Comments on: I’m getting too old for this. http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/ the blog for the thinking geek Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:01:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Tenchan http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-462 Tenchan Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:34:46 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-462 ... what all this about WoW taking time and save points? WoW has no save points and you can log out any time. It is absolutely -no- problem to play WoW for just half an hour. The biggest problem with others not understanding when you don't want to drop the game suddenly for them is not the games. It's the still prominent belief that a video game has no artistic, educational and entertaining merit whatsoever. It gets even worse in online games, where the belief is added that when something is a game, it is automatically 'not real', no matter how many real people you are just playing with. … what all this about WoW taking time and save points? WoW has no save points and you can log out any time. It is absolutely -no- problem to play WoW for just half an hour.

The biggest problem with others not understanding when you don’t want to drop the game suddenly for them is not the games. It’s the still prominent belief that a video game has no artistic, educational and entertaining merit whatsoever. It gets even worse in online games, where the belief is added that when something is a game, it is automatically ‘not real’, no matter how many real people you are just playing with.

]]> By: Vlt http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-461 Vlt Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:10:51 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-461 Gosh, this just reminded me why my PS2 is covered with dust, soon I won't even be able to open it in order to get back the FFXII CD inside... Feel lucky, Mookie: you're speaking about offline games... I played online for five years - not the MMORPG you are thinking of, but merely a 5-minutes-a-day PHP-based game. Only 1 to 3 actions a day, should not ruin your social life. But it did. Because it's team-based. How many times did I have this conversation: - diner's ready ! - yeah one sec', playing my turn now. - can't this wait after diner? - well no, I need to synchronize with four other guys, three are already waiting and we need to act before our target plays. - diner-prepared-with-love can't wait, just pass your turn ! - I can't ! These guys are counting on me. We planned the actions of the whole week just for this moment. I can't let them down now. This made me feel really bad. I was either betraying my friends, or giving the feeling to gf that playing was more important to me than being with her. Mutually exclusive choice. I quit the game. And what's more sad is that gf did not even notice. I then replaced this gaming activity with an offline game: FFXII. But never made progress. The pattern was: play 15 minutes, U-turn, go back to save point, quit the game because-it-s-TV-time-and-you-played-30-minutes-already-anyway. At some point I just got tired of never progressing in the storyline, and completely quit playing. So in the end, it's not that we are too old for this. It's just that it's nearly impossible to keep a serious hobby if your companion does not share it. Seems then that keeping TV as the sole distraction is the secret of a successful an healthy social life. I'm sooo looking forward to it... Gosh, this just reminded me why my PS2 is covered with dust, soon I won’t even be able to open it in order to get back the FFXII CD inside…

Feel lucky, Mookie: you’re speaking about offline games…

I played online for five years - not the MMORPG you are thinking of, but merely a 5-minutes-a-day PHP-based game.
Only 1 to 3 actions a day, should not ruin your social life.

But it did. Because it’s team-based.

How many times did I have this conversation:
- diner’s ready !
- yeah one sec’, playing my turn now.
- can’t this wait after diner?
- well no, I need to synchronize with four other guys, three are already waiting and we need to act before our target plays.
- diner-prepared-with-love can’t wait, just pass your turn !
- I can’t ! These guys are counting on me. We planned the actions of the whole week just for this moment. I can’t let them down now.

This made me feel really bad. I was either betraying my friends, or giving the feeling to gf that playing was more important to me than being with her. Mutually exclusive choice.

I quit the game. And what’s more sad is that gf did not even notice.

I then replaced this gaming activity with an offline game: FFXII. But never made progress. The pattern was: play 15 minutes, U-turn, go back to save point, quit the game because-it-s-TV-time-and-you-played-30-minutes-already-anyway.

At some point I just got tired of never progressing in the storyline, and completely quit playing.

So in the end, it’s not that we are too old for this. It’s just that it’s nearly impossible to keep a serious hobby if your companion does not share it.

Seems then that keeping TV as the sole distraction is the secret of a successful an healthy social life. I’m sooo looking forward to it…

]]> By: Games, Kids, Manga and Motherhood » On Gaming. http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-455 Games, Kids, Manga and Motherhood » On Gaming. Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:06:00 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-455 [...] brought this small thing up? Why a post over on SPWUG: Written by Mookie of Dominic Deegan Fame It made for interesting light reading this morning before [...] […] brought this small thing up? Why a post over on SPWUG: Written by Mookie of Dominic Deegan Fame It made for interesting light reading this morning before […]

]]> By: Tea http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-426 Tea Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:21:09 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-426 Oh, I hate it when I'm playing a game and somone comes in and says: "turn off the game, I want to watch tv and you've been playing for hours" this was a big problem during the summer holidays when me and my sister were home all day. But it annoys me even more when they say I'm addicted, it just seems to be something related to gaming. I mean if my mum watches tv for three hours no-one says she's addicted, if my dad reads for three hours he's not addicted, if my sister goes to a club for three hours she's not addicted. If I game for three hours...I'm addicted. p.s. I'm a girl. Oh, I hate it when I’m playing a game and somone comes in and says: “turn off the game, I want to watch tv and you’ve been playing for hours” this was a big problem during the summer holidays when me and my sister were home all day. But it annoys me even more when they say I’m addicted, it just seems to be something related to gaming. I mean if my mum watches tv for three hours no-one says she’s addicted, if my dad reads for three hours he’s not addicted, if my sister goes to a club for three hours she’s not addicted. If I game for three hours…I’m addicted.
p.s. I’m a girl.

]]> By: redex http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-425 redex Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:52:39 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-425 Yeaaah, that sounds familiar. I now judge videogames solely on how many save points they have, and although I love playing them on the big screen tv, if you download them illegally you can freeze states whenever you want. Which I do. Obsessively. A huge bonus in, say, Super Mario World (SNES). Although I am on the RPG side of gaming most of the time, my little brother is into MMORPGs and I do not envy him the arguments he has with my parents over computer usage. He gets outside, plays hockey, does well in school, but he also spends hours on the computer chopping wood to make into arrows to sell to some guy to make enough money to buy a better axe. My attention span doesn't last that long, which is why I require something like a plot to keep me motivated to completion. I didn't have quite so many arguments with my parents over this kind of thing, but battling the Elite Four in Pokemon Blue just before supper time? Don't even bother trying. Yeaaah, that sounds familiar. I now judge videogames solely on how many save points they have, and although I love playing them on the big screen tv, if you download them illegally you can freeze states whenever you want. Which I do. Obsessively. A huge bonus in, say, Super Mario World (SNES). Although I am on the RPG side of gaming most of the time, my little brother is into MMORPGs and I do not envy him the arguments he has with my parents over computer usage. He gets outside, plays hockey, does well in school, but he also spends hours on the computer chopping wood to make into arrows to sell to some guy to make enough money to buy a better axe. My attention span doesn’t last that long, which is why I require something like a plot to keep me motivated to completion. I didn’t have quite so many arguments with my parents over this kind of thing, but battling the Elite Four in Pokemon Blue just before supper time? Don’t even bother trying.

]]> By: Cooper http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-424 Cooper Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:46:57 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-424 I know what you mean, now that I live on my own and have a job I have all the freedom to play the games only not the time -_- I am never home and when I am I am infront of my computer catching up with friends, or drawing, or being too damned tired XD The other problem is there are few games scattered through many systems that hold my attention. I gave up on WOW for that reason. So now I mostly just play with the many DS games I own because I can take those to work with me ^.^ Still want a Wii though. I know what you mean, now that I live on my own and have a job I have all the freedom to play the games only not the time -_- I am never home and when I am I am infront of my computer catching up with friends, or drawing, or being too damned tired XD

The other problem is there are few games scattered through many systems that hold my attention.

I gave up on WOW for that reason.

So now I mostly just play with the many DS games I own because I can take those to work with me ^.^

Still want a Wii though.

]]> By: xdeathknightx http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-423 xdeathknightx Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:36:15 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-423 Oh and a little P.S. people tend to look back at the good ol' days but forget to remember that on the C64 it took half an hour to load the darn game :D and that you had NO savepoints in most games and the save didn't really come until the SNES/later computers. So you had to finish the game or just turn it off and start all over again :D Oh and a little P.S. people tend to look back at the good ol’ days but forget to remember that on the C64 it took half an hour to load the darn game :D and that you had NO savepoints in most games and the save didn’t really come until the SNES/later computers. So you had to finish the game or just turn it off and start all over again :D

]]> By: xdeathknightx http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-422 xdeathknightx Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:25:09 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-422 One of the reasons I don't play games like WoW or things on the console that take hours. Of course at times it is just fun to go ahead and lose yourself in a game, that you start at 4 pm and after "about 2 hours" you are thinking "well lets go do some shopping for dinner" and it's already 9 pm. But I usually play games like shooters, rts, some adventures or an rpg like oblivion where you can just save and quit. (although with online shooters it is tempting to finish the map :D) My biggest gripe is the opposite, games are looking prettier and prettier but spend 6 to 10 hours on em and you are done! One of the reasons I don’t play games like WoW or things on the console that take hours. Of course at times it is just fun to go ahead and lose yourself in a game, that you start at 4 pm and after “about 2 hours” you are thinking “well lets go do some shopping for dinner” and it’s already 9 pm.
But I usually play games like shooters, rts, some adventures or an rpg like oblivion where you can just save and quit. (although with online shooters it is tempting to finish the map :D)
My biggest gripe is the opposite, games are looking prettier and prettier but spend 6 to 10 hours on em and you are done!

]]> By: Emilio "milox" http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-420 Emilio "milox" Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:21:40 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-420 Heil Mookie man! (dont ask :P) I know the feeling too, its hard to stop playing a good game, i was a FF XI player un til i found it boring to play co-op`all the time, i wont deny i had my nice moments like when i became a summoner and a dark knight, but the missions... damn them damn them all! now i play FPS, the classics rpgs, breath of fire, FF etc.. on the ps2 and blue dragon right now on the 360, so i can take my times. But you know, we all are addicted to games when we play them more than or normal real life character :) glad we can turn off the console and keep our lifes About your exGF she missed a nice quest time :D Now... your next quest is to level up your moral +6 points, and then you have to go to the next corner store and get the holy drink of.. wait a damn minute ¬_- ROFLMAO!!! I was thinking in making a dominic deegan RPG: P Heil Mookie man! (dont ask :P)
I know the feeling too, its hard to stop playing a good game, i was a FF XI player un til i found it boring to play co-op`all the time, i wont deny i had my nice moments like when i became a summoner and a dark knight, but the missions… damn them damn them all! now i play FPS, the classics rpgs, breath of fire, FF etc.. on the ps2 and blue dragon right now on the 360, so i can take my times.

But you know, we all are addicted to games when we play them more than or normal real life character :)

glad we can turn off the console and keep our lifes

About your exGF she missed a nice quest time :D

Now… your next quest is to level up your moral +6 points,
and then you have to go to the next corner store and get the holy drink of..

wait a damn minute ¬_- ROFLMAO!!!

I was thinking in making a dominic deegan RPG: P

]]> By: Serpentbane http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-419 Serpentbane Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:15:15 +0000 http://www.spwug.com/2007/11/14/im-getting-too-old-for-this/#comment-419 I totally agree. A great game would have a great deal of fast-play content. I mean, that way you could enjoy it while trying to balance everything in your life, and have a lot to whittle through. Of course, I'm fairly poor and running on a PSP, PS2 and a PC. XD My selection's rather limited. Monster Hunter and WoW FTW. I totally agree. A great game would have a great deal of fast-play content. I mean, that way you could enjoy it while trying to balance everything in your life, and have a lot to whittle through.

Of course, I’m fairly poor and running on a PSP, PS2 and a PC. XD My selection’s rather limited.

Monster Hunter and WoW FTW.

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