Are video games a waste of time?

I love Doom, Dark Souls and Yume Nikki. Doom is special for me, I've been playing it very actively on servers for some 6 years. But I don't think those games really gave me anything worth all this time. Maybe some memories, but those virtual memories will never compare to real life

>>36459 >Are video games a waste of time? > I don't think those games really gave me anything worth all this time. Maybe some memories, but those virtual memories will never compare to real life I think you answered your question already, champ.

>>36459 I think games are a waste of time but so are most things. Games can be used to socialize and so perhaps that increases their value but idk. Physical socialization definitely creates more permanent memories and real world achievements are remembered more than virtual ones. I've thought about quitting games for a while now, not sure if it's worth it though, especially as I'd just fill up the time browing useless soykaf online. Ultimately yes I'd argue that assuming the physical world has more value than the virtual then games are a huge waste of time.

>>36459 The original purpose of play is training in a safe enviroment. I think games still accomplish that in some aspects. I believe getting rich in virtual worlds was a much better experience for learning econ than what my education provided. Its one think to hear about how you should pretend theres great competition when youre a monopoly and pretend theres no competition and youre the leader with fiece competition. Its another to live it by naturally flooding the ingame market with alt accounts to pretend theres competition and discourage others from joining into your niche after experiencing being the sole seller and getting undercut. A lot of the stuff really sets in when you practice it. The most obvious benefit is language however. Theres no better training camp than playing with natives.

>>36459 The question shouldn’t be what is a waste of time, it should be what isn’t.

>>36462 I wanted to know your opinion on this topic, lad

>>36463 Pretty much this. Games are largely a "waste of time", but so are most hobbies. Everyone needs something to use to unwind, and for what it's worth vidya is at least more productive than watching television or browsing teh interwebz. Ideally my only hobbies would be reading, playing music, and exercising, but I gotta be realistic and accept that I probably won't ever totally drop videogames.

>>36459 What makes an activity *not* a waste of time? If you enjoy yourself and it doesn't interfere with other things you are trying to accomplish, I don't see the harm. The problems start when people use them as a distraction and an anesthetic from other things going on in their lives. There's a lot of things I learned from and a lot of interests that began with video games for me, and I have many fond memories connected with them. Playful recreation has existed in every society, it's part of human nature.

>and it doesn't interfere with other things you are trying to accomplish This is almost never the case. I cant imagine any situation where the optional choice is play a game outside some fringe cases like burn ward to distract from the pain with no ability to do something meaningfull.

>>36501 I couldn't imagine accomplishing anything that takes effort without periods of relaxation.

>>36490 Aight, buddy. Well, it probably depends on a bunch of things, but speaking generally and from a functionalist point of view, it is a "waste of time" in the sense that the point of the game/play is in itself (and, if you think about it, this is basically how life is too). Whatever you learn from it, is mostly restricted to the game's parameters, even if some of the skills or abilities you get from it are transmittable to a wholly other domain. If the point of it all is to enjoy the experience itself, it probably won't differ all that much from other hobbies and recreational activities, like people here have already pointed out (other than by the fact that some hobbies are productive). This isn't to say that other activities and hobbies couldn't be more enriching than playing games, but the worthiness of it all kind of depends on what you want to gain from the experience. I have played WoW continuously for about 12 years or so, and from MoP onwards the experience hasn't been worth it, because it became mundane, lonely and repetitive and therefore wasn't as engaging or fulfilling as it used to. As a result I recognized that I could do other, more fulfilling things with my life. Do I regret spending so much time on it? Well, quite a bit, because it set me so much back from others in terms of career and basic life experiences, but at that time, I didn't. My attitude would probably be wholly different if I had paid a bit more attention to my actual life or if my time playing would had been more intentional (it probably would have been more fun and enriching if I had RP'd more). I've also played the best of Valve's, but those experiences I don't regret having at all. At any rate, I think I've played so many games that I'd much rather interact with real things, so I try to curb the habit. The only exception to this are games with so good stories that they could be compared to books and games that are intellectually challenging (like The Witness, Myst and Talos Principle, but mainly Chess).

>>36504 Relaxation is accomplished better through other means. Especially for the type that gathers here working all day at a desk to sit more gaming isnt optimal. Exercise would be best. Exercise in general is mandatory if you wish to excel mentally.

>>36520 Exercise goes without saying, much like brushing your teeth.

>>36459 It doesn't seem like it's possible to use Videogames as part of one's self-development. I absolutely believe Literature can be used as part of one's self-development however I also acknowledge that Literature can not be used this way and that one can sink a lot of time into bad or mediocre books whilst ultimately remaining the same person. Literature can raise a man but it seems Videogames can't. Videogames, at best, leave you exactly where you were when you started. I think if you're looking to relax in your leisure time, there's nothing wrong with Videogames because, while you are "getting nothing out of it", you also "get nothing out of" shooting the crap with your friends, and that's still a healthy experience. But as I say, it doesn't seem that Videogames can be a contributive part of one's self-development and can only be leisure.

>>36498 Follow your own will and you'll see the difference immediately. In my case, I try to play exclusively with other IRL friends, otherwise, it's just a waste of time to me, and a dangerous one because it's made to make you think you are actually doing something when you are just sitting in front of a screen for hours. The epic store gave away a bunch of shadowrun games, and recently I am playing Returns, because I'll be injured for some days and i thought it'd be a way to pass some time. The story is really lineal and the gameplay is like any CRPG. The thing is, I'll probably drop it because if I want something story oriented, I think it is better to read a book, or watch a movie or something like that. That, and because playing alone is lame. I'm trying to go out at least once everyday fuarrrk quarantine I really need to interact more with the material world. You made this thread because you are questioning your behavior. Take the hint gamer, go outside.

>>36459 >Are video games a waste of time? Yes. It's in the same league of time-wasting recreational activities as tourism, sport, reading books and hanging out with friends. >those virtual memories will never compare to real life You're playing wrong games if you look for that, try something with a massive universe, i.e. Mass Effect - real life memories won't be able to compete with those gaming memories, unless you live an extraordinary life.

I personally do not like to watch videos (for too long) or play videogames. I do feel my time wasting away. Usually. But that doesn't mean I'm actually productive. I do learn, but I also skip around subjects when the going gets though, usually because I overwhelm myself by too much text, too many subjects. I also get filtered with hard excercises or neglect doing excercises altogether because a couple days spent on the excercises page feels like I'm not doing progress. But I digress. The point is, I overstress making use of my time for learning, but I should take some time off the screen as well. Someone mentioned excercise, which I really should do more. Back to my intended response. I'd never heard of Hexen, and it looks fuarrrking cool. So I downloaded it and started playing. It took me to download other games for the nostalgia. It does make sense to have some leisure time, especially when I don't like just watching videos. So yeah, a waste of time, but if you do it for a little while it can be rewarding and not be a problem.

If you casually play you probably won't learn anything from it, but I think if you play with at least a pro player mindset you will learn a lot of things, you will not only learn how to identify patterns you will learn how to exploit them which is a useful ability on anything you will do on your life.

I feel it is unless it teaches you something or hones a skill that is actually useful. The way around this though is playing games with friends and lovers because it's time spent together that makes it worthwhile. Of course you can do other things but point is it's just a middle point to connecting to other people as best use.

>>36535 >same league of time-wasting The things you have listed cannot compare. Tourism allows one to explore the marvels of the real world, rather than an artificial world created to facilitate game mechanics. Sport improves fitness, mental function and also provides a social group to participate in. Reading books can teach you about new things and can be filled with much better stories than games have. In fact, at worst, the story in games only has to be interesting enough to keep you moving between levels, which is a very low bar to set. Hanging out with your friends in real life and sharing those experiences will create deeper and more meaningful relationships than those arising from the shared experience of playing the same games. >try something with a massive universe Whatever universe you choose, it is made by devs interested in selling you a game. Memories manufactured for you by programmers in a world built by another can never compare to those you make for yourself in the real world. The spontaneity of other people's personalities (provided you know interesting people) can never be beaten by the repeated script given to an NPC.

Personally, I think video games are a waste of time nine times out of ten, and I regret the fact that I've spent over six thousand hours playing them (and that's just what the Steam statistics tell me!) Keep in mind, I'm not really a "gamer", I stick to things I know I like and rarely venture beyond my "comfort zone", which lies within the realm of multiplayer and action-shooter games. As such, I did not get to experience the proverbial "profound interactive narratives", "innovative game mechanics", "stunning art-direction", "realistic graphics" and what have you. I don't view games as an art form and my experience with games that do present themselves as "art" is limited, plus, my choice of games is not rich and is devoid of variety more or less, thus skewing my perception of the entire medium is what I am trying to say. With that out of the way, I'd like to elaborate on the reasoning behind my opinion. My biggest gripe with videogames as a whole is their "inconsequentiality". Multiplayer games, in the long run, meet one of two fates: they either die, or change to the point where they don't resemble the original product anymore. Either way, they become non-enjoyable at best or completely unplayable at worst. I've poured over three thousand hours into TF2, and what about now? I don't play the game anymore. It's just a husk of its former self. It lost a lot of the charm it had in its early days and it lost the original community. It's no longer enjoyable. I don't have anything to show for the time I've spent playing the game besides my playtime statistics, an occasional screenshot I have taken, some memories I have of the game, and a few friends I made while playing it that stuck around. Singleplayer games, or what little I've played of them, at least, seem "confused". The games that are made to be infinitely replayable and/or don't have a clear goal in mind end up being repetitive (meanwhile, multiplayer games, while being extremely repetitive, have the multiplayer aspect, which makes them all the more engaging and fresh). I honestly don't understand people who play roguelikes or replay RPGs but "different questlines and character builds this time". Singleplayer games that set out to tell a story seem to be subpar at being an enjoyable game and telling a good story. Personally, I focus on the gameplay more, and so the mechanics and the movement and the action pull all of my attention away from the story, or sometimes straight up undermine it by not being enjoyable. When I do manage to focus on the story, I rarely find it engaging; furthermore, I can often sense how the medium constrains the story and its presentation. I'd rather read a book or watch a film based on a plot-heavy game than actually play it, essentially. Even then, the amount of good stories the medium can allow to tell while retaining the interactivity aspect and making it meaningful and enjoyable is fairly limited. Again, there's usually very little to show for having played or finished a singleplayer videogame. Singleplayer videogames don't produce as much emotion or thought as books and films do. The memories they produce are insubstantial. They don't allow for interaction with others. They are pointless. I'd also like to talk about video games that work as a "creative outlet". I've always enjoyed level editors and sandbox games. I made maps for CS:S servers I played on, I spent hours creating small campaigns in Spore: Galactic Adventures, I put together simple Super Metroid ROMhacks, I made GMod screenshots and a bunch of short animated videos and more. Looking back, however, I realize how insubstantial all of it was. I have spent over two thousand hours doing all of the above, and none of it really left an impact for me personally. I realize that I wish I had spent these two thousand hours learning a "proper" creative skill like drawing, 3D modelling or coding, where I could create something that is completely original, of my own making. Perhaps I could have been a professional artist or game developer by now. The things I did, however, were basic, and on par with playing with virtual pre-made Lego blocks. Faux-creativity, if you will. On the bright side, video games aren't completely useless. They can help you make friends. They're immensely helpful for language-learning purposes. It's kind of a double-edged sword, but they prove to be a great source of distraction if you're depressed and/or have intrusive thoughts. They can improve your reaction time, hand-eye coordination, analytic skills, teach you to optimize and be efficient and more. I do stress the fact that while the benefits are there, they are, again, rather insubstantial, and you'd be better off practicing all those things IRL. To sum up, there are always better alternatives to be found to the benefits offered by videogames, and they are always more meaningful in the long run. Channel your focus and creativity elsewhere, lest they be wasted.

>>36581 Ty for a quality reply. Don't have much to say because I mostly agree with you

>>36580 >its artificial Cities are as artificial as the virtual worlds we build. Tourism is mostly a empty activity. Especially the hotel-beach tourism most practice. I've done world traveling living among the normal people, hiking through countries and i did find it more enjoyable than anything else i ever did but theres not much gain beyond some interesting stories to tell and some basic entry level language skills. If i was goal-oriented i shoudlve invested all that money instead.

Video games are just another way of coping life&time with lesser pains, but I have a weird feeling about mentally engaging some fun technology that can actually make part of your dreams and thoughts. I mean, some quests, man...they appear to you as damn problems to solve and real life itself is full of this soykaf. Felt like I was wasting not only my time but my vital energy and brain power (if that's a thing). Could never stand playing games 5h+...dropping the complex material world to embrace a complex virtuality made by some developers, having my health go away, feeling like crap and learning nothing besides the damn game niche. Either I'd play SNES's Spawn, cause of the hardcore skill challenge, or Tetris, just to trick stress. Wouldn't make a good Wired member, lol. I learned to hate video games years ago because of some friends I've seen starting to drop our table rpg meetings to dive into MobA BS. When we actually met, was just a bunch of guys sitting around to talk about their soy gameplays, fuarrrking pathetic. Your friend invites you home, you get there and the mf's playing some repetitive fruity crap not even talking to you. Got quite pissed with gamers, seriously. I'm not proud of working in a wagie tech job, but since I've had a schedule that killed 8 hours of my day, I just can't sit and play anything for more than 1 hour. It just looks dumb, you know. Maybe useful when, IMO, you're absolutely 100% bored, but even, you can be a little creative and sort something else out.

>>36738 I feel the only games worth playing are the story-driven ones, but then again, if you want a good story, it's better read some book or manga

>>36459 >Are video games a waste of time? What isn't?

>>36740 Follow your own will and you'll see the difference immediately.

>>36739 Exactly. I love diving in a good story (Fallout series is about enough for me) but then again, gaming is a time consuming entertainment and you don't evolve much in other aspects. Once you finished the game you're basically the same guy with less time in your "account".

>>36459 yes and no. An animal's brain needs exercise, and video games have been proven to have a positive effect on the cognitive skills of the elderly. Moreover, some recent research shows that gamers tend to be around 10iq points higher than the average, which isn't surprising considering how much information a gamer has it process fast. This is definitely a better way to spend one's time when compared to passive entertainment like TV because it's unironically proving to be good for you. Video games are only bad when you somehow shift your priorities so much that vidya becomes your sole focus in life, but the same can be said about every other form of entertainment

video games like early street fighter can be beneficial because they test your reaction time within a limited set of moves, there is a very high skillcap, and players can be very creative. addictive grindy games are a waste of time on purpose. competition is where you want to be oriented, but NOT in first person shooters. briefly i will describe the fundamental issue with FPS's, ESPECIALLY ones where you play as a "cyborg ninja": cybernetics as a concept was invented because human beings are naturally incapable of aiming at things in the sky & tracking ballistics above their head -- the first use of cybernetics via norbert wiener was to target aerials. so you practicing 'aiming' is redundant, useless, impractical, impossible, and a total waste of time. playing a role is fine, but like ~25 you get bored with it and a better option is to make games yourself.

>>36773 >t. a gamer Love it when gamers jerk themselves off about gaming.

>>36773 Games have a significantly lower information density than basic real life there, kid.

>>36531 > it's just a waste of time to me, and a dangerous one because it's made to make you think you are actually doing something when you are just sitting in front of a screen for hours. >I think it is better to read a book, or watch a movie or something like that So watching a movie is not sitting in front of a screen for hours, same with books

>>36459 I think video games have a place alongside books and movies as an art form and a medium for consumption. It holds a candle to the other two in that you are actively participating in what's taking place rather than playing the passive observer. It allows for interesting narratives to be told that other art forms just can't do due to lack of interactivity. It's not just narratives, either; visual style, music, and worldbuilding all play key elements in most all games and benefit the imaginations of both developer and player. In those ways, video games are imo a worthy medium to invest time into. And of course, just like movies and books, games should never replace real-world experiences. It's all about balance and where you draw the line, and it's something all of humanity is learning constantly. Play games and have fun, but remember to put down your controller and go lift or talk to friends/family.

>>36996 Reading a book is more active because it requires a minimum amount of attention but this is not the case for movies.

They're a waste of time same way as reading a book is a waste of time.

>>36946 >kid People who talk like this on anonymous imageboards should really consider taking a lead aspirin.