If you had to stop playing games... what about games would remember from then on?

[Gottservant]

There's no reason why we should stop playing games all of a sudden, but I'm curious to see what people think of the state of games on the market. If you stopped suddenly, I think there would be a number of things that stand out to you about the games you've played. What are those things? Would you be frustrated? Would you be elated? Would it make no difference? Would you get teary eyed about particular gaming moments? Or would the games you played just sit dormant in your mind, until you were reminded of them?

Me personally, I haven't got a lot of inspiration from games. I would remember being terrified of playing further in Ultima Underworld, I would remember just shooting everywhere in Doom2, I would remember the levels I created for Doom2 and that would be about it. I suppose I would remember having dreams about Doom and visions of Descent3... but that would be more wishful thinking.

The only reason I ask is that I have no idea whether I am playing games for the right reasons. I am 28 and my interest in games has been changing... I used to want adrenaline and could play shoot 'em ups for hours but now I get bored of amazing games like Oblivion and I'm wondering if its just me. I'm wondering if there's anybody out there who reached a point of maturity with games and started to realize that fun we have with life is more important than this or that game we play or something profound like that, like maybe someone sees games in reality now or from an eternal perspective or something.

That's all it was about, just seeing what people carry with them in terms of their gaming experiences, not the greatest moments, but the things (gaming moments) people think about as they do other things in life. Regret is a terrible thing, I would really feel sorry for someone if they would simply mourn over not being about to play games any more, or throw a fit or something. I doubt there would be anyone like that.

So, what would you remember?

 

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs]

The camaraderie of hunting with others in MMOs.

 

[The-Doctor]

I would miss the blood and guts and the sheer fun of the GTA series.

 

[Foolish_Fool]

First, the music. I have parts of every game I've ever played stuck somewhere in my head and they pop out for no reason. I'll be walking down the hall and all of a sudden I'm humming music from SMB 2. Then my boss walks by and I switch over to the boss intros from Megaman. Then I start giggling like an idiot, somebody looks at me like I'm crazy, and I walk away whistling Shadow's theme from FFVI. Ever see the episode of Family Guy where Peter gets his own theme music for his life? Well, that's what it's like being me, but the music is much better, if somewhat digitized.

Second, the people. I've met several people IRL that I first met in games. I've known people for years thru games. I'd wager some of them know me better than people who actually know me.

Last but not least, the intensity and challenge. I'm one of those people who strives for perfection. I would sit there for hours in Mario Kart 64 racing against my ghosts trying to beat my best by a tenth of a second. I analyze everything to see how I can do better and don't give up until I finally do. I get extreme tunnel vision during competitive gaming. Every neuron in my brain is tuned to the task at hand, typically splattering my opponent all over the wall. It's a clarity I rarely achieve in normal life. I suppose that's because nobody is trying to shoot me.

 

[Gottservant]

First, the music. [...] Second, the people.

Its interesting that you list these two. It's like games put you in a space, which is a dimension just like ours, but which is much more intense. Then, when you leave that space, things go back to normal, but you are left with the intensity you had in the game.

I get extreme tunnel vision during competitive gaming. Every neuron in my brain is tuned to the task at hand, typically splattering my opponent all over the wall. It's a clarity I rarely achieve in normal life. I suppose that's because nobody is trying to shoot me.

I have read (in a published magazine or newspaper) that brainwave activity in people playing games is not unlike the brainwave activity of people participating in sport. What you describe is parallel with "the zone" sports people talk about.

 

[Steezie]

I would be extremely upset if the games market suddenly crashed.

Back in elementary and jr high school I had NO friends, I thought school was more important than friends and I had basically straight A+ grades in EVERYTHING. But then I looked around and I realized that everyone had friends, people they hung out with, people they talked to. Except me.

I got really depressed and basically went into a suicidal tailspin for about two years. My grades dropped so family life got a bit tougher, I couldnt really make friends because I was shy and socially in-experienced.

When I started playing games, it helped give me something to focus on, some distraction. I kept my mind off wanting to step into traffic for a few hours so I became a gamer. The online parts also helped me kind of get my social training wheels and start to understand how people interact and socialize.

I have a lot of fond memories of a lot of games and I still have every game I've ever had (except one). Now with things like EVE Online and Black and White, the level of diversity and detail is incredible and I cant wait to show these kinds of games to my kids

 

[peacefulfire]

I remember playing Doom on a network for the first time, and designing my own levels, those were fun times. I remember numerous King Quest games and the cheesy dialog I still say with friends as inside jokes. I majored in Computer science because of my love of games and learning how to program just so I could create my own. I wouldn't have got into computers as much as I did if it wasn't for computer games. Learning DOS, BIOS, how to create boot disks, edit autoexec.bat, remove viruses , install memory... all for video games.

 

[peacefulfire]

I remember playing Doom on a network for the first time, and designing my own levels, those were fun times. I remember numerous King Quest games and the cheesy dialog I still say with friends as inside jokes. I majored in Computer science because of my love of games and learning how to program just so I could create my own. I wouldn't have got into computers as much as I did if it wasn't for computer games. Learning DOS, BIOS, how to create boot disks, edit autoexec.bat, remove viruses , install memory... all for video games.

 

[Psalms34]

I am 28 and my interest in games has been changing... I used to want adrenaline and could play shoot 'em ups for hours but now I get bored of amazing games like Oblivion and I'm wondering if its just me.

Age doesn’t matter, well not as in loosing desire to play video games. Actually, the majority of gamers are in their mid 20’s to mid 30’s compared to the younger crowd. If you look at development ages, its late 20’s to early 40’s, according to industry reports. Even before video games were really possible on a large scale as they are now, people played games like mad, though usually board games, yet still games indeed.

Anyhoot, what would I miss? Probably game development. I suppose I’d need to filter my skills into videography or something, but game development is much more fun for me. I suppose community would be a loss, like what happens in mmogs where groups get together and spend years playing the same game. It’s kind of reminiscent of the old days of table-top gaming to a degree, where you spend a lot of time playing with the same people all the time. I use to do that too, I was always the DM since I designed my own games, sometimes with the help of my commodore 64 to print maps and stuff.

 

[Foolish_Fool]

I have read (in a published magazine or newspaper) that brainwave activity in people playing games is not unlike the brainwave activity of people participating in sport. What you describe is parallel with "the zone" sports people talk about.

It's definetely a different feeling than when playing sports. I never got it out of baseball, soccer, or track. The only thing that comes close is paintball. Again, people shooting at me seems to be a key factor. I don't know if it has to do with the monitor or lack of movement but my vision changes. Instead of focusing on one thing at a time, it's like I can see every detail of the screen without looking at anything in particular. I become very sensitive to movement. I suppose it stems from the need to watch my map, my status bars, text, my enemy, and my surroundings all at the same time. It kind of frees up my brain to think since all of this information gets absorbed on its own and the voice in my head never has to stop and say "Hey, that looked like a grenade." I just automatically react. When I don't have that focus I can feel my eyes constantly darting around the screen trying to keep up, my reactions are slower, and my strategy hurts because I have to conciously think about every little detail.