initial when I was a kid it was escapism for me, and as I grew older it became about being a student of games in a way. In the sense that I love breaking down a game, getting to know the psychology and design philosophy of how a game is made up, and how it becomes nuanced and satisfying. It's why I gravitate more towards games built around expression and deeper gameplay systems as I grow older, as opposed to being turned away by the learning curve. Though you know Mario is still dope.

A lot of politics around video games has very little to do with the games themselves.

I love how engaging games can be. It's way to kill time while having fun, being social, and like you general escapism.

Sure there are some bad games out there. But I don't shy away from something that just seems it can be fun to me .

Has MGS. MGS is a movie. The video is thus invalid.

Nice vid man, didn't know you were a female

It's honestly hard to describe why I play video games. I look at elements of the industry and find myself disgusted with a lot of it, but when it comes to the games I've made it. I've escaped to the worlds that the games want me to explore and I'm content, I'm happy.

Exploring the enormous fields in Xenoblade, courting the girls of Persona 4 Golden, challenging my friends in Smash Bros, facing off against hordes of enemies as the Master Chief as the music swells, and vanquishing Ganon after the trails of an epic journey, these are all memories that stay with me and I enjoyed so much when playing.

I wish I could find the words to describe it better. It's euphoric; I'm relaxed when playing games (unless you're difficult like Demon's Souls or crap like Jak 2.) And a hobby filled with so much negativity lately deserves to have more positive conversations. Thanks for the video; hearing the Chrono Trigger melody mixed with seeing those cartridges brought on a lot of feels and put me in the mood to play some more!

the femalest

Some games are merely time killers (mobile, puzzle and the like) while others can be engrossing experiences that let you escape this world for a brief period of time. I often find myself so completely immersed in games like MGS, Fallout, TES, Biosock etc that I become the character I am controlling within each virtual world. Those are the best games IMO.

Gaming is a part of me. Its something iv done since I was a kid. Its something iv bonded with friends and my even my grandmother. I dont see it as just my hobby. I see it as who I am. I even like to express my opinion on why I enjoy or dont enjoy the games iv played. I know that may sound corny or even sad to some people but I dont care. I know what gaming is to me and I will keep on gaming till the end of time.

In my early days of childhood I basically only played Nintendo stuff (probably the best way to start). So, lots of solid, good games, and a lot of addiction.

I now have a love hate situation with games. But either way, I'm fully invested. Like 100%. I play games, I make games (not directly though), I try to criticize, and defend games. When not in a social, "normal" environment, I'm constantly thinking about vidoe games. :P

And yeah, that video is sappy as ****.

lol, in all seriousness, I play different games for different reasons. sometimes I need something competitive (am competitive person), sometimes I really like an epic journey, sometimes I'm just bored. I think when games are done right, they really can be art.

fun, kinda social. hard to explain. i have other hobbies too.

IWHI

i game because i am bored and have nothing better to do

like long walks on the beach?

I didn't understand. I put my Vodka shot down. I flexed at the screen, I shaved my beard and re-watched the video, but I couldn't understand the message. "Bah!" My lady told me to shut up since I was screaming at the screen.

Then I "borrowed" some estrogen pills I found and proceeded to re-watch the vid one more time. I got it! I cried. It all became clear. It touched my heart. Thank you for posting this.

Then I ate lunch and I cried. There was no more ketchup. I'm getting ready to watch Dirty Dancing again with my lady while eating chocolate ice cream (with Rocky Road) and hope I feel better in a few hours.

I'll say this, I'll take this over any stupid political agenda/gaming bull-crap any day of the week.

no its the best game of all time. bitch.

Third worst food related feeling next to pouring a bowl of cereal, and finding out there is no milk in the fridge...or the worst, the cookie trap.

Ah, the near-rage I feel after pouring my cereal in a bowl, grabbing a spoon, and then finding out there is very little/no more milk. Or worse, someone put an empty milk jug back in the fridge!

Oh, the cookie Trap...hahaha.

While I'm here, I want to give a shout out to the person who uses the Toilet Paper up last and then doesn't do a refill.

i had to give that up.

i made that little remark because ... well ... i'm not gaming as much as i used to. its not necessarily because i enjoy it less, if anything - thanks to my 144 Hz monitor my enjoyment these days reaches new levels.

but i just can't play games the whole day long any more. When I was just a little boy i could play gran turismo for 6 hrs. these days 2 hrs of solid gaming is fucking plenty, even if i'm having tonnes of fun, i'll want to get up and do something else - even if it's raining outside.

my other hobbies are guitar, gym, plant cultivation, motorcycles, cars. that's all i can think of for now. tool's jerk off is a good song.

but yeah i like discussion like this but with it being kinda arbitrary i don't know what to volunteer.

I enjoy long walks to the kitchen.

Naw, I got a mini-fridge next to my lazyboy recliner chair. No time for them exercises to the fridge. I gotta Kinect, I'm sure I'll lose weight with it instead.

This thread is too happy and people are all nice. This is not how SW is supposed to be.

I feel like i have to do a combo breaker, here I go:

I am a gamer. I dont need no silly woman trying to pretend like she knows what gaming is about. Gaming is for us dude bros. Im tired of these fake gamer girls trying to shove their feminist agenda down our throat.

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there we go, now we can start arguing and bashing each other about some non sense.

I grew up with gaming. One of my earliest memories was gaming on my NES and Gameboy. I just enjoy it immensely. I grew up in a neighborhood with not a lot of kids, so games were my way to have fun, especially during the summer.

maybe the next step is to game inside of a walk-in fridge

target demographic - wheelchair bound overclockers

Milk is disgusting you eat need to eat your cereal raw, straight from the wheat field.

I think the excitement of something different brings me to games still although I should probably start expanding my horizons in some other areas after I finish this damn 52 games in one year challenge.

are you mammalian?

Who the hell are you and what have you done with champ?

Why aren't you noobs checking to see if you have milk FIRST before pouring a bowl? Amateurs.

On topic: I game because it's fun. Honestly, that's the only reason. I love all games/systems if they can gimme dat positive rustle in my jimmies.

Great video. Gets to the feels.

Been a gamer most of my life. earliest memory is Super Mario World with dad. the simple escapism and the worlds that a game can take you through keep me invested in the pastime.

I'll tend to gravitate towards games of skill, something to keep pushing me toward that one more try, though i obviously wouldn't still be here if discussion and digging into games didn't interest me either.

fixed.

Mammalian enough to know how disgusting milk is.

@Minishdriveby: i don't know about the rest of the gang, but for me - that was incredibly funny. well done!

I probably love gaming now more than ever because its the only hobby I have left that I can actually do. Always loved gaming as a kid but didn't really play many games from 06-09 because I was starting to get bored and I had college/work. Then I suddenly had a ton of free time on my hands and started to try newer and weirder games I would never usually try and its reignited my love of games. I love the indie movement the last few years, so much weird and interesting shit.

No ,cereal without the milk is disgusting.

Cheerios can hang without milk, but the fun cereals? no, **** that.

The fun cereal doesn't need udder juice fucking up the party. They're the fun cereal for a reason; they don't need an addition to be fun.

My reasons have remained constant since bugging my older brothers to let me play Pong with them: entertainment. I don't get up in my head or philosophical about them. I don't break them down into these different parts. I don't compete with others all that much. I wish to be entertained by the stories they tell and my being an active part of them. That's about it.

awesome video. i game because just like a good book or movie, i enjoy escapism from this depressing, unfair and fucked up world.

The psychological dynamics behind why people game are actually quite simple. In a video game, your character is there and you're in full control of him/her/it. The plot is defined, the worlds are there and created and controlled, the story, the other characters...they're all designated to serve specific purpose(s) and you know what those purposes are. Everything is clear and it's all under control. Video games provide the illusion of control. The reason why people smoke is similar to why people game. When you smoke you're saying "Hey, I know this is bad for me, but I'm choosing to inflict it upon myself, as opposed to the other things that are bad for me that still happen regardless of whether I choose them or not". It's all to provide one with the illusion of being in control.

I played them growing up because they were magic. Granted I read a lot more when I was kid (mostly due to parents not really understanding video games and restricting me from them) but anytime I could get those pixels going and hear those little chiptunes I was always entranced. I cared nothing for pacing, longer games were the best, video game stories like Metal Gear Solid blew my mind and I could spend hours stuck on an area/boss fight/w.e and not feel bored or frustrated.

Now it's more about solid experiences and pacing to me when my schedule crunches down on me. If I get stuck in any one area for more than a few minutes I'm tempted to look up a walkthrough. I'm a lot more critical of level design in video games and while I'll always rep them I tend to stay away from longer RPGs. I just started playing Majora's Mask today for the first time today and I'm forcing myself to discover it all on my own.

I also consider myself somewhat of a student of video games now. I used to never pay attention to fighting games or any kind of strategy games but lately all I want to do is perfect my game on those. Figuring out macros, perfecting that frame by frame combo, building a knowledge of all units and moves so I can recognize exactly what they do the moment I see them. I have no problem watching 20 minute + videos on fundamentals and practicing against AI.

There was definitely more magic and wonder involved growing up but I think I'm having just as much fun, if not more, by turning games into a competitive thing instead of just looking for the next big hit or undiscovered gem.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I love watching speedruns now. There's just something about mastery of a game that enthralls me now.

Fun and good stories. Fun in gaming can be had in an undetermined number of ways, it's simply amazing. And the level of creativity always managed to amaze, from the simplest to the most complex of gameplay mechanics or art-styles. Much like music... but sometimes even better, since music is actually a part of it.

Maybe games are meant to be the ultimate form of art. This is a strong case for defending freedom of speech and freedom for devs to be creative and adhere to their vision, letting the audience tell them with their wallets if the products are good or not.

I love games. They are the best.

I love games, they have shown me more things than any other medium has been able to show me.

• They have Transported me to new worlds.
• They have allowed me to meet new and interesting characters.
• They gave me a driving force to learn how to read and write.
• I learned the importance of planning ahead and keeping notes (Screw you world maps of Sword of Vermillion forget lanterns I drew my own damn maps!)
• They brought out the inner artist in me
• I've met hundreds if not thousands of people who share my interests that I would have never been able to meet otherwise
• They let me connect with my brother with who other than video games have little in common
• They entertain me when I'm bored
• Some stories cheer me up when I'm sad
• Some stories are so sobering they make me sad!

I could go on forever but video games are in my blood, I grew up with them and I will probably die with them. They are at the core of who I am as a person, I would be a different person if I didn't play video games as they played a huge part in how I grew as a person (Into a psychotic serial killer of course...but not yet...soon....soon.) I love the industry with all it's quirks, I want people to accept games as they are.

All this political drama over things like feminism has it's place but they are playing a dangerous game with something I hold dear to my heart. If anything video games have been the most inclusive media in years but of course it's just easy to pick out the worst offenders and hang them on a cross. Each form of art has had this phase where people try and put it on display to show how corrupt new things in the world have become and try to keep us in the dark ages. Video games has had the longest haul though (Well at least we haven't had any game burnings! at least...that I know of.) Let's just hope this stuff blows over sooner than later. The feminists can have their day in the sun, women have every right to be treated equal and I'd be happy to have any woman as my P2 anyday.

The magic of any art and especially games as a interactive medium. The game doesn't judge you based on your race/gender/sexual orientation. It's just a game.

Games show us something unknowable it has to be felt in the gameplay. Its like frying balls and playing a musical instrument. You realize its playing you and some unconscious digital love making is going on under the deluge of audio-visual fx. It's nature, baby.

I play games for the interactions, and because I'd rather spend time playing them than watching most tv shows and movies.

Simple.

I avoid all that.

Video is so annoyingly twee and cloying I couldn't watch it.