Gaming

[Valentas]

Are you into games? How often do you play?

What kind of games do you like?

I, as a teenager, used to play Runescape and wasted tons of my time there. I could have learned how to program it in 4 years I spent playing it. However, it was fun and I made friends in that game who are also friends in real world. A lot of them study programming now

Also, one of my favorite games was Stronghold Crusader where you had to develop a strategy in order to win against enemies. It was real fun to send troops, gather resources online.

Now I don't play games anymore due to lack of time. What about you?

 

[TimeAsylums]

Are you into games? How often do you play?

What kind of games do you like?

I, as a teenager, used to play Runescape and wasted tons of my time there. I could have learned how to program it in 4 years I spent playing it. However, it was fun and I made friends in that game who are also friends in real world. A lot of them study programming now

I used the entirety of my life up until 9th grade (freshman year), runescape, WoW etc.. (24/7, almost literally)

Now I don't play games anymore due to lack of time. What about you?

I stopped playing videogames one day in 9th grade, not due to a lack of time, but i literally just stopped, and have never looked back. I believe it to be a possible 'functional burnout.' The same happened with literally all fiction books, which i stopped reading in 10th grade and have never looked back - can't complain though, when I stopped playing games and reading fantasy, I consume(d) non-fiction like crazy, consequently also lead me to the MBTI and Jung and psychology/philosophy etc, hoping I never burn out on reality haha.

It's not that I don't even want to read fiction/play games anymore, I'm simply disinterested(by a way I assume was burnout), they do nothing for me.

 

[Valentas]

I stopped playing two years ago. Today, I logged in to Diablo 2 again...it's sad to see that there are no players left playing...only bots. Everyone either stopped playing like I did or moved on to
*better* games like WoW..**

Spot on about fiction. I stopped reading it because of these reasons:
1) It's all stories and not real world description
2) I cannot apply anything from these books.
3) Non-fiction tends to offer me a lot of good ideas, time-management strategies
and advice for life. The thread of @Architect can be called as a wealth of knowledge. It's great to get advice from real person, real time. It's better than any book.

* tell me what you want but old games are still the best. New games focus on the same stuff: graphics. There story line is terrible, game play boring but I guess new generation never tried oldies and thus are satisfied with garbage of these days. :}

** Main reason to drop games was a desire to explore something new. Gaming took too much time from me. Also it made me socially awkward. Even I could see a problem

 

[SpaceYeti]

I've always been big into games, but I don't play a large quantity of them. Mostly, I just either lacked the resources or the time to play them. I love pen and paper RPGs, and was always huge into D&D... but D&D has been... I dunno, I don't like the edition wars, so I've been doing other shit and, also, working on one of my own. For video games, I've always liked RPGs and fighting games. I haven't been a fan of the more recent RPGs, though. Mostly due to open-world enemy leveling. I mean, sure, I think it's important that you always be properly challenged based on your level, but to just give your enemies an automatic level equal to your (plus or minus whatever), with the caveat that you might actually do better not leveling is bothersome.

 

[Architect]

Was never much into gaming, saw it as a waste of time. Playing LOTRO with my son a lot now however which is really fun. He plays a lot of games, really likes the ones with a narrative. Not into the FPS much. He's typically an INTP already, he masters something then moves on, so I'm expecting the games phase to peter out eventually.

 

[Etheri]

I, as a teenager, used to play Runescape and wasted tons of my time there. I could have learned how to program it in 4 years I spent playing it. However, it was fun and I made friends in that game who are also friends in real world. A lot of them study programming now

Now I don't play games anymore due to lack of time. What about you?

I don't think it's fair to say games are a waste of time. Same goes with fiction reading. As long as you're enjoying yourself playing a game, reading a book, procrastinating on this forum, ..., it's never truly a waste of time, regardless of howmuch time you spend.

Is having someone you love a waste of time if they leave you after 10 happy years, or was it just a good time that is no longer? You'll have memories and experience, but most of all, it you had a good time.

There's quite a lot to learn in fiction, no matter how unreal the world is. We're INTPs, we live in our heads. Why would there be anything wrong with that? Why would it be a waste of time? I'd rather be happy with an imaginary world, than productive but miserable in a real one.

Was never much into gaming, saw it as a waste of time.

He's typically an INTP already, he masters something then moves on, so I'm expecting the games phase to peter out eventually.

I wouldn't be so convinced of that... As I grew older and got better at maths and gaming, I did get bored of all games where you're against an AI. PvP type games however, mostly MMORPG and RTS... Once I knew a game inside out, which usually took quite a while, I'd attempt to compete with others through new builds and staying ahead of the curve. I've never had the patience, raw mechanical skill or quick decisionmaking required to be truly good at PvP games, but I'd do decently well coming up with new / superior tactics.

I game alot less now, but I still read patchnotes every few weeks, trying to theorise which classes benefit most and which benefit least. Games are so complex they're never fully balanced, and there's always viable or semi-viable tactics which are underused. Theorising, coming up with a new strategy or playstyle and using it succesfully is very satisfying. I honestly feel somewhat accomplished when people copy builds or strategies I came up with after playing against them, especially knowing they'll often further improve on them aswell. Or seeing pro's use and build characters in ways you have been doing for weeks.
Games that are actively being patched for balance reasons promote this, and require you to stay ahead of their rebalancing. It's a massive strategy game against thousands of others, time and yourself.

For this reason, I rarely swapped games and tend to stick with games for a long time, mostly because the 'true fun' to me only started after knowing the game well enough which typically took months at the very least. Most games are no more than a complex set of equations you're trying to solve... Before the equations / numbers change.

And honestly, I think i've practised skills through gaming that no class has taught me. Some may not seem and perhaps not be useful, but i'm certain I've learnt from games in ways that have and will give me an advantage over others in 'real' life.

/sorry rant

 

[Architect]

I wouldn't be so convinced of that...

Sure you never know. I have a friend whose kid was a big gamer. The kid is either ISTP or INTP, didn't know him well enough to tell, but probably ISTP by my guess. They were super worried about him, but he grew up and is now in college in CS. Doing quite well at it too.

On the other hand my cousin, who is also an ISTP, was a HUGE gamer when he was a kid. Grew up to be a ... HUGE gamer. And plays a lot of sports. Doesn't have too much of a career I gather, some kind of support person, and didn't start a family. I guess he's happy enough though.

 

[Happy]

I guess I could say I went through the fiction stage and then the gaming stage as well. Now I probably read about 3-5 fiction books in a year and probably buy one game a year and play it til I'm done and never look at it again. Both of them were also somewhat of an addiction that just sort of stopped one day for no apparent reason. I'm completely baffled by this phenomenon. It makes no sense. Its for the better though.

Now I spend all my time designing. Hopefully it lasts me the rest of my life and i don't just spontaneously stop. Would kinda kill my career...

Anyone have any insights into this phenomenon of just dropping a hobby/addiction for no reason?

 

[TimeAsylums]

Both of them were also somewhat of an addiction that just sort of stopped one day for no apparent reason. I'm completely baffled by this phenomenon. It makes no sense. Its for the better though.

Now I spend all my time designing. Hopefully it lasts me the rest of my life and i don't just spontaneously stop. Would kinda kill my career...

Anyone have any insights into this phenomenon of just dropping a hobby/addiction for no reason?

Like in my post, we have the same 'phenomenon.' I'm guessing it's either a) our Ne has tired of it and moved on or b) its like I said a 'functional burnout,' or just a burnout if you will.

 

[Happy]

Probably not a 'burnout' for me. I never really burn out. I just get more involved.

 

[TimeAsylums]

I know what you're saying, it doesn't actually 'feel' like a burnout - just a word I was using for it, if you have any ideas my ears are open

 

[Turniphead]

Off and on, throughout my life. Have played all sorts... but the big one(s) that got me started was the Age Of ____ series.

Now I spend most of my time making them.
(Which is mostly teaching myself how to program at the moment.)

* tell me what you want but old games are still the best. New games focus on the same stuff: graphics. There story line is terrible, game play boring but I guess new generation never tried oldies and thus are satisfied with garbage of these days. :}

Indie games! Try some.

 

[Mr Write]

I'm expecting the games phase to peter out eventually.

Indeed, I can confirm the probability of this. I'd been seriously into games since the age of...3? Now that I've discovered programming, though, there's so much computer science, technology, languages, and mathematics to learn; anything so trivial and time-consuming as gaming suddenly doesn't seem to hold my interest anymore.

I'm not sure if this in itself is a phase, but I intend to wring it out for all it's worth.

 

[Architect]

Indeed, I can confirm the probability of this. I'd been seriously into games since the age of...3? Now that I've discovered programming, though, there's so much computer science, technology, languages, and mathematics to learn; anything so trivial and time-consuming as gaming suddenly doesn't seem to hold my interest anymore.

I'm not sure if this in itself is a phase, but I intend to wring it out for all it's worth.

Yeah that's what I'm seeing with him. The luster of gaming is wearing off slowly ... Just too simple in the long term.

 

[h0bby1]

i sort of like gaming, but also i mostly started to program being a bit in the cracking environement, and mostly got coding tools, along with cracked game disk, and other doc and ressources, so i always liked video games to a degree, if only to see what is the state of the art of programming industry, and as a sort of technical challenge to copy or to guess how they are made or to get inspiration =)

i still like gaming, but mostly by period, sometime i'll get a game, and then get hardcore into it for a few weeks, and then not play again for month, so it's bit by period =)

i like civilisation IV, star war rebellion, fallout new vegas, and stracraft, and red alert, or commandos games, that's mostly the game i play, played bit of skyrim as well =)

always had a sort of weird fascination for some video games, specially rpg or simulation games, or the one who are really realistic g raphically, it always amazed me to a degree, but i don't even mind that much the game play, or i'm not too nerdy rpg gamer, often i don't even care about the game itself, but it always fascinated me, all the highly interactive realistic games =)

the firs time i saw a video game, there is definatly something that tilted in my brain =) i was like wow how does it works =) i always try to keep a bit up to date with real time video game programming and interactive applicaton somehow =)

 

[Magus]

I played a lot of shooters when I was younger. Currently I like RTS games the most SCII especially. I like how they are so much more complex and thus open to analysis than shooter/action games are and give a sense of macro strategy alongside skilful execution of specific moves.

That said, I've gone off games quite a bit. I still watch replays from pros just for fun and to unwind, but I am trying to spend more time thinking about the real world. I am cautious of the trend towards living more and more of life within 'the matrix'. A lot of my friends at university are big time gamers. It is a bit concerning when I see how much they play (often up to as much as 1,000 hours in total for some games) which if you think about it is enough time to learn a foreign language to a half decent level.

 

[h0bby1]

i see video game almost like some kind of art, that mix several art, of music, graphics, programming, it's very creative, and is often as well very technical , john carmack switched to space rocket or something after, there is often lot of math and physics involved with video games, mixed with artistic skills, AI , for me it always look fascinating =) i'm always eager to watch at what they do in video game industry, even if it's getting less and less creative to a degree, but it's still a big area of interest for me =) how they will come someday to model social interaction, guild dynamic, AI, real time physics, it's like a whole another virtual world =) i'm never that great at gaming , i don't play online game, but i always like to explore a bit the possibility that a game engine can offer =)

 

[kvothe27]

I play a lot of games: shooters, strategy, rpgs, puzzle games . . . I seriously doubt I'll ever stop playing them for good. I may go a couple months or a year without playing them, but I always find myself playing them again. They're just too much fun.

I've also made some game levels in my spare time via Java and the Blackberry API, and I am currently attempting to learn Unity. I'm currently a CS major. Video game development strikes me as a fun way to apply my education.

 

[Mr Write]

Stronghold Crusader

Funny thing about that game: you can save a lot of money and get your industry moving a lot faster if you take a cue from some good old fashioned Russian economics. i.e. Starve your peasants, sell off their grain, and supplant their misery with alcohol.

 

[C.Hecker88]

I used the entirety of my life up until 9th grade (freshman year), runescape, WoW etc.. (24/7, almost literally)


I stopped playing videogames one day in 9th grade, not due to a lack of time, but i literally just stopped, and have never looked back. I believe it to be a possible 'functional burnout.' The same happened with literally all fiction books, which i stopped reading in 10th grade and have never looked back - can't complain though, when I stopped playing games and reading fantasy, I consume(d) non-fiction like crazy, consequently also lead me to the MBTI and Jung and psychology/philosophy etc, hoping I never burn out on reality haha.

It's not that I don't even want to read fiction/play games anymore, I'm simply disinterested(by a way I assume was burnout), they do nothing for me.

Same thing is/has basically happen(ing/ed) to me.

 

[Valentas]

Funny thing about that game: you can save a lot of money and get your industry moving a lot faster if you take a cue from some good old fashioned Russian economics. i.e. Starve your peasants, sell off their grain, and supplant their misery with alcohol.

It used to be a strategy of huge army which wanted to mock others. They surrounded castle, preventing any import of food, drink and people in the castle had to give up or die of starvation.

It works in Crusader too. You surround castle or burn the plantations and iron, stones mines Slow, painful death = guaranteed.

When you think about it it's the same in real world. One who holds most resources wins :} Money is not edible.

 

[Etheri]

It used to be a strategy of huge army which wanted to mock others. They surrounded castle, preventing any import of food, drink and people in the castle had to give up or die of starvation.

It works in Crusader too. You surround castle or burn the plantations and iron, stones mines Slow, painful death = guaranteed.

When you think about it it's the same in real world. One who holds most resources wins :} Money is not edible.

Killing supply routes / manufacturing is definitely a valid tactic, both in war games and in actual war. I think the only reason we've moved to civilian targets (in actual wars) is due to the emotional investment, the cost of raising humans and the fear it creates.

Fighting for goldmines and stone mines in age of empires 2 comes to mind. Unless you're playing as saracens, trading isn't going to do you much good. And fighting without gold on age of empires is really, really hard. You'll die a slow and painful death at best, tho you might aswell opt for a quick surrender instead.

 

[QuietFire]

Starcraft II and HoN anyone?

 

[Minicool]

I usually play game that involve Puzzle, Sandbox, RPG and Creation Game. Everything that use imagination.

Like Skyrim or Portal I&II

 

[SpaceYeti]

Skyrim uses your imagination?

In other news; https://app.roll20.net/

 

[Minicool]

I would say yes and no. Because without it would be very boring.