From an evolutionary standpoint, why do we love to play videogames?

[Snake of Eden]

All my Castlevania knowledge comes from Smash Bros and the Netflix show but I've always wanted to get into it. The music is very lovely I particularly like Richter's theme.

I love games osts too. I used to collect them back then. Xenogears and Final Fantasy, Silent Hill would be my favourite

 

[Snake of Eden]

I returned to Castlevania about a year and a half ago. I'd forgotten just how good the music is in some of those games. It bought to light judt how lazy and unimaginative a lot of modern music is. Those early games had so much effort put into them. You can tell there was a real enjoyment and labour of love for the devs.

Michriu Yamane is a great composer. Valkyrie Profile is a great ost too

 

[Snake of Eden]

I returned to Castlevania about a year and a half ago. I'd forgotten just how good the music is in some of those games. It bought to light judt how lazy and unimaginative a lot of modern music is. Those early games had so much effort put into them. You can tell there was a real enjoyment and labour of love for the devs.

All my Castlevania knowledge comes from Smash Bros and the Netflix show but I've always wanted to get into it. The music is very lovely I particularly like Richter's theme.

Man just the way they make the music fits so perfectly to the world of the games is like miraculous

 

[motel rooms]

Correlation vs. Causation. If someone didn't choose the world of video games to retreat into then it would've been something else. Being socially inept wasn't invented in the 21st century.

Of course not, but it wasn't as widespread a problem as nowadays. Never in human history have so many kids been able to escape reality & isolate themselves in such a drastic way & the situation is getting worse fast. Yes, correlation, but in way too many cases it's not an exaggeration to speak of causation; not all kids who start living in elaborate fantasy worlds are atypical or traumatized.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Of course not, but it wasn't as widespread a problem as nowadays. Never in human history have so many kids been able to escape reality & isolate themselves in such a drastic way & the situation is getting worse fast. Yes, correlation, but in way too many cases it's not an exaggeration to speak of causation; not all kids who start living in elaborate fantasy worlds are atypical or traumatized.

Even without video games, reality isn't doing itself any favors to become less escapable. Something else would have just been invented that does the same thing.

 

[motel rooms]

Even without video games, reality isn't doing itself any favors to become less escapable. Something else would have just been invented that does the same thing.

Well, if you'd been born 60 or 70 years ago, it would have been impossible for you to engage in such intense escapism at your age.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Well, if you'd been born 60 or 70 years ago, it would have been impossible for you to engage in such intense escapism at your age.

I still have cartoons and tv for that. I probably could have also gotten into comic books, radio broadcasts, music records, or whatever was around back then. Either that or would have just killed myself much sooner from the boredom/refusal to engage with the real world.

 

[motel rooms]

I still have cartoons and tv for that. I probably could have also gotten into comic books, radio broadcasts, music records, or whatever was around back then.

Comparing what they had back then to what we have now is like comparing a softcore porn magazine to a real-life orgy. The latter doesn't affect the brain in quite the same way as the former.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Comparing what they had back then to what we have now is like comparing a softcore porn magazine to a real-life orgy. The latter doesn't affect the brain in quite the same way as the former.

Orgies existed in the past so this analogy makes no sense.

 

[motel rooms]

Orgies existed in the past so this analogy makes no sense.

I disagree

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I disagree

Orgies didn't exist in the past?

 

[motel rooms]

Orgies didn't exist in the past?

No, they did not. Everyone was a Pilgrim before Madonna made it big. My analogy is just fine, but substitute orgies for chemsex if you have such a problem with it. "Like comparing looking at a 17th century male nude to groping a naked man" would've gotten my point across adequately as well although the groping of naked men has been a thing since forever. I wanted to convey the difference in intensity & I did it.

 

[Josh007]

MMO= exploring the african jungle

 

[Sherri]

Keeps my mind busy so I dont think about negative things sometimes. I still haven't finished that Lego set I posted the other day.

 

[Julgran]

Many wise words have already been spoken here, but I would like to point out that video gaming is so diverse that a more relevant question would probably be what we compare it to. For instance, compare the following examples, if you will:

Playing Call of Duty = Playing Cops & Robbers or Cowboys & Indians - or any other imaginary last-man-to-die scenario using sticks as weapons, outside
Playing any Total War game = Playing table top Warhammer
Playing Baldur's Gate = Reading a Tolkien book
Playing World of Warcraft = Playing a team sport
Playing Hearthstone = Playing any card game on a table
Playing Minecraft = Building a cabin in the woods

To the question of how video gaming might relate to evolution, I see it as a developed form of playing in a sandbox outside with friends.

The problem that I see with video gaming is that it can take up too much time, but it can also keep some people off drugs.

Keep in mind that, as our society has progressed, video gaming has replaced some of the other joyful activities that children enjoyed before, since children today are basically raised by computers in various forms, which means that they may not even be aware that those other activities - like coming up with their own ideas for a game or activity to partake in - exist. This, if anything. could have some repercussions in the future. For example, there's not much in the way of climbing trees in video game format, and video gaming lacks the reality of face-to-face interactions, which may be useful in developing a sense of self and consequences in relation to the world.

 

[Smart No More]

Personally I think gaming is just an easy retreat for people with problems that already began beforehand. It's only detriment is that it facilitates certain peoples journey down the wrong path but it is far from the cause. In my opinion Television, being totally passive and full of influence and persuasion, is mich more damaging. Equally if not worse is the mobile phone and social media. The way we communicate is way more impacted by the mobile phone as txt of one form another is more promenant than an actual voice conversation. Plus the phone is never out of reach. At keast with gaming you're essentially in an interactive book if playing a single player story driven game (which for me is way more enjoyable than most multiplayer experiences) and with multiplayer online games you're still learning various laws of the playground. There is so much morw to all of this of course but I just can't say from my experience that I've seen it turn people's brain to mush. That was the 'normies' stance as it was first becoming a thing many years ago. Gaming doesn't have power or influence over a person and doesn't aim to do so. Unlike social media, advertising which have are specifically attempting to hack your brain with algorithms and manipulation tactics in order to empty your wallet or keep you clicking. This is why there is such a bone of contention over micro transactions making their way into gaming. At this stage I would say that gaming is being inflitrated by those things and therefore stands a chance of falling into the traps of TV, Social media and Advertising but there is still a large portion of gaming that hasn't yet been inflitrated and the gaming that has been infiltrated I would argue is not really gaming so much as some weird kind of social rape and thievery that's been polished up to appear as gaming therefore justifying it's existence. It pochenko with a snazzy new look. The fact is, much like music, books and literature there are many genres and facets and it's therefore unfair to over simplify or tar it with blanket terms. Book burning comes to mind. Books and records were once considered a blight on young minds too. Toys even.

For what it's worth, I kicked heroin with the help of playing through Metal Gear Solid Sons of Liberty. I didn't feel good at all but some of the worst moments gave me a kind of appreciation for some of the scenarios snake found himself it. It was a kind of cathartic experience although testing and frustrating at time. I suppose it added to the immersion in an odd way. I had medication to help with the very worst of it but playing through that game gave my mind something in the way of healthy challenge and distraction with some small but significant rewards during that time. Had I not had that my mind would have wondered and I would no doubt have gone out and scored some gear. I haven't used in 20 years since that. There's no way telivision, social media or really anything else could have held my attention for that time in such a way as to help me through it. So to me gaming is a medium that's not yet fully appreciated for its therapeutic abilities. It also served as a source of inspiration for learning creativity in my case. It's educational in itself but perhaps only to a receptive and particular mindset so maybe whats good for some is not for others. For me though, I am thankful foe it's existence and can honestly say I have been better for it.

 

[fdnglnslanlnvlonfbo]

Monke see game, Monke play game

 

[WonderingSoul]

I think because we get to experience things humans are supposed to experience irl by a reduced factor. Humans did not evolve to be cooped up in cities doing work in small offices. Video games gives us that freedom to be what we want to be without consequences of any society or even deity (depends on the game lol). A technical answer would be dopamine.

 

[Snake of Eden]

I think because we get to experience things humans are supposed to experience irl by a reduced factor. Humans did not evolve to be cooped up in cities doing work in small offices. Video games gives us that freedom to be what we want to be without consequences of any society or even deity (depends on the game lol). A technical answer would be dopamine.

Says pac-man….

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]