Why Do We Game?

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It's the only way I ever interact with the world. Never been able to just "hang out". A game is an easy way to make an aimless social gathering into a structured activity I can really get into. I'd be a hermit if it wern't for sports & games.

When I was originally diagnosed with ADD in the early 90s this was told to my mother as a way to help my deal with my problem without medication. I had played games before, but it was never encouraged like it was after that suggestion. It was also seen as a way to help increase my hand-eye coordination which the doctor felt would help with my clumsiness, which persists to this day.

As for why I game now, it isn't as simple as escapism or killing time. It is a place where I have complete control over my world and my behaviors. I may not get to decide how my story progresses but I can determine when. This feels nice to me, away from the every day demands and real world deadlines knowing that in my hands lies the ability to guide and control a world that exists only when I choose it to.

Lemme see, I started gaming as far back as the first PCs around (Cookie Monster Letter Crunch was the first) . . . that upgraded to Moria (early PC version of D&D) . . . then in 1993 (ish) something wonderful . . . WOLFENSTEIN, followed closely by DOOM. Those games i played for the reflex challenge. When games started introducing an actual story line like Command and Conquer, Mechwarrior 2, and Imperium Galactica, games became an interactive novel. I can read, yes, but in games i get to see what they character sees since i cant really picture some of the expressions described in books. Nowadays, I play Mass Effect, NWN 1 and 2, Command and Conquer 3 (along with the expansion), Halo, etc. I also played the CCG Magic: The Gathering, which offered a nice social aspect to playing games. Guess thats why i enjoy World of Warcraft as well (but some people dont often type what that mean, so social interaction is still a bit limited). You could say i play games so i may look, see, and solve the problems of characters Id only read about in the novels i enjoy. Escapism, likely, but whatever someone does to leave reality behind for a while would be in that category, regardless of what the interest is.

I play video games to escape reality from time to time, and blow things up.

I think DooM was as good in its day is DooM3 is today. Using lighting, shadows, atmosphere, and loads of other things to create a scary atmosphere.

This video shows what it can do to you [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArA39oGJUOk[/youtube]

I had to watch over and over...