Played any games that changed your life, for better or worse?

Have you? What game?

I found SOMA to be quite a phylosphical game as it's a game about jumping around to different bodies.

After beating it I kept thinking about the phylosophies of that game and really acted differently in the sense that we all have the body we are born into and you gotta make do with what you have, be happy with who you are (wasn't the point of the game but meh, helped me accept things) :)

Also believe Half Life changed my life for the better as it's such a stellar landmark game. Every other game will be held up to that high standard.

As for games changing me for the worse:

I guess insidous games that keep pushing you towards spending and have gambling mechanics, and mechanics working behind the scenes in order to drain your fun and drive you towards spending. Yeah those will definitely start having a negative impact on us.

What about you?

Never played a game that has made my life worse. Outside probably worsening my eye-sight (which was never great to begin with)

Games can be entertaining and even insightful/ useful for day-to-day activities. Hand-eye-coordination, to general knowledge packed in a fun manner. DDR was also just a good social experience personally.

So shout out to games in general! Video games get a bad rap from people who are grossly condescending, muttering how others 'should' spend their free-time.

@R4gn4r0k: About me. I've had Nethack change my outlook on life. That it has permadeath helped me to realize the fragility of life and how I only get one chance to get things right. I've never beaten it and never will.

@R4gn4r0k: I'll need to go back and play SOMA at some point. I found it too scary!

Love horror movies, want to like horror games, but it's hard for me.

Hell yeah dude!

I sort of feel the same way; I've played bad games, sure, but nothing that changed my life for worse. Only better.

As for the original question, I guess Half-Life? It sort of shaped my view of what a game could be, and also opened up online multiplayer gaming to me. 1998 was the Christmas I got Half-Life, my family got internet, and I think 1999 was when I got my first video card. So that whole year or two was really great for me.

I kinda convinced myself that SOMA was more about story and that there were only really three monsters in the game (each act differently, so you have to as well).

Then it was the first game that I replayed, this time on my steam deck. Holy hell was it scaring me to death, absolutely different from what I remembered, hahaha

Oh wow that's very interesting. I'm on a mission now to finish every game that I start, it can have downtime but I will literally only drop games that I dislike. Spending a lot of time on singleplayer games sure is fun, but I sometimes have to come to grips with the fact that yeah, some games just aren't beatable. And that's ok too :)

Welp, downloading now.

Can imagine playing that on an overseas flight on the Deck. Everyone asleep in the cabin then I shriek when something scary happens.

Playing games in general makes me happy. And it has helped me learn english, among other things. That's about it.

Ha! relate to this so much. Gaming Forums helped me learn English. Can't speak a lick of it, but I write pretty well now (or so I think)

You write really well man. Even put a capital E on English, which I missed. :P

The Evil Within 2 made me a coffee drinker I'm 100 percent serious it looked refreshing in the game so I gave it a try and I got hooked. Granted I tried coffee before that but when I did it was when I was a kid and I didn't like it but as a adult it hit different.

No game has the power to change my life for better or for worse. I'd be curious how many people actually play a game where they ponder what was said or told story wise that truly caused them to think deeply, whether it be philosophically, etc. Unless we're talking about games that try to squeeze money out of you, and successfully pull out of you your gambling addiction you never knew was there? Lol.

I remember watching James Cameron's Avatar for the first time in theaters. I was one of those people who got struck with Avatar Blues, as they reported it as being. Depression set in because it was an idealized world that I wanted to be apart of; wanting something more than what I currently had but didn't know I needed. But sadly it just ended there. Nothing more than an emotional response that didn't lead to any life changing decisions.

Yes, I have played games that have changed my life for the better. One of the most influential games I have ever played was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This game taught me to think outside the box and to explore the world around me. It also taught me to be creative and to take risks in order to achieve my goals. This game has had a lasting impact on my life and I am grateful for the lessons it has taught me.

It’s hard to really know. I think it’s just one of those experiences that shapes a young mind in ways you consciously don’t realize or understand. I believe my music tastes have been influenced by chip tunes on the older 8 and 16 bit systems. I believe that the Gameboy Pokemon games helped me to learn numbers and to calculate random numbers in my head. In my 30’s I don’t know how much games affect me now if at all.

You both do, never would've guessed it was a second language for you.

Way better than a lot of native English speakers on these boards lol.

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Hard to pin down a particular life changing game.

In general, can say I've made a lot of good friends from gaming. From arcades, school, fighting game circles, forums, etc.

Gaming ultimately sent me down a career path I enjoy. Won't give MGS3 all the credit, but that's the game that made me double down and really want to work on games. Even if it didn't work out as expected.

More secondary/petty, but being on gaming boards all these years definitely sharpened my debate skills. 😂 Especially the older SW and GameFaqs forums.

Only real negative I can think of spending too much time on gaming. Times when I lacked balance, gaming way too much when I could have been doing something more productive and fulfilling.

Elden Ring changed my life- It's a game about redemption without absolution. We can redeem ourselves but we don't need apology. Elden Ring is about a tarnished person who wants his grace back. I have learned so much from Elden Ring.

Half-Life ruined my life because I tried to copy it's storytelling style but got swept away.

Everquest. Wasted like 3-4 years playing. Mark’s dropped in school real life friends got pissed at me playing all the time.

Plus side, eventually sold my account for $2000

Too many games to think of have changed my life. Most recently has been Fortnite, because of how often the game adds new content and quests to complete. But everything from Monster Rancher to Guilty Gear has had some sort of impact.