[HN Gopher] Having a game I'm into makes every day enjoyable
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Having a game I'm into makes every day enjoyable
        
       Author : NonUmemoto
       Score  : 118 points
       Date   : 2023-12-23 05:52 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (plumshell.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (plumshell.com)
        
       | ChainOfFools wrote:
       | consider how the same sentiment sounds stated in the inverse.
       | even the most generous formulations, something like: "not every
       | day is enjoyable when I don't have a game to be into," could pass
       | for the opening sentence of a dystopian novel.
       | 
       | I'm reminded mostly of schopenhauer's remark that reading is
       | simply the replaying of another's thoughts, and video games,
       | especially scripted RPGs, extend this notion of "replaying" to
       | its dismal conclusion.
        
         | SeanAnderson wrote:
         | > I'm reminded mostly of schopenhauer's remark that reading is
         | simply the replaying of another's thoughts, and video games,
         | especially scripted RPGs, extend this notion of "replaying" to
         | its dismal conclusion.
         | 
         | Is the implication here that reading books is also bad?
        
         | ChrisLTD wrote:
         | Reading is more interactive than that Schopenhauer quote gives
         | it credit for being. When I'm reading something challenging or
         | interesting, it's almost like I'm having a conversation with
         | the author.
        
         | haswell wrote:
         | > _reading is simply the replaying of another 's thoughts_
         | 
         | And as it turns out, replaying someone else's thoughts can be
         | highly rewarding. It transmits ideas and satiates the brain's
         | need for new information. It helps ideas spread, and can
         | fundamentally alter the direction of one's life.
         | 
         | Another way to look at this is that the words are a form of
         | program that configures your brain. The act of reading changes
         | the reader. What you choose to read will modulate this change.
         | Characterizing reading as simply replaying thoughts really
         | misses what's happening, which is a fascinating transmission of
         | information between biological animals who invented a word game
         | complex enough for us to enable us to dismiss it as "replaying
         | thoughts". And for sake of argument, let's say it's just
         | replaying thoughts. That's pretty interesting/incredible on its
         | own.
         | 
         | Video games usually scratch a different kind of itch. They
         | provide challenging tasks in a structured environment with a
         | clear feedback loop that indicates progress. The ones that
         | include dialogue options layer on an additional level of
         | interactivity/feedback.
         | 
         | What it unclear is why this notion has or must have a dismal
         | conclusion.
        
           | keiferski wrote:
           | I think the point is more that it's very easy to go through
           | life only thinking (reading) the thoughts of others, and
           | never truly thinking for yourself. In our hyper-information
           | age, I think this is an especially common practice. Why start
           | from scratch when there are already so many starting points
           | others have thought of? Why build an original LEGO design
           | when there are so many premade ones? Etc.
           | 
           | https://la.utexas.edu/users/hcleaver/330T/350kPEESchopenRead.
           | ..
        
         | kevmo314 wrote:
         | The inverse isn't really implied in the statement. In other
         | words, a world where every day is enjoyable without a having a
         | game doesn't violate the sentiment.
         | 
         | That seems like a more generous formulation.
        
         | deadbabe wrote:
         | I agree it's somewhat dystopian when referring to video games,
         | however I feel some types of games can offer genuine
         | fulfillment. I used to play tennis and volleyball regularly,
         | and although these are sports they could basically be
         | considered physical forms of games. The routine of training and
         | competing against others definitely added enjoyment to my life
         | and was a welcome distraction from anything else that may have
         | been bothering me at the time.
         | 
         | Mindless video games where you chase dopamine hits and
         | programmed stimulus and have no interaction with others isn't
         | the same.
        
         | mathgeek wrote:
         | I think it's important to note that the author specifies that
         | they enjoy the sense of improving rather than just the act of
         | playing.
        
       | par wrote:
       | Was just thinking this as I've been grinding Elden Ring.
        
       | dimitar wrote:
       | All work and no play.. I personally enjoy Warno a lot, I have
       | over 1000 ranked game. Eugen games are very engaging I think it
       | actually keeps me sane while only using max 40 minutes for a
       | session.
        
       | doix wrote:
       | I believe this can be more generic, having something you're into
       | makes every day enjoyable.
       | 
       | I had that realization a couple of years ago. Happiness for me is
       | doing less things I don't enjoy and more of the things I do
       | enjoy.
       | 
       | Gaming is nice because there is little effort to start. Just sit
       | in front of a PC and play.
       | 
       | Something like surfing requires more effort, getting changed,
       | getting to a beach with waves, etc. I hate the setup, but it's
       | possible to minimize it by living somewhere warm (no wet suit
       | needed) and on the beach so you don't need to drive.
       | 
       | That's how I live my life nowadays. Doing very few things I don't
       | enjoy, minimizing the effort required to do the things I do enjoy
       | and doing things I actually enjoy instead of things I'm
       | indifferent about (like watching garbage Netflix shows).
        
         | hotpotamus wrote:
         | I think any therapist will tell you that it's best to have
         | something to look forward to; probably small, near-term things
         | as well as large, long-term goals. When you don't have anything
         | to do, the future looks pretty grim. I've long given up on
         | anything like finding some sort of meaning to all this, but I
         | do try and find little enjoyable stuff to do.
         | 
         | I think exercise is pretty key and applying the philosophy
         | above of doing the type of exercise you like and making it easy
         | to do is very helpful.
        
           | Liquix wrote:
           | "The three grand essentials of happiness are: Something to
           | do, someone to love, and something to hope for."
           | 
           | - Alexander Chalmers
        
           | SamPatt wrote:
           | Completely agree about exercise. If you're able to make
           | exercise the thing you look forward to every day, it feels
           | like a cheat code for life.
        
       | mattgreenrocks wrote:
       | This is me with Dota 2 currently. I play against bots every few
       | days, and don't obsess over studying the nuances, which I know
       | are myriad. Feels like there are 2-3 separate games being played
       | simultaneously within the single game that interact in different
       | ways.
       | 
       | Accepting that I'm a filthy casual has been lots of fun. I should
       | probably use that time to practice guitar, but I like the change
       | of pace.
        
       | Nezteb wrote:
       | The original site's HTTPS seems to be broken? I just keep
       | getting:
       | 
       | "Wu Xiao naURLdesu.  puroguramuShe Ding noFan Ying Dai chidearuKe
       | Neng Xing gaarimasu.  shibarakuShi Jian wooiteZai Du
       | akusesuwooShi shikudasai. "
       | 
       | Translating to English gives me:
       | 
       | "Invalid URL. It is possible that the program settings are
       | waiting to be reflected. Please try accessing again after a
       | while."
       | 
       | HTTP works fine though.
        
       | MarceColl wrote:
       | That's Go for me and has been for the past 3-4 years (with
       | varying intensity), recently got a Japanese floor goban, and it's
       | just a pleasure to sit in front of it to study, understand the
       | nuances, experience professional games bith new and old. What a
       | beautiful game
        
         | platz wrote:
         | you bought a floor goban? how many people can you play with
         | IRL?
        
           | MarceColl wrote:
           | it's a secondhand one not one of the 10k eur ones, but its
           | kaya and pretty thick.
           | 
           | I have 5-6 people that I can play with
        
           | krallja wrote:
           | > how many people can you play with IRL?
           | 
           | ...one?
        
       | ssgodderidge wrote:
       | Great article. I totally agree.
       | 
       | One of my favorite things to do on HN is to read much older
       | article from the authors/posters to see their change over time.
       | Major props to the author, as they appear to have significantly
       | improved their English over the last 8 yrs:
       | http://plumshell.com/2015/03/01/why-nintendo-doesnt-release-...
       | 
       | Writing in another language is always a challenge. I learned
       | Hungarian a decade ago, and I still struggle to write "natively."
       | Major props!
        
       | haswell wrote:
       | I highly recommend reading the book "Flow" if you're looking for
       | that thing that makes every day enjoyable.
       | 
       | In addition to exploring why people love games and other high
       | skill activities, it discusses the idea that we can learn how to
       | turn every day tasks into activities that evoke the same reward
       | centers. It doesn't just dive into "people like games", or
       | "people like achieving hard things", but it delves into why, and
       | tries to explain some of the mechanisms.
       | 
       | It made me start to see daily mundane/boring tasks differently.
       | They're things I have to do anyway, so I can choose to approach
       | them with a mindset that actually evokes enjoyment. Might as
       | well.
       | 
       | Video games used to be my primary outlet. These days, it's
       | photography and writing. Over time, cooking/baking have
       | transformed from tasks I begrudgingly did to tasks I find deeply
       | rewarding. I still play video games and my point isn't to
       | disparage them, but the more things in my life that I can move
       | into the "things I enjoy" category, the better my life has
       | become, on average. And part of that had more to do with changing
       | how I engaged with tasks than the specific tasks I was doing.
        
         | Ringz wrote:
         | Name the author please!
        
           | haswell wrote:
           | Good call. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
        
             | AureliusMA wrote:
             | << Say my name >>
        
           | Atlas-Marbles wrote:
           | https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27446.Mih_ly_Cs_kszent.
           | ..
        
       | nlawalker wrote:
       | For anyone currently looking for something that does this for
       | you, may I suggest Advent of Code: https://adventofcode.com/ This
       | is the first year I've really made time and space to enjoy it,
       | and enjoy it I have.
       | 
       | Also - this article ends on such a weird note given the message
       | that the rest of it delivers. The author has finally realized how
       | valuable it is to have something that gets them going, regardless
       | of whether or not it ends up being "useful", but then immediately
       | stumbles over the fear of it not lasting and failing to achieve
       | greatness in it and sharply concludes with that sentiment.
       | 
       | Perseverance through intermediate-ness into greatness is
       | irrelevant to enjoyment. Sure, be great at your hobby if you're
       | driven to be great, but if you're looking to maximize enjoyment,
       | it's much better to focus on a) embracing intermediateness, and
       | b) exposing yourself to new things so you can find the next hobby
       | that will light you up.
        
         | qsort wrote:
         | Advent of Code is great but it requires you to:
         | 
         | - (a) be available at precisely midnight EST every day for an
         | entire month. That would be 6am for me, not really feasible on
         | working days for a full month.
         | 
         | - (b) be extremely good at a weird flavor of programming
         | competition -- more often than not you don't win at AoC by
         | writing better solutions, you just have to crank out a solution
         | that you don't too long to type.
         | 
         | I like competitions, I really do, done them my entire life, but
         | AoC is just not that interesting to me.
         | 
         | I'm just doing the problems every day ignoring the leaderboard,
         | 48/50 stars, this year I'm on track to get 50/50 on Christmas
         | day :)
        
           | criddell wrote:
           | It doesn't require either of those things. I've been doing it
           | this year and I'm on day 17 I think. I probably won't finish
           | it until the end of January.
           | 
           | I looked at the leaderboard one day there were a lot of
           | people who finished the problem set in 3-4 minutes. I spent
           | more time than that reading the problem description.
           | 
           | It's still a lot of fun. Some days I'll solve the problem
           | more than once just to try different ideas.
        
             | nlawalker wrote:
             | ... there's a _leaderboard_?
             | 
             | Kidding, of course, but that's pretty much how I feel about
             | it. I haven't done any real programming in >5 years so I'm
             | using it to dust off the cobwebs, get up to speed on C#
             | language features and push myself to think about the
             | problems functionally/recursively where I can, for fun. The
             | freewheeling open-endedness is the best part because you
             | can get value/enjoyment/satisfaction out of it a million
             | different ways: you could golf the problems; use them to
             | learn new languages; pretend you're writing production code
             | and make it super clean and organized; do them with a
             | partner or group; etc. etc. There's so much value simply in
             | interesting, well-defined puzzles with a good scope, and
             | the presence of the leaderboard is actually a really good
             | example of not letting the need for greatness (especially
             | by arbitrary measures!) stand in the way of enjoyment.
             | 
             | I'm in the same boat as you, I started late and I'm on day
             | 14 or so with a couple skips that I'll get back to, hope to
             | finish in January, and then maybe go back and clean a few
             | of them up, reflect on them, write a little bit about them,
             | and then start looking at problems from previous years.
        
       | Tomte wrote:
       | I've started Anno 1800 yesterday. Lost the campaign twice so far.
       | I love it. :-)
       | 
       | It looks gorgeous, even on my not-top-the-line-PC.
       | 
       | This will give me years of fun. After I get bored with the base
       | game I will have a dozen DLCs/extensions to try.
       | 
       | This past year it was Civ 5.
        
       | pruetj wrote:
       | Thank you for the article. ~7 years ago, I realized I have a
       | similar disposition - my best mental state is when I'm in a state
       | of learning and being challenged. The struggle I've run into is
       | when I look back and consider what "good" that thing I've been
       | learning about has produced.
       | 
       | For instance, I too love video games and have found immense
       | enjoyment in them for many, many years but if I add up all my
       | play logs and realize I've spent something like 5-10% of my life
       | playing video games, it begs the question if that time could have
       | been better spent? Has that really helped anyone, myself
       | included? Has it made the world a better place in any way?
       | 
       | Lately, I've uninstalled all games and am seeking hobbies that
       | still challenge me but also can bring joy to others. To list a
       | couple: Cooking - An art really but also quite a bit of science
       | involved. Chiefly though, food brings people together and there
       | is nothing quite like feeding people with your very own creation
       | and hard work. DIY - DIY helps with my engineering itch, saves a
       | lot of money for the family, and also can greatly benefit others
       | who might otherwise not be able to afford something they really
       | do need.
       | 
       | I have nothing against video games, I've played far more than
       | most my age. I really just wonder when it comes to hobbies, is
       | maximum satisfaction achieved when not only you satisfy your own
       | needs but are also able to add to others' lives? FWIW, this can
       | be achieved in video games through friendships and community
       | formed... I'm just not good at making that an important part of
       | why I'd play a video game.
        
         | zemvpferreira wrote:
         | I find a lot of comfort in the idea of unintended consequences.
         | I spent the majority of my youth playing games: CounterStrike,
         | Magic: The Gathering, D&D. I paid a lot more attention to
         | useless hobbies than to school.
         | 
         | In hindsight, I attribute my strongest mental skills to all
         | that gaming. Abstract reasoning, strategic/tactical thinking,
         | english fluency...things that separated me completely from my
         | peers once I began my career.
         | 
         | Life's long and you never know. If you enjoy cooking, sure, it
         | stacks with a lot of other benefits. I think that's a good
         | framework to keep in mind. But there's no reason to believe
         | nothing good can ever come from some hours spent on Call of
         | Duty. Heck, if you enjoy them that's enough good gotten.
        
           | pruetj wrote:
           | Totally agree, some of my best friends today were found
           | through Halo/dota/RuneScape/Dark Age of Camelot/etc. These
           | are not regrets I have - just more of a point forward
           | perspective in what I do with my time now.
           | 
           | I have a family of my own now so that has played no small
           | part in shifting my perspective.
        
         | dev_tty01 wrote:
         | Reminds me of a favorite quote:
         | 
         | "The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to
         | puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing
         | that never fails. ... There is only one thing for it then -- to
         | learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the
         | only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate,
         | never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream
         | of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a
         | lot of things there are to learn."
         | 
         | -- T.H. White, The Once and Future King
        
       | GuB-42 wrote:
       | Mahjong ?
       | 
       | I tend to associate mahjong with gambling and smoke filled
       | illegal parlors. The Asian counterpart of poker as it is played
       | in western stories.
       | 
       | Probably a stereotype. Just as poker usually isn't played in
       | saloons with revolvers on the table nowadays, but I wonder what
       | kind of reputation it has, and if the money aspect is as
       | prevalent as it is in poker.
        
         | csa wrote:
         | The illegal parlors exist, just like illegal private poker
         | games exist in the US.
         | 
         | I'm not sure about numbers, but I know many people in Japan who
         | play mahjong with community friends just like I know many
         | people in the US who have poker home games.
         | 
         | I have played both games in the casual community games, and
         | they are generally very friendly even though money is involved.
         | Typically, the amount wagered is "in the budget", skill sets
         | are usually in the same neighborhood, and ringers either self-
         | moderate their winnings (this is me in poker and a friend of
         | mine in mahjong) or get uninvited.
        
       | markisus wrote:
       | The conclusion seems to contradict the thesis.
       | 
       | > The most enjoyable time is when you feel yourself growing, but
       | the real test is whether you can persevere when you hit that wall
       | or if you'll lose interest and give up.
       | 
       | Why does it matter if you persevere or not as long as you had
       | fun?
        
         | redcobra762 wrote:
         | Pleasure vs. satisfaction. Pleasure is enjoying the moment, and
         | satisfaction is enjoying remembering the moment. Satisfaction
         | (almost definitionally) lasts longer, and importantly doesn't
         | even require in-the-moment pleasure!
        
       | bloopernova wrote:
       | My 2015 PC started dying, requiring BIOS resets and other
       | weirdness like suddenly not outputting basic VGA graphics.
       | 
       | So I finally upgraded to an AMD 7800X3D, nvidia 4070 12GB, 64GB
       | DDR5-6400 RAM.
       | 
       | All to play Factorio! :D
       | 
       | Apart from a strange error where Linux will crash if I have 2
       | DIMMs in the motherboard, it's been a great upgrade. (I'm going
       | to submit bug reports to Fedora, but I'm assuming some combo of
       | the MSI B650 motherboard, CPU, and memory are contributing to the
       | error. Memtest says the memory modules are OK)
       | 
       | Now I have a PC that can handle the modded-Factorio huge railway
       | city block maps I like to play. Each block of space is surrounded
       | by 4 lanes of railway, with interchanges. It's really nice to
       | organize the refining and production into specific tasks, like
       | "deliver lead ore, process it into lead oxide, combine that with
       | carbon blocks to make lead ingots". Now the distribution method
       | is via railway station so it's far more flexible than simple
       | conveyor belt outputs. Loads of fun! And very complex too, but
       | that's half the fun. Needing "blue science" which needs circuit
       | boards, which need solder, which needs lead and tin ingots, etc
       | etc. I can lose hours of time to this, moderated only by my back
       | hurting and making me take breaks.
       | 
       | A nice bonus is that my new PC is capable of running smaller LLMs
       | locally, so I can mess around with learning the new hotness
       | technology. Plus new toys are always fun.
        
         | zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
         | When I saw the specs my thoughts immediately went to local
         | LLMs, then I got to the last paragraph. I was messing around
         | with Mistral 7b the other day when it was posted on here and
         | have been considering upgrading my PC so I can run LLMs faster.
        
         | asmor wrote:
         | The Zen 4 memory controller only _sometimes_ is binned high
         | enough to be stable at 6400. It 's likely that linux just loads
         | the memory better out of the box. I had to dial back my 7800
         | X3D to 6000 after rare but consistent crashes.
         | 
         | You can try OCCT to check if your memory overclock (even with
         | Expo and especially with XMP, those are overclocks) is stable.
         | 
         | You probably have Hynix memory (check your 4 main timings and
         | XMP/EXPO advertised speed) - if you do, these are very save
         | timings you can do that'd probably make up for going down to
         | 6000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlYxmRcdLVw
        
           | bloopernova wrote:
           | Thank you, I will check the link out and you've given me some
           | good research to chase.
        
       | hyperthesis wrote:
       | > once they hit a certain wall, growth slows down drastically.
       | 
       | Deliberate practice addresses these plateaus. I think you need to
       | constrict your focus, zoom in, change the scale so the slowing of
       | progress doesn't feel slow. If you can accept that, it can be
       | just as satisfying. A great coach/mentor can help here [but how
       | can you evaluate them?] As the frontier of your knowledge
       | expands, there's more of it.
       | 
       | funfact: Usain Bolt hit a plateau as a teenager, but got a new
       | coach who addressed a congenital spine defect with specific
       | strengthening exercises, and to train _less_ (he was
       | overtraining).
        
         | finnh wrote:
         | overtraining is such a trap! My college crew program had
         | something like 11 workouts per week - one on the water, at 5am,
         | and one in the gym at 4pm, every weekday, plus a "big one" on
         | Saturdays. Very little tapering before big races.
         | 
         | That's simply too much, especially for 18 year olds...
        
       | trash_cat wrote:
       | What a refreshing and positive perspective on the matter. I
       | couldn't agree more.
        
       | Waterluvian wrote:
       | I'm struggling in the worst way to get into any game at all. I
       | have free time. I don't feel guilt being "unproductive" with that
       | time. But nothing feels motivating to continue with.
       | 
       | In my teens and 20s it felt amazing to finish homework and have a
       | late night ahead of me to really sink my teeth into an RPG or
       | something. But for the past decade that magic is just gone.
       | 
       | I don't want to declare "I've grown and changed and maybe gaming
       | just isn't my thing" because I badly want it to be.
        
         | sarks_nz wrote:
         | I just got "Slay the Spire", a deck-building, casual, rogue-
         | like and it's awesome. Can play a little or a lot at a sitting
         | :-)
        
           | vosper wrote:
           | Slay the Spire is awesome, addictive, and can be played for 5
           | minutes or 5 hours - great recommendation!
           | 
           | With very limited gaming time available I've been searching
           | for other games like that with limited success, apart from
           | Hitman Go, FTL, and Into the Beach. But none of them scratch
           | the itch quite as well.
        
             | bobnamob wrote:
             | Give "Hades" a shot. Isometric rogue-lite, once you're
             | comfortable with the game, a "run" is <30 mins (<15 mins
             | once you're very comfortable).
        
         | wincy wrote:
         | I've stopped playing multiplayer games with strangers. I play
         | tabletop RPGs (online, on a virtual tabletop) on Tuesday nights
         | for 3-4 hours with some friends, and it's an absolute blast.
         | 
         | Even though the stories we tell are goofy and not worthy of a
         | pulp fiction novel, it feels like actual play and engages a
         | part of my mind that's seldom used anymore. It's not often a
         | video game can capture a fraction of the fun we have paving our
         | own crazy story. Baldur's Gate 3 is the closest I've seen in
         | awhile.
        
         | watwut wrote:
         | > I don't want to declare "I've grown and changed and maybe
         | gaming just isn't my thing" because I badly want it to be.
         | 
         | Games are not your thing, whether be sure of being grown up or
         | so etching else. And there is no intrinsic value of gaming
         | unless you like it a lot. Forcing yourself into it makes zero
         | sense.
         | 
         | Maybe, just maybe, it makes sense to try different things and
         | chances are one of them will be it.
        
       | hiddencost wrote:
       | https://zunil.itch.io/mosaic
       | 
       | https://zunil.itch.io/magpie
       | 
       | You're welcome // sorry.
        
       | BeetleB wrote:
       | I grew up playing a lot of computer games (PC). A lot of them. It
       | mostly stopped once I went to university - for the following
       | decade I played only newer versions of games I was familiar with
       | (e.g. newer Civilization, newer Command and Conquer, etc). And
       | even that was the once-a-year binge - not continual. Then I
       | stopped altogether.
       | 
       | There were multiple reasons I slowed down. I was interested in my
       | academics. I looked back at all the time I had played pre-
       | university and (rationally) lamented the time lost. The genre I
       | liked had died (adventure games), and I really didn't like 1st
       | person shooters. And I didn't want to deal with the headache of
       | upgrading my PC every 2 years just to play a game. Also, I
       | switched to Linux, which didn't help.
       | 
       | I bought a PS3 in 2010, but it was only for Blu-Ray and
       | streaming. Then in around 2016, on a whim, I decided to check out
       | a game from the library. I picked _The Walking Dead_ (Telltale
       | version).
       | 
       | I loved it. I started checking out other games. Someone bought me
       | an Xbox One as a gift. But this all lasted a few months before I
       | stopped playing again.
       | 
       | Finally, around 18 months ago, I felt guilty that I had spent
       | $100 on games back in 2016 when I got the Xbox (some big sale, so
       | quite a few games), but never played them. So I told myself I'll
       | try a few.
       | 
       | The first one I played was _Life is Strange_. Loved it. Then
       | _Oxenfree_. Loved it. It 's been 18 months and I haven't stopped
       | playing.
       | 
       | Before, I'd spend 30-60 minutes per day watching some TV show.
       | I've merely substituted that time with gaming. And it is so, so
       | much more rewarding than watching a TV show - even a great show.
       | It's counterintuitive, but I find it both relaxes me and
       | invigorates me at the same time in a way a good show on TV
       | wouldn't (and I love good stories). With TV, you're just staring.
       | With games, you're actively thinking. It's more dynamic. You make
       | decisions. You're in control. And games can have great
       | storytelling.
       | 
       | I remember times in my life where my work was really stressful.
       | Looking back, I wish I had played games back then.
       | 
       | The funny thing is, while I had earlier lamented all the time in
       | my youth spent playing games, when I look back now I have only
       | positive feelings. I still have good memories of certain games -
       | heck even certain achievements in games, from 30 years ago. That
       | time wasn't wasted.
       | 
       | I always find it amusing when someone belittles gamers as losers,
       | but then they go watch TV.
        
       | ernestrc wrote:
       | Great article! I had deep, long-lasting obsessions with games
       | growing up until I discovered programming. For me, it's not so
       | much about the challenge anymore; it's about building stuff. Once
       | I discovered programming, games felt like very small and limiting
       | sandboxes. If I played a game for 10 hours a day, I would not be
       | able to convince myself that it's okay for me and those around
       | me. However, since programming is lucrative and comes with a pat
       | in the back, I struggle to find a good work-life balance still to
       | this day.
        
       | slowhadoken wrote:
       | It's the same with a good book, album, tv show, and movie.
        
         | NoboruWataya wrote:
         | Yes, a good book makes all the difference to me. Particularly
         | around bedtime - I'm very much a night owl and usually struggle
         | to get to bed on time but the prospect of reading a bit of a
         | good book before going to sleep is good motivation.
        
       | ohnoesjmr wrote:
       | I always have some game to play. Usually it's some multiplayer
       | FPS shooter and doesn't require long term commitment or
       | investment (CsGo2, Apex Legends, 20min matches). I'm in my mid
       | 30s, but I'm still quite good at those games, so I have some
       | passion for them, but I mostly play them as a method to
       | disconnect my mind from work. When I'm not coding much at work,
       | doing some ops stuff or whatever etc, games get replaced by
       | coding at home, because it's just like wanting to go to a
       | bathroom, it has to come out at some point. I sometimes even
       | combine the two, recently started RE'ing or modding my childhood
       | games, which is quite awesome as I picked up new skills along the
       | way.
       | 
       | My other half on the other hand, has no such interests, and
       | thinks that I'm wasting my life away, while sitting on the couch
       | watching netflix.
        
       | amjnsx wrote:
       | This article speaks to me a lot. I played FF7 Remake when it
       | released on PS+ in '21 thinking I didn't enjoy JRPG's.
       | 
       | From there i played the entire collection - the ps1 version,
       | crisis core, advent children, and then remake again.
       | 
       | Those months were fantastic - either playing, listening to the
       | soundtrack, thinking about materia combinations. And it's likely
       | to consume another 3 months of my life when Rebirth releases.
        
         | tarruda wrote:
         | FF VI and Chrono Trigger (both SNES) are two gems which I would
         | definitely replay if I had the time.
         | 
         | It is easy to get lost the pretty graphics of modern games, but
         | to me well written story and characters are the best part of
         | JRPGs
        
           | PsylentKnight wrote:
           | I really enjoyed Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Nintendo Switch)
           | this year.
           | 
           | The story is alright, but the characters are well-written and
           | I enjoyed the tactical gameplay more than the typical turn-
           | based RPG fare.
        
       | orenlindsey wrote:
       | Games (especially video games) can be extremely distracting from
       | doing the things you need to do. I'm in school and so I have to
       | work hard to avoid these things because I will not do the work I
       | need to do if I start playing a video game.
       | 
       | Maybe I just need more self-control, but I prefer non-games as
       | hobbies. Programming, listening to music and podcasts, etc.
        
         | low_tech_love wrote:
         | Everyone is different. I'm really happy you can look at
         | yourself critically like that and realize your own limitations,
         | then work around them. To be honest your comment is the real
         | takeaway here for me (the article was basically "good things
         | are good" and felt quite empty/meaningless).
        
       | vibrolax wrote:
       | I've wanted to play games since Atari Pong came out. But I've
       | never owned a console, and haven't owned a computer with a
       | discrete GPU since 2005. Twenty years ago, I satisfied my urge to
       | game by playing Unreal Tournament, Quake, etc. demos. More
       | recently, I'd spend an hour a week watching other people play
       | games on YouTube, to see if I was missing anything.
       | 
       | This year, the snake has entered my garden in the form of an RTX
       | 3060 that I bought for AI and media production applications.
       | 
       | My wife has bought me a flight stick for Christmas, so I can play
       | DCS myself, instead of watching other people's videos.
       | 
       | I worked so hard avoiding escapist leisure in favor of physical
       | exercise and 'maker' hobbies that it's difficult to switch off
       | the discipline, and go have some escapist fun.
       | 
       | I'm retired and have all the resources needed to indulge in pure
       | fun. I'm gonna take advantage of the opportunity.
        
       | ciuncan wrote:
       | For me it became incredibly hard to find a game to get hooked on.
       | Most recently Path of Exile was it, one of the very few games
       | (flight sims, Gwent and Slay the Spire) that I have more than 100
       | hours of game play. And indeed, when I find such a game, looking
       | forward to it was a great motivation throughout the day.
       | Currently my only hope is with PoE2, crossing fingers for it.
        
       | hasty_pudding wrote:
       | I honestly think that smart people get bored by the same-ness of
       | every day qnd having a fantasy of some sort to slip into really
       | helps.
        
       | hasty_pudding wrote:
       | Fantasy and sci fi books have the same effect for me.
       | 
       | Im in the middle of "The Fisherman" and cant wait to get back to
       | it everyday.
       | 
       | I honestly think that smart people get bored by the same-ness of
       | every day qnd having a fantasy of some sort to slip into really
       | helps.
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-24 23:01 UTC)