How many of you play video games?

[Metz]

If so, what games have you been playing lately?

ALSO, I'm acutely aware a lot of people here get weirdly vocal about games and how tHeY jUsT wAsTe tImE and aNy gOoD eNtRePrEnEuR sHoUlD oNlY fOcUs oN wOrK. This thread ain't for you. Please spare me the sigma nonsense.

I only ask because a good friend-turned-client of mine who I met through playing video games together mentioned how great it is to find someone of similar age and interests who also owns their own business so.. we can't be the only two people. And now I'm curious.

 

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[Ing]

The last but one was Duke Nukem 3D. Played it through once till the end. Never touched again.
And when A customer of a friend started world of tanks, I tried it once.

 

[Metz]

The last but one was Duke Nukem 3D. Played it through once till the end. Never touched again.
And when A customer of a friend started world of tanks, I tried it once.

Ooo Duke Nukem 3D.. that's one I haven't heard of in a while. I think that was the last Duke Nukem game I played but that was many moons ago.

World of Tanks is pretty cool but I'm a War Thunder guy myself if ever I get the itch to play a tank/plane/boat game.

 

[Mathuin]

Not anymore. Don't have enough time as still working a 9-5 and trying to unscript.

Used to play a lot of Call of Duty & World of Warcraft.

 

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[Metz]

Not anymore. Don't have enough time as still working a 9-5 and trying to unscript.

Used to play a lot of Call of Duty & World of Warcraft.

Yeah, I used to play a lot of MMOs back in the day but they're too big of time sinks for me; never could find a way to balance them effectively with the rest of my obligations. CoD.. haven't played since Black Ops 2.. as I've gotten older, if I'm gonna play an FPS, I prefer slower ones like ArmA, Escape From Tarkov, and Squad.

I hope your slog to the unscripted life goes well though, friend. Think you'd ever return to gaming if you found the time again?

 

[Mathuin]

Think you'd ever return to gaming if you found the time again?

Can't say, anytime I did play the odd game since I stopped I got bored pretty quickly.

Post-Unscription, I'd rather be on a booze cruise in Mexico than curled up in front of my monitor.

 

[srodrigo]

I play less and less these days (apart from when I get hooked into RTSs...). Not only I get bored quicker as I age, but some video games take too much mental space. We are here because we want an above-average life, and attention thieves can certainly get in the way. Not to mention some stressful games that don't do good when you are over 35-40.

Having said that, some games have great, even memorable, stories and music (for example, old Final Fantasy games), so they are a good experience in the same way a good film can be. Not every game is about spending dozens of hours shooting marines.

 

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[Metz]

I play less and less these days (apart from when I get hooked into RTSs...). Not only I get bored quicker as I age, but some video games take too much mental space. We are here because we want an above-average life, and attention thieves can certainly get in the way. Not to mention some stressful games that don't do good when you are over 35-40.

Having said that, some games have great, even memorable, stories and music (for example, old Final Fantasy games), so they are a good experience in the same way a good film can be. Not every game is about spending dozens of hours shooting marines.

Yeah, while I still play video games, I find myself playing them less and less. Like right now, I find that I'm having more fun working on my business than my usual games.. like on my downtime, I'll sit and look at my library and then give up and start working on my next article.

But I will caution against the use of the term "attention thieves" since a lot of people will apply that to games yet spend their entire days action-faking on here. Isn't to say the forum's bad, just that there's a pattern of a lot of big talk but very few back it with action. There's importance to spending time to unwind and decompress for the sake of one's health to greet the next workday with renewed vigor. At least for me, gaming's my choice -- though I also work out regularly, hike, enjoy nature photography now that I got a new phone for the first time in seven years, stuff like that.

But you're right too with the quality of games. Like one game I'm really enjoying lately is City of Gangsters which is a surprisingly in-depth business simulator that, illegal 1920s era bootlegging aside, really hammers home a lot of core business strategy concepts like the importance of networking, supply and demand, diversification, logistics, stuff like that. Is one of the reasons I gave up on games like COD that don't really do much but give you a spike in dopamine.. but even then, if that's the way a person wants to relax after a long day.. well.. it's all about balance, right?

Sorry for the mini-rant. Just like I said, I find a lot of people shitting on games because the issue lies less in enjoying gaming and more in their issue with time and energy management as they snort Adderall while working on their 78th get-rich-quick scheme business plan that week. So admittedly, just trying to challenge the status quo that's honestly unhelpful, especially with the whole "you're only allowed to struggle until you're rich" mindset.

You're allowed to enjoy life AND build an empire simultaneously. But I digress.

 

[Kalactose]

If so, what games have you been playing lately?

ALSO, I'm acutely aware a lot of people here get weirdly vocal about games and how tHeY jUsT wAsTe tImE and aNy gOoD eNtRePrEnEuR sHoUlD oNlY fOcUs oN wOrK. This thread ain't for you. Please spare me the sigma nonsense.

I only ask because a good friend-turned-client of mine who I met through playing video games together mentioned how great it is to find someone of similar age and interests who also owns their own business so.. we can't be the only two people. And now I'm curious.

Used to play a lot of video games and I mean a looooooot. But rn I'm too busy trying to get unscripted so I just play mobile games for short bursts of entertainment

 

[Metz]

Used to play a lot of video games and I mean a looooooot. But rn I'm too busy trying to get unscripted so I just play mobile games for short bursts of entertainment

What games are you playing on your phone, friend? And what's your unscripted goal, if you don't mind my asking?

 

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[hexelbyte]

Hi,

If I never played video games, I would've never met my friend turned business partner.
We met 11 years ago so the trust is definitely there and we are currently working on a SaaS.

The last 3 games that I played were Battlefield 1, Killing Floor 2 and Rimworld.

Even though people here would shame on gaming, opportunity is truly everywhere.

 

[MattR82]

California Games and Double Dragon, 1993 lol.

A few times I have traveled to visit friends and after a few hours they wanna all go home to sit in their rooms and meet up to play COD against each other. I have nothing but contempt lol

 

[Kalactose]

What games are you playing on your phone, friend? And what's your unscripted goal, if you don't mind my asking?

Territorial.io and Clash Royale. Pretty much get the lambo lol. Actually freedom of doing whatever I want to do. Be it waking up at 12pm or going to Columbia to spend the rest of my life

 

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[mdot]

Call of Duty multiplayer, Minecraft, Skyrim and the Myst games probably make up probably 75% of my lifetime gaming hours. Crysis 2 was the game I look back on as blowing me away the most from a technical and 'fun factor' perspective.

In the last 3 years though I've almost completely lost interest in gaming. I only play Minecraft now, on weekends with my dad because we live far apart and it's a fun way to catch up. #metaverse? lol

 

[Metz]

Hi,

If I never played video games, I would've never met my friend turned business partner.
We met 11 years ago so the trust is definitely there and we are currently working on a SaaS.

The last 3 games that I played were Battlefield 1, Killing Floor 2 and Rimworld.

Even though people here would shame on gaming, opportunity is truly everywhere.

Ahh, this warms my heart. My best friend and I met when we were kids playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault way back in the day when GameSpy was still a thing. As we got older, he and I would always talk about doing entrepreneurial stuff together (both of our sets of parents were business-y) and my work and business today morphed from some of our earlier projects.

Though he passed away a few years ago, our friendship and how we'd check in on one another (after workdays, we'd play games and go over what we worked on, what went well, what didn't go so well, what we're gonna do next week, and how we can help each other) set up the basis for the community culture in our Discord we started that's increasingly becoming a professional networking spot for gamers so you're definitely right: opportunity truly is everywhere.

As far as the last three games you listed, all great entries. Especially RimWorld.. easily one of my favorites and I'm happy Tynan keeps making content for it. I'm sad the latest Battlefield flopped as hard as it did but I have no expectations except for mediocrity from anything EA-related at this point.

California Games and Double Dragon, 1993 lol.

A few times I have traveled to visit friends and after a few hours they wanna all go home to sit in their rooms and meet up to play COD against each other. I have nothing but contempt lol

ooo Double Dragon is a classic. I'd play that with my dad on the SNES waaaaay back in the day. I was too young to really understand what was going on storywise but I remember really enjoying that game.

And yeah, I feel you on that. When I meet up with my gamer buddies, sometimes we bring our rigs with us so we can just play together hahaha. It's a weird culture but eh, we're happy and still go out and do things too. Just the call of introversion is strong.. though mutual introversion is a strange phenomenon.

 

[Metz]

Territorial.io and Clash Royale. Pretty much get the lambo lol. Actually freedom of doing whatever I want to do. Be it waking up at 12pm or going to Columbia to spend the rest of my life

Ooo, I like that but let me restate my question: how are you gonna get unscripted ?

 

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[Metz]

Call of Duty multiplayer, Minecraft, Skyrim and the Myst games probably make up probably 75% of my lifetime gaming hours. Crysis 2 was the game I look back on as blowing me away the most from a technical and 'fun factor' perspective.

In the last 3 years though I've almost completely lost interest in gaming. I only play Minecraft now, on weekends with my dad because we live far apart and it's a fun way to catch up. #metaverse? lol

It's been so long since I've played Minecraft though I still like all the memes and random videos YT's algorithm keeps serving me. Skyrim I haven't played either except for the Enderal overhaul mod.

That's cool that you still play in order to keep in touch with your father. My dad just plays Destiny 2 and Company of Heroes now that he's retired after selling his businesses.. man has too much time and just slaps me down every time we go head to head though it's fun to comp stomp on CoH together.

 

[thomasdao]

It's funny, I was thinking about this today. I have always loved video games, but now I just feel guilty whenever I think about playing. I still have a job, so I should be hustling 24/7, that's the rationality behind it. But I have to admit, sometimes I gave in and redownload league of legends for a quick session with my friends. Just working all the time until I'm totally financially free is a quite difficult task for me.

 

[Metz]

It's funny, I was thinking about this today. I have always loved video games, but now I just feel guilty whenever I think about playing. I still have a job, so I should be hustling 24/7, that's the rationality behind it. But I have to admit, sometimes I gave in and redownload league of legends for a quick session with my friends. Just working all the time until I'm totally financially free is a quite difficult task for me.

Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, though refer back to my earlier statements:

• Everyone needs some way to relax after putting in their hours; if gaming is your choice, then that's perfectly fine.
• People who have a hard time with games taking over their life when they should be doing x, y, and z have balance and time management issues.. and this is an issue with the person since time sinks can be more than just gaming. Anything consumed in excess can screw you up.

Though for me, the greatest leaps of success seem to stem from applying game theory to my work. It's gotten to the point now where I'm choosing work over games since that seems to be more fun and dopamine-rewarding. Still, don't beat yourself up too much if you feel the call to play games.. even if it's League hahaha.

 

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[Guyfieri5]

If so, what games have you been playing lately?

ALSO, I'm acutely aware a lot of people here get weirdly vocal about games and how tHeY jUsT wAsTe tImE and aNy gOoD eNtRePrEnEuR sHoUlD oNlY fOcUs oN wOrK. This thread ain't for you. Please spare me the sigma nonsense.

I only ask because a good friend-turned-client of mine who I met through playing video games together mentioned how great it is to find someone of similar age and interests who also owns their own business so.. we can't be the only two people. And now I'm curious.

Every once in a while I still play Civilization 6. Fun game and involves a lot of strategy. I'm sure you can make friends through video games but I never have. I think video games are a waste of time if you play them for hours a day, but I'd play a video game over wasting time on Instagram or youtube any day.

 

[EmotionEngine]

I work in the game industry and get paid to play technically. It's kinda neat when you think about it but it's just become commonplace to me as I've done it 20 years. I recently bought Horizon II Forbidden West on PlayStation 5 and it's like a 40+ hour game. I maybe got 2 hours in it and it came out weeks ago. Every now and then I get sucked momentarily into a game but it's really rare nowadays. A guilty feeling starts brewing within 15 minutes and I usually go back to using the time to work on my software projects, which is the path to getting off the script and into full entrepreneurship.

Videogames are like any other form of entertainment like movies, TV, or a sports. When it controls you then it's a problem. It's okay to relax and do something you enjoy. If anyone tells you otherwise, ignore them. It is video "GAMES" after all. Just avoid letting hyper realities dominate you. If you can't do that, avoid them until you've fully unscripted .

(I want to purchase the newly released Gran Turismo 7 but I know I wouldn't play it much so I've stayed away. I want a real Ferrari not a fake one made up of 3d geometry and texture maps on a screen.)

 

[srodrigo]

Yeah, while I still play video games, I find myself playing them less and less. Like right now, I find that I'm having more fun working on my business than my usual games.. like on my downtime, I'll sit and look at my library and then give up and start working on my next article.

But I will caution against the use of the term "attention thieves" since a lot of people will apply that to games yet spend their entire days action-faking on here. Isn't to say the forum's bad, just that there's a pattern of a lot of big talk but very few back it with action. There's importance to spending time to unwind and decompress for the sake of one's health to greet the next workday with renewed vigor. At least for me, gaming's my choice -- though I also work out regularly, hike, enjoy nature photography now that I got a new phone for the first time in seven years, stuff like that.

But you're right too with the quality of games. Like one game I'm really enjoying lately is City of Gangsters which is a surprisingly in-depth business simulator that, illegal 1920s era bootlegging aside, really hammers home a lot of core business strategy concepts like the importance of networking, supply and demand, diversification, logistics, stuff like that. Is one of the reasons I gave up on games like COD that don't really do much but give you a spike in dopamine.. but even then, if that's the way a person wants to relax after a long day.. well.. it's all about balance, right?

Sorry for the mini-rant. Just like I said, I find a lot of people shitting on games because the issue lies less in enjoying gaming and more in their issue with time and energy management as they snort Adderall while working on their 78th get-rich-quick scheme business plan that week. So admittedly, just trying to challenge the status quo that's honestly unhelpful, especially with the whole "you're only allowed to struggle until you're rich" mindset.

You're allowed to enjoy life AND build an empire simultaneously. But I digress.

By "attention thieves" I mean games that absorbe you to the point you don't want to do anything else in your spare time. Specially competitive games, worse if they are things such as strategy games, that require actual study to improve. I found myself watching weekly tournaments, pro gamers on their stream, replays, forums, discord, etc. You can spend 24/7 on certain games because they require mastery and it's very competitive. These are, to me, attention thieves for people who get too hooked into them. I think playing games is completely okay, and I agree that there is a lot of exaggeration and bias, but not to the point of neglecting other things. Some kinds of games tend to drag people more than others.

 

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[Metz]

By "attention thieves" I mean games that absorbe you to the point you don't want to do anything else in your spare time. Specially competitive games, worse if they are things such as strategy games, that require actual study to improve. I found myself watching weekly tournaments, pro gamers on their stream, replays, forums, discord, etc. You can spend 24/7 on certain games because they require mastery and it's very competitive. These are, to me, attention thieves for people who get too hooked into them. I think playing games is completely okay, and I agree that there is a lot of exaggeration and bias, but not to the point of neglecting other things. Some kinds of games tend to drag people more than others.

Ahh yes, I appreciate that clarification. I feel the same way about a lot of this. I apologize too if my initial reply seemed a bit terse.. like I said, the whole stigma against games and the condescension that comes with it gets me riled up and perhaps more defensive than I should be at times.

 

[Taebaek]

I play video games now for about 35 years and will do it in the future.
The use of games changed of course. I started with the 8-bit legend C-64 and it digged my love for computers deep into my heart. I learned programming and a lot about psychological effects and perceptions I used over the years. I still wonder how my family made the miracle happen, that I got this computer from the "Christkind".

I was born in absolutely poor circumstances and had to raise me by myself cause my parents weren't there to - obviously too busy with their own lives I tried to disturb by my pure existence. No hard feelings here - all this made me the person I am today. Computer and Games were a eye-opener and brought me to challenging questions about my own life and I think I can say these "worlds" and the friends I met and all the funny afternoons prevented that I became a simple criminal.
It was just too much fun to create my own IK+ clone with simple basic commands... I barely understood.

The logic in games and programs helped me through my time at the university and I financed all that as a student IT-support help working for EDS (Ross Perots company) where I met a ton of interesting persons and learned so much important stuff.

Nowadays I play only games with short rounds. War Thunder (Aircraft) is pretty cool at that: a few minutes and I can close the game.
A friend of mine has another strategy: He has his special "game-Sabatical-day" every 2-8 weeks and plays the whole day. The rest of the time he is busy as hell.

Video games somehow saved me, but they have been also a burden during a few years when I had some discipline issues

 

[Metz]

Every once in a while I still play Civilization 6. Fun game and involves a lot of strategy. I'm sure you can make friends through video games but I never have. I think video games are a waste of time if you play them for hours a day, but I'd play a video game over wasting time on Instagram or youtube any day.

Ooo, what's your favorite nation to play as? It's been a minute since I've played any Civ games.. much more into Paradox grand strategy games like Hearts of Iron and Crusader Kings lately.

I work in the game industry and get paid to play technically. It's kinda neat when you think about it but it's just become commonplace to me as I've done it 20 years. I recently bought Horizon II Forbidden West on PlayStation 5 and it's like a 40+ hour game. I maybe got 2 hours in it and it came out weeks ago. Every now and then I get sucked momentarily into a game but it's really rare nowadays. A guilty feeling starts brewing within 15 minutes and I usually go back to using the time to work on my software projects, which is the path to getting off the script and into full entrepreneurship.

Videogames are like any other form of entertainment like movies, TV, or a sports. When it controls you then it's a problem. It's okay to relax and do something you enjoy. If anyone tells you otherwise, ignore them. It is video "GAMES" after all. Just avoid letting hyper realities dominate you. If you can't do that, avoid them until you've fully unscripted .

(I want to purchase the newly released Gran Turismo 7 but I know I wouldn't play it much so I've stayed away. I want a real Ferrari not a fake one made up of 3d geometry and texture maps on a screen.)

If you don't mind my asking, what do you do within the industry? Do you have your own studio or work for someone else or freelance? Developer, designer, playtester? Haha I got soooo many questions.

But yeah, you're right. It's all about balance. One of my friends who's been wanting to unscript himself asks me what motivates me. I tell him: "I want work to become optional so I can spend my time playing games the way I want to" hahaha but until then, I'll just have fun working on stuff.

I was born in absolutely poor circumstances and had to raise me by myself cause my parents weren't there to - obviously too busy with their own lives I tried to disturb by my pure existence. No hard feelings here - all this made me the person I am today. Computer and Games were a eye-opener and brought me to challenging questions about my own life and I think I can say these "worlds" and the friends I met and all the funny afternoons prevented that I became a simple criminal.
It was just too much fun to create my own IK+ clone with simple basic commands... I barely understood.

The logic in games and programs helped me through my time at the university and I financed all that as a student IT-support help working for EDS (Ross Perots company) where I met a ton of interesting persons and learned so much important stuff.

Nowadays I play only games with short rounds. War Thunder (Aircraft) is pretty cool at that: a few minutes and I can close the game.
A friend of mine has another strategy: He has his special "game-Sabatical-day" every 2-8 weeks and plays the whole day. The rest of the time he is busy as hell.
Video games somehow saved me, but they have been also a burden during a few years when I had some discipline issues

I relate to this so much. Video games and the friends I made through them helped me cope with depression and a lot of the loneliness I felt growing up. And the game theory I learned playing them translated to so much of what I do in life and business, not to mention some networking opportunities that are cropping up now more directly. But yeah.. B A L A N C E is key.

What's your favorite faction on War Thunder?

 

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[EmotionEngine]

If you don't mind my asking, what do you do within the industry? Do you have your own studio or work for someone else or freelance? Developer, designer, playtester? Haha I got soooo many questions.

I am in a managerial style role for a studio but I do not have my own studio yet, but that is the goal. I want to be the one making decisions and not having them brushed off. I want to control product and policy.

 

[AmazingLarry]

I play Warzone once and a while when friends are online. Great way to relax and have some laughs when we can't hang out in person. That's pretty much it these days except for when I fly somewhere I'll bring my old Gameboy color and play Pokemon haha.



Some of my favorite memories from high school are all-night 15 person Halo 3 LAN parties in my friend's basement. So glad I have those experiences because nowadays kids just play alone at home all the time, and when it's over you're just left in a quiet room staring at your reflection in a dark screen, which is just depressing.

 

[Madame Peccato]

I've been playing Elden Ring recently. I put ~16 hours in it so far. I also play Apex Legends with my friends. I started playing the latest Serious Sam's game (Syberian Mayhem) about a month and a half ago, but I've only managed to complete 2 levels before losing interest. This is the case with most games for me today, I get bored after 3 - 4 hours total playtime. Guess I'm getting old.

I'm trying to convince my main Apex Legends pal to buy Monster Hunter: Rise to vary our gaming experience a bit. We played World for ~150 hours (took us almost half a year), and Rise looks cool too.

When I was younger I used to fiend strategy games. I was in love with big RTS war games like Rise of Nation/Age of Empires 2, and also with building simulators like Simcity 3000, Zeus Master of Olympus, and Startopia. I don't like the new age ones though (i.e. Cities Skyline or the last Tropico), they feel too micromanage-y. Like I don't care about small tasks that might improve my traffic by 1%, just let me play with the sliders to manage the problem damn it!

I'm grateful for videogames because they taught me English and how to perform under pressure. I'm an ex-competitive gamer in a niche game. I had to play in front of 100+ people. It was gut-wrenching, but what an experience. The adrenaline was definitely real. I also have a big network of people expert in just about anything because we bonded over the games, which helps me as a writer. Whenever I need expert information, I can turn to my gaming friends and ask a couple of questions.

 

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[falcon87pl]

Not only I get bored quicker as I age, but some video games take too much mental space.

This.

After doing my job as an IT admin and learning how to code if you ask me in the evening to play a game where you need to plan something or optimize some processes/ tactics I would die. And I get bored quite quickly.

Exception - some of the Switch games. I can’t explain this magic but they are like a time machine and I don’t feel guilty after 15 minutes of playing. And you can pause anytime. And play in handheld mode in bed for 30-40 minutes.

 

[AnNvr]

I do not play any longer due lack of time since I am learning coding skills for unscripting and trading the markets but...

...I do love gaming.

I was all-in on Fallout saga. Great LORE and survival experience but it takes way too much time.

Used to play at The Division for a couple of years with friends. Again, another huge time taker lmao