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I was standing outside of my computer science class the other day, listening to two of my classmates chat with one another. The younger guy was going on about playing minecraft, while the older guy was sort of pretending to listen. He suggested to him that he try the game, to which he responded, “That is such waste of time. I have so much better things to do with my time than that.” The conversation more or less ended there, and the two of them walked together into the class room to take their seats.
No doubt many of you have heard the same things before. It is a pretty typical response from people. When they imagine playing video games they think of some brain dead adolescent, dumbly staring at a TV screen with dead, glassy eyes, mashing buttons slowly on a controller, carrying on like this for literally every waking hour of every day.
When I hear people say this thing, I have taken it upon myself to challenge them on the statement. What exactly is it that you do that is so much more worthy of your time? Mostly I get the same defensive answers about work, or school, maybe they have kids or whatever, as if that absolutely gives them the moral high ground in whatever time management argument they happen to be in. When I point out that most people who play video games have work, or school, or kids or whatever, and video games are what they do in their free time, they usually back pedal a bit. “Whatever you do on your off hours is cool I guess. Personally I am always buys, I just don't have time for that kind of thing”. Not satisfied with that, they will then go on to list all of their many responsibilities, until they have thoroughly convinced themselves that they are the busy adults they think they are, working and attending to obligations thirty six hours of ever day.
The truth is that most people, on most days, come home and watch television. They don't tell me that because it would make their hypocrisy just a little too obvious. Not that there is anything wrong with watching television. I spend many hours every day engaging in fictitious combat with fairies, monsters, and above all, big breasted scantily clad women; I am not about to tell some guy watching reruns of “Cone Heads” that he is wasting his life. At the same time, if you are one of the millions of people who comes home everyday to watch fox news and the newest edgy dramas on showtime and HBO, you are no better off than me, or guy who watches “Cone Heads,” or anybody else for that matter. I could make the argument that video games are an interactive enterprise, while television is purely passive, so by playing video games I am actually making better use of my time than people who watch television... but I won't do that. It doesn't matter really. You do your thing, and I do mine, and lo and behold we are equals after all.
“I listen to music,” is a response I have heard. The subtext being that music is art while videos games are garbage. Well... there happens to be music in most video games. So... maybe some people play games, in part, because they enjoy the music in the game? Christopher Tin won a Grammy for a piece he composed for the video game “Civilization”. I don't know, I think that is pretty cool. There are also visual elements to video games, such as in the way the characters and the back grounds are portrayed. Couldn't those drawings and animations be artistic expressions? Most video game have a story. Maybe people play video games because they enjoy the plot and narrative? Also, if you consider the physical and mechanical actions in the game, the “game” part of the video game, that could be interpreted as a kind of art. After all some video games are “better” than others for some reason. Even playing video games could be artistic. Ballet is an art form, right? What is ballet routine but a display of creativity and technical finesse? Isn't a game of starcraft the same thing?
My favorite arguments are “you should go outside”, because people who play video games and social pariahs are mutually inclusive, or “you should play sports”, implying that their meaningless game played on grass is some how more worth while than my meaningless game played on a computer. Sports are a good way to get exercise, not knocking it or anything. If you don't like sports you should probably find some other way to exercise, if only for the good of your health. At the same time there are plenty of overweight, middle aged guys sitting in their house right now, none of them playing video games. No one is knocking on their door , telling them they need to find a foot ball field. That would be rude, right? So kindly STFU while I am shooting zombies on my Xbox, I do not need that thank you. I know what a tread mill looks like and I can find one if I need it.
I know I am preaching to the choir here... the point I am trying to make is that video games is just another thing people do when they are not working. Most of us spend the vast majority of our time attending to “responsibilities”. Responsibilities usually suck. Most of us don't like most of our responsibilities, but we do them because we are, you know, responsible. The things we do when are responsibilities are taking care of are our hobbies and past times. It's the part of our life we like doing, that we are passionate about, that we love. When you say “I have so much better things to do with my time then...” about anything you are about to take a giant shit on that person and that isn't cool. Forgive me while I get philosophical here, but after religion, family, our country, and then our work what we do with the rest of our life is really what makes us who we are. Nobody is knows any better than anyone else about that and nobody possibly could.
 
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good read. i could make the same rant every goddamn day to be honest. it drive me mad what kind of attitude some people (read: my father) has on video games and what i am doing with my life (read: my free time). i find myself in the EXACT same situation you describe everyday of my life. thanks for reading my thoughts and putting them to paper (read: internetz).
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I have experience with work, school, and kids and I can say with certainty that video games are a more worthwhile endeavor than any of them.
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To be honest I used to have almost exactly the same stance as you on this: videogames aren't any worse than television or sports. But for the past couple of months, as I become more and more disenchanted with every game I own, every game I watch, I've felt like I'm outgrowing games. I made a bad habit of sitting down at my computer every day when I get home, now I have production and motivation problems. I have almost no social life because I would rather stay in my basement than go out with friends. I have little in common with everyone else because only 1/10 of the people I know play computer games a lot, only a few (who I don't like) really play anything more complex than minecraft.
Everything is healthy in moderation: I would probably be fine if I could just play for like an hour or two per day, but I just can't. Although news outlets like to sensationalize "videogame addiction," I can vouch that it isn't hard to be addicted, to lose your priorities. I want to go to a top university, and although I have the grades and scores, it's hard to get the connections, internships, and other accolades you need if you're always hunched over your computer. I have also become less regular in my exercising and less healthy in my eating habits and thus gained weight/loss muscle. I'm not saying you can't play a lot of games without doing this, but after a certain point you have to possess a ton of self-control.
I'm not saying videogames are worse than TV because they aren't, but both have their advantages. I find myself a lot less engaged when I watch television and a lot easier to stop myself and get to work. Sports are amazing because you can make better friendships than online, get exercise, and "be cool," or at least do something that's socially acceptable.
For all you teens and young adults, if you are having problems with productivity, relationships, or what have you, seriously consider unplugging. Work out and socialize in your free time, I guarantee you will be happier and improve your life. Games are good in moderation, but if you're like me, it's very hard to keep them under control.
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Hey chocolate I am glad you are happier with what you are doing now. Good luck with school.
Not much to say about other than that. You should do what is best for you, including not playing as much or any video games. Just don't assume people who play games are having the same experience you had.
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You should also consider other explanations for that answer. If they are talking about video games chances are there pretty good friends. Maybe he's busy that week or he has other video games to play.
However for the rest of what you said I.E. playing sports or watching T.V. i've had that argument with my parents as well. My dad will come home after a day of work and he'll watch T.V. if i come home and watch anime its like its completly different. I took 5 years of japanese i can watch my anime if i want.
I've also gotten the argument that video games aren't social. While i agree sc2 isn't very social, its certainly more social that watching T.V
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On September 02 2012 12:40 mothergoose729 wrote:
Hey chocolate I am glad you are happier with what you are doing now. Good luck with school.
Not much to say about other than that. You should do what is best for you, including not playing as much or any video games. Just don't assume people who play games are having the same experience you had.
Thanks. I hope you don't think I mean all game-playing is bad: it's perfectly fine. But there's a point where you're not socializing, not working, and not moving that just isn't healthy. It's easy to fall into that situation, but if you're not in it then I think you're doing fine. I will always judge people who play too much videogames, just as I will judge people who watch too much anime or television or prioritize sports.
I just want everyone to manage themselves responsibly. If you can't, stay away from games. You'll end up like me: a bitter, out of shape, mildly depressed guy (not any of those now  ) who regrets wasting all those hours making probes and placing pylons.
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use the word "like" excessively
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I agree with you. I once wrote a blog on TL about how I felt forcing people to learn music was the same as getting them interested in other things that they enjoyed instead. Why aren't kids being pushed towards technology? Why karate, or foreign languages, or music, or chess? There's too much tradition in society and too often people grow old and want to argue "well I'm more experienced", my opinion should be right. No, it isn't. Logic is right.
It's tradition that watching TV and going outside is fine but playing games is not.
I'm improving as a player. I watch my replays, I do calculations, I test things out, I keep a document of all the things I've learned and refer to it in the future. I can even track my ELO progression. There's so much enjoyment derived from mastery of a hobby. Though be careful not to let gaming interfere with anything else.
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I've got a great story about this.
A girl I was dating and I were talking. She asked what I was doing that coming weekend, and I said I was watching MLG all day Saturday with some buddies. She said, "I can't believe you'd spend a day watching video games. That's so unproductive and such a waste."
First off, I told her, I'm going to be with my friends, which I don't consider a waste of time. Regardless, she says, I'm being unproductive and lazy and doing something not good.
Wait wait, I said. Two weeks ago we spent an entire day watching random movies, all day. From 8AM to midnight. How is that any different? She was caught a little of guard, and tried to justify it in some silly way. In the end she realized her double standard but still felt like she was right. Really freaking frustrating.
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On September 02 2012 13:53 Dalguno wrote:
I've got a great story about this.
A girl I was dating and I were talking. She asked what I was doing that coming weekend, and I said I was watching MLG all day Saturday with some buddies. She said, "I can't believe you'd spend a day watching video games. That's so unproductive and such a waste."
First off, I told her, I'm going to be with my friends, which I don't consider a waste of time. Regardless, she says, I'm being unproductive and lazy and doing something not good.
Wait wait, I said. Two weeks ago we spent an entire day watching random movies, all day. From 8AM to midnight. How is that any different? She was caught a little of guard, and tried to justify it in some silly way. In the end she realized her double standard but still felt like she was right. Really freaking frustrating.
Yep, girls (and guys) are usually selfish and subjective. This leads to hypocrisy. If you can find one who isn't you are a lucky, lucky man.
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Reading this is such waste of time. I have so much better things to do with my time than that.
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On September 02 2012 14:31 SagaZ wrote:
Reading this is such waste of time. I have so much better things to do with my time than that.
Then why post here?
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On September 02 2012 14:50 Shady Sands wrote:Show nested quote +On September 02 2012 14:31 SagaZ wrote:
Reading this is such waste of time. I have so much better things to do with my time than that. Then why post here?
It was an amazing meta-joke of epic proportions.
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I hate people who use the word depressed to describe their mood.
YOU ARE NOT DEPRESSED IF YOU FEEL SLIGHTLY SAD FOR A SECOND BITCH
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This is very true. I remember back when i was a teenager, i had this conversation with my mother. I was 13 and had no friends (Q.Q) so spent my entire summer inside, but she did the same watching TV.
I said to her "I'll stop playing games and ENGAGING my brain when you stop sitting on the couch watching TV and letting yours rot"
She soon shut the F--- up. I did eventually make friends and stop nolifing though :D
Basically, games are really alot better then some other peoples passtimes, you dont get the stimulation and challenge from most others (e.g music, tv) but at the same time, everything should be in moderation.
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What amazed me is someone who is in computer science class and doesn't play games :D
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Video games are created for the player by a well-funded group of professionals with the end goal of the player having fun, learning something, improving at something--often times all while having the user be social.
What is not to like, or respect about playing video games? I understand where the stigma comes from, but people need to know when they have a misconception.
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Don't rationalize your addiction. I'm calling it one as otherwise your oppinions shouldn't be that polarized.
There are infinite better alternatives for spending free time instead of games and you shouldn't intentinally pick bad exaples to remove some from the list. TV? While i agree 95% of what's on is garbage, you can still watch extremely high quality series (Mad Men), movies (TCM, MGM), documentaries (Through the Wormhole) and list goes on. Sports? No reason not to like it, you're probably lazy or weren't introduced to phisycal exercise by your parents. But that's no excuse. Music? Your rant didn't even make sense on this one so i won't bother. Games for storyline? No comment. How about a book?
More than 1-2 hours/day or 10-15/week playing games is bad. And with today's games you won't get the experience they're supposed to provide unless you waste a buckload of time. There's few exceptions, games that you can start, play, quit, but in most cases you don't have that luxury.
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On September 02 2012 12:32 Chocolate wrote:
To be honest I used to have almost exactly the same stance as you on this: videogames aren't any worse than television or sports. But for the past couple of months, as I become more and more disenchanted with every game I own, every game I watch, I've felt like I'm outgrowing games. I made a bad habit of sitting down at my computer every day when I get home, now I have production and motivation problems. I have almost no social life because I would rather stay in my basement than go out with friends. I have little in common with everyone else because only 1/10 of the people I know play computer games a lot, only a few (who I don't like) really play anything more complex than minecraft.
Everything is healthy in moderation: I would probably be fine if I could just play for like an hour or two per day, but I just can't. Although news outlets like to sensationalize "videogame addiction," I can vouch that it isn't hard to be addicted, to lose your priorities. I want to go to a top university, and although I have the grades and scores, it's hard to get the connections, internships, and other accolades you need if you're always hunched over your computer. I have also become less regular in my exercising and less healthy in my eating habits and thus gained weight/loss muscle. I'm not saying you can't play a lot of games without doing this, but after a certain point you have to possess a ton of self-control.
I'm not saying videogames are worse than TV because they aren't, but both have their advantages. I find myself a lot less engaged when I watch television and a lot easier to stop myself and get to work. Sports are amazing because you can make better friendships than online, get exercise, and "be cool," or at least do something that's socially acceptable.
For all you teens and young adults, if you are having problems with productivity, relationships, or what have you, seriously consider unplugging. Work out and socialize in your free time, I guarantee you will be happier and improve your life. Games are good in moderation, but if you're like me, it's very hard to keep them under control.
If there is an educational purpose to the game/television show then I would agree with you when you put them on the same plane as sports but if are no longer gaining anything constructive anymore from the game then you're actively playing like a zombie and there is nothing to gain anymore.
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EPT
