EPTStarcraft 2: A Complete Waste of Time or Good For - Page 4
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mufin
United States616 Posts
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LeCastor
France234 Posts
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Pro]ChoSen-
United States318 Posts
It's when you start calling in sick to work to play SC2, or blow off your girlfriend on Friday night just to get some extra gaming in even though u haven't seen her all week, if stuff like that starts occurring then it's bad for you to be gaming. But until then, nothing wrong with having a hobby. | ||
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shinwa
Sweden225 Posts
How it benefits you is, in my opinion, highly individual. But in general I believe that if you moderate your gaming (or whatever you would like) time and spend time with other important aspects of life, it will almost definately benefit you. Maybe not always in a concrete way, but it will at least make you happier, which is always important. And props to you, this was a great read. | ||
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JoeSchmoe
Canada2058 Posts
On December 23 2010 08:39 Sakarabu wrote: While this is a pretty nice article and is well written, I can't help but think you have an utterly terrible attitude to life. The fact that you thought you had to take 4 years away from playing games just to attend college makes me pity you a little bit (I'm not flaming you, that was my honest reaction). What ever happened to time management? There is more than enough time in the day for you to enjoy videogames while still socializing and studying for college. Moreover this whole post just strikes me as you trying to convince yourself that you arn't wasting time playing SC2. I think the more important questions are: 1) What is your definition of "wasted time"? 2) Does it matter if you "waste time" playing games? Personally, my answer to question 1 ( what is your definition of wasted time?). Would be time where you arn't doing anything AT ALL (including sitting back and relaxing). A clearer definition would be doing something you personally don't enjoy which has no benefit to you in the short or long term (including the benefit of seeing people around you happy). Using this as my definition there are very few things which I would consider a waste of a persons time as long as they are gaining some type of fun or reward for doing it. Now, as regards to question two, I would think my stance is pretty clear. Why exactly would you even consider something which you derive so much joy from playing a waste of time? That boggles my mind. Do you also class sex (for the sake of pleasure, not procreation) as a "waste of time"? I mean... You arn't gaining anything but happiness from it right? What this all boils down to (beware: cliche wishywashy philosophy incoming, but it's true nonetheless), is the fact that noone can tell you how to live life, or what is a "waste of time". Having fun is an important part of it though, and if you have FUN playing games, there is no reason to dismiss that as wasted time. As you stated near the bottom of the article "But I guess in the end, everything is okay in moderation.", which basically just disregards everything else you wrote. Moderation is the key to anything in life. You have to find the time to work and the time to play, and if you think something you find immensely fun is "wasted time", like I said, I pity you. Very good post. I would recommend everyone to read this if they were intrigued by the concepts presented in this thread. Basically I think Starcraft becomes a problem when it starts interfering negatively with your life. This type of impact could be social, academic, emotional, physical, etc. The line is different for everyone but the important thing is to be able to recognize and accept that there is a problem and not be in denial. | ||
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Invictus
Singapore2697 Posts
Take note: im pretty sure the OP comes from a very similar society from myself, where one is driven to outdo his peers in the things that he does. Hence you can't blame him for thinking playibg games are a waste of time, instead im applauding him for his high level of self discipline that has made him not touch video games even though he likes them so much. Also all that talk about the "flow" thing rings true with me. I have been endlessly searching for a way to invoke this feeling within me where my mind is cleansed of all thoughts and is solely focusing on what im doing, in that case playing osu or starcraft 2. And that feeling sure feels good. | ||
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Befree
695 Posts
The bias against popular culture/video games in terms of its effects on your mind is so absurd. It's good to see someone writing a book against it. The ignorant, mindless assumptions and beliefs people have on this subject bother me to no end! | ||
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Munsy
United States67 Posts
I haven't completely stopped going out (once or twice a month), but at this point, my grades have never been better, and I've never felt more financially stable in the last three years than I do right now. And man oh man, the drama in my life is at an all time low. It's fantastic! Friends: "OMG Tim, all you do anymore is stay at home and play that fucking video game and rot." Me: "You're absolutely right, I should be going out every night and blowing tons of money on liquids that harm my liver, brain, stomach, kidneys, etc... silly me. What was I thinking?" Who the hell has the right to tell you what should be making you happy in life? Why should you be ashamed because something as simple to the naked eye as a video game fulfills your need for pleasure? I think people who blow money into cars are extremely dumb and are wasting their time, but I'm not going to go and point out that one day their car is going to stop working and it'll all have been for nothing. It's something they enjoy doing with their and I have no goddamn right to deny them that, just like nobody has a goddamn right to deny you what makes you happy (unless it's like heroin or something, then that's different). It's just like Day[9] says. Look at my signature. | ||
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Dellward
Australia138 Posts
I think that once you've 'handled' the important areas of your life (you're happy with how you look, how you eat, who your friends are, the state of your relationships, your career, your grades, etc), games are a great way to relax, let off steam and have fun. Humans need R&R time too. And nobody except yourself should ever say how you should spend that time. | ||
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Omega.763
France34 Posts
Great post, looking for more. Edit : "As many others have said; moderation is key - to everything." I think this sentence rulz the life, in fact =) At least for non programer player. | ||
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Iamyournoob
Germany595 Posts
This "waste of time" argument brought up by parents is in my opinion an expression of fear. Parents fear that their children fail at live. They fear that all the effort, they put into their kids, was in vain. Therefore I think it is very important to communicate to parents what gaming means and how important it is for us. Because even if you are free to do what you want - I would always try to not disappoint my parents. But just as long as they don't expect too much from me. So if you gain fun from playing games and your parents (or whoever) are okay with it - do it. | ||
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Koshi
Belgium38799 Posts
Being in the flow The answer is that when people are playing video games, they become immersed into a state of “flow.” Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discusses this in-depth in his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” In his book he discusses that the way for us to be optimally happy in life is become in these states of “flow” when we are “in the zone” and forget about everything else. Think about when you are playing a game of basketball, and you forget about everything else. Or when you are taking photos, and seem to lose track of time. Or spending such a good time with friends and family that nothing else seems to matter. Csikszentmihalyi then breaks it down further, explaining that in order for people to experience these states of “flow,” they have to not only be challenged, but also use their creativity in synergy. This is why video games (especially Starcraft 2) create states of “flow.” When one is playing Starcraft 2, depending on what league they are, most likely they are playing against opponents who are around his/her skill level. Therefore they always feel challenged, and must find creative strategies and novel ways how to beat them. It simply isn’t enough to just win. Think about it—when do we feel more satisfaction? When we crush our opponents or when it is neck-to-neck and we win in the end? Not only that, but Starcraft 2 (unlike life) shows us progress. Everytime I win a game in Starcraft 2, I gain points which increase my ranking. In real life it is difficult to chart and measure or success (although most people like to do it by their GPA, their income, or credit score). This is another great way how video games reward the users, which convince them to continuously play. Good to read the part about Csikszentmihalyi and his "flow". I will pick up that book off him to read between Christmas and New Year. Great write-up. | ||
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eLFootman
Chile58 Posts
Starcraft 2 is actually indeed beneficial to a person, as they are able to sharpen their mind by exercising their cognitive skills while playing challenging games against equally-equipped opponents. Not only that, but Starcraft 2 also puts people into modes of “flow” which make people genuinely happy I think that's something to rescue from SC2, I mean if someone for some reason needs to exercise his cognitive skills, play any sport. My point is you can achieve all the "benefits" SC2 gives you by other much more healthy means. I think this way mostly because I don't find SC2 fun anymore... | ||
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Dyme
Germany523 Posts
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Kelsin
United States253 Posts
On December 23 2010 11:02 Ridiculisk wrote: Thats a good point! Lets start teaching SC2 in school haha! http://www.gossipgamers.com/starcraft-course-opened-for-college-earn-credits/ | ||
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HuHEN
United Kingdom514 Posts
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Roggay
Switzerland6320 Posts
As excited as I was, I told myself that I would never play Starcraft 2 because of the potential time I would kill playing it. When I was growing up, I remember coming home from school and play video games or watch TV for nearly 5-6 hours straight. A lot of wasted time—and I regretted it in hindsight. Therefore I knew that if I started playing Starcraft 2, I would never be able to put it down. This is just wrong to say imo, you don't have to regret what you done when you were kid. You would never have been able to think this way when you did it. And you don't have to be too hardcore and play it all the time, enjoy the time you are playing it and don't mind your rating too much if you don't have the time to. I don't have the time (school, exams) to play it very often, but I follow many tournaments nonetheless and I truly enjoy the game. | ||
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TrANCE,
301 Posts
I wouldn't advocate spending spending 12 hours aday playing. if it's a couple of hours here and their whats the harm. I put off buying SC2 for a couple of months from release because i just knew once i started getting into the more competitive side of it it'd be hard as hell to stop for me and i wouldn't want to stop until i was the best "lol" and even if i dont become that good atleast it gives me a rest from the kids for a couple of hours  | ||
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Aylear
Norway3988 Posts
If this were a blog, I'd rate it a 5. Warm welcome to TeamLiquid. | ||
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-Archangel-
Croatia7457 Posts
On December 23 2010 08:18 2GRe-Play- wrote: im first one ^^, i like your story, i think playing to much if u are not going to be competitive its a waste of time, but it depends, because u should spend your time in what makes u happy, ppl said that games take your social life away, while this is 50/50 truth, ppl that just go out to drink and going to partys every weekend are wasting time too. nice write. Depends who you spend it with. If it is with some nobodies from the area then you might as well stay at home and play sc2. If it is with people that have the potential to become someone in the future then you are establishing and keeping connections with those people that might benefit you one day when you need a favor or a job or a loan. | ||
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