Gaming - a positive or negative impact on your life?

[DeathAdder]

This was posted by S-Rank in Off Topic

gaming has probably been had a negative impact on my life if i was to be fair

And that got me thinking about gaming in my life?

The positives:
Plenty of hours spent enjoying playing them.
Train and plane journeys not the utter boredom they would otherwise have been, especially in the Gameboy days.
Introducing non-gamers to the Wii and watching them enjoying it.


The negatives:
Shedloads of money spent on them, and not enough recouped on downsizing my collection.
Pissing off past girlfriends and a wife that too much time and money was being spent on them.
Fretting about where they were, and whether the box of a collectable was getting damaged.
Many an afternoon spent shopping for a collection that never brought any satisfaction when it grew bigger, and it was never big enough.


Overall, I'd say negative for me, especially about five years ago, when I was constantly shopping for and reading about games, but rarely playing them. It had become an obsession at that point.


Anyone else?

Couldn't decide whether to put this here or in Off Topic - Mods, move if you feel it appropriate.

[wakka]

On the whole I'd have to say gaming's had a positive impact on my life. I can't really imagine not having played games - titles like Pok?mon (Red, Blue and Yellow especially), Metal Gear Solid, Shenmue, Mario Kart to name a few have become so much a part of my cultural consciousness that I can't imagine not having played them.

I'm not a collector though, so people who focus on that will probably have had different experiences. Games have always been there for me throughout my life, except for a period during my teens when I started to get fatigued and lost some of the interest I used to have in gaming for a while.

[noobish hat]

Probably negative, just because they were pretty much the only reason I did my degree in Japanese, which basically ruined my life.

Of course it's easy to say it's negative for other reasons, like being a waste of time, or costing money, but most hobbies are just as much a waste of time. You can't be productive every hour of the day. I don't see why reading a book or watching a film is so much more acceptable than playing games.

[PaTaito]

As long as you dont live in a vitamin D deprived situation...

All positivity surely!?

[J0e Musashi]

Negative. In the same way as smack.

[speedlolita]

Negative from me too.

Luckily I've broken out of the buy to own rather than play phase. Now I'm semi addicted to an MMO that costs just ?7 a month and keeps me off eBay.

[MisterBubbles]

I'd say totally positive, first if i didn't play games as stress relief i believe i'd be dead, and now in the internet age i've made loads of amazing friends who ive visited a few and made real friendships, plus theres worse ways to blow loads of cash, either through nose/veins or pi$$ing it all away, and lastly the memories.

[Neon Ignition]

Positive, though collecting games def strikes me these days as the biggest room for negative attributes. It can be a costly hobby but the involvement, entertainment and memories are worth it. A damn sight better use of money than spending it on drink, cigs and a risk of STD each weekend as most spend their money. Most peeps I know who aren't into games look down at it but lack any real interests of their own, too happy to waste away countless hrs on TOWIE and buying crap that gets thrown away months later. Embrace the games!

[Golgo]

Positive: Harmless stress-relief and escapism, as Mr. B says. Good exercise for the old grey matter and hand-eye coordination (for us old lags), sometimes...Much better than vegetating passively in front of TV. Lots of good pals and laughs and (good humoured) arguments. As long as you don't bankrupt yourself and/or game to the exclusion of every other activity, I see nothing wrong.

[Kit]

Difficult one. If I didn't have my games as stress relief and escapism I'd possibly be more outgoing and focused? or maybe without them I'd have another vice like drink or drugs. I'd say overall it's probably had a negative impact on my life as I've always reverted back to gaming when things aren't going to plan instead of really tackling the issues in my life. I tend not to do things by halves either so if I'm into something I become completely engrossed in it - ergo my recent ott handheld gaming purchases. Really need to follow the old saying 'everything in moderation' as that seems the best ethos for a happy life.

[Decider-VT]

Hard to tell right now. Wanting to learn how to program so I could make my own little games was one of the reasons I chose to do a degree in Computer Science. Hopefully I'll get a job doing something related to that if I graduate this year. The stress just seems to be building up more and more, though. It helps that I have a very tolerant wife that is willing to put up with me locking myself away in another room for hours on end or is happy enough to let me sleeve SNES games while we're watching Netflix.

On the other hand, my desk is currently covered in all sorts of gaming-related tat. Stack of SNES games, two Xbox 360s, various controllers... it's probably cost me a small fortune and will cost another to get decent furniture to house all of it.

[dvdx2]

Positive: Harmless stress-relief and escapism

I used to think about that until i was about 30, until it started too affect relationships, became rather complusive and my wage packet was structured around gaming. The worst possible outcome is that i have developed very painful bouts of RSI, which affect how much i can play. (I seem to be the only person on the forum that complains about this, but i'm sure theres more).

Its a horrible hobby if you live with depression too, as it isolates you from the real world and compounds the illness even more, but thankfully thats in the past for me.

It can be a completely unproductive interest too; as you get older you realise the amount of time you could have been spending time with family, a partner or even volunteering. It does very little for your physical health too.

The positive? Nothing beats putting on a cracking game, opening a six pack and taking the phone of the hook. The moral of the story? Protect your hands, get involved in other activites and NEVER put videogaming in front of of a relationship. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

Oh an eat your greens and get plently of sun light too ;-)

[Wools]

Positive for me.

Videogames have given me thousands of joyous hours playtime that are worth their weight in gold. I've had rewarding, fantastic times playing and talking about them and I believe their is no other comparable medium where you can be in a fantasy world, yet feel so involved and excited by what you're experiencing.

From playing countless hours on Sega Rally with friends in various Arcades around the word, endless Tekken 2 bouts during my youth, an entire weekend in Bournemouth SEGA Arcade with my brother where nothing else mattered, another weekend online on my own (But with the entire world) with the Dreamcast connected online with Phantasy Star Online, coming into my front room with my girlfriend playing Rayman Origins and laughing to herself, a decade on NTSC-UK & Bordersdown talking **** and having a beautiful time with like minded individuals and thousands of hours with my best mate on link up laptop gaming playing Flashpoint and age of Empires 2.

And that's before I even think of the off hand conversations i've had with my brother, family, friends, co-workers, shop assistants and anyone else who connects with you the second you mention you love Videogames.

I'm not bitter about them and never will be. They've one of the most fun and enjoyable parts of my life, just as valid a pass time as walking, photography, films, books, music or cars. I just hope my fingers last as long as possible before arthritis sets in!

[gambit6613]

Gaming is and has been nothing but a positive for me. Its probably my greatest pleasure away from the family and sport. Nothing relaxes me quite like disappearing into different worlds in video games. Very little else in life can quite match the brilliant and absorbing experience from beginning a game at say 7pm and before i even realise its the wee small hours of the morning but this experience is harder to find these days and i dont know if its the games im playing or that im just getting older and am harder to please.

The other great impact gaming has had on my life i have actually learned so much, in particular history. By playing games like the Civilization series and the Total War games i have learned so much about history, easily more than i ever did from a dull school lesson. Also playing games has made me want to visit country's around the world. The most recent experience was Sleeping Dogs which has made me really want to go to Hong Kong.

I guess the only downside to gaming is the cost. Each year im finding im probably spending more and more but luckily i can afford it but when i looked back and worked out what last year cost me it was pretty scary lol and i can see 2013 being even more costly. But at the end of the day it makes me very happy and very relaxing

[EvilBoris]

Postive for me, even if I don't feel like playing a game I can come on here and wind someone up!

My best friend in the whole wide world I met through gaming and even though we don't play much together we still talk about games.