Video Games: good hobby or bad hobby

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by SkillzthatKillz

instead of playing x-wing you shouldve done something else with your girlfriend. i'll give you a hint; it starts with an F and ends with a K and rhymes with Duck lol

9 hours of calculus every day defeated my libido.

Besides, how can you tell ME of all people not play x-wing?

[bhampton]

Tie Fighter Collectors Edition for the Win.

(I only had X-wing then X vs Tie but still ... I always knew... Tie Fighter FTW!)

Video Games are almost a total waste of time. You can learn some skills here and there like in Tomb Raider I practiced taking down a T-Rex with a pair of pistols and that's a cool skill.

I play quite a bit but I could quit at any time... In fact,...I've quit maybe 30 times now.

-Brian

p.s. for perspective though... For $9.99 I can buy all the X-wing games on ebay and play for the rest of my life but all the money I have wouldn't hook me up with quality time with your collage girlfriend.

[toef]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Video Games are almost a total waste of time. You can learn some skills here and there like in Tomb Raider I practiced taking down a T-Rex with a pair of pistols and that's a cool skill.

As for the Discover article someone posted a while back. In it they claimed that it was difficult to find people who were bad in school, but good at video games. I really have to question how hard they really looked, and that throws doubt over the rest of the article. I had friends who skipped class every day, some of whom barely made it out of high school, but they could beat anyone in just about any game. So are they a rare exception? I doubt it.

Also, it's obviously worth noting that all games aren't created equal. A person might actually get more out of playing some sort of strategy game like Civilization or Age of Empires, than they would out of playing round after round of Halo or levels of Super Mario, etc.

[Augustine864]

I've often cursed video games for making me a piece of garbage who is antisocial and I wish I hadn't talked my mother into buying me that NES at a yardsale those many years ago. But truth be told, I have never turned down a social situation to go play video games instead. Exception: If I'm already at a social gathering and I THEN deem that it sucks... I have been known to leave on at least one occasion and ended up playing games instead.

I think I'm just a person that doesn't care to hang out with groups of people. I am easily annoyed by the acts that people put on and I don't want to be around them. People change when they are in groups and it drives me nuts.

Video games are just an excuse for not being good in social situations, they aren't a reason for it. For me anyway.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Tie Fighter Collectors Edition for the Win.

(I only had X-wing then X vs Tie but still ... I always knew... Tie Fighter FTW!)

Video Games are almost a total waste of time. You can learn some skills here and there like in Tomb Raider I practiced taking down a T-Rex with a pair of pistols and that's a cool skill.

I play quite a bit but I could quit at any time... In fact,...I've quit maybe 30 times now.

-Brian

p.s. for perspective though... For $9.99 I can buy all the X-wing games on ebay and play for the rest of my life but all the money I have wouldn't hook me up with quality time with your collage girlfriend.

Well, fortunately the math did pay off, I use it daily at my job (system's consultant/developer). And forget the girlfriend, I married a Clipper Girl not too long after. (really)

But yes, I do still play X-Wing... Alliance, to be exact. Space-combat simulation and taking down star destroyers is a wonderful fall-back skill.

[bhampton]

Far side comic...

[toef]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Far side comic...

That's a classic. I think kids are more likely than their parents to be that hopeful though, at some point wishing they could play games for a living.

[Gamekid]

I think that video games are a good hobby, only if you don't let them make up most of your life. There are benifits to video games, some more unusual like being a good stress releiver. With our economy in crisis and road rage out on the streets, sometimes we just feel like crashing a car or something. Video games allow us to take out our stress in a good way. For example, if you play burnout 5, you have the option to just crash a car if you want to. The great thing is not that you can do that as many times as you want to, but the fact that nothing bad happens because everything is all virtual.

Still, I come across articles online that talk about how video games are bad for you and I think that other factors come into play, like you're depressed or something and you use video games as a excuse.

Many of us have been playing video games for years, some longer then others and most of us are pretty normal. I have played plenty of violent video games in my time, with Goldeneye being my very first one and I just don't see what all the hype is. How can you suddenly turn violent after playing just one violent video game?

Many parents blame video games for things and I think that parents point the finger at the video game industry, rather then just take the blame. Did anyone stop and think that people create video games for a living? If playing one is a bad hobby then is making one a bad hobby as well?

I could go on and on about this stuff, but in the end, I think that video games are a good hobby because you get to experience what you're playing.

[Cyorg]

Gaming is a fine hobby, but like anything, too much can be a bad thing... Try to keep other (social) hobbies... Balance is everything.

[RWebb74]

Unless your hobby is charitable in some way or serving the greater good in some way, all hobbies are otherwise equal. All hobbies serve the same basic purpose, whether they are watching movies, playing games, gardening, skiing, hiking, playing sports, reading, etc... What specifically one person chooses to do with their idol time is irrelevant and always good, as it brings stress relief, joy, relaxation, and inner focus. If we did not have things to take us away from the work in life, we would all go insane, or at least live much shorter lives.

[Gamekid]

Originally Posted by RWebb74

Unless your hobby is charitable in some way or serving the greater good in some way, all hobbies are otherwise equal. All hobbies serve the same basic purpose, whether they are watching movies, playing games, gardening, skiing, hiking, playing sports, reading, etc... What specifically one person chooses to do with their idol time is irrelevant and always good, as it brings stress relief, joy, relaxation, and inner focus. If we did not have things to take us away from the work in life, we would all go insane, or at least live much shorter lives.

I can't disagree with what you're saying. Having a hobby or two brings us benifits.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by toefer

That's a classic. I think kids are more likely than their parents to be that hopeful though, at some point wishing they could play games for a living.

Several people in my old clan managed to become professional gamers. Start out pay is only 30K a year, but if you win there are bonuses; and it's a pretty decent living for kids in their early 20's. I was too old and already had a career, so I never even tried myself.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

They are a complete waste of time. Only a bunch of NERDS and overgrown children who can't let go of their adolescence play video games. Not to mention the people who lose their grip on reality and try to live out the game in reality.

Are you kidding me? when have you ever gotten the chance to say Hold on hun we'll go to the club right after I finish saving the world from metal gear. Your lucky I was able to save you from metal gear other wise you wouldnt be able to type that

Originally Posted by heathward

i hope you are kidding, because your avatar screams out HUGE NERD. i also see you are a buck rogers fan? you should look in the mirror first before calling any of us a nerd.

I loved your response to that guy lmao.

[Jamespic1118]

For all of you who think video games are a bad hobby, why is it that video games is a bad hobby but not movies?

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Jamespic1118

For all of you who think video games are a bad hobby, why is it that video games is a bad hobby but not movies?

And reading, television, interneting, etc...

[toef]

Originally Posted by Jamespic1118

For all of you who think video games are a bad hobby, why is it that video games is a bad hobby but not movies?

I don't think anyone that said video games are a bad hobby said that movies were a great hobby.

I'd say both are ok, but neither is particularly great.

I will give movies some credit, because some are actually very thought provoking. Games have the potential to be too, but few, if any, really are right now (at least on the level of some movies). For a long time graphics were what drove games, and only now are more games that explore serious themes with deeper stories finally coming out.

Both movies and games largely just serve as ways to pass time, so I wouldn't really say one is much better or worse than the other.

Also, I disagree with the person from a few posts up. All hobbies are not basically the same. Reading books is a hobby, and you can get smarter for doing that. Cooking as a hobby helps you eat better (potentially healthier and/or cheaper) meals. These are not essentially the same as grinding away at gold ores in World of Warcraft for hours at a time. I'm not trying to tell people which hobbies to pick though (because I play games and watch movies too), I'm just merely stating that they're not all the same. Some hobbies can help make you a better person (whatever that may mean) whereas others don't. Whether that's something anyone cares about is up to each person.

[mikem471]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

They are a complete waste of time. Only a bunch of NERDS and overgrown children who can't let go of their adolescence play video games. Not to mention the people who lose their grip on reality and try to live out the game in reality.

So sayeth the DORK with an Obi Wan Kenobi avatar. LMAO!!!!!!!

[BIGMERF]

I limit my kids to one hour a day weekdays and to 6 hours on weekends.I, since i am disabled game all the time. It helps me keep my mind off of being half the man i was before i ended up not being able to work. For this reason I think gaming is awesome. lol

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by Gamekid

I think that video games are a good hobby, only if you don't let them make up most of your life. There are benifits to video games, some more unusual like being a good stress releiver....

Originally Posted by Gamekid

I can't disagree with what you're saying. Having a hobby or two brings us benifits.

English apparently isn't one of those benefits.

[ifuwereahotdog]

Originally Posted by RWebb74

Unless your hobby is charitable in some way or serving the greater good in some way, all hobbies are otherwise equal. All hobbies serve the same basic purpose, whether they are watching movies, playing games, gardening, skiing, hiking, playing sports, reading, etc... What specifically one person chooses to do with their idol time is irrelevant and always good, as it brings stress relief, joy, relaxation, and inner focus. If we did not have things to take us away from the work in life, we would all go insane, or at least live much shorter lives.

My hobby does serve a greater good...Folding @ Home .