Poll Video Games

[Viosinger]

I've never been a big "gamer." My brother and many friends were much more committed or interested in them. So part of my problem at this point with my boyfriend is that I'm competitive and he's very good at them after a lifetime with lots of video games. But I'm noticing now, as an adult, what a fine line it is for me with games. We played Super Smash Brothers... a game where you push a bunch of buttons and just try to beat the crap out of the opponent. It's a game my nephews enjoy quite a bit. I wound up nearly in tears, then went to bed and bawled. I thought initially that it must have been that I was tired, that I'm competitive and get frustrated when I don't do well...but the more I think about it, the more I know that it wasn't just that. I don't usually cry like that.

So I guess I was wondering if anyone has trouble with this as well? Violent or gory games are nearly out of the question for me now, high stress-quick paced ones just leave me a wreck... Maybe it's just me, I'm really not sure.

 

[Go Hungry]

I like video games. Ofcourse I'm also a guy and most of my traumas happened 20-30 years ago, so I've had a great deal of time to develop other interests. I really like EVE Online, it's a spaceship MMO that can be very fast-paced and violent at times, if that's your playstyle. But there is zero gore involved, because it's all just spaceships blowing up. And it also has lots of activities that are quite slow and evenly paced. It just depends on what you're into. The one thing that puts alot of people off is that it caters to destructive people as well as constructive ones, and it's other players who you have to watch out for. You can be robbed or scammed if you aren't careful, and unlike most games, that's totally okay. If you get in a nice group of friends it can be quite fun though.

As for first person shooters (FPS).. that's where all the gore is. I used to play them alot 20 years ago, and was decent at it. But they have changed lots since then. The only one I play semi-regularly is related to EVE (total junkie for that game world) but it's really low on gore. I mean, I guess some guys are into that, but not me. Not to mention that alot of those FPS cost $60 now, and they come out with a new version every year, so you'll drop a ton of money to play it for like 3 months before everyone moves off to the next flavour of the month. Just a waste in my opinion.

But there is hope yet. There are lots (and I mean LOTS) of video games that are aimed at kids and women rather than being aimed at men. Very slow paced, Hidden Object Games which are all mysteries, and different cute games that are quite easy on the nerves. Look up www.bigfishgames.com/ for tons of them. ;)

 

[Ti Vu]

I dropped video games a couple years back, but I've been thinking about my early life a lot these days, and I loved them! I don't think I could play them today, but I'd say that the Dreamcast was my favorite. It had this crazy-good Spawn fighting game, Skies of Arcadia(?). That was an awesome RPG. Dead Or Alive 2, Psychic Force, the list goes on. PS2 with Tony Hawk's American Wasteland? Oh man. Tons and tons of fun. PSP. That was a blast. Fun on-the-go gaming. Good times.

But yeah, a lot video games today are far too fast, intense, sometimes too graphic/realistic, and loud for me now.

 

[Tei-Saji]

But yeah, a lot video games today are far too fast, intense, sometimes too graphic/realistic, and loud for me now.

I wholeheartedly agree. I played Final Fantasy XIII once, and it made me too motion-sick to play again. It was then that I decided that I would only go for retro games. And I mainly play Square Enix games nowadays. As for whether my memories get in the way of it, I would say that I get too into a game that the memories fade into the back of my mind. But when I'm done, I'm always pestered by them.

 

[Changing4Best]

I don't really do video games, but I do play solitaire on my computer. This distracts me and helps me to escape when I am feeling anxiety and or other emotions.

 

[TonyG]

I love getting on the PS3 with my mates and talking shit with eachother, it doesn't matter what we play we allways have a laugh,
GsV_63 if you want to add me

 

[Friday]

Love games. FPSs are my favorite, some 3rd person, not very keen on turn based games... Even Assassins Creed & other wheel-skill games where you can pause & buy time by switching out weapons and stuff kind of irk me..., I like the constant ebb & flow of everything happening at once gameplay. Love multilayer strategy games, and loathe turn based strategy games for the same reasons. I have a propensity for wandering off exploring on open map games that makes me a bitch to play with, and I usually end up misplacing the storyline. What? Plot? Right. Back to the plot.

One of the great things about FPS, is that they ease my headaches. No idea why, but if I'm starting to go cross eyed? Ice picks in my brain? A level or three and *poof* my headache is gone. Ahhhhh. So much better.

I wouldn't consider myself a gamer... Both because I'm not good enough, and the only reason I have any platforms to play on at all is for others (my son, etc.). Also, I tend to be overly cautious in all my game play, wait a helluva long time before going online with any of it... That said, I have a lot of friends actually in the industry, and so I'm beta testing some games (or melting my hard drive with Alphas, Grrrrr), usually a few times a year... As well as salivating at certain new releases, & will cheerfully lose a weekend or six to a release party... So I've probably become at least half a gamer/guilty by association over lo these many years.

I never really played any games growing up. Sure, they were around, but I simply wasn't interested in them for more than a few minutes once a blue moon. It wasn't until after I'd already done my first PTSD tailspin & recovered that I ended up with an xBox <grin> And discovered the joy of looking up and realizing its 0400. Oops. Should probably put drops in my eyes and go to bed! Or maybe just another level (3).

There's a really interesting TED on gaming here http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world?language=en

 

[TonyG]

I have been playing minecraft and I find it very relaxing, I get home from work at midnight and make a cup of tea and turn it on and play until 2am and then I am ready for bed.

 

[Friday]

I have been playing minecraft and I find it very relaxing, .

<grin> That's one of the ones that used to melt my hard drive!!! Diggy Diggy Hole! :D

 

[Ellabella44]

I was a big gamer, played several mmo (massive multiplayer online) before my breakdown over a year ago. Now some days it gives me anxiety, even when i find a good group to game with, I end up being so anxious that i wont do well or several other things , even interacting on a voice chat with new people makes me anxious. I hate that i'm like this now. I used to play alot, love working on a team to beat a boss, and had been leader of several guilds (gaming groups in a game) Now the only ones i can still talk to are my friends from my last mmo who were my officers when i had my breakdown.

 

[Viosinger]

Thanks everyone :)

I'm looking at it as a less pressing issue right at the moment, but with my boyfriend being a video game fanatic, I know it'll continue to be something I have to walk the line of. Though as we grow in our relationship, understanding that our passions aren't going to align (music and video games) is getting easier with time.

 

[amelia_i]

I'm finding that certain video games push me toward the red; I feel like it's the frustration value that is to blame. Certain gameplay elements are awful for that, for me. In Minecraft, when I die and my items are strewn about, and I don't make it back to pick them up before they disappear... Not good. Diablo 2, when tons of gold gets lost. When a game with forced checkpoints (Far Cry 3 comes to mind) makes me go all the way back and do a part over again. Ohh man.

It's really disappointing, as a person who used to spend so much time enjoying video games, that I have to be so mindful toward what I play, how long, and sometimes how I play it. :/