I am 19 and in university, I have absolutely no intention of putting the controller down anytime soon.
A Grandmothers opinions of gaming.
- Thread starter Chancecall
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Warm hug! That was entirely not creepy! But was still held inappropriately long!Jenova65 said:
OT: If you can watch movies or read books until you die, then you can game.
There was an article about this on the escapist the other day. The author was talking about how he was a part of one of the last generations that considered gaming to be purely a juvinile hobby. For people of older generations the term "game" defines the experience, it's like a different form of monopoly, something kids sit down to have some fun with. But gamers know this really isn't the truth. Gaming isn't "gaming," it's an interactive media, and though society has yet to recognize it as such, it's every bit as valid as film or prose. No doubt there will come a day where society actually does recognize this, but for now us gamers will have to deal with being a missunderstood group.
This goes back to the the unspoken worth classification system that applies to art. Example: books by old Renaissance masters or Greek philosophers which, though they may not necessarily translate well into today's society and dialectical habits, have been celebrated for centuries because of their artistry and/or insightfulness, are considered to be "high class" art. 70's exploitation films featuring chain smoking gangsters and renegade cops who un-ironically spout cheesey one-liners are considered "low class" art. It's a very stilted and ineffectual system intended to sort good art from the bad, but what it comes down to usually falls along the lines of "the older the better", or "the more pretentious, the more artistic."
Video games are considered "low class" art, which is rather unfair. People like your Grandmother belong to a generation whose children played primitive forms of video games in their free time, and as such the hobby became accepted as "childish." This hasn't really dissipated today, unfortunately, because games that could potentially boost the artistic merit of video games (Okami, Silent Hill 2, etc.) aren't as widely publicized as generic FPS's like Halo and CoD6. Also, the class system looks disfavorably on light-hearted or satirical works, so even though games like Saint's Row 2 or House of the Dead: Overkill can be said to have a great deal of literary or artistic merit, they aren't accepted either because they're still being judged on an ancient de facto system badly in need of revision.
I say we kill all the old people. That'll solve everything.
Video games are considered "low class" art, which is rather unfair. People like your Grandmother belong to a generation whose children played primitive forms of video games in their free time, and as such the hobby became accepted as "childish." This hasn't really dissipated today, unfortunately, because games that could potentially boost the artistic merit of video games (Okami, Silent Hill 2, etc.) aren't as widely publicized as generic FPS's like Halo and CoD6. Also, the class system looks disfavorably on light-hearted or satirical works, so even though games like Saint's Row 2 or House of the Dead: Overkill can be said to have a great deal of literary or artistic merit, they aren't accepted either because they're still being judged on an ancient de facto system badly in need of revision.
I say we kill all the old people. That'll solve everything.
I found that when I got a new girlfriend my game time was significantly cut for her. It didn't disappear and I got significantly more use out of my DS, but it was decreased.
honestly though, gaming is a hobby and, like most hobbies, has no real point. I've seen full books(recreational reading being another hobby of mine) that by the time you are done, you've gained nothing. You didn't change the way you think, you didn't see anything from a new perspective, you didn't learn anything new, you are exactly the same as when you began. They are exactly like playing games, only the sense of achievement with each action is gone. However, if you told your grandmother you wanted a book like say, twilight, instead of a game she would probably oblige because the view of books and recreational reading has matured.
Long story short, games are a hobby and usually have no real point. It's just a recreational hobby, like stamp collecting with guns, it just doesn't seem like an adult hobby to many of the last generation.
honestly though, gaming is a hobby and, like most hobbies, has no real point. I've seen full books(recreational reading being another hobby of mine) that by the time you are done, you've gained nothing. You didn't change the way you think, you didn't see anything from a new perspective, you didn't learn anything new, you are exactly the same as when you began. They are exactly like playing games, only the sense of achievement with each action is gone. However, if you told your grandmother you wanted a book like say, twilight, instead of a game she would probably oblige because the view of books and recreational reading has matured.
Long story short, games are a hobby and usually have no real point. It's just a recreational hobby, like stamp collecting with guns, it just doesn't seem like an adult hobby to many of the last generation.
Everybody in my family can appreciate it, my mom more than others. It's a hobby and hobbies are needed by everyone.
That said, let me tell you that having a child DOES change this (for good parents that is) you find your playtime severely limited (I may never finish dragon age) which was a bit of a shock for me.
worth it though.
That said, let me tell you that having a child DOES change this (for good parents that is) you find your playtime severely limited (I may never finish dragon age) which was a bit of a shock for me.
worth it though.
I'm 36 years old, and love the fact that I'm employed enough to support my gaming habit. (Although, to be honest, my husband is a dirty, stinkin' enabler...LOL) For me, five hours playing video games beats five hours glassy-eyed in front of the television any day.
Hey, it's me! heheheheLimaBravo said:
I'm a 30 year old software tech and my grandmother loves the fact I still game, I have no kids, my brother who is 24 has 6 to three different women, my sister who is 22 just had one, and my other sister who is 19 is looking slightly chubby and we're wondering.
My brother has gone through about 6 new and expensive cars since he was 20, his up to his eyes in debt, goes drinking every night of the week, smokes dope, and looks like he'll end up in jail very shortly.
Both my sisters are on the dole, and go through boyfriends more often then they have hot meals.
So the fact I'm a nerd who'd rather talk Star Trek then Motorsport and play video games then go out drinking has impressed on my family there are much worse things to be then a geek.
If you're stupid grandma OP keeps ragging on her, point out you could be shoving drugs up your arms.
My brother has gone through about 6 new and expensive cars since he was 20, his up to his eyes in debt, goes drinking every night of the week, smokes dope, and looks like he'll end up in jail very shortly.
Both my sisters are on the dole, and go through boyfriends more often then they have hot meals.
So the fact I'm a nerd who'd rather talk Star Trek then Motorsport and play video games then go out drinking has impressed on my family there are much worse things to be then a geek.
If you're stupid grandma OP keeps ragging on her, point out you could be shoving drugs up your arms.
Hi, archer guy here.
For me gaming is a hobby, a time passer. A very enjoying time passer that is. If there is something I need to do the games will have to wait.
Right now I'm in the process of mowing out from my parental home and together with my girlfriend. So a family is soon to be expected. That will consume a lot of time so games will have to take a smaller roll.
But since I have been gaming almost my entire life I don't think I will give up gaming in a long time.
For me gaming is a hobby, a time passer. A very enjoying time passer that is. If there is something I need to do the games will have to wait.
Right now I'm in the process of mowing out from my parental home and together with my girlfriend. So a family is soon to be expected. That will consume a lot of time so games will have to take a smaller roll.
But since I have been gaming almost my entire life I don't think I will give up gaming in a long time.
Anyone that ever says anything of the sort to me gets either ***** slapped or hit with the stick of facts.
Your grandmother suffers from a type of disease that common in old people, they fail to move with the times and realise that gaming has become a more adult thing.
Nobody criticizes the old folks for sitting on their arse all day watching bad soap opera's, except me whenever they criticize my hobby!
I will NEVER give up gaming. It's just what I do.
Your grandmother suffers from a type of disease that common in old people, they fail to move with the times and realise that gaming has become a more adult thing.
Nobody criticizes the old folks for sitting on their arse all day watching bad soap opera's, except me whenever they criticize my hobby!
I will NEVER give up gaming. It's just what I do.
I'd put down my controller if I found a girlfriend, but those two kind of cancel each other out...
Then again, I am looking for a girlfriend that doesn't put down the controller.(No, that's not an analogy)
The point is that there is no point. You can be creative and make something someone will enjoy, you can just be a regular office worker or become someone or something big and affect many lives in a good or a bad way, but once you realise that everyone you affected will be just as dead as you it doesn't really matter, does it?
Then again, I am looking for a girlfriend that doesn't put down the controller.(No, that's not an analogy)
The point is that there is no point. You can be creative and make something someone will enjoy, you can just be a regular office worker or become someone or something big and affect many lives in a good or a bad way, but once you realise that everyone you affected will be just as dead as you it doesn't really matter, does it?
I'm still trying to negotiate my copy of Borderlands back from my Granddad, he's 60 and semi-retired and in his free time all he does is play video games, and not Tetrix or Pacman but Call of Duty and GTA... he plays them more then I do lol.
For me, I enjoy playing computer games but I like to put them down every now and again to go out and do other however to each is own. I wouldn't dream of telling people to stop gaming and get a "life" or get out more, if you enjoy gaming 24 hours then game to your hearts content.
For me, I enjoy playing computer games but I like to put them down every now and again to go out and do other however to each is own. I wouldn't dream of telling people to stop gaming and get a "life" or get out more, if you enjoy gaming 24 hours then game to your hearts content.
