A Game You Found More Enjoyable than Life Itself?

[Gergar12_v1legacy]

...so much cynicism in this thread. Are you guys even listening to what you're saying? "Life is dumb, boring and miserable, yay videogames!"


Sure, life has its rough patches and most of us (myself included) DO play games for the variety and escapism but... come on! There's a lot more to life than pretty graphics and frustrating mechanics. Sure, the difficulty curve is fucked up but once you pick your specialisation and get into the swing of things, it gets so much better! I've only started to really enjoy it when I was about 20 years in. You get used to all the XP grinding and at some point, it actually starts to pay off.

Also the exploration options are unparalleled, the graphics and sound are just stunning at times, you get to pick your own soundtrack, maybe even create it in real time if you put enough XP into musical instruments or computers.

Combat is almost entirely optional as well. Myself, I put a few points into hand-to-hand just in case I run into some trouble in one of the story missions but if you don't want to, you can get through the entire game without firing a single shot.

Also, it has emergent storytelling and large parts of the world are user-generated. I mean come on. I don't want to sound like a fanboy, I know some of the plot twists can be just retarded and the ballance in multiplayer is completely broken... but still, I'm pretty sure there's at least some appeal to be found for just about anyone. Give it a chance.

You know the ferrystones that cost too much in dragon dogma but not dark arisen. That's traveling for you. If this was an rpg, no one would buy it even if they were role playing the president, because it be like no don't go to war, they hate us, no don't outlaw this. Also for allot of people's lives have more rough patches then good times.

 

[Towels]

Suikoden 2.

Cheers for good taste.

For me, Final Fantasy 6. It was better than life itself because I was that quiet outcast kid in 7th grade who related to his peers by naming the heroic characters after his classmates. And boy did I put a lot of thought into who was idealized by what role. Luckily I even named Celes "Rachel" way before I knew anything about Locke's girlfriend Rachel, and the first playthough I though that Rachel's name would change if I named Celes something different. The game was literally better than Life itself. (Which is kind of a sad childhood... Oh well. Yay, Final Fantasy!)

Also, this practice easily gave Chrono Cross an extra several hours of gameplay.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Second comment nailed it. Games are escapism from our normal daily nonsense. A game fails when it can't take us away an immerse us in other worlds.

But, to stick to the actual idea, I'll go ahead and say minecraft comes immediately to mind, with it's interminable creativity and ways to shape the world. Infamous and Arkham Asylum had my subconscious planting me in those roles whenever I wasn't conscious. Skyrim made me want to build things with hammers and power them with magic and thu'um. Saint's Row, Mafia 2, Just Cause, GTA, and a few others make me hate seeing people crossing the road anywhere but crosswalks, because my mind is not conditioned to think of them as targets to aim for; ditto cars I want that pass me on the road--I want to catch up to them, jump from car to car, and yoink it for the garage I don't have.

All of these things are better than my life. My life is dull and boring most of the time, and I'm the kind of person who takes advantage of open plains and cheap planes to go skydiving, or to travel to the Florida Keys to go SCUBA diving. But I'm limited by my form. In games, I'm the perfect genetic result of combining adventurers, gymnasts, olympians, marathon runners, crack-shots, and free-climbers. I can run and jump and climb on everything, or be totally silent while I bow-hunt lions and tigers and bears (oh my), any and all of which would maul me dead in real life, or run the hell away if they didn't want to play with their food.

Even driving games are better than real life. I can't count how many mounds of dirt or cargo trucks with the ramp down that I've wanted to launch off of, or how many times I wish I could just let my car absorb the damage as I plow through traffic. This is, after all, exactly what they're for.

 

[CloudAtlas]

Games more enjoyable than Life itself? Well, most games I played, or at least, by revealed preference, they were always more enjoyable than anything else I could do at this time.

That said, no game has come even remotely close in terms to long term motivation to Life, so I guess I'm still sticking to Life. Graphics are better, too, just the gameplay is quite dull at times.

Because you should always close a statement with the most overused phrase you can think of.

 

[WhyWasThat]

Ever consider getting into Demon's/Dark Souls?
With the exception of Oblivion (my favourite game of all time in, case you couldn't guess from the thread), I've never played an RPG more mesmerising and engrossing - and flat-out brilliant - than the Souls series.

I'm going to buy Dark Souls soon! You know, when I have enough money to pay for rent, food AND games ;_;

As for Oblivion, I started playing it and became instantly lost in the first area and murdered by some wizards - should I pick it up again? Will it be more fun and colourful than Skyrim? Which mods would you suggest?

Give Oblivion a chance. I personally love the tutorial dungeon, but pretty much everyone else seems to hate so it's understandable if it put you off. But give the game a proper chance. Wait 'till you get outside, follow the main story path for a little while at least just to get your bearings and get to grips with all of the games mechanics and nuances (it's really not as convoluted as at first may seem). Use this also as an opportunity to figure out which play style you favour - melee, spell caster, stealth or some combination of the three. Then, just do your thing. Once you get into Oblivion you'll find it has a beautiful flow to it. It's more lighthearted than Skyrim, more colourful, more vibrant and lush. And it's all the better for it in my opinion.
As for mods, I'm afraid this is where I can no longer help you. I played the game on consoles, you see.

But I urge you, give the game another chance. It may have aged slightly in its graphical and gameplay fidelity, but it's every inch the burnished gem now as it was on release.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Recently it's been DOTA2. Sounds crazy, but honestly I feel now how the OP felt about Oblivion.

So many memorable moments that just stick with you like clinching a kill or saving a friend at the last moment or planning and scheming the perfect gank.

When things go right it's one of the most satisfying experiences I've had with games in a long long time.

 

[Gauntlets28]

Oh dear Lord I lived in the Elder Scrolls games for probably several years! I spent the most time in Oblivion, because it felt the most real, but my heart was always lost somewhere in Morrowind, culturally. I was always a Telvanni. Skyrim was up until recently a major obsession, before it petered out.... Then I bought the Dragonborn expansion, and now I'm once again a Telvanni living in Raven Rock!
Other than that, provided I got to be a Hero, I always thought that I would love to live in Fable's Albion, maybe in Oakvale if it didn't keep on getting wiped out all the time (not that it would if I was the resident Hero!).

 

[D-Class 198482]

This may sound weird, but...
Postal 2. No game is more gloriously offensive. I was literally a destructive, mad god, casting a fucking plague of radiation on the townspeople.
Pure bliss.

 

[Snowbell]

But I urge you, give the game another chance. It may have aged slightly in its graphical and gameplay fidelity, but it's every inch the burnished gem now as it was on release.

I will give it another chance, thank you sir!

As for gameplay and graphics I'm sure there will be mods available, I'll get round to buying it soon~

 

[lacktheknack]

No game can beat salmon for dinner.

Probably the only time I really prioritized gaming over real life was when I was ensconced in Myst Online, but that only lasted for a few days.

 

[WhyWasThat]

I'm beginning to suspect most people in this thread have fuck all of an actual life.

Yes life has its shit times, quite frequently. Doesn't mean it doesn't have it's amazing times either. Stop being so fucking cynical.

Whatever about what others are saying, but I think you may have misunderstood the point of the thread. I am in no way 'condemning' real life. Rather I'm just highlighting times when gaming got so good that it actually swept you off your feet and planted you in another world entirely. These incidences are meant to be rare, which is why I'm focusing on them.

Real life can't and shouldn't be replaced with a virtual one, naturally.

 

[AngloDoom]

Most.

Right now I am in limbo, working nights to save up so I can afford to go to university and gain a career and hopefully do something with my life. When I'm not working, I'm struggling to get to sleep or studying in my spare time for my course. I'm currently waiting to have a test booked in hospital so I can see whether or not I'll need a heart monitor surgically implanted into my skin, which will prevent me from following a hobby I've been hoping to get back into in future which I cannot currently do now because I work nights.

Last week in X-Com: Enemy Unknown I advanced the human race several hundred (thousand?) years ahead technologically in the course of a year and lead a team which saved the Earth.

You lost me at the heart monitor part... What??

It sounds worse than it is. I have had random fainting episodes with no real understanding of why I'm having them and after quite a few tests the doctors have said they basically have no idea why I keep fainting, there might be an irregularity with my heart-beat, and so they want to perform a minor surgery and put this:

into my chest so it can monitor my heart next time I have a fainting episode so I can give them more information to go by. It's a very minor surgery, but I won't be able to attend kickboxing (something I've been wanting to get back into for years) because of the risk of damaging it.

 

[WhyWasThat]

Most.

Right now I am in limbo, working nights to save up so I can afford to go to university and gain a career and hopefully do something with my life. When I'm not working, I'm struggling to get to sleep or studying in my spare time for my course. I'm currently waiting to have a test booked in hospital so I can see whether or not I'll need a heart monitor surgically implanted into my skin, which will prevent me from following a hobby I've been hoping to get back into in future which I cannot currently do now because I work nights.

Last week in X-Com: Enemy Unknown I advanced the human race several hundred (thousand?) years ahead technologically in the course of a year and lead a team which saved the Earth.

You lost me at the heart monitor part... What??

It sounds worse than it is. I have had random fainting episodes with no real understanding of why I'm having them and after quite a few tests the doctors have said they basically have no idea why I keep fainting, there might be an irregularity with my heart-beat, and so they want to perform a minor surgery and put this:

into my chest so it can monitor my heart next time I have a fainting episode so I can give them more information to go by. It's a very minor surgery, but I won't be able to attend kickboxing (something I've been wanting to get back into for years) because of the risk of damaging it.

I'm sorry to hear that. Will you ever be able to attend kickboxing again?

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I couldn't say what game I enjoyed that much, as I have not experienced enough of life to be able to determine so.

The games I unexpectedly enjoyed a crapton of:

Mass Effect 2
Half Life 2
The Witcher 2(after the Kraken quest)
KoTOR 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Dirt 2(wow, is there a trend emerging?)
Torchlight 2
Company of Heroes(combo breaker right there)
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Metro Last Light

 

[TaintedSaint]

All of them, Being me sucks I would not recommend it.

 

[AngloDoom]

I'm sorry to hear that. Will you ever be able to attend kickboxing again?

Almost certainly, to be quite honest. The monitor will only remain in my chest a few years to see if there are any problems with my heart - chances are there will likely be nothing worth worry about but it's the only way the doctors can think of of being sure, since my blackouts occur at random, very infrequent, intervals.

So thank you very much for your sympathises, but there's no real reason for concern. If anything it's just inconvenient.

Realistically, once I'm out of my 'limbo-state' I'm going to have a great time and I'm going to have a lot of fun meeting new people when I move and (hopefully) trying new things. If I can't do kickboxing I'll just have to try something less impact-y, like getting back into fencing or something.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Why would I play a game that's more dull then my every day life?
(That being said I have played a lot of games that suck)

But most games are more fun than day to day, If they weren't Games wouldn't be a be a popular pass time would they?

As of right now Tales of Graces F is what I'm playing.

 

[DishonoredElderSouls]

Fallout: New Vegas and Oblivion. No game is actually better than real life, but at the peak of my experiences with these games, I felt completely and utterly enveloped by the worlds, people, emotions, and experiences they provided me with that only real life can comparatively do.

 

[Elijin]

At some point or another, videogames are more enjoyable than life, even to those saying otherwise. If they werent, no one would play them. Sure, its not 100% videogames are better than every waking moment of life, but obviously there are times when life is pretty dull, so you turn to an interactive entertainment option. You know, a video game.

 

[SweetShark]

......what?
Dude, I really love videogames and I play many of them, but come on, better than Life?
I will NEVER in my life [yes, I know...] put a Videogame over my family,my friends,my work.
Sure, I love to play games and talk about them a lot in Internet and be able to not fear of what kind of games I play [because I play "strange" games].
However, no, I will never do this, ever. I don't like to think like that!!!

Sorry for saying this, but you need to face reality. Sure it may be difficult [it IS difficult, but I am saying], but don't destroy your life for Videogames.