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Games, a waste of time?

Samerron

Samerron

New Member
The main question here is games, are they a waste of time?

First of all I’m asking here a community that reads i.e. a community that (I hope ;) ) has the sense and appreciation of time, but of course many people who read also play games. For example, I wouldn’t be asking this question in a gaming forum. :D

One side of the discussion would be that it’s a complete waste of time! But I look at the world and see gamers and game producers are dramatically increasing from year to year. The latest technologies and graphics are being used to produce game consoles that you couldn’t dream of 10 years ago. I’ve seen some trailers on the PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 and it’s incredible.
The hours that a persons spend on video games is increasing; they are substituting many activities of our daily life. Do you agree with me?

The other side of the discussion is that games are the best form of entertainment. You just sit in front of a computer or TV but you enjoy your time; the scene, the gameplay, the challenge, the adventure, the graphics, the music! In addition, it can be a social activity.

Where in the spectrum do you stand?
 
Yes and no. It all depends on whether you look at it like

'Hours spent having fun'
'Hours wasted playing games'

For the x amount of hours I've played games, them hours have been wasted productive-wise. But they are a great form of entertainment, so them hours have been spent having fun. Like music and television shows, they dont really have much use, except for keeping you entertained. While I'm playing, I pick the first option, but looking back I would pick the latter.
 
Passing time, thats all we are doing. Playing games, reading, watching dvd`s, tv etc. its all the same. Ask me a few years later what that book, tv show, game was about and I will almost always have filed it away in a folder in my mind and may not be able to recall it; but I can always re-read, play or watch it again. And thats about it, passing time.

The other side of the coin ....some folks will say `if I ain`t making money from it I don`t do it`.
 
chris302116 said:
Passing time, thats all we are doing. Playing games, reading, watching dvd`s, tv etc. its all the same.
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I disagree with you here. I see a big differnce between playing games and reading a book. Especially repetitive games such as races where you repeat the same set of tracks again and again. In books, you always read new things, increase your knowledge and strengthen your language.
I agree that you pass time by playing games or reading, but definitely you don't get the same outcome. Books give you long term benefits.
 
I like a good waste of time. My favorite game is Day of Defeat, an online world war two game where you play against people on a server.
 
For me they are a total waste of time. I get very easily bored and have never found a video game that could hold my attention for more than a couple plays. I can't remember the last time I turned the XBox on. I suppose it is good for me, but it would be nice to have a game I could play when I'm bored and don't feel like reading or watching TV.
 
chris302116 said:
Passing time, thats all we are doing. Playing games, reading, watching dvd`s, tv etc. its all the same. Ask me a few years later what that book, tv show, game was about and I will almost always have filed it away in a folder in my mind and may not be able to recall it; but I can always re-read, play or watch it again. And thats about it, passing time.

The other side of the coin ....some folks will say `if I ain`t making money from it I don`t do it`.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. What's the difference between playing a game and listening to music, watching a movie, or looking at a painting? If anything, it is less passive in that it requires thinking and strategy to be sucessful.
If playing games is a waste of time, than so is everything except gardening.
 
no.. i don't think games are a waste of time.. it's just another form of entertainment to me, along with reading books and watching movies.. for younger children, games can be a source of educational material, and also serve to further their logic and problem solving skills, and hand/eye co-ordination too.. one of my young nephews decided to learn to read so he could play better games! :)
 
Samerron said:
I disagree with you here. I see a big differnce between playing games and reading a book. Especially repetitive games such as races where you repeat the same set of tracks again and again. In books, you always read new things, increase your knowledge and strengthen your language.
I agree that you pass time by playing games or reading, but definitely you don't get the same outcome. Books give you long term benefits.
Click to expand...

I think this is where things may get a bit deep. My favorite author has written about 20 fiction books in as many years and I`ve read them all, but I don`t remember in much detail most of them. They passed the time....at the time....for me, but watching Tv would have done the same thing. Books can increase your knowledge but the question then has to be asked; why does a person want their knowledge increased or their language strengthend? What benefit will that person gain by an increased knowledge? A knowledge of what?

Does reading lots of fiction books give you a better knowledge than someone who has played as many video games. A person who reads many gardening books may have built up their knowledge of gardening over the years, but unless that knowledge earns them money then it is of little use apart from giving them a hobby they enjoy; and thats what video games do. ;)
 
Libre said:
If playing games is a waste of time, than so is everything except gardening.
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LOL!

mehastings, to me, you just haven't tried two games: Bejeweled and Bookworm. :D

I think they are not a complete waste of time. I seldom play them now, but when I used to I got a massive amount of enjoyment out of them. Personally I find that I can't read all the time, and I can't work all the time. Having something fun to play with is a good thing.

ds
 
I just have to ask: Samerron, are you conducting a study of computer game players? Or are you just curious? Or are you trying o justify your gaming addiction? ;)

And to answer your question: If you enjoy doing something, whether it's reading or playing computer games or watching tv or whatever, it's never a waste of time. Having said that, it can of course become an addiction and take over too much of a persons life, but that's another question.
 
Of course it is a waste of time, that is what games are for: to take up your free time. It is the same with books (when reading for entertainment). It is all a waste of time. The problems with people playing games too much has nothing to do with the games at all, it has to do with the person avoiding his or her responsibilites and the like.

Anyway, of course reading will give you way more knowledge than games. Actually, it depends on the book. Obviously if you read Dr. Seuss all the time, you are not learning more than a gamer.

Samerron said:
I disagree with you here. I see a big differnce between playing games and reading a book. Especially repetitive games such as races where you repeat the same set of tracks again and again. In books, you always read new things, increase your knowledge and strengthen your language.
I agree that you pass time by playing games or reading, but definitely you don't get the same outcome. Books give you long term benefits.
Click to expand...

There is a problem with what you are saying, at least the repetitive stuff. Books can be just as bad as games. But overall, books have a much, much greater chance of having a good outcome in new knowledge and the like. The one advantage of gaming, at least online gaming, is talking to people and its not being so passive, depending on the game.
 
It also has to do with what the game is. Some games are nothing more than shooting people down, while others have some educational value. Most games require some form of thinking/strategy and help to develop reflexes. Anything in moderation is really okay, but once you start gaming for hours on end, it becomes unhealthy.
 
chris302116 said:
A person who reads many gardening books may have built up their knowledge of gardening over the years, but unless that knowledge earns them money then it is of little use apart from giving them a hobby they enjoy; and thats what video games do. ;)
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I agree with you here. But you see the thing I’m concerned here is that people around me and around the globe are spending more time on games. As you said games are similar to watching TV, which indicates more means of this kind of entertainment is increasing. I’m not saying they’re bad but that they are not recommended, there are lots of better substitutes. I personally consider these kinds of entertainment as lazy activities (if it can be called an activity;) ).

pink shadow said:
I just have to ask: Samerron, are you conducting a study of computer game players? Or are you just curious? Or are you trying o justify your gaming addiction? ;)
Click to expand...
Well, you can say a bit of here and there. :p
 
I love a good game. It's true that some games are much better than some other games. That does not make gaming in general a waste of time. Some food is better than some other food.
There are the mindless shoot-em-ups, which may be fun for some people, but there are also games that are incredibly intriguing and challenging and promote problem solving and persistance.
If you've ever played the game Lemmings (which is unfortunately defunct), you know what I mean.
For anyone to think this game is a waste of time, well, I disagree.
I'd go so far as to say that developing skill in this game teaches you a great deal about resource management, timing, and finding novel solutions to seemingly insoluble problems. It is (was) a phenomenal game.
And, let's not forget about chess - or, are we only talking about computer games here?
You know, certain games are so ancient, they make chess look like the latest rage - and chess is 1400 years old! Clearly, games are part of being human, going back to our earliest ancestors. They've found evidence of dice (or something nearly the same) in Neanderthal dwellings.
I might be making that up, but I sort of remember hearing that, maybe.
What's the difference, anyway. Games are fun. If games are a waste of time, than so is having sex with birth control. It's all about enjoying yourself. You may have to work, but you also have some percentage of leisure time that you don't have to produce anything. The best games promote THINKING - as much or even more than books do. In fact, there have been innumerable books written ABOUT games. And for good reason.
It's ALL a game, after all. And he who dies with the most toys wins!
 
Libre said:
If you've ever played the game Lemmings (which is unfortunately defunct), you know what I mean.
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Lemmings are back for the PSP, I believe. Back and better too. They drove me nuts, lemmings, but then that was probably the point.

ds
 
Samerron said:
In books, you always read new things, increase your knowledge and strengthen your language.
Click to expand...

That is far from the truth. Books can easily be just as stupid or even worse than any game or TV-show.
 
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