Ha! ResidentZoidberg nailed it exactly right!
I love videogames and always have from the moment I picked up my first NES controller. My first game (like so many others here) was Super Mario Bros. & Duck Hunt. I spent countless hours playing those titles and still throw them in once in awhile to relive those happy memories.
In the twenty or so years I've been gaming I've been through bad, good, and everything in between and videogames were always part of my life. Sometimes I couldn't play much at all other times I was engrossed in the latest Final Fantasy title.
I think to me videogames been an escape. Like reading a great book or watching a favorite film videogames provide a glimpse into another world or another life but maybe more so than even other forms of entertainment. Whether it was a hard day at school, relationship problems, money woes, stress at work, it makes no difference. Videogames provide a brief reprieve from the demands of the real world.
My favorite gaming memories include a lot of friends and family and I'm glad to have those moments.
As I mentioned initially, video games have been an escape route for me. A way of dealing with a lot of pain over the years. Back when I started playing video games, people who played were often ridiculed (at least at my school). Only geeks, freaks and nerds played video games. Video games helped me cope with the verbal abuse I went through growing up.
Shortly before I graduated High School I shattered my ankle and had to have surgery to fix it. Metal screws were inserted, along with a plate, to hold everything together. Video games helped me past that. About a month after I completed my Welding Apprenticeship, I herniated a disc and spent close to a year out in pain and therapy. I went back to work for about 6 months before the disc ruptured. Since then I"ve had surgery (again metal was inserted, never to be taken out) and I live with chronic pain. I have been out of work 7 months due to pain.
I've been married for 13 years. My daughter is 13. Video games have been one of the few ways I can connect with my daughter due to my disability. My wife only minds my gaming if I spend 16 hours a day online and ignore her. As long as I take time away from the games to cook dinner, watch tv with her, and stop what I"m doing when she needs me to help, she doesn't mind me gaming.
I know a lot of guys who have lost their spouses or girlfriends because they could not or would not take the time to spend with their significant others. Or because they would not help with their children. Really it's not that hard guys. Take some time and spend it with your woman. Heck, girls, pay attention to that as well. If you spend all your time online (whether it's gaming or fashion shows in HOME) spend some time with your guy. We all appreciate a little interaction and attention.
Gaming has also allowed me to meet some new people online. While I'm not a fan of most multiplayer games, the fact that the internet (and it's impact on gaming) can introduce people from across the country and across the world is an amazing thing.
Its a way to help me relax after a stressful day. Something I can do to have fun. I can also challenge myself playing some games, strategy especially, and work to outsmart my opponents.
I also use gaming as a way to socialize; multiplayer gaming has given me several good friends.
I'll just leave it at that...don't feel like launching into a huge wall-o-text right now
PapaWarlock wrote:In today's online world, it seems that people would rather complain about things than talk positive about things. I've recently been in a few rather negative conversations, including one that I created. For those that know me rather well, know that I live with a lot of physical pain. I decided to create a new conversation today, one designed to hopefully spark some good conversation and story swapping.
Today's topic is "What have video games done for you?"
I've been gaming for 30 years myself. Video games have long been an escape route for me. Much like books, video games allow me to visit various worlds. They allow me to be the hero. They take me on adventures that I could not normally have. Video games also allow me to focus past the physical pain I live with.
I will likely expand my story later on today or tomorrow. But for now I'll keep it short and look forward to seeing what video games have done for others.
Video games, for me, have evolved from a personal outlet of energy to more of a social scene. I have actually met some really nice and respectable people through gaming.
I've been gaming for over 30 years now and, for me, gaming is a hobby. It is one of the things that I do to relax and pass my extra time enjoyably.
For starters, I'm really glad that video games have been able to help you through the hard times, Papa. I can definitely understand that. I don't have anything chronic but whenever I'm sick or having a rough time, video games often are a great cure-all.
For me, video games have been with me since childhood. They represent a huge portion of my life that I love - creavitivy, art, fantasy and sci-fi stories and just pure fun! They inspire my tastes in music, movies and books and even my paintings and graphic design.
Lately I haven't had the time to devote to games that they deserve but I really hope to get back into the swing of that soon.
They changed my life. They also led me to other things, like these forums for example, and some really great people, both IRL and online. 10 and a half years ago I got hooked, and became addicted to them. It's pretty much mainly all I would do besides watching TV. They're just so entertaining, have compelling stories, great characters, and more things. They can pretty much get my attention completely.*I'm looking at you inFamous, Pokemon, Need for Speed, Kingdom Hearts, and all the other games I would play for hours on end because I couldn't stop*
I do wonder how much time I've put into video games total in my life. Pokemon alone put me at past 1500 hours (Possibly 2000-I'd need to check the timers and add them up again). Probably at least a full year is how much time I've spent.
Gaming unfortunately for the past two years has taken almost a backseat in favor of one of my other passions, anime. I don't play that much these days, but it can also be due to the fact I haven't bought many games the past few years in favor of other things, so I'm stuck still with all these games I've played before (Even though it's 200+). But then again, I have a couple of games, sitting unbeaten, not played a whole lot. Not the ones I got stuck in, and have pretty much given all hope in beating.
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