The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
I was playing pikmin yesterday. I'd had a particularly bad day at work, and it was nice to while away the evening thinking about something completely different.
But after a couple of hours, i realised i wasn't actually enjoying myself at all. All playing the game was doing for me was taking my mind off my problems.
Thinking about it, that's often all i get out of my video games. It's definitely all i get out of playing pool, except sometimes beating a good player, or winning a league match, which sparks a warm glow inside.
Anaesthetic for life, a short time when you can forget everything around you, focusing on a flickering screen, and for a little while everything else washes away.
Maybe the playing experience is different for other people, but i've since found most people i've spoken to agree with me, it's just a distraction.
Maybe that's behind the rise in the popularity of gaming? Sure, seemingly exponentially increasing technical capabilities, especially graphically (and quality, perhaps), and increased social acceptance of gaming (though you could question whether that's more a cause or effect) offer other reasons, but how about increasing numbers suffering from depression, and an increasingly stressful, detached, insular society?
To some extent it's probably a combination of them all in various quantities. But i think there has to be a causative link, life gets worse, video games numb the pain.
Yeah, sometimes it really is fun. Especially multiplayer. But sometimes it's not, just anaesthetic.
Surely there's something wrong here? If you're not enjoying life, if you're not even 'experiencing' life, just escaping it, for that time you're as good as dead?
And if we'd rather be dead to the world than live our lives, can you really claim there's any point at all?
Thoughts?
But after a couple of hours, i realised i wasn't actually enjoying myself at all. All playing the game was doing for me was taking my mind off my problems.
Thinking about it, that's often all i get out of my video games. It's definitely all i get out of playing pool, except sometimes beating a good player, or winning a league match, which sparks a warm glow inside.
Anaesthetic for life, a short time when you can forget everything around you, focusing on a flickering screen, and for a little while everything else washes away.
Maybe the playing experience is different for other people, but i've since found most people i've spoken to agree with me, it's just a distraction.
Maybe that's behind the rise in the popularity of gaming? Sure, seemingly exponentially increasing technical capabilities, especially graphically (and quality, perhaps), and increased social acceptance of gaming (though you could question whether that's more a cause or effect) offer other reasons, but how about increasing numbers suffering from depression, and an increasingly stressful, detached, insular society?
To some extent it's probably a combination of them all in various quantities. But i think there has to be a causative link, life gets worse, video games numb the pain.
Yeah, sometimes it really is fun. Especially multiplayer. But sometimes it's not, just anaesthetic.
Surely there's something wrong here? If you're not enjoying life, if you're not even 'experiencing' life, just escaping it, for that time you're as good as dead?
And if we'd rather be dead to the world than live our lives, can you really claim there's any point at all?
Thoughts?
Dr Duck wrote:
> Yeah, but while entertainment as a whole simply provides an
> alternative to real life, when that form of escapism only serves to
> tranquilise you for a while, instead of bringing happiness or
> bettering you somehow, then surely it has no value except to nullify
> the experience of being alive, in which case you might as well be
> dead?
It's hard to judge whats going to "better" you, the message at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a serious one, and worth some thought - "It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, it's how much faith you were willing to have".
Theres a hell of a lot in that one line of words, if you think about it.
Games and other entertainments do block out real life to a degree, but playing them isn't like being dead is it ? For instance, where I worked today I felt no happiness and didn't better myself, I basically stood there and served for four hours. It was mind numbing, boring. Should I say I'd rather be dead than work ?? Life isn't just happiness, it's ecperience and even games and entertainment bring experiences, they can open ideas, influence, inspire and so on. Escapism, in today's world, is something that needs to stay alive for the sake of most of our sanity's, who doesnt sometimes just put on a cd and relax for a while ? With the tv and radio off it can be an easy way to forget the world for a while.
Ultimately you need a balance, if you find yourself spending every moment inside playing or watching, complaining that shops aren't open on Xmas day 'cause you want to buy something, or that the failure of someone to deliver you a DVD is more important than the war on terror, then it's time to seek help !
Entertainemt has a positive effect because it can connect with emotions - look at the post 9/11 concerts and the multi network broadcast on 9/13 - the music and songs helped people connect with the event, buying the cds and DVDs of it gave people a way to help the victims, most importantly it showed that America, and everyone else on the allies side, was still standing and they'd bounce back. Music like that can give hope. Similarly, Band Aid had the same effect and highlighted a massive crisis - is that bad ?
~~Belldandy~~
> Yeah, but while entertainment as a whole simply provides an
> alternative to real life, when that form of escapism only serves to
> tranquilise you for a while, instead of bringing happiness or
> bettering you somehow, then surely it has no value except to nullify
> the experience of being alive, in which case you might as well be
> dead?
It's hard to judge whats going to "better" you, the message at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a serious one, and worth some thought - "It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, it's how much faith you were willing to have".
Theres a hell of a lot in that one line of words, if you think about it.
Games and other entertainments do block out real life to a degree, but playing them isn't like being dead is it ? For instance, where I worked today I felt no happiness and didn't better myself, I basically stood there and served for four hours. It was mind numbing, boring. Should I say I'd rather be dead than work ?? Life isn't just happiness, it's ecperience and even games and entertainment bring experiences, they can open ideas, influence, inspire and so on. Escapism, in today's world, is something that needs to stay alive for the sake of most of our sanity's, who doesnt sometimes just put on a cd and relax for a while ? With the tv and radio off it can be an easy way to forget the world for a while.
Ultimately you need a balance, if you find yourself spending every moment inside playing or watching, complaining that shops aren't open on Xmas day 'cause you want to buy something, or that the failure of someone to deliver you a DVD is more important than the war on terror, then it's time to seek help !
Entertainemt has a positive effect because it can connect with emotions - look at the post 9/11 concerts and the multi network broadcast on 9/13 - the music and songs helped people connect with the event, buying the cds and DVDs of it gave people a way to help the victims, most importantly it showed that America, and everyone else on the allies side, was still standing and they'd bounce back. Music like that can give hope. Similarly, Band Aid had the same effect and highlighted a massive crisis - is that bad ?
~~Belldandy~~
I enjoy playing computer games, yes they are a distraction, but if you werent playing them you would undoubtedly be doing something else like watching tv, or a pursuing a hobby. Your free time is supposed to be for unwinding, and if computer games help you do that, then great. If not, then think of a hobby you'd like to do and pursue that.
My point is, if you're doing it just as a way of getting away from your life, and you're not enjoying it, then why do it? Get out the house and do something you're going to really feel is worthwhile.
If you ask me, tv is far worse, the amount of time wasted watching repeats of old shows and so forth is ridiculous.
My point is, if you're doing it just as a way of getting away from your life, and you're not enjoying it, then why do it? Get out the house and do something you're going to really feel is worthwhile.
If you ask me, tv is far worse, the amount of time wasted watching repeats of old shows and so forth is ridiculous.
Yeah, but while entertainment as a whole simply provides an alternative to real life, when that form of escapism only serves to tranquilise you for a while, instead of bringing happiness or bettering you somehow, then surely it has no value except to nullify the experience of being alive, in which case you might as well be dead?
Time_Warp wrote:
> But I am not sure if you are right or if you are depressed.
He's probably, kinda, right. The same theory works for cinema, tv, any entertainment product you care to mention. This has led to the problem of the general public having the attention span of a small child. Entertainment distracts us.
Whilst the World Cup was being played, with England in the tournament, news coverage of India and Pakistan on the brink of war was relegated to the end of the news. Who cared if Kashmir went up in a mushroom cloud because we were throught to the next round !!
Playing a game, watching a movie, a show or listening to music are all about experiencing what you cannot yourself experience, all from the comfort of your living room or bedroom. Entertainment has become escapism from real life. Entertainment isn't to blame though, in a way it is a temporary cure to a problem.
Take for instance, the fact that research shows that, for families, "staying in is the new going out" most nights. Why ? Because city and town centres on weekend nights have been turned into what amounts to 'Brewery Land'. Can anyone seriously say they'd want to go through their town centre with their family anytime around ten at night....not unless your driving through in a car.... The rise in crime, or belief in it rising, has added to a general belief that the outside world is a bad place.
That's easy to understand. Since 9/11 good news has been few and far between. Christmas came and went as a war was fought, and the fear of terrorism continues along with a perceived higher risk of becoming a victim of crime. The over-riding reaction to all of this is to stay at home. Entertainment in the home is a big growth area and it's easy to see why. Who wants to go to the cinema, eat over priced snacks and have agood chance that some morons will mess around/talk on mobiles/interupt the film ? For £13 I can buy the DVD and watch it with the rest of my family in peace and quiet.
BUT, entertainment has always been there in some form and if it distracts us from the worries of life then that's a good thing. At this time, entertainment is being delivered to people in a way they can buy. If this were 1930 then we'd be saying theatre shows and movies distracted people. The technology has allowed entertainment to be bought and used at will instead of being a service that you pay to see others perfrom. The problem, for some people, is that thye forget entertainment isn't really important at this moment in time, overall anyway. It's good to forget, but don't forget for too long whats happening in the real world. PLay Pikmin, FFX, watch every buffy episode you can find, listen to all the Gareth Gates you wan to (why??) but remember that the world at the moment is changing. It may seem bad, but ignoring it won't change anything.
Sorry if this is a bit rambling, knew what I wanted to say but putting it in words was harder !
~~Belldandy~~
> But I am not sure if you are right or if you are depressed.
He's probably, kinda, right. The same theory works for cinema, tv, any entertainment product you care to mention. This has led to the problem of the general public having the attention span of a small child. Entertainment distracts us.
Whilst the World Cup was being played, with England in the tournament, news coverage of India and Pakistan on the brink of war was relegated to the end of the news. Who cared if Kashmir went up in a mushroom cloud because we were throught to the next round !!
Playing a game, watching a movie, a show or listening to music are all about experiencing what you cannot yourself experience, all from the comfort of your living room or bedroom. Entertainment has become escapism from real life. Entertainment isn't to blame though, in a way it is a temporary cure to a problem.
Take for instance, the fact that research shows that, for families, "staying in is the new going out" most nights. Why ? Because city and town centres on weekend nights have been turned into what amounts to 'Brewery Land'. Can anyone seriously say they'd want to go through their town centre with their family anytime around ten at night....not unless your driving through in a car.... The rise in crime, or belief in it rising, has added to a general belief that the outside world is a bad place.
That's easy to understand. Since 9/11 good news has been few and far between. Christmas came and went as a war was fought, and the fear of terrorism continues along with a perceived higher risk of becoming a victim of crime. The over-riding reaction to all of this is to stay at home. Entertainment in the home is a big growth area and it's easy to see why. Who wants to go to the cinema, eat over priced snacks and have agood chance that some morons will mess around/talk on mobiles/interupt the film ? For £13 I can buy the DVD and watch it with the rest of my family in peace and quiet.
BUT, entertainment has always been there in some form and if it distracts us from the worries of life then that's a good thing. At this time, entertainment is being delivered to people in a way they can buy. If this were 1930 then we'd be saying theatre shows and movies distracted people. The technology has allowed entertainment to be bought and used at will instead of being a service that you pay to see others perfrom. The problem, for some people, is that thye forget entertainment isn't really important at this moment in time, overall anyway. It's good to forget, but don't forget for too long whats happening in the real world. PLay Pikmin, FFX, watch every buffy episode you can find, listen to all the Gareth Gates you wan to (why??) but remember that the world at the moment is changing. It may seem bad, but ignoring it won't change anything.
Sorry if this is a bit rambling, knew what I wanted to say but putting it in words was harder !
~~Belldandy~~
I was playing pikmin yesterday. I'd had a particularly bad day at work, and it was nice to while away the evening thinking about something completely different.
But after a couple of hours, i realised i wasn't actually enjoying myself at all. All playing the game was doing for me was taking my mind off my problems.
Thinking about it, that's often all i get out of my video games. It's definitely all i get out of playing pool, except sometimes beating a good player, or winning a league match, which sparks a warm glow inside.
Anaesthetic for life, a short time when you can forget everything around you, focusing on a flickering screen, and for a little while everything else washes away.
Maybe the playing experience is different for other people, but i've since found most people i've spoken to agree with me, it's just a distraction.
Maybe that's behind the rise in the popularity of gaming? Sure, seemingly exponentially increasing technical capabilities, especially graphically (and quality, perhaps), and increased social acceptance of gaming (though you could question whether that's more a cause or effect) offer other reasons, but how about increasing numbers suffering from depression, and an increasingly stressful, detached, insular society?
To some extent it's probably a combination of them all in various quantities. But i think there has to be a causative link, life gets worse, video games numb the pain.
Yeah, sometimes it really is fun. Especially multiplayer. But sometimes it's not, just anaesthetic.
Surely there's something wrong here? If you're not enjoying life, if you're not even 'experiencing' life, just escaping it, for that time you're as good as dead?
And if we'd rather be dead to the world than live our lives, can you really claim there's any point at all?
Thoughts?
But after a couple of hours, i realised i wasn't actually enjoying myself at all. All playing the game was doing for me was taking my mind off my problems.
Thinking about it, that's often all i get out of my video games. It's definitely all i get out of playing pool, except sometimes beating a good player, or winning a league match, which sparks a warm glow inside.
Anaesthetic for life, a short time when you can forget everything around you, focusing on a flickering screen, and for a little while everything else washes away.
Maybe the playing experience is different for other people, but i've since found most people i've spoken to agree with me, it's just a distraction.
Maybe that's behind the rise in the popularity of gaming? Sure, seemingly exponentially increasing technical capabilities, especially graphically (and quality, perhaps), and increased social acceptance of gaming (though you could question whether that's more a cause or effect) offer other reasons, but how about increasing numbers suffering from depression, and an increasingly stressful, detached, insular society?
To some extent it's probably a combination of them all in various quantities. But i think there has to be a causative link, life gets worse, video games numb the pain.
Yeah, sometimes it really is fun. Especially multiplayer. But sometimes it's not, just anaesthetic.
Surely there's something wrong here? If you're not enjoying life, if you're not even 'experiencing' life, just escaping it, for that time you're as good as dead?
And if we'd rather be dead to the world than live our lives, can you really claim there's any point at all?
Thoughts?