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- Most computer games fall into two categories: either they are -relatively- easy to learn and quick to play but don’t offer much variation in gameplay, or are completely opposite in the same three regards. There’s not a lot of middle ground.
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- I find many PC games to present way too many options; it’s difficult just to learn the controls, never mind what the game involves. Often they seem to try to substitute control complexity for poor gameplay. - MC
My name is Blackclaw and I am a computer game addict. I thought I’d mkae a web site that reviews games (www.blackclawgames.com) and then at least I’d be contributing something to the world. But the web site takes away some of my playing time, so I don’t like to update it.
But if you look at my website, you’ll notice that the few female writers on staff don’t get in much game time. Although one of my friend’s wife has begun to hold her own in Unreal Tournament. We might have to add her to the regular group.
I would play my Vampire: the Masquerade game but since my speakers went fubar and I’m not allowed on the home comp much that;s out… otherwise I do lots of RPG online (well, before I was kept from the comp more or less) and at one time I would sit on the comp for hours (I mean hours… like 24 sometimes… 30 a couple of times but generally around 6 or 7 a day) and play my c’s in chat… I’ve been more or less kept from that now so now I usually manage to get in an hour a week that’s not on the mb’s…
For me, electronic games in general are a fun way to take on a challenge and beat it. Kinda lame, I guess, but that’s the easiest way for me to put it.
Not computer games though. Too dang complex. I’ve always seen complexity, rules, obligations, systems etc. etc. as no fun. The last wide-release computer game I actually enjoyed was Myst (which is really good). So wanted to like Riven, but got royally ticked off by all the incomplete solutions and brain-wrecking logical gaps (exactly HOW do I decuce the color of the marble for the island I haven’t even been to yet??).
Emulators are another story. All the arcade games I wanted to play when I was younger, and now I don’t even need tokens. Beautiful.
I would just like to point out that Uniball who is named after a non-doom like game is addicted to them and mentioned nothing about it. I just thought it was strange, Anyway I started with zelda and progressed to starcraft and currently I’m addicted to the mod for quake 3, rocket arena 3
I’m a totally lost cause on this issue - games, electronic and not alike, are pretty much my life. And yes, I’m male too.
It’s kind of funny, too… ask me why, and I’ll usually respond that I’m playing to escape reality - to get to a place where the rules are simple and clearly stated and just enjoy being able to know them, follow them perfectly, succeed with them. But there’s really nothing for me to escape from anymore, since these games are most of my reality.
I’ll play pretty much anything, except maybe drinking games. And some of those aren’t terrible without alcohol involved… for example, Asshole, a card game, isn’t that bad without haziness. I’m partial to strategy games on the computer, RPGs on console systems, and any sort of puzzle game (hence my alias), but as long as it’s fun, I’m there.
So… anyone up for a quick game of StarCraft? 
growls at the lot of them Don’t you have girlfriends? Wives? Families? I’ve had a couple boyfriends who were addicted to those games, I have yet to figure out what is so exciting about killing imaginary creatures. The only game I have ever really gotten into was Zelda for N64 I had to beat that game, I would play it for hours on end until I got so frustrated I couldn’t look at the screen anymore. Then I’d call my boyfriend and he’d explain and I’d play some more. Odd isn’t it? Now I need to get the second Zelda game. Though by doing so I’ll be doing exactly what I hated my boyfriend doing, getting lost in the game. Though I still cared about my life while playing Zelda, he just stopped paying attention to me when he played, slight problem don’t ya think?
Kitty
Unreal Tournament.
Drooooooooooolllllllll…
For the longest time I thought my game addiction was a way for me to avoid reality. Sure there is more to it than that, but it is a factor. I recently went and bought Deus Ex (pretty good) because I didn’t have anything new and interesting to play in the two weeks before this other game came out. Just some thoughts from a male addicted to games and sometimes addicted to online muds.
Alantus
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- I will second the nomination for Unreal Tournament. Particularly the Game of the Year edition.
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- If you don’t yet know, UT is the standard running-around-shooting-each-other type of game. What’s unusual about it is that it presents you with a lot of different play options, for both rules and settings. And for only $30! There’s lots worse games out there costing considerably more.
- I don’t play it for more than an hour or two at most, but it would take a looong time to play 1 hour each of every different tournaments/rules/settings/modifiers combination. - MC
Hey, what’s wrong about imaginary creatures? My current gf is an imaginary creature…
You mean Killcreek? I don’t think she is or was a world champ. But she did win a big tournament a while back and ended up marrying her male arch rival (forgot his name because hs does not have a nice rack).
Last article I read said she pretty much competed specifically in women’s tournaments whcih to me is ridiculous. Sych tournaments, by trying to involve women in gaming, only serve to exclude them from gamin in general.
there is a really great article on women in gaming on one ouf the counter-srike sites CS Nation I think.
As of the OP I think whoever said it has to do with the hunter/gatherer instinct nailed it dead bang. I sit in an office all day (well night now) and biologicaly I was not meant for this. I’m 6’1" and have a natural disposition for a toned (if not hugely muscular) body. I should be out there stalking a puma with a spear (which IMHO takes as much brains as telling people to stop ditching calls) rather than being a pro-nerd. When I had time for it and the disposition I used to fight tournaments every so often or pick fights for no good reason before fear of imprisonment stopped that (as well as it taking much longer for me to heal than it did when I was in my early 20’s).
Playing games like Quake and UT is great and hugely popular with people who need an adrenaline rush but can’t afford a race car or rock climbing equipment or just need to dominate someone in simulated physical combat. Much like the young cocksure hunter who has the boundless energy and stamina to chase after a caribu that makes up for his lack of mastery ot stalking his prey.
Games like Counterstrike which rely heavily on sniping and tactics soothe my need to kill while allowing for my aging reflexes and making room for my patience and improved ability to plan and remain calm. Much like the older hunter who while lacking the energy of youth has mastered his craft and knows where that same caribu has to go to eat and thus is able to ambush rather than chase his prey.
just my .02$
I don’t play computer/video games because you need both hands. If I can’t smoke, sip, use my depilator, glance at Newsweek while a file is loading, brush my hair, nibble on a snackie, or anything else that might need done, at the same time, I am not interested. Rilchiam, the queen of multi-tasking.
“headshot!”
“ULTRA-KILL!”
“DOMNIATING!”
I couldn’t live without Unreal Tournament…
must play video games…
I don’t even know why I like computer games. I’ve given up trying to figure it out or explain it to anyone, fun’s too illogical for that to work. But I like them so much, I’m making one of my own!
Cumber,
Really? What are you working on? I’ve just been doing some level design for Vampire.