Philosophy of gamers

[chaoticdaos]

I've always been more of a thinker than a doer and at this point in my life it's really debilitating for my health and well-being...

But having spent so much time playing games I realized there are a lot of people in worse positions still willing to spend dollars and hours playing game after game after 100% completion after finding glitch here and useful bug there.

But why?

I don't like playing games a whole lot anymore and i'm kind of empty since nothing really fills the void.
I don't collect them anymore because I want to save money and eventually become as rich as over a million dollars.
I don't even download, read reviews, keep up with what comes out anymore etc.

No more music, tv or movies either... They're the same way. Maybe i'll keep up with an old band or series I liked. But nothing really thrills or compels me anymore. Even the remnants of my collection are stashed far away from me.

So what keeps a gamer going nowadays? Is there a support system that keeps people feening for more? Is it the gamer or the game?

Last game I ever got into was League of Legends, but my gay uncle decided to steal my comp and trash it... He was addicted to crack incidentally. But since then I haven't gotten a decent enough computer to play it and have no plans to get another. I'm just a cashier at Lowes, but I always thought even with this POS i'm using I might play emulators more often. Still tons of games I haven't played I know. That motivator it's just not there anymore.

I'm reading Zelda and philosophy right now and it's bewildering to say the least.

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

No music, TV, movies, or videogames? That's harsh, man. I couldn't stand to live without any one of those for an extended period of time (except maybe TV), let alone all of them at once.

Videogames are the same as any other kind of entertainment - they're meant to stave off boredom in times when all of your friends are busy or you have nothing better to do. At the least, they're just something to pass the time. At most, you might learn something from them, or you might even feel inspired. Collecting just for collecting's sake is a whole different thing - it's a bit like an addiction. You do it out of habit past the point where it gives you any pleasure. However, collecting things to use just gives you more options when you're bored, and thus makes you less bored (theoretically).

I know what you mean about lacking the motivation, sometimes. You shouldn't force yourself to do something you don't want to, but you also shouldn't cut yourself off entirely from things that you used to enjoy - if there's any chance that you might still enjoy them. I think we can all learn a lot from our past. You move on, over time, but I think sometimes it helps to reflect on who you used to be - and I think that very often you'll find that on a core level, you haven't really changed that much.

As for what keeps ME going these days - lately it's just a fascination with the sheer breadth and variety of all the games and systems released over the years. There's also a sense of history involved, if you're playing older games. If I play a game from 1996, suddenly I'm thinking about everything that was going on in the world in 1996, and playing games can tell you something about the way culture and technology were headed in that time. Sometimes those things can lead to insights into why things are the way they are today. That can apply to almost any medium, not just videogames. Hardware is also fascinating - all the different partnerships between companies, the similarities and differences, the weird proprietary shit that only this one system used... etc. It's what being a nerd is all about.

[HEX1GON]

I've been in that position before, I stopped playing games for 8 months or so... But it was the people I was hanging around with that sorter made me change my habits. I got straight back into it after that phase past.
So that's what I'm guessing is happening with you at the moment, you're going through a phase and it happens quite a bit. I haven't really been keen on new release games either the last one I bought was Lollipop Chainsaw, and that was a disappointment... So lately I've gotten into comics, although I still play games but only ones online and the ones I enjoy like Blur and Flatout.

What keeps me at gaming is purely the history, I find myself more interested in just the history than playing the games themselves. May sound weird or crazy, but with the way games are today, you're better off playing the ones from the golden times. There are plenty of people in this very community that will steer you in the right direction for games to get back into, and most of us here love historic games and not so much the current generation.

Well I hope you get back into the gaming -scene- cause there are lots of games out there to get addicted again :P

[Eviltaco64]

It's really easy to get sidetracked by life. The more that you're immersed in keeping up what's around you, the less time you have to pay attention to your interests.

Don't try to fill a void, though. Video games are great, but comfort is far greater. Once you can accept your surroundings for what they are, you might just be free enough to think clearly on matters that you previously could not.

[synrgy87]

Deep, although people go on and off things, the human way is to explore and move on, constant advancement, but sooner or later we go back to what we like what we enjoyed before like a big circle of life. different things are important at different times of our lives.

[chaoticdaos]

You're all right and from different perspectives no less. Yes it's true I can't seem to stay in my imagined world. The pain of the real world keeps me up at night and the escape of gaming seemed to drop after my Dad threw me out for the 4th time... I remember my days watching Toonami and going to school everyday and just taking what situations were presented to me and what I experienced then spinning it in such a way that I could see a whole bright world better than any game because it had all my favorite elements from life and games. But I have reached my Final Fantasy it seems... Now I know what it's like to grow up and I see what i've lost.
It's not just me long term memory that escapes me either, my short term memory is terrible. I was trying to explain to people what "screaming 187 on a mother fucking cop" meant and all I could think of was accusing a cop of murder. But it be someone actually bringing violence against an LEO.

Something in my brain is missing, broken, burnt out, or overwritten.

On my trip to Hawaii I managed to play through a couple of games. Then these last two years were very harsh on me.
i really wish I had done my languages in High School, since now i'm ineligible for a university. I could do Community College now though. The only thing that keeps me back from that is fear and anxious/nervous habits. You know the lame teen problems like being judged by other people, not being accepted, wearing at least decent clothes... I've never been comfortable with myself, rich people kind of bullied me when I was in high school.
I was at Wake Tech and I didn't realize this but the bike shorts I was wearing were too tight and very unappealing. My junk was pretty much right there...

Still at the same time I don't want to ever go back to a homeless shelter. But $9.64 per hour doesn't pay enough. So I've been trying to get into Job Corps and do what ever it takes to get support from them. All I see around are negative aspects of life and I know i'm not leading a full life, mentally, socially, emotionally, or physically. Thinking about it doesn't work. Goal setting and giving myself purpose isn't exactly pushing me like i'd hoped. All I can think is that everyday is a step towards death and that is the only true end. I mean no matter how old you are you are just old enough to die. Why all the paranoia? About death, failure, and disappointing everyone... I've been reading parenting books and my support group wasn't there. There's a distinct bitter flavor of jealousy.
I feel like i'm trying to be like the pumpkin king from Nightmare Before Christmas, because having waited for success and happiness to fall in my lap didn't work, neither did crying or begging. Or even asking for help.

It didn't matter where I lived, what job I had, who I met, this darkness just kept consuming me and eventually I saw the edge. I don't want to see that again. If I'm going to die I want it to be either with a sexy whore on top of me or getting beaten to death by breasts. Cyanide and Happiness is pretty funny.
I could control myself more when I was younger now that i'm this age the lows are incredibly low and the highs only prompt an epic low. I even quit weed just to gather more perspective.

But at the same time i'm an adult and a lot of that is irrelevant. It's in the past, I can't change it, I can't control it and I am absolutely certain complaining does not help me move forward. There's more to this than can easily explained within the limitations of language and it's usage on the internet.

Thanks Guys i'll figure something out. I have to.

[GrindheadJim]

Here's what I see: You're looking at the big picture, which is normally an advantage... in this case, it's a disadvantage. Try to focus on one problem at a time, and tackle them in the order you find best. When you find you;re accomplishing a little at a time, the sense of reward is greater. That alone, could be enough to spark your obviously considerable imagination again.

Take it as it comes, and, for fuck's sake, worry about yourself, not others. When things are as they are for you, it's okay to put yourself first.

I've been homeless, jobless, friendless, penniless, and felt less of myself in the past. This is how I got through it. You will, too. I wish you nothing but positive energy.

[Eviltaco64]

Don't seek or even care about death if you're still alive. Life's a very underrated privilege, because most people mend it with their daily routines (which may or may not really suck) and get stuck in a negative rut. When you get stuck in a rut like that, it's like you're a pilot about to crash an airliner into a mountain that's easily avoidable. It's only once you realize that you're in control that your straight path to death opens up into a boundless sky.

A lot of people get lost in between keeping themselves alive and keeping themselves happy. It's a psychological Bermuda triangle that fucks a lot of people over.

Don't get stuck in the Bermuda triangle. You'll end up spending too much useful time trying to figure out how to temporarily run away from human-eating sea dinosaurs that are totally irrelevant to what's going on in the real world.

[chaoticdaos]

Wow... My grandfather just told me I am stupid, a bad decision maker and blah blah. I just spent two weeks in a hotel because I had to leave his place. For no justifiable reason. Other than to waste hard earned money.
I don't like my job and most of my coworkers are d-bags. But a few of them kind of act like they care.

Here's one of my problems. How do I get out of that teenage phase where you don't know who you are or what you want to be. But you're too damn nervous around everyone to push your ideas onto others. I think it's too controlling. I don't want to be a bad person so I change my behavior to be different.
So I became someone easily pushed around. Most of my jokes aren't funny to anyone anymore. Even basic conversations either end abruptly, or awkwardly. I don't understand why it's so hard to keep a good friend in my life.

All facebook does is piss me off. Too many people won't even give me the courtesy of a reply.

My HR Manager told me to tie a knot in my rope and keep hanging on... It's great advice. I wanted to say "You know if you have enemies you should give them just enough rope to hang themselves." One of my most hated enemies taught me that. Sadly enough he's my uncle the same one I mentioned in other threads.
I'm just unhappy with the past.

I can't mess with my grandma. She loves her gay crackhead son too much. His FBI agent brother looks after him too.
My grandfather is a control freak. I lost $660 to a hotel because he wanted it to happen.

I want to move back to Hawaii... I may live and die in obscurity. But wherever I take my last breath I hope since I can't be around good people, they are impossible to find in the real world, paradise is a great way to fall into the void.

Sorry guys, I do thank you for your support. It's what's kept me scraping the bottom of the barrel of my life. I bought a 3ds and I kinda like it. But I just can't get into anything like I used too. I played Zelda 1 and Ocarina of Time and they were ok. Kingdom Hearts 3ds blows. Kid Icarus is well... I must have gotten partially retarded or I need a third hand. That "3d" effect if that is what it is hurts my eyes or I end up seeing double. It's like I can't focus properly the 12 inches away you need to be.
Suffice to say, I may not even be a casual gamer anymore. No more collecting, admiring, seeking, and meeting people. I just have no interests anymore except thinking about how i got here and finding only myself to blame. I try to pawn it on other people but it never makes me feel any better.

I am happy this is such a positive community! Thanks Guys!

Eviltaco: How do I get out of the Bermuda triangle? I have no compass or direction. My best guess sucks too.

[HEX1GON]

You need to get away! Far, far away from those people who are just too negative towards you. It sounds horrible!
My family supports me and I have on friend who does as well, apart from that I think I'm hated by everyone else. In some way I understand the situation you're going through, it's difficult but keep your head up.

[Eviltaco64]

Never be afraid to be yourself. You might get off to a rough start if you're too afraid to be, but no matter where you go, you won't be comfortable doing anything until you're resilient enough to smile in the face of adversity. The question isn't so much, how can I be myself.. It's more so, "What do I want to do? What am I interested in?" It's totally understandable to be overwhelmed with so many negative things, that you really don't have much to say at times. Don't think it's your fault. You just have more to think about than holding lightweight social conversations.

Think about what makes you comfortable, think about what makes you happy, think about what you enjoy doing. And to whatever might bring you down, figure out if it's worth keeping by addressing the situation. If it's really something that makes you unhappy no matter how you go about it, then cut it out of your life!

Don't worry about how other people handle your public image. The public jumps to their opinions pretty quickly, but they're also pretty forgetful.

The past cannot be changed, and until you let it go, it only sticks around to wake you up when you least expect it and haunt you like a ghost.

Good people do exist. At times, they seem impossible to find, but they exist. And even if you can't find someone to talk about serious life situations about, it shouldn't stop you from finding a gaming buddy to chill with. If anything, doing something lightweight like that is a great start to getting your mind off of everything that sucks.

I can't play 3DS with the 3D on myself. I move around too much, like I'm adding to the action of the game. I can't stay perfectly still like that. It screws me over playing Wii games with special motion sense actions, too. :P

And don't cut yourself off from the world. It only makes a bad situation stagnate. Do something to refresh your mind! Whether it's meeting new people (whether online or offline), reading about something completely foreign that captures your interest, or even just enjoying the dynamic subtleties of nature, there's a lot you can do to help your mind wander off. The more your mind wanders off, the more you're breaking down your own pre-supposed paradigms that don't necessarily have to exist.

The Bermuda triangle is just another part of the ocean. The only thing that makes it unique is the atmosphere that's applied to it. Speaking metaphorically, all you have to do is close your eyes and just enjoy the peaceful sounds of the ocean. In other words, don't think too much into what's going to ultimately screw you over. Take that effort and apply it to what you find beneficial.

Everything's gonna be allllllllright!