I do realise that I seem to be a very negative person according to my blogs! Always ranting about how I get frustrated and angry! But I’m really not. I’m just a bit out of my comfort zone. My family got our first desktop computer in 1995, and it came with some games, and I did play some of them. They were very very simple. We also had some games on disks, but mainly I used these history, science and space “games” that weren’t really games but just pictures, texts, short videos and animations. A few times I played something at my friends’ house, and even if I enjoyed it, it wasn’t something I got excited about. For me, they seem like a waste of time unless there’s something you can learn or gain that benefits you. I know it sounds unfair since I read fiction books and watch films, but mainly I just don’t see what’s the point of playing video games.
I understand it’s a huge industry and there are all kinds of games for everyone. And I understand the fascination about the games. I admit that they do look great. I’m just not into them. I tried to find some reasons why people don’t like video games. Here are some answers I found;
1. They are time-consuming
2. They don’t like playing alone
3. Games are too difficult
4. Games are too expensive
6. Games are for children
7. They never actually tried playing before
9. They don’t like the game industry
10. They don’t find them productive
11. They think it’s unhealthy to play
12. Games make people more violent and or aggressive
There are a couple of reasons that I agree with, such as, that games are too expensive, time-consuming, not healthy or that they are not productive. I also hate when some of my friends play games on their phones and totally ignore what’s happening around them. Pokemon go is one example. A friend of mine came to Edinburgh to visit me, and all she did was walked around, not looking but just following the game on her phone.
If I understood right a game we are supposed to explore this week is called Ingress and it has a similar idea behind it. So you walk around using your surroundings as a platform, and you need to find portals. Then you collect them, protect them and attack them. It sounds interactive and fun, especially if it’s played with other people. For me, the videos I watched on YouTube looked like a board game taken outside.
Anyway. I DO play some games. And I know I can get addicted, so maybe it is also a conscious choice that I try not to play too much. I mainly play games on my phone. One of my ultimate favourites has been Angry Birds, several different ones. And I know why it’s so addictive (or any that kind of simple games); you get frustrated that you lose your lives or any help what you had. You might have some extra powers at first, but the first levels are so easy that you don’t need them. The time the levels get hard these powers are not enough, and you use them at once or very quickly. There is always a way to earn them for free, but it takes time. So then, you go on AppStore and you buy. And once you buy them, it’s easier to buy some more gold coins or whatever.
My other favourites are Sudoku, brain games such as Peak where you can practice your memory, reaction, reasoning, problem-solving and so on. So even I’m not perfectly immune for games. I guess they can be fun but I’m just not a game person in general.
