criticism of your maturity and video games

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

Seems like this thread is made every other month. Do what ever floats your boat. People say a lot of things are immature. I shall list all the things I heard that is considered immature growing up and in my life time.

1. Wearing jerseys

2. Wearing basketball shoes past the age of 21.

3. Playing video games as an adult.

4. Still living in your parents house past the age of 21.

5. Watching cartoons as an adult.

6. Most of your food intake is cooked in a microwave past the age of 18. You know pizza rolls, hot pockets, etc.

7. Still buying and reading comic books as an adult.

8. Still buying action figures as an adult.

9. Drinking kool aide and fruity drinks as an adult.


So yeah.......do what you want to do. It is 2012 about to be 2013, video games are more main stream and part of the social norm now then it was during the 1980s and 1990s. IF you have to change who you are to get somebody, then they aren't worth your time anyway.

I still do all that stuff, and lived with my folks until I was 23; I rule!

I'm 46 this month (31st) and a grampa, and I love gaming.

I don't gamble, smoke, do drugs, drink or have any expensive hobbies.

I have a good job and support my family, and my wife who was going to college and is looking for work. My wife is also a gamer.

Gaming has been a fun part of my life since the 80's. Watching movies and gaming are my preferred leisure hobbies, along with reading, bowling, walking, shooting guns, and following the Seahawks' every move.

It's not immature to like gaming, as long as you take care of your responsibilities and those you love.

[C the Lyte]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I still do all that stuff, and lived with my folks until I was 23; I rule!

I'm 46 this month (31st) and a grampa, and I love gaming.

I don't gamble, smoke, do drugs, drink or have any expensive hobbies.

I have a good job and support my family, and my wife who was going to college and is looking for work. My wife is also a gamer.

Gaming has been a fun part of my life since the 80's. Watching movies and gaming are my preferred leisure hobbies, along with reading, bowling, walking, shooting guns, and following the Seahawks' every move.

It's not immature to like gaming, as long as you take care of your responsibilities and those you love.

That's the thing ryte there. I'd say most of the OS members have responsibilities beyond ourselves (bills, rent/mortgage, kids, etc.). As long as there is healthy balance, no problem.

But it's these other cats out there that play from dawn to dusk, losing jobs, families, and all touch of social life. They give us "normal gamers" a bad name.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

My other hobbies are too expensive.. lol.

Trail riding Jeeps, nitro RC cars, target shooting, etc.

It's easier to suggest getting out and being adventurous when you're more financially capable of doing such things.

If staying home and playing games some nights means that I can continue to save to get out on my own and support myself, then I'll continue to do it. Especially if it's gaming with some of my friends.. that's time well spent.

I just don't see what there is to do after 11pm at night, outside of being entertained by some TV, games, a woman, etc.

If a night of gaming is in the cards, then so be it.

I'm the same way. I love to golf, but I can't shell out $20-$30 for 18 holes multiple times a week.
I love roller coasters, but admission to most parks is $50-$60 plus $10-$20 to park and the insane food prices. I love casinos, but I can't make the hour long trip that often to gamble. I only go out to bars on weekends, and girls hate me so I'm not wrapped up in a relationship. I can turn on my PlayStation for 2-3 hours a night free of charge.

[Marino]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I play video games. I am a man.

[kehlis]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I play video games. I am a man.

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[CMH]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I can turn on my PlayStation for 2-3 hours a night free of charge.

Free utilities?!

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

Free utilities?!

Well, no, but you know what I mean. I don't have to pay admission or green/cart fees

[JBH3]

I preface this remark by saying I am 31, married, and have. 5 yr old son. I love my family and station in life. I strategically took off yesterday since that would be the first day my wife (teacher) and son go back to work/school.

I wanted yesterday all to myself in order to enjoy the Mass Effect 3 DLC I had yet to play.

It was a great day and having that time to myself to enjoy one of the truly great games refreshed me and was a wonderful way to start off this new year.

Game on fellas!

[Brandwin]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I preface this remark by saying I am 31, married, and have. 5 yr old son. I love my family and station in life. I strategically took off yesterday since that would be the first day my wife (teacher) and son go back to work/school.

I wanted yesterday all to myself in order to enjoy the Mass Effect 3 DLC I had yet to play.

It was a great day and having that time to myself to enjoy one of the truly great games refreshed me and was a wonderful way to start off this new year.

Game on fellas!

Nothing wrong with that. I have taken days off for when certain games release. If GTA V releases in March, I'll probably take that day off. I don't have much time to game, so sometimes I just want a day.

[rspencer86]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I'm going to bump this because it speaks exactly to what I've been pondering the past few weeks.

Me and my friend were playing Black Ops II online last night and talking on Skype as we usually do. Both were getting frustrated with lag issues and some of the general BS that is inherent in Call of Duty games. Decided we had had enough of the game for a while.

We started talking about how gaming can be frustrating at times. And sometimes it seems downright pointless. I enjoy trying to beat games and earn trophies, but when I step back and think about it, it all does seem a little trivial and silly.

So we started discussing all the time we spend gaming, and what would happen if we sold our systems and all our games. I said I would buy a nice DSLR and get into photography and videography. I'd probably get into refereeing (seems like a great and enjoyable side job). I'd probably do a lot more reading and play more sports.

It's not that I am an unproductive slob right now. I have a solid job, a girlfriend, a good group of friends, play tennis a couple times a week. But I just think about all the other things I could possibly accomplish if I weren't spending 2-3 (and sometimes 5-6 on weekends) hours a day gaming? Some of the things RockinDaMike said kind of hit home with me.

Maybe I just need to find the right balance. Maybe schedule 1-2 hours of gaming a night and stick to it. But I've also considered just going cold turkey, selling all my stuff and just pursuing other hobbies. Sometimes I think I would miss gaming too much; other times, I wonder if I'd ever look back.

The argument that gaming is no worse than watching awful reality TV or constantly Facebooking or things like that isn't compelling to me. Those activities should be reflected on as well. What could be accomplished if we were free from these "distractions"?

I'm not sure what I'll end up doing. Maybe I'll transition out of gaming once the next gen of consoles takes hold. Maybe I'll sell all of my stuff this weekend and just be done with it. Or maybe I'll just decide that I love gaming too much and just keep trucking along. It is a tough decision, and a topic that I have found interesting and enlightening to think about.

[JBH3]

Just play games at your liesure and enjoy the time spent doing so.

If your instincts tell you that you are doing something wrong, and if you're especially, constantly frustratd but cannot stop yourself then that is problematic and makes it sound like gaming is having a negative effect on your life.

The only worry I have about gaming is whether or not I will be able to unlock all of my achievements lol.... if only I had the time....

[NinerFan1983]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

I don't really care what anyone thinks of my "maturity". If they wanna know about it so badly, then perhaps they should get to know me first before trying to judge.

But I guess that's just the way society is and will continue to be, judgmental as always.

I'm about to be 30 in a few weeks and I've been gaming since the days of NES and will continue to do so regardless.

People simply need to get over themselves.

[JMD]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

At age 53 none of my real life friends are gamers so they don't understand why I play them. My wife doesn't mind, she often buys me games. I've never concerned myself with what other people think of how I live my life. It's my life if they don't agree with it, they won't be a part of it.

[Herky]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

If anyone had a problem with my gaming I'd cut them out of my life. I know how to balance my time between work, family, and friends so I won't put up with people saying I game too much. I'm 36 and have gamed all my life.

Thankfully my fiance and close friends like to game as well so this has never been a problem.

[Suntan Superman]

Re: criticism of your maturity and video games

As was mentioned above, it's all about being in the right situation with your gaming. I don't think there are many of us that devote our lives to gaming WoW/Eve/etc style, but some of us are very passionate. Much like CM Hooe(sp?) I launched my career via gaming, I remember playing Oregon Trail on the Mac II S at school, and booting Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego from DOS. Those games platformed into me learning basic at 8 years old(My dad was a programmer, so I had ins). Right now, I'm married, and I'm in a position where most of my colleagues are mid-30's-late-40's. I've switched from console games to PC games as I spend innumerous hours on the road nowadays, things like Football Manager waste the day away while I'm on a plane, or on a bus, or in a taxi. I play console games when I'm home and either everyone's asleep, or the wife is away. They don't control my life, and I think that's a point where you need to re-evaluate your hobbies. At one point my wife and I discussed her television watching habits and my gaming habits and we dropped parts of them to spend more time with each other.

Anyway, this long-winded response really has no point, so the tl;dr version is, video games gave me a life.