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"Videogames v. Life : Which do you prefer?"

At the 'height' of my gaming (a time when I spent most of my time playing, reading about or thinking about games) 'Life' seemed to get put on the side-line a bit. Now, when you're 16 or so that's ok, but when you're, well, lets say 'older than 25' with a wife, kids and a full-time job I don't think that it can become quite a negative pursuit.

And now I spend less time playing videogames, less time being preoccupied with them....life is much, much better.

Videogames are a very 'addictive' and overwhelming medium. What I'd like to raise is this. Do we get more from videogames when we play them less and become less obsessed with them? When we have other interests and desires in life (love, sex and a family) do videogames become more or less enjoyable.

I work with children and adolescents, many of whom are totally rapped up with videogames or one sort of another. But the ones I see who have the healthiest attitude to gaming are those who have lots of other interests as well.

What do you think?

Cheers,

'Keep talking as well as playing'

Paul Harries
Aberystwyth

I don't think that you should always face up to your problems. If your problems are a life time of pain, why not use games to escape?

Videogames cannot replace ANY aspect of real-life, unless you're a psychological mess.

So it has to be real-life, every single time.

(And remember, when people say "Yea, but games help you escape real-life", that's not a good thing; it's running from whatever you should be facing upto.)

I am a social recluse.

Having said that I'm a very happy one. I got hooked on gaming in my early teens and 20 years later I'm still playing them. In between, had lots of jobs, didn't like them. Got married, hated it. Had loads of mates, got fed up of blowing money on beer every weekend. Kept up with current events in the news, didn't like what I was seeing.

So now my social life is mostly (I didn't ditch ALL my mates) virtual. I still manage to keep abreast of the news via the internet, occaisionally catching snippets from the TV, but overall I'm one of those very lucky people who see gaming not just as a hobby or as escapism, but as a way of life in itself.

Just in the same way that some people devote their lives to helping others, or throw themselves into a career, or make everything revolve around their family, I managed to turn gaming into a full-time 'pasttime'. So nowadays nearly every activity I participate in is in some ways connected to gaming, whether it be researching hardware, programming snippets of code, writing about games, reading previews and reviews, collecting games...I really should get around to playing them...

Many people dismiss gaming as purely a waste of time, comparing it to getting addicted to Coronation Street. But as well as being a form of entertainment, gaming has so much untapped potential. In the same way that great films and wonderful music and fantastical books can sometimes change your life, games will one day be capable of doing the same thing. There are unfathomed educational and philosophical aspects to games that have yet to truly be exploited, but we're edging closer to that with each generation of games consoles that gets released.

Did Tolkien waste his time writing a book? Or did he create something that enabled generations of youngsters to develop their powers of imagination?
Did Plato waste his life ruminating about meanings of existence? Or did he provide the world with food for thought?
Did J.S. Bach just muck around on a piano all day? Or did he create works of art that inspired millions of people over the next quarter of a millennium?

If you see gaming as a potential artform in the same way that literature, films and music are artforms, then you can see that gaming has a huge potential to inspire and change lives in the future.

The philosophy behind me concentrating on games for the majority of my time is: "If I can make the future of gaming better for the next generation of gamers, then I've done my bit." See?

Games don't automatically lead to social reclusion. Some games are social, and some that aren't can still be played by two people. My Boyfriend and I often play games together.

Games are a very good form of escapism. The more realistic games become the more people will turn to them in effort to find satisfaction in this life.

social reclusion often leads to psychological and intellectual problems.

*beautiful 'sun'

I prefer games.. only to escape. Everything seems to be perfect in games, you have complete control of everything(sometimes!), doing whatever you want when you want.. It's a nice place to revert to :)

I escape to Vice City enjoying the beautiful and that cool breeze on the bike :D

Life, because without life there would be no videogame :)

But when forcing yourself out of the social picture is to your liking, is their anything to be sorry about?

Games are an escape from reality. Essentially, while you're playing games, 95% of the time, you're quite literally forcing yourself out of the social picture.

You're not out with your mates, you're not keeping up with current affairs, you're not engaging in any form of self-improvement and you're not, really, doing yourself any favours.

Sure, it's been suggested that playing games increases hand-eye co-ordination, puzzle solving ability and some reflexes. But what good are those minor plusses when weighed against social recluse and intellectual abandonment?

Worth thinking about for anyone who would call themself a "Hardcore gamer". It's not necessarilly something to be proud of.