On October 04 2025 12:22 iPlaY.NettleS wrote: My eyes were bad before lasik.Estimated L 20/600 and R 20/800 from specialist before surgery.I think due to computer usage.9 years later still no glasses.Cut down usage maybe 1/3, and fewer long gaming sessions due to kid.
Anecdotal evidence is so so useful! I work as a programmer and game as a hobby. I have basically spent my life since around 8 years old staring at a screen. I am in my forties. I don't need glasses. My eyes are better than my brother's, who was in the army and is now a farmer, spending most of his time outdoors. Clearly screens are good for your eyes!
PS: in case it wasn't obvious, I don't think screens are good for your eyes. I just think individual anecdotes are terrible evidence.
Notice the high blink rate, the rocking, the spazzy facial contortions, the fidgeting. Asmongold is keeping his Rods well fed. Rods work best under conditions of constant motion. He prolly has very good vision. For why this is critical please refer back to the published study i linked in my previous post.
This is a great development. Making software in a small team of 5 or less is far more rewarding and fun than giant team software building. Also, the end product has a soul. Please note, this is something I've been saying since I joined this site 15 years ago. Fuck these giant teams.
I have no real interest watching an Asmongold video, but yeah, that is not really a controversial position here afaik. Basically anyone i know prefers smaller and indie games to giant Ubisoft-style slop.
I miss guys like Total Biscuit in the space (rest in power), he reviewed and pushed all kinds of games, and publicised plenty of gems he actually liked playing.
Nowadays it feels there’s a whole cottage industry of people who just incessantly complain about games and publishers they don’t like ad nauseam (see also - Star Wars). Like ya can just do other things?
As in film, where a properly good blockbuster can knock your tits off with what comes with budget, there’s definitely a solid niche for AAA stuff. But yeah too much of it is derivative slop, or crippled by micro transactions or whatever.
I mean a smaller team isn’t going to be able to deliver the full experience of say, a Grand Theft Auto.
I think this is mostly about just curating your media intake, which is a thing we should definitively consciously be doing nowadays anyways. If you don't curate your media intake, you are at the mercy of the algorithm doing it for you. And algorithms are not good at selecting media which is good for you, they tend to push you into the direction of media that makes you angry.
Basically all gaming content i watch is by people who enjoy games, often people who enjoy discovering new fun games.
On November 09 2025 21:29 Simberto wrote: , but yeah, that is not really a controversial position here afaik. Basically anyone i know prefers smaller and indie games to giant Ubisoft-style slop.
my position is that the developers are probably happier because working in smaller teams is more fun. Do you know any one having a blast working in a team of 200 ? I do not. They are mainly in it for the cash.
On October 04 2025 12:22 iPlaY.NettleS wrote: My eyes were bad before lasik.Estimated L 20/600 and R 20/800 from specialist before surgery.I think due to computer usage.9 years later still no glasses.Cut down usage maybe 1/3, and fewer long gaming sessions due to kid.
Anecdotal evidence is so so useful! I work as a programmer and game as a hobby. I have basically spent my life since around 8 years old staring at a screen. I am in my forties. I don't need glasses. My eyes are better than my brother's, who was in the army and is now a farmer, spending most of his time outdoors. Clearly screens are good for your eyes!
PS: in case it wasn't obvious, I don't think screens are good for your eyes. I just think individual anecdotes are terrible evidence.
Notice the high blink rate, the rocking, the spazzy facial contortions, the fidgeting. Asmongold is keeping his Rods well fed. Rods work best under conditions of constant motion. He prolly has very good vision. For why this is critical please refer back to the published study i linked in my previous post.
This is a great development. Making software in a small team of 5 or less is far more rewarding and fun than giant team software building. Also, the end product has a soul. Please note, this is something I've been saying since I joined this site 15 years ago. Fuck these giant teams.
I have no real interest watching an Asmongold video, but yeah, that is not really a controversial position here afaik. Basically anyone i know prefers smaller and indie games to giant Ubisoft-style slop.
I miss guys like Total Biscuit in the space (rest in power), he reviewed and pushed all kinds of games, and publicised plenty of gems he actually liked playing.
Nowadays it feels there’s a whole cottage industry of people who just incessantly complain about games and publishers they don’t like ad nauseam (see also - Star Wars). Like ya can just do other things?
As in film, where a properly good blockbuster can knock your tits off with what comes with budget, there’s definitely a solid niche for AAA stuff. But yeah too much of it is derivative slop, or crippled by micro transactions or whatever.
I mean a smaller team isn’t going to be able to deliver the full experience of say, a Grand Theft Auto.
I think this is mostly about just curating your media intake, which is a thing we should definitively consciously be doing nowadays anyways. If you don't curate your media intake, you are at the mercy of the algorithm doing it for you. And algorithms are not good at selecting media which is good for you, they tend to push you into the direction of media that makes you angry.
Basically all gaming content i watch is by people who enjoy games, often people who enjoy discovering new fun games.
I’m quite happy with my personal subs, it’s more the effect what I consider the bad stuff has on wider discourse I think is pretty negative.
That said any recommendations do fire them in here!
On November 09 2025 21:41 WombaT wrote: I mean a smaller team isn’t going to be able to deliver the full experience of say, a Grand Theft Auto.
There is published evidence that intense or prolonged gaming sessions (especially late at night) elevate cortisol levels, which is indicative of a stress response.
The effect appears more pronounced in high-arousal games (shooters, competitive settings), in late-night or extended sessions, and among particular populations (adolescents, limited sleep) rather than in casual short sessions.
Every hour of video gaming screen time has a very slight negative health impact. Screen time, in general, also has a negative health impact.
So I'd stay away from these all encompassing "games as a hobby" titles such a Grand Theft Auto. Its better to play an Arcade game or an Indy game for under 20 minutes and move on with your day.
On November 09 2025 21:29 Simberto wrote: I have no real interest watching an Asmongold video,
he is on screens 48594879 hours a week like most full time streamers and yet he has good vision. Most of these "live in front of a screen 24/7" streamers are myopic. So I find his habits during screen time to be worthy of observation.
spending less time on screen is healthier. so its best to avoid these giant franchises like EA Soccer, GTA, etc that require you to spend lots of money and lots of time staring into a screen.
and, if you're spending less time playing you'll spend less money. AAA publishers with giant dev teams put a great deal of research into getting people to play their giant franchise for many hours.
Asmongold is a freak of nature. Dude has zero personal hygiene (teeth falling out; doing dishes and cleaning are a thing) and had self reportedly a "dead rat alarm clock" where the sun would hit the rat and the stench would then wake him up. Nothing he does is worthy of observation or should be incorporated into your own habits, he's radiates health hazard. You like to home in on exceptions rather than rules and then try to backwards justify these things with: but he has to do something right if he's not x or y or z! It doesn't work like that I'm afraid.
no, i think that people who blink lots, rock and sway during screen time and keep the lymph flow in their skull going with constant facial twitches have better vision. In this case, Asmongold is the rule ... he is not the exception. Myopia is becoming an epidemic in NA and its worthy of study as are people who can spend 438578937 hours in front a screen and maintain good vision.
from google ai
During gaming, blink rate decreases significantly, often dropping from an average of 15-20 blinks per minute to as low as 5-10 blinks per minute, due to increased focus. This reduction can lead to symptoms like dry eyes, eye strain, and fatigue because the eyes are not being properly lubricated. To counteract this, gamers should make a conscious effort to blink more frequently, take breaks, and use lubricating eye drops if needed.
facial twitches and yawning lubricates the eyes. you should not need eye drops.
The video game industry's products have contributed to the increase in myopia rates in NA over the past 40 years.
This is another one of your soap boxes you like to shout off of. So let's test your hypothesis then and I'll be willing to gracefully accept your being right if so. You're a smart developer, can't you write a script that monitors what the average streamer's blinking rate it? If Asmon's is significantly higher, you might be going in the right direction with this.. maybe you can even start a side hustle called "Gamer Dropz, the liquid that keeps you going".
Google AI is just an amalgamation of studies. So I gather you are conceding then that during screen time people have a lower blink rate than they do in real life time. Furthermore, I'm assuming you are conceding that not blinking worsens your vision. Google AI is just an amalgamation of studies. So I gather you are conceding then that during screen time people have a lower blink rate than they do in real life time. Furthermore, I'm assuming you are conceding that not blinking worsens your vision.
On November 10 2025 00:17 Uldridge wrote: You're a smart developer, can't you write a script that monitors what the average streamer's blinking rate it?
it isn't just streamers. as the study noted it is all screen users. Outside of screen time the average person blinks 15-20 times per minute. During screen time it is 5-7 times minute.
Also, I recommend software on your PC blocks blue light by shifting the colours of the screen towards red//orange. Windows 10/11 has an in built setting for it as well.
Anyone who has had myopia knows that your vision is not static, it is better in full sun than in dull light.They test eyesight in dull light, then you put your glasses on and head out into the sun and suddenly the prescription is too strong, straining your eyes.My precription was getting stronger every year until i had the LASIK 9 years ago, tested a month ago and still no need for glasses.Best thing i ever did really.
On November 10 2025 00:17 Uldridge wrote:maybe you can even start a side hustle called "Gamer Dropz, the liquid that keeps you going".
i'd rather start a side hustle outlining better vision habits so that people do not have to buy eye drops. it is best when the eyes lubricate themselves.
this topic is getting boring.. and i let out a big giant fully body yawn. it helped loosen up and lubricate my eyes.
The facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) controls both your lacrimal glands (which make tears) and the muscles involved in yawning and facial expressions. When you yawn, that nerve fires strongly — triggering tear secretion. That’s why you often feel your eyes moisten or even tear up slightly during or right after a big yawn.
yawning is a good vision habit. try that rather than eye drops. Cost: $0.
If Ubisoft is not specifically and explicitly french owned then Quebec won't want to continue giving them $10B a year in free money.
I don't think this guy screaming his head off realizes how much government money Ubisoft gets every year. This French company is the best in the world at getting free government money in the name of "video game artistry".
At this point, I think we can begin to compare what the AAA gaming industry in North America has been doing lately to what Time-Warner did within the North American game Industry in 1981-2 leading to the collapse of Atari in 1983.
I keep seeing these Microsoft Game Pass "that was then" adverts, where it shows someone booting up a game from a CD or a cartridge etc. and makes it out to be the worst thing in the world, and I can't help but think to myself:
Games as a service is a horrible idea. But the entire economy is moving towards that though. Housing as a service is coming soon. It's the next trick in the extractionist economy we're living. Enshittify everything, ultimate customer dissatisfaction but nowhere to run to for outrage because customer service sits behind an impenetrable wall of AI bots and waiting lines and satisfaction forms to fill out. The contract you explicitly engage in when buyiny a company's product nowadays is just one of exploitation basically. Big corpos need to start failing and if it has an effect on society let it, it's a cautionary tale, instead of letting them fester in our society. They're pathogens, get rid of them.
Last month Borderlands4 was the #1 selling game in the USA and #10 this month. Despite this, the publisher is unhappy with the revenue and has put the game on sale twice for 20% even though its only been out 2 months. The access mainstream video game media continued to pump out the message about how amazing the game was and how amazingly great the sales #s were.
On November 21 2025 19:30 Uldridge wrote: Games as a service is a horrible idea. But the entire economy is moving towards that though. Housing as a service is coming soon. It's the next trick in the extractionist economy we're living. Enshittify everything, ultimate customer dissatisfaction but nowhere to run to for outrage because customer service sits behind an impenetrable wall of AI bots and waiting lines and satisfaction forms to fill out. The contract you explicitly engage in when buyiny a company's product nowadays is just one of exploitation basically. Big corpos need to start failing and if it has an effect on society let it, it's a cautionary tale, instead of letting them fester in our society. They're pathogens, get rid of them.
The way to deal with it is to avoid it completely. From 2002 to 2015 I never really thought in these terms though. I gravitated towards PC Bangs and dying arcades because they were the most fun.
Who needs 2025 wrestling game WWE 2K25 made by 300 people? We're playing Fire Pro Wrestling with 1997 Sprite Graphics made by 5 guys and game play controls that have barely changed in 30 years.
The last few years I've been having a blast playing very old games with competitive communities around them that are 10+ years old. The in-person competitive events are great. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eU7Xq1j4qSI
my wife has a blast in her competitive women's pinball league. we're having a blast playing very low tech games and spending no money on the video game industry. We spend a very small amount of cash in Barcades//Arcades. This money goes to real and local hard working people. Corps get $0. We spend time and some cash setting things up for IRL social events.
Sitting alone in your room playing online PC games is no where near as much fun as IRL events. Who needs all these new games? There are so many timeless classics made from 1980 to 2015. Does any one have any real pressing need for any game made in the past 10 years? Video games are in massive "over-supply". Karl Marx's cures and treatments were wrong.. his diagnoses, however, was often dead bang-on the money.
Over-Supply and Communist Thinking In Marx's vision, an abundance of production is a necessary precondition for communism, not a problem within it.
From Scarcity to Abundance: Capitalism, by developing productive forces to an unprecedented degree, creates the potential for a society of abundance. Basis for Distribution: This over-abundance makes the transition to communism possible. In a fully developed communist system, the principle of distribution would be "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". This is achievable because, with an unfettered productive capacity, there would be enough to satisfy everyone's needs without market mechanisms or the need for private accumulation. Collective Control:The "over-supply" issue of capitalism (where supply outstrips effective demand due to unequal distribution) is resolved in communism through the collective, conscious control of production and distribution by society as a whole, replacing the market's "anarchy" with a planned system focused on need rather than profit.
On November 21 2025 23:01 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Last month Borderlands4 was the #1 selling game in the USA and #10 this month. Despite this, the publisher is unhappy with the revenue and has put the game on sale twice for 20% even though its only been out 2 months. The access mainstream video game media continued to pump out the message about how amazing the game was and how amazingly great the sales #s were.
On November 21 2025 19:30 Uldridge wrote: Games as a service is a horrible idea. But the entire economy is moving towards that though. Housing as a service is coming soon. It's the next trick in the extractionist economy we're living. Enshittify everything, ultimate customer dissatisfaction but nowhere to run to for outrage because customer service sits behind an impenetrable wall of AI bots and waiting lines and satisfaction forms to fill out. The contract you explicitly engage in when buyiny a company's product nowadays is just one of exploitation basically. Big corpos need to start failing and if it has an effect on society let it, it's a cautionary tale, instead of letting them fester in our society. They're pathogens, get rid of them.
The way to deal with it is to avoid it completely. From 2002 to 2015 I never really thought in these terms though. I gravitated towards PC Bangs and dying arcades because they were the most fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFB7q89_3U Who needs 2025 wrestling game WWE 2K25 made by 300 people? We're playing Fire Pro Wrestling with 1997 Sprite Graphics made by 5 guys and game play controls that have barely changed in 30 years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu4kVZpF35w
The last few years I've been having a blast playing very old games with competitive communities around them that are 10+ years old. The in-person competitive events are great. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eU7Xq1j4qSI
my wife has a blast in her competitive women's pinball league. we're having a blast playing very low tech games and spending no money on the video game industry. We spend a very small amount of cash in Barcades//Arcades. This money goes to real and local hard working people. Corps get $0. We spend time and some cash setting things up for IRL social events.
Sitting alone in your room playing online PC games is no where near as much fun as IRL events. Who needs all these new games? There are so many timeless classics made from 1980 to 2015. Does any one have any real pressing need for any game made in the past 10 years? Video games are in massive "over-supply". Karl Marx's cures and treatments were wrong.. his diagnoses, however, was often dead bang-on the money.
Over-Supply and Communist Thinking In Marx's vision, an abundance of production is a necessary precondition for communism, not a problem within it.
From Scarcity to Abundance: Capitalism, by developing productive forces to an unprecedented degree, creates the potential for a society of abundance. Basis for Distribution: This over-abundance makes the transition to communism possible. In a fully developed communist system, the principle of distribution would be "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". This is achievable because, with an unfettered productive capacity, there would be enough to satisfy everyone's needs without market mechanisms or the need for private accumulation. Collective Control:The "over-supply" issue of capitalism (where supply outstrips effective demand due to unequal distribution) is resolved in communism through the collective, conscious control of production and distribution by society as a whole, replacing the market's "anarchy" with a planned system focused on need rather than profit.
New games are still good. I've always loved extraction shooters but I don't have the time or commitment for them and the ones that were there always had "problems" (I'm looking at you Tarkov). Arc Raiders just came out and it's amazing. New tech actually being amazing. The bots with legs are trained with machine learning and actually walks using the physics engine and it makes a difference. Fucking nailed the setting and the feel. Tight rounds, ~25 minutes, perfect for 1-3 rounds a night. Then I can go back to watching shows or painting.
On November 21 2025 19:23 MJG wrote: I keep seeing these Microsoft Game Pass "that was then" adverts, where it shows someone booting up a game from a CD or a cartridge etc. and makes it out to be the worst thing in the world, and I can't help but think to myself:
At least I got the whole fucking game back then.
They've got a vested interest in pushing that narrative since when you used to buy a game on cartridge or CD you could later sell the game and people could buy it used, so the publisher gets no money from that used sale.
I've heard some 'physical' games nowdays are just a box, with no media or manual inside it just a download code.And in some cases you're paying a $10 premium for that over digital? What an absolute waste of time.
the inflation adjusted revenue growth in the video game industry is 54% the past 10 years. ~$93B was spent in 2015 and $181B was spent in 2024.
Source: ChatGPT
spending on video games the past 10 years world wide statistics each year
Here are some of the best available global-video-game-spending estimates for the past ~10 years. The data is incomplete and compiled from several industry reports, so treat these as approximations rather than precise values.
Statista +2 Clairfield +2
Year Estimated Global Video Game Spending* 2015 ~ US$93.1 billion
2016 ~ US$91 billion Wikipedia +1
2017 [data not found in my sources] 2018 [data not found in my sources] 2019 ~ US$106.1 billion (digital games only) Axios +1
2020 ~ US$159.3 billion for global games market strivesponsorship.com +1
2021 ~ Not given a full spending number — but some sources say growth was +1.4% over 2020. Wikipedia +1
2022 ~ US$184.4 billion (reported) Wikipedia
2023 ~ US$183.9 billion Newzoo
* “Spending” here refers to global revenue/market size for the video game industry (including mobile, console, PC, etc), in USD.
EPT
