Gaming Gentlemen

ancapailldorcha

It's something which has traditionally been regarding as a primarily male pastime. However, it's now one of the most popular pastimes around which is no surprise given the popularity of smartphones and tablets combined with an innovative industry which is more than willing to adapt to these new platforms.

So, my question is how big a part of your life does gaming constitute? Is it something you do while waiting for the bus? Perhaps a handy way to wind down at the end of the day or maybe you even have a gaming PC along with the consoles and a 3DS or a Vita.

flyingsnail

I would consider myself a big gamer, I play solely on pc now (I have not had a console since PS2). I never really got into the mobile gaming side of things, although I did have a PSP at one stage. I probably play 15+ hours a week, it may seem like a lot but I am not a big tv person so while others may sit in front of a tv or 1 or 2 hours a night I prefer to game.

For me I use it to switch off and relax, I think that is why I tend to go for largely single player games and even better if it has a great story and world to immerse myself in. I like to be able to move along at my own pace and not have to worry about other people, I can kind of disengage from reality for a little while (sometimes it is nice to escape the responsibility of the real world). Certain multiplayer games do grab me from time to time, I put a stupid amount of hours into star trek online but even then that can be played as a largely single player game.

The Black Oil

I'm not much of a gamer, I'm pretty passive about it. I do like the experience, but I don't particularly follow what's coming out or available. I don't read gaming websites, I see the odd trailer, that's about it. I can play and then leave it be for 6 months. I understand why it's such an enormous industry, though.

I have an original Game Boy from back in the day. Gone are the times of simple cartridges without the need for updates, user accounts and all that lark.

speedboatchase

I'm a big gamer and always have been, although as I get older I have less free time to indulge. These days I consume a lot of gaming-related content (articles, YouTube videos etc) but when it comes down to sitting in front of a TV and playing for a few hours at a time, I just don't have the time like I used to. As for mobile gaming, it's just never appealed to me and when I see the success of something like Flappy Bird - which would look limited compared to Super Mario Bros in 1984 - and 'freemium' games, it just seems like the industry is going backwards in terms of some fan's expectations from gaming and perception of value.

strelok

i barely game at all these days, the only gaming thing i've done recently is watch a regular lets play series on dark souls. it's nice to see someone else go through the game and discuss the lore in short one hour chunks, rather than getting stuck into it myself and losing an entire evening


that said, when dark souls 3 comes out I'm going to be doing just about nothing else for about a month

Stranger Danger

I'd play my PS4 a couple of evenings a week.

I've a 6-year old who loves it so mostly I end up playing Little Big Planet or Rayman with him.

When he's in bed I might get to play some more grown up stuff like GTA5, Last of Us or Tomb Raider. It'll take me ages to actually finish a game because I might only be doing an hour or so a week.

Recently got the re-mastered versions of Unchartered and am about half-way through the first one.

Boskowski

I used to game quite a bit years ago and used to be handy at 1st person shooters at the time. Now I can hardly find a game that I find exciting. Every now and then I play a bit of NHL online and a bit of EA tennis vs the girlfriend. Thats about it. I tried to get into story line adventures but found them predictable and boring. And modern 1st person stuff looks terrific but is too hard to get into as the standard is very high and you're just split second frag fodder if not on top of it. I play a bit of Candy Crush now and then if just want to kill some time. :eek:

ancapailldorcha

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm a big gamer and always have been, although as I get older I have less free time to indulge. These days I consume a lot of gaming-related content (articles, YouTube videos etc) but when it comes down to sitting in front of a TV and playing for a few hours at a time, I just don't have the time like I used to. As for mobile gaming, it's just never appealed to me and when I see the success of something like Flappy Bird - which would look limited compared to Super Mario Bros in 1984 - and 'freemium' games, it just seems like the industry is going backwards in terms of some fan's expectations from gaming and perception of value.

strelok wrote: »

i barely game at all these days, the only gaming thing i've done recently is watch a regular lets play series on dark souls. it's nice to see someone else go through the game and discuss the lore in short one hour chunks, rather than getting stuck into it myself and losing an entire evening

that said, when dark souls 3 comes out I'm going to be doing just about nothing else for about a month

I'd be the same. I use my laptop for the most part which does a pretty decent job but a lot of the newer stuff just isn't an option.

The Black Oil wrote: »

I'm not much of a gamer, I'm pretty passive about it. I do like the experience, but I don't particularly follow what's coming out or available. I don't read gaming websites, I see the odd trailer, that's about it. I can play and then leave it be for 6 months. I understand why it's such an enormous industry, though.

I have an original Game Boy from back in the day. Gone are the times of simple cartridges without the need for updates, user accounts and all that lark.

I get really depressed when I see some of the cashmongering nonsense that's pervaded the industry. In addition, you have publishing companies cutting corners leading to triple A titles needing to be pulled from sale. Once the Batman Arkham series became popular, Warner Brothers did their best to ruin with the latest game being so bugged it had to be pulled from sale. I'm working my way through Arkham Origins at the moment and it's riddled with them. WB announced that they wouldn't patch them because the developers were working on new DLC for it. This video shows off some of the bugs.

I am currently under "never" but not due to lack of interest - but lack of time. My life simply does not afford me a moment to invest in gaming - or television - and even reading which I do invest time in suffers.

When I do game however I have changed over the years as I have grown. Whereas I might have liked shooters, platformers, or "god" games like Dune, Age of Empires, Command and Conquer and all that sort - I have pretty much gone off all of them. I stick now to games from - or game similar to - what you would expect to come out of Software houses like TellTale and Bioware.

But because such games tend to be so story driven - and because it can be weeks or months between chances to sit down and play an hour or two of them - it is hard to enjoy them. Because I spend as much time trying to remember what was going on the last time I played - than I do playing further.

Generally most of my gaming therefore comes when I am sick and everything else gets put on hold. I had a vicious 4 day cold/flu thing recently enough and managed to play through pretty much the entirety of "The Witcher 2" including all side quests - in that time from start to finish. I have now installed TW3 and imported the save game into it - and I will probably get to play the Prologue of it some time in 2018 or so

The Black Oil

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I get really depressed when I see some of the cashmongering nonsense that's pervaded the industry. In addition, you have publishing companies cutting corners leading to triple A titles needing to be pulled from sale. Once the Batman Arkham series became popular, Warner Brothers did their best to ruin with the latest game being so bugged it had to be pulled from sale. I'm working my way through Arkham Origins at the moment and it's riddled with them. WB announced that they wouldn't patch them because the developers were working on new DLC for it. This video shows off some of the bugs.

Not too familiar with this. What do you mean, rushed releases whilst quality control is done to the dogs? I've never heard of a game being pulled from sale, interesting.

Considering the prices of new console games today, if you were a teenager you'd need a part-time job or fairly generous pocket money just to buy one.

I've been a gamer since I was a young kid, on the days of the Spectrum and tape deck games.

Something that I find interesting is that now the average age of gamers is 37, which shows just how mainstream it has become in recent years. Also the main gender of gamers is female, according to the same statistics, but I would assume this encompasses casual games, such as Candy Crush and other mobile games. So I would still reckon the average PC/console gamer still skews male.

Yea, what happened with the latest in the Arkham franchise, Arkham Knight, just showed how big the gaming community is backlashing against early releases when games aren't fixed. Similar to what happened with the upcoming Deux Ex game, which offered a tiered system for preorders. They were forced to cancel this, because of the amount of outcry there was.

ancapailldorcha

The Black Oil wrote: »

Not too familiar with this. What do you mean, rushed releases whilst quality control is done to the dogs? I've never heard of a game being pulled from sale, interesting.

Batman: Arkham Knight is the most recent example. The thing just did not work on PC so WB pulled it from sale. Apparently, there are still issues (1). Anyway, this might be a tiny bit off topic and I should save my ranting for another forum.

The Black Oil wrote: »

Considering the prices of new console games today, if you were a teenager you'd need a part-time job or fairly generous pocket money just to buy one.

Hmmm... I don't know. New triple A titles have always been pricey. The thing is nowadays, DLC is much more mainstream whereas it used to only really apply to PC games with the odd "special" or "gold" edition hitting the consoles after the title was originally released.

What we need is for consoles to adopt fully digital platforms like PCs have done with Steam. That could potentially lower prices down, but also somewhat destroy bricks and mortar stores, because what is keeping many of them afloat is the secondhand market.

ancapailldorcha

Deleted User wrote: »

What we need is for consoles to adopt fully digital platforms like PCs have done with Steam. That could potentially lower prices down, but also somewhat destroy bricks and mortar stores, because what is keeping many of them afloat is the secondhand market.

That would be a good thing IMO. They're essentially profiteering from other people's work while keeping 100% of the revenue. Digital distribution is the way forward.

ancapailldorcha

Deleted User wrote: »

I am currently under "never" but not due to lack of interest - but lack of time. My life simply does not afford me a moment to invest in gaming - or television - and even reading which I do invest time in suffers.

When I do game however I have changed over the years as I have grown. Whereas I might have liked shooters, platformers, or "god" games like Dune, Age of Empires, Command and Conquer and all that sort - I have pretty much gone off all of them. I stick now to games from - or game similar to - what you would expect to come out of Software houses like TellTale and Bioware.

But because such games tend to be so story driven - and because it can be weeks or months between chances to sit down and play an hour or two of them - it is hard to enjoy them. Because I spend as much time trying to remember what was going on the last time I played - than I do playing further.

Generally most of my gaming therefore comes when I am sick and everything else gets put on hold. I had a vicious 4 day cold/flu thing recently enough and managed to play through pretty much the entirety of "The Witcher 2" including all side quests - in that time from start to finish. I have now installed TW3 and imported the save game into it - and I will probably get to play the Prologue of it some time in 2018 or so

I wouldn't have pegged you as a gamer, T. I think my tastes would be somewhat similar though I've only played Bioware's Mass Effect series. I've never really bothered with Dragon Age or any of Telltale's stuff.

ancapailldorcha

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I wouldn't have pegged you as a gamer, T. I think my tastes would be somewhat similar though I've only played Bioware's Mass Effect series. I've never really bothered with Dragon Age or any of Telltale's stuff.

Dragon Age is pretty good.. I mean, the first one is fantastic, the second one is a disappointment, and the 3rd was much better, but still not a patch on the 1st.

As for Telltale.. I'm kind of done with them, I think. Their episodic format doesn't work when there's months of difference between releases, because you just forget everything and sort of lessens the impact. I'll just stick with what I know, and will only get the newest season of Walking Dead, but wait until all are released.

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

That would be a good thing IMO. They're essentially profiteering from other people's work while keeping 100% of the revenue. Digital distribution is the way forward.

Completely agree, but unfortunately I don't think we have the infrastructure for internet here to fully support a wholly digital marketplace. Plus currently there's little or no price difference between physical and digital, meaning that there just isn't any push to make the move. If I remember, that was the biggest selling point for PC; that it was cheaper. And that Steam stood as the perfect marketplace and platform for indie gamers.

Pepe LeFrits

Used to be a pretty heavy gamer as a teenager, but I mostly just play Civilization V these days.

Can't wait for the VR headsets to come on the market next year, though.

Next year will be interesting, because it'll be a battle between Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

shawki

Lucky to get in decent session in at all, Maybe once every two weeks. Finished Last of Us recently . Best Story I've ever come across.

Metal Gear 5 will do me until Christmas.

For 2016 I'm planning to play Uncharted 4, Batman AK and Fallout 4. They'll last me the year.

Manach

As I remember when Boards was a Quake forum, I say that gaming is a thread that is part of my life. At the end of the day, on a PC, it allows some R&R with co-op play with friends or provide a solo challenge: where events are simpler than in real life (mostly). So long as like all things it is done in moderation, the hobby is a socially acceptable past time.

Excuse me - I now need as Caesar to crush some pesky Greeks who are challenging my authority in Civ 5. Prepare the catapults...

4zn76tysfajdxp

I don't game that much myself, apart from at social gatherings. Personally, I find it a bit infantile, like being excited over the new Star Wars film or smoking.

Infantile? Gaming hasn't been infantile for a long time. Bioshock: Infinite, Nathan Drake collection, Mass Effect, and Last of Us have heralded a new golden age of story and character driven gaming and I'm thoroughly excited for what is coming.

I'd say all gamers are eagerly awaiting November 10th. Hurry the eff up already.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Deleted User wrote: »

Infantile? Gaming hasn't been infantile for a long time. Bioshock: Infinite, Nathan Drake collection, Mass Effect, and Last of Us have heralded a new golden age of story and character driven gaming and I'm thoroughly excited for what is coming.

We'll have to agree to disagree, though I find it hard to believe that anyone would play games to bash zombie skulls in the head with a copper pipe, or travel to planet Buzzquark to zap ziplocks with quazzrays, for the story. Still, to each his own.

Andrew Laeddis

I don't know if I'm a gamer as I play 1 game and one game only (Football Manager), but work permitting I'd play a good 5 hours a day so I guess that's pretty extreme.

My girlfriend on the other hand is an obsessive.

She studies games design in college, has her own YouTube gaming channel and has every console going, near enough 10,000 games and an 8 grand pc gaming rig.

Scary is not the word

silverharp

Junior has an xbox1 but I don't tend to like any games he has. The last game I played a lot was world of tanks. I'd like a playable ww2 strategy game bit I found hearts of iron 3 too difficult to get my head around. My wife has played die siedler for years at this stage , not sure why

Darkglasses

Play a lot of games these days, almost exclusively on PC. Also have a growing interest in esports for the last year or so. Work isn't too hectic and I've no kids or major responsibilities, so I have plenty of free time for it at the moment.

Mainly play StarCraft, but also Medieval Total War, Fallout and Skyrim.

ancapailldorcha

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I wouldn't have pegged you as a gamer, T. I think my tastes would be somewhat similar though I've only played Bioware's Mass Effect series.

What have you pegged me as :-) At least one user already has me down as a hippy :-p

Think my enjoyment of that kind of game started with the two Star Wars "Knights of the republic" games. They set the bar high for that style of game really. And I guess Bioware and Projekt red would be the main ones stepping up to fulfil it.

The_Valeyard

Fallout 4....



That is all.

ancapailldorcha

Deleted User wrote: »

What have you pegged me as :-) At least one user already has me down as a hippy :-p

Your words not mine!

Deleted User wrote: »

Think my enjoyment of that kind of game started with the two Star Wars "Knights of the republic" games. They set the bar high for that style of game really. And I guess Bioware and Projekt red would be the main ones stepping up to fulfil it.

I picked up the KOTOR games on a Steam sale but I've not round to them yet. Someday...

The_Valeyard

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Fallout 4....



That is all.

Man. Hurry. The. ****. Up.

But I'm preparing myself to be disappointed.

HalloweenJack

Play a lot of FM but have struggled to get into other games. This year, I've bought the latest editions of Train Simulator and Crusader Kings, both games I really enjoy but they just don't have that replay hool that FM does. I mean I still play FM11 for God's sake!

Used to play loads of Fifa and PSE and GTA etc on the PS2 but haven't done that since I was at home, haven't upgraded since the PS2 and have no desire to buy a new console, just use my mate's.

Do Me Good

I would consider myself a big gamer. Always chasing skirts!

Kev.OC

The amount of time I play has lessened over the years, but I still put in maybe half a dozen hours a week or so. I had no internet worth speaking of growing up, so when the lads were all playing online I was relegated to playing single player games for the stories. The CoD's and MoH's of the gaming world just didn't have the same appeal to me. That being said however, there were always exceptions. Actually, pretty recently I decided I wanted to play the Halo series again, so I'm about half way through the first one.

Regardless of genre I think it can be a great way to unwind. And games like Uncharted, Tomb Raider, and (of course) The Last of Us can be wonderfully immersive as regards story telling.

The first iterations of CoD and MoH were incredible. I think it was in CoD where a shell exploded beside you and then they sent loud buzzing through the speakers. Was definitely one of the most immersive experiences with gaming as a teen.

vinegar_zombie

I been playing games since my Amiga commodore, so many of them were text based or very primitive graphics. To play real games had to go to arcades. Those were the the times ,people don't realise how important those places were for socialising back in the day. From nerd to cool kids everybody came to the arcades at least once a week. Going back to the discussion I don't play as much as I used to because work and loved ones but I did play A LOT back in the day. Time to time I would marathon though a game if it's especially good. Currently I'm finishing MadMax for PC. In the past I used to own Snes, Gbc, GBa, n64. Since that didn't bother much with consoles but I did play a lot of emulators so many titles from psx and ps2 library. Overall I always was a chubby nerdy kid and those games especially rpgs were a outlet, a place to completely lost myself. I have over 120 games on steam and gigs of roms on my hdd.

vinegar_zombie

ancapailldorcha wrote:

Hmmm... I don't know. New triple A titles have always been pricey. The thing is nowadays, DLC is much more mainstream whereas it used to only really apply to PC games with the odd "special" or "gold" edition hitting the consoles after the title was originally released.

Ikr. Then again back in the day a dlc was just a unlockable you play the game satisfied certain requirements and boom new stuff ! Pay to win systems are the absolute worst. I don't mind if a dlc has something new and exciting like a new campaign, but some companies asking €9.99 for a set of new skins? Just why?

vinegar_zombie

ancapailldorcha wrote:

I wouldn't have pegged you as a gamer, T. I think my tastes would be somewhat similar though I've only played Bioware's Mass Effect series. I've never really bothered with Dragon Age or any of Telltale's stuff.

Honestly telltale reminds me of those make your own adventure books were you had to read some text and then select from a number of choices select one and move to specific paragraph. Since it was a book the graphics and audio were bad but hell it really knew how to be efficient with battery. Didn't have to charge my one for the last 20 years.
They are not as much games as they are interactive novels that make you feel how your decisions affect the story. I have played walking dead and wolf among us and both were just amazing. Kudos to Telltale writers, they really know how to write a great story.

vinegar_zombie

vinegar_zombie wrote: »

Ikr. Then again back in the day a dlc was just a unlockable you play the game satisfied certain requirements and boom new stuff ! Pay to win systems are the absolute worst. I don't mind if a dlc has something new and exciting like a new campaign, but some companies asking €9.99 for a set of new skins? Just why?

Agreed.

I've been playing a lot of a game called Planetside 2, which.. I guess.. is an MMOFPS (you'd regularly get in or around 200 people on a server). It's great fun, but it is a F2P game, with weapons that you can purchase - the better ones costing more, obviously. It leads to a lot of people having the better weapons, but not necessarily because they're any good, but because they splashed out.

Ah - I forgot to mention Ingress too which the Nozzferrahhtoo has had me playing of late. That would be the only game I have installed on my phone. A lot of fun and very social it is too - but I again do not have a lot of time for it. I mostly save my involvement for the bigger actions where a lot of people are working together on something - and need more boots and wheels on the ground. I never play it alone like many do.

Nice social game though - many meet ups - a few budding relationships between people who have met - and so on.

VisibleGorilla

I used to game a lot but it has really fallen off within the last few years, I really feel it can be a serious waste of time.

If I think of all the hours that I could have put into something that would actually benefit me it really annoys me.

kunst nugget

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I get really depressed when I see some of the cashmongering nonsense that's pervaded the industry. In addition, you have publishing companies cutting corners leading to triple A titles needing to be pulled from sale. Once the Batman Arkham series became popular, Warner Brothers did their best to ruin with the latest game being so bugged it had to be pulled from sale. I'm working my way through Arkham Origins at the moment and it's riddled with them. WB announced that they wouldn't patch them because the developers were working on new DLC for it. This video shows off some of the bugs.

I played the Origins on the PS3 and I didn't have any issues with it. Tbf, I bought it a year after it came out and it had a heap of updates on it. I tend to wait for a while after games come out to buy them because I can't justify spending the whole price for a AAA game and to get the full benefit of any patching that needs to be sorted out on it.

I'll play between 6-12 hours a week as it's a great way to unwind and there's so many great games out there that I'd prefer to be playing them than watching shíte on telly.

vinegar_zombie

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

I used to game a lot but it has really fallen off within the last few years, I really feel it can be a serious waste of time.

If I think of all the hours that I could have put into something that would actually benefit me it really annoys me.

I know what you mean. If I think about all that time I spend leveling my character , and making him the best he can be , instead of using that time in my own development.... That the thing that games give you a false feeling of accomplishment. Having a dank KDR or best Warrior on the server doesn't really translate that well into real world experience. I remember heaving this realization after my CJ in GTA:SA become a super buff dude and a fighting expert, while I was heavily overweight . I had the same feeling watching all the kids playing guitar hero. I would say the level of effort to play on expert mode would be more then enough to learn few cords...

VisibleGorilla

vinegar_zombie wrote: »

I know what you mean. If I think about all that time I spend leveling my character , and making him the best he can be , instead of using that time in my own development.... That the thing that games give you a false feeling of accomplishment. Having a dank KDR or best Warrior on the server doesn't really translate that well into real world experience. I remember heaving this realization after my CJ in GTA:SA become a super buff dude and a fighting expert, while I was heavily overweight . I had the same feeling watching all the kids playing guitar hero. I would say the level of effort to play on expert mode would be more then enough to learn few cords...

Exactly. Why level up your own fantasy character when you can level up yourself in real life?

This line of thinking is primarily why I stopped really playing games. I have an addictive personality so I can't really play the games casually, I'll have to do/get/see everything which is a giant time sink that can be better put into my own personal development.

The_Bot

I'd be a casual enough gamer, an hour here an hour there. Like to play it in the evening time or the weekend as an alternative to watching tv. Currently playing Football Manager 2014 but I'll probably put that down in a few weeks and play Rome II total war again only to pick up FM14 again a few weeks after that. I don't really buy lots of games, just a few I know I'll like and get plenty of replay value.

Rezident

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

I used to game a lot but it has really fallen off within the last few years, I really feel it can be a serious waste of time.

If I think of all the hours that I could have put into something that would actually benefit me it really annoys me.

Relaxing, having fun, laughing and the sheer escapism from my nightmare job, most certainly do benefit me.

Andrew Laeddis

Are any of your ladies gamers, lads, past or present?

vinegar_zombie

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

Exactly. Why level up your own fantasy character when you can level up yourself in real life?

This line of thinking is primarily why I stopped really playing games. I have an addictive personality so I can't really play the games casually, I'll have to do/get/see everything which is a giant time sink that can be better put into my own personal development.

I do enjoy a good game time to time I must admit that I have completed SouthPark:SoT 100% on Steam, but I don't stay up 2 , 3 in the morning doing quest and stuff. I actually redirected my interest into amateur weight lifting, and so my new 'achievements' are to beat my previous lifting records . I must say it is much more satisfying because I am making a positive change , and people recognize my dedication. I can see my cousin doing exactly the same mistake, by playing MOBAs day and night, but you cannot really convince somebody to stop until he realizes how much of a wast this is. Nope you are Gold Rank if , you are 22 living in your mothers house , on €188 . Also it makes all the stories about how much pussy you had that much less convincing ....

flyingsnail

Rezident wrote: »

Relaxing, having fun, laughing and the sheer escapism from my nightmare job, most certainly do benefit me.

I can very much relate to this.

kunst nugget

Andrew Laeddis wrote: »

Are any of your ladies gamers, lads, past or present?

No and she calls my PS an Xbox just to annoy me.

mahoganygas

I've started to get back into gaming a bit in the past year.

I take a couple of hours here and there and lock myself away to play some games. The missus says I'm the better for it. She notices how it picks up my mood and I start to enjoy 'real life' so much more.

I find it therapeutic. A great way to focus your mind, and also to relax a bit. Particularly strategy games. I love thinking 20 steps ahead. Jotting down rough plans on a notepad. Ticking off goals. I like to do two playthroughs differently and then compare them afterwards. "What's the fastest/most efficient way I can conquer France?"
Funnily enough I approach my day job in a similar way.

Of course the fear is that 6 hours per week quickly turns into 20 or 30. Some games are incredibly addictive and you can't help but get absorbed into them. I dabbled with WOW a few years back. I spent an entire summer grinding away. When I met up with my friends on a rare night out I noticed that I was pale as a ghost in the photos. They had suntans! That's when the penny dropped. I had wasted a summer.

blue note

I used to love computer games growing up, but PS2 was the last console I actually had any interest in playing. I actually installed Championship manager 97/98 on my laptop about a year ago and played a few seasons with Aston Villa, but it's just an interest that has left me.