The reasons for our particular proclivity - The Bear and Badger

Louiecat

Shall I?........OK.

Recently my passion for gaming has been rekindled. Encouraged perhaps by the community and banter here, but also for many other far more complicated and grown up and cool and serious reasons.

So, why do you game? What are those deep seated, gut-based, visceral, driving forces behind your desire to "engage"?

WorKid

It's fun. I like a challenge.

Tempy

It passes time and is frequently less taxing than my study and work.

Louiecat

for me at the moment:

the variety of possible worlds to explore -Â CURIOUSITYÂ

shutdown from reality and focus on something intense and fun

adkm1979

I like kicking people in the face, but I'm not allowed to do it for real.

Skondo

Not even if provoked?

Louiecat

My mate is a cage fighter. He doesn't game as much. Praps that's why...

Rev

Well its mostly down to being on here again and wanting to get involved and playing dark souls. That has made me a gamer again. Has also moved me on to playing other games and securing my first release purchase in ages (no no kuni) its nice to have people I can talk to as well.

Brooks

I kinda don't anymore unless there's a promise of dazzling novelty and elegance of system and presentation.

regmcfly

I'd wait till next year to buy anything then, Brooks. And even then...

Brooks

I'll buy the Dork Souls DLC and I still need to check out English Country Tune but that's fucking it for 2K12 probably.

tigersgogrrr

Button presses that result in shiny lights and pleasing noises make my pleasure zones go NYAWOW.

Also as an escape from my bleak and hopeless life, I guess.

regmcfly

Brooks wrote:

I'll buy the Dork Souls DLC and I still need to check out English Country Tune but that's fucking it for 2K12 probably.

Retro city rampage may float the boat, ditto Hotline Miami

Brooks

Hotline I can imagine downloading a demo of, sure. Not sold on it unreservedly.

Jacuzzi_Jackson

I don't really have enough time to dedicate to gaming right now. Barely play anything.

davyK

Chasing the high that the old, proper, arcade gave.

Rarely get the buzz any more but I love a simple, abstract , well crafted game. To get into that quick die-retry loop is a pain-pleasure thing.

[Deleted User]

I was just about old enough to get swept up in the first wave of videogames and used to play a few arcade videogames to a Billy Mitchell standard. I used to play almost exclusively in a local snooker hall and hang about with a squad of older guys from there who weren't nerds but loved videogames. Occasionally the local shopping centre would get a game in that I was familiar with. Being a bit of an attention whore, I used to go there because the few times I had before, a crowd of people happened around the machine watching me. It was a different time then. I was in the local paper as the local "Arcade Whiz."
I dropped out completely when arcade videogames and the Playstation/N64 era went polygon. I just hated it. When most people thought it was a step forward, I thought it was a seriously ugly time for games.
I shared an appartment with a guy in America who bought a Dreamcast, which was the first console I'd seen that had games that didn't look like you were controlling a squareheaded fuckwit with triangle hands. Dead of Alive 2 was the best looking game I'd seen and we played that and Soul Calibur to death. When I came home I bought a DC, then an Xbox and a Gamecube and now an Xbox 360, PS3 and a Wii, which I've since sold.
It's getting a bit meh now, there are a few good games that no one seems to give a shit about and I'm playing less than ever. Maybe 3 hours a week at a push, although I did park Dark Souls last March in the place that looks like Blight Town, so I'll return to that at some stage, and enjoyed what I played of RE6 a lot.

Escape

regmcfly wrote:

Retro city rampage may float the boat

Part of me says the whole appeal of that enterprise was prodding nostalgia with modern code, and that's been lost along the way as it's fattened.

It's probably a better game as a result.

davyK

I really, honestly don't give a shit about graphics. When they look good they are a nice to have. I still spend time on the 2600 - not hours - but I find a quick 20min session on Kaboom enjoyable as anything else I play.

This is probably because I don't really care for first person shooters or sports games but I find it really hard to state what I actually do like about a game - I know it when I find it and some games bring back those old feelings so there is a nostalgia thing going on too.

Kororinpa and Geometry Wars Galaxies really clicked with me but I don't know why.

Brooks

I definitely give a shit about graphics, insofar as I like them to be attractive whatever the computational grunt required to provide them.

Mod74

Isn't that design rather than graphics? and yes, now we're getting murky.

Jacuzzi_Jackson

I get the same feeling of pleasure from playing a computer game as i did as a kid playing war with friends and toy guns and the like. Its like it keeps a part of you alive that can just die out as you get older if you don't have some link back to it. I think on a fundamental level thats why i play games.

mk64

I game because i'm competitive. I am motivated by recognition and reward so the gaming mechanism in general suits my personality.

[Deleted User]

I would like things to be displayed in 1080p, the crispness is just nice to see, in the exact same way as I prefer HD TV/movies to SD.

A game doesn't need to have epic textures and bloom out if it's mind to look good. Best example is actually Rayman on 360/PS3, it's not shouting "Wow look at me" it's just very pretty and pleasant to play. It feels like playing a cartoon which is pretty much what I have always wanted in a game.

Tech should serve the art side of games not the other way around.
By this I mean the hardware should be capable of displaying the art style in the best way possible, artists shouldn't be shoehorning stuff in just because the tech is capable of it.

[Deleted User]

As to why I play games.

As mentioned above I always liked the idea of being able to play cartoons, which is pretty much what it was like in the 90s.
Most games I would consider my favourites will either be obviously cartoon like (Banjo, Sonic 2 etc), Stylised (Timesplitters) or remind me in some way of cartoons, say arcade racers remind me of M.A.S.K and even Dark Souls had a bit of Visionaries going on.

fullspectrum

There are lots of reasons, here are a couple.

I miss the arcade buzz especially fighting games (ones whose names start with Street Fighter), so I started my own tournament.

My brother has made games since AMOS and I've always been a tester, I love to see his tastes and influences, which are very close to mine, come through in the games he makes and I love messing around with things, doing things with them they weren't intended for and the discovery that comes with that.

I love a good story like Silent Hill 2, things with punk attitude, like Hotline Miami, elegantly designed asymetrical competitive games like the best fighters. Many reasons.

Tempy

I enjoy playing games with people in co-op more than I enjoy many other things. I also adore pass the pad, but the world doesn't share this love.

Skondo

davyK wrote:

I still spend time on the 2600 - not hours - but I find a quick 20min session on Kaboom enjoyable as anything else I play.

I loved Kaboom. Was lucky enough to receive it for Christmas one year along with a 2600. Kaboom and Combat were the first two games I ever played.

Jacuzzi_Jackson

Tempy wrote:

I enjoy playing games with people in co-op more than I enjoy many other things. I also adore pass the pad, but the world doesn't share this love.

Pass the pad coupled with 'neat or none' passing around of some strong liquor really is party time.

MattyJ

Videogames are fucking ace. I love them. I just really enjoy the variety of worlds, storied, characters and situations I find myself in. I can be shitting myself in Silent Hill, or playing in a world cup final, or killing Locast, or anything, really.

I enjoy co-op but I'm more than happy playing on my own.

davyK

Mod74 wrote:

Isn't that design rather than graphics? and yes, now we're getting murky.

Design - that's the ticket. I happen to think that, for example, Super Breakout is as pleasing on the eye as today's most lauded titles.

And the in-the-same-room multi-player experience is where it is still at for me. Not always practical of course.

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