Food for Thought?

[_Chaz_]

Well, someone sent me this video today, and it really spoke to me.

Spoiler

[titlea Troof]

The video he references is something we should all take a look at as well, but Screwattack doesn't seem to have it anymore, so I'll link it too.

Spoiler: Mo Troofins

Watch the video, he's so right it almost hurts. Now, this isn't entirely the fault of video games, we have ourselves to blame. But we have to make a change if we ever want to be taken seriously.

Opinions/Comments?

 

[Foxi4]

I disagree with the second video thoroughly.

Gaming bonded me and my girlfriend together, it's likely that we'd never meet otherwise. It's a passion of ours.

Gaming HAS an ever-lasting value, each game passes a story. If you want to believe that a game's plot is irrelevant and just a waste of time then you could say the same thing about books, movies and theatrical plays which apparently "enrich" you.

He wants to convey a message that games do not enrich you in a physical manner conscidering only the achievements in game, not the value of plot. He calls friends met on MMO's "unreal" when in fact they are very real and you can meet them in real life - why else would we have conventions? The idea that gaming is only what's happening when you hold the controller and actively "play" is false - gaming is a way of living and a hobby as any other.

If he treats it as a waste of time now, fine, nobody's going to pull him back into the community, that is his decision.

He ommits certain factors about gaming in general though, and I find it sickening that a long-term gamer could even construde his hobby in such a way.

So what if he "spent" alot on gaming? What would he do if he didn't spend it on games? What kind of a guarrante does he have that he'd be a better man if he spent it on another hobby? Would he really be less overweigh or more fit if he spent his time doing different activities? That's not a given.

All in all, gaming is smiliar to reading, to watching movies, to frequenting plays - it's just something you enjoy on your own, and it's your approach towards gaming that gives it value.

 

[Gahars]

I can't get behind the second video's assertion that games have no value on their own; they're pieces of art and culture, as valuable as any other medium (Sure, not all games meet the high bar, but then again, neither do all books, movies, songs, paintings, etc.).

I'm sorry that his video game compulsion cost him severely, but to declare an entire medium worthless on its own merits is obviously not a reasoned, well thought out response.

I know I link to these guys a lot, but I think that Extra Credits handled the issue in a much, much better fashion.

 

[Skelletonike]

Hum... Games never made my life worse... Actually games helped me quite a lot when I was down in life... Most people turn to drugs, alcohol or other stuff when they have problems in life and stuff, the thing that helped me were games, and some friends that I'd met in some mmorpgs (actually, some of my best friends we met in online games or gamming events).. It's not the game to be blamed but the one who plays it... There should always be limits and one should live his life accordingly... Just make sure you are yourself, someone who plays a game in order to finish it, and not to enjoy it, no longer deserves to be a gamer. D