Gaming A Positive Force?

[Sukerkin]

I came across this presentation whilst link surfing and, after getting past the beginning bit without stopping watching, I found it quite an interesting concept ... particularly as I am a gamer .

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

 

[granfire]

Awesome find!

It is actually worth of mentioning in 'The Study'

 

[SensibleManiac]

Thanks!!! I hope this will convince my wife I'm not just wasting time!!!

I have a feeling she'll watch 1 minute and tell me I'm full of cr&p.

 

[granfire]

Thanks!!! I hope this will convince my wife I'm not just wasting time!!!

I have a feeling she'll watch 1 minute and tell me I'm full of cr&p.

yeah, what is it with wives...they just don't get it, do they!

(wait...no, I mean,, my husband doesn't get it either...)

 

[WC_lun]

i'm one of the lucky few, i game and so does my wife

I think gaming, like anything else, is cool if done in moderation. I've seen people who get way too wrapped up in some game to the detrimate of thier 'real' life and relationships. I've made some great friends over the years gaming, so if nothing else it has that going for it

 

[Empty Hands]

yeah, what is it with wives...they just don't get it, do they!

Early on, I got some static for gaming. After a while, my wife just figure out that it was one of my things, like TV or crafting is one of her things. What's funny though is that while my wife almost never games, every couple of years she will find something like Paper Mario or one of the Zelda games and play it obsessively, non-stop for weeks. To the exclusion of all else. Then she finishes and goes another 5 years without touching a game.

I've always felt that gaming gets an unfair negative reputation from the older generation. It's still looked at like a "kid's thing", but gaming, much like comics, is primarily consumed by the 18-34 male demographic.

For me, gaming is a much, much better activity for anyone than zoning out in front of the TV. Instead of passively absorbing your entertainment, gaming engages your mind directly in the story, and in the puzzle solving and other aspects of the game. Somehow though, some people will look down on games while consuming TV nonstop for hours a day.

As for McGonagal, I think she makes some interesting points, but I also think she oversells it.

 

[granfire]

i'm one of the lucky few, i game and so does my wife

I think gaming, like anything else, is cool if done in moderation. I've seen people who get way too wrapped up in some game to the detrimate of thier 'real' life and relationships. I've made some great friends over the years gaming, so if nothing else it has that going for it

It's usually when RL sux people spend more time ingame.

(and lucky fellow, for finding one of the few nerd girls!)

 

[Omar B]

Good one, I love those TEDs Talks. I'm no gamer though.

 

[Sukerkin]

:grins: Nice to see that there are other gamers here after all :tup:

 

[granfire]

Good one, I love those TEDs Talks. I'm no gamer though.

not surprised...with your load of books...where would you take the time from?!

 

[Omar B]

Hell if I know, I'm 10 mins from a 2 hour meeting now ... and at some point today I have to get a new gi jacket for this evening.

 

[granfire]

You need some WoW in your life....

but I guess Academy Sports and Outdoors will have to do for now...

 

[WC_lun]

It's usually when RL sux people spend more time ingame.

(and lucky fellow, for finding one of the few nerd girls!)

True, people who have real life issues are the ones who tend to crawl into gaming. However, them not dealing with it tends to make everything much worse. In my opinion, there isn't anything wrong with escapism, as long as it doesn't make things worse.

Many years ago I played EQ1. In the gaming guild I belonged to we had a young women who was terminally ill. Gaming was her escape and outlet for contact with other human beings. I can't imagine TV filling that role nearly as well. Many of us became close to her and when she passed we really did lose a friend. I hear some negativity towards gaming occasionally, and some of it justified, but there are also some great positives.

Nerd wife is a grand thing

 

[Empty Hands]

What does everyone like to play? I like 1st and 3rd person shooters, usually sci-fi themed rather than realistic military, and I like RPGs of many stripes, although I've leaned away from the Japanese variety for some time now for a variety of reasons.

I'm playing Uncharted 2 right now, and I have a big backlog of stuff I haven't gotten to. I'm also getting back into Morrowind on the PC, a golden oldie. I want to get Dead Space 2 and Portal 2 soon.

 

[granfire]

LOL, Portal...the cake is a lie, you know....

I wish Pokemon was a MMPORPG.

World of Warcraft.

The kid is more connected, with Portal (waiting for #2), Mindcraft, Pokemon, etc...(no wonder I can't get him to do chores)

Somewhere there is Guild Wars on a computer..

But considering the amount of time it takes to get anywhere I personally stick with WoW. (though at this stage it's like real life: get up and do chores, AKA 'Dailies' : cook, fish get trade tokens, times 5 or 10, since I have no life in real life, btw it's the name of one of my many Characters: Nolifeirl, next to 'Imanurd' )

 

[Empty Hands]

I know enough to avoid the MMORPGs. I already have a job, I don't need to pay to have another one. I'm mostly a single player at heart, I like stories and epics and playing at my own pace. I'll do some multiplayer, but not a lot.

 

[granfire]

LOL, well then...

I like puzzle games. But sadly there have not been many that last a while.

I have Dream Chronicles 1&2, played through rather quickly.
Azada is pretty awesome, I am contemplating to get 2
Mysteryville was pretty disappointing
Rhem3, not that one is a complete doosie! I don't think you can even solve it without tutorial! I don't think I have done more than a fraction of it, and I am pretty tired of the first 20 or so puzzles I keep solving, only to have to start all over again.But it is really good!

Got Harvest Moon and FF Crystalbearers for not computer.....Pokemon for the DS...reminds me, gotta go and beat the Elite Four...got to slacking here, lately!

And then thee is 'Plants vs Zombies'

the kid also has 'Fate', like WoW for little guys....

 

[WC_lun]

I like all kinds of games, though I tend to gravitate toward RPGs and MMORPGs. I don't have a lot of money so I never have more than 1 subscription at a time and right now that is Rift.

 

[Sukerkin]

I have heard that Rift is supposed to be beautiful, Lun. Does it fufil the hype?

I'm a LOTRO man these days (for the past couple of years anyhow).

Before that was more than a decade of Gran Turismo (played it pretty much from it's time of release), same with Age of Empires (solo and LAN), same with Delta Force (until they broke multiplayer) and Counterstrike/Day of Defeat. Was avidly into Space Empires {III and IV mainly, V was not finished in my opinion}. Likewise loved Civilisation but too many sequels with too many interface changes put me off.

I used to love the Tomb Raider series but the last one just didn't hook me in - did the first part and started the second bit but lost heart. Same with Half Life. Did the first one and all the spin offs (including the fan-made ones) but never finished II.

I am looking now at a set of shelves loaded to the brim with games, so I shall not even attempt to list any more :lol:.

 

[WC_lun]

Yeah, Rift is a beautiful game. More than that Trion, the developer, has shown it actually cares about its' customer base. They address feedback quickly and if an idea takes hold in the community, the developers are on top of it very quickly. They are NOT doing anything new, but instead taking the best ideas of the genre and putting those together into a very playable game IMO.