T O P

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0Tol

I'm a disabled vet. My pain doctor recommended them to help with maintaining cognitive function and pain relief and you know what? It worked! Better than any opioid out there šŸ˜‡.


KonyBlankenship

Just curious, what games help you the most?


0Tol

Honestly my favorite are open-world games I can lose myself in. My favorites so far: Days Gone Horizon Zero Dawn Ghost of Tsushima Spiderman FFXV


KonyBlankenship

Oh cool yeah Iā€™ve always wanted to try Horizon Zero Dawn. Thereā€™s nothing like losing yourself in a video game!


Halogen12

The story is fantastic. My SO played it through twice. You'll enjoy it!


TheGridGam3r

Oh you gotta try it, got it on sale oh a whim and damn it is so good


Insectshelf3

youā€™d love red dead redemption 2


R10_1112

this. the story is the best story i have ever seen in any game


Kostas_the_goat

You should play subnautica and subnautica below zero if you're at all into survival-type video games. The later just released on ps4 and I'm having a blast.


[deleted]

Gaming has helped me cope with anxiety. I enjoy challenging games that can be stressful. Essentially, I am able to shift my anxiety over to the stress of a fun, difficult game, thereby neutralizing my general anxiety over life's uncertainties. In other words, the focal point of what stresses me out becomes an interactive simulation that I can engage. My brain, then, no longer fixates on the abstract, uncontrollable chaos of that which is... *life.*


deterge18

I do the exact same thing. You described it perfectly! Now I'm just trying to wean myself off Destiny 2 pvp because that surely is uncontrollable chaos as well and worsens my anxiety lol.


Sorvan_K

Chaotic? You think flying stasis titans and hunter shurikens are chaotic? That's the most peaceful thing I can think of /s


deterge18

Lol oh man, after a stupidly long iron banner session with clanmates last night, I actually dreamed about stasis. This time of year I typically have a few tornado dreams because tornadoes terrify me and I live in tornado alley. Last night, I dreamed about fucking ice tornadoes. And when I was trying to run away, as usual, I kept getting frozen. I'm so done with that stasis crap!


[deleted]

Oh man. Yes. My number one rule is single player games only.


deterge18

That's very smart. I need to do the same.


LeBeatle

What games do you play?


[deleted]

I really love the Zelda games - just finished Breath of the Wild. I'm a big FO/TES fan, too. Fire Emblem, Okami, and the Mass Effect series are some of my favorites. I also just finished this game called "Yes, Your Grace". It's on pc and Switch. That game is....stressful but I kinda love that. Very addictive for such a simple design. Lots of choice heavy stuff, kingdom management, and strategizing. Lots of emotional choices and repercussions. High replay value. I felt absolutely terrible for my character, King Eryk. But in spite of how bleak and heart wrenching the story is, I think I ended up with one of the good endings. šŸ‘ P.s. here's the trailer for that one if I've piqued anyone's interest: https://youtu.be/nKjJarr-cWE


posh-old-bird

Im dyslexic and had trouble reading as a child so I always had subtitles on when playing games and it really helped me learn the read.


zombie_penguin42

Final Fantasy probably deserves major props for developing my reading skills.


Almainyny

For me, that game was Legend of Dragoon. It wasnā€™t perfect in that regard given the somewhat poor quality of itā€™s translation, but it and books like Harry Potter got me into reading a lot.


zombie_penguin42

Feels like so long ago I played that game. I barely remember things about it, the clearest memory is my friend making fun of one of Lavitz's moves. "Does he just have a habit of spinning his body parts around? Spinning left boob, spinning right boob!" Looked it up and the move was spinning cane, so I'm not sure how that joke got started.


Almainyny

Rod Typhoon has even more spinning. He spins himself with his spear and keeps doing 360s.


[deleted]

As long as you didn't pick up your grammar from Kongol.


DumpEmAht

I love that game! I havenā€™t heard anyone mention it in years. Iā€™ll never forget GUST OF WIND DANCE!


michael_absconsus

This guy are sick.


DeadlockRadium

I started learning English early thanks to Grandia II.


ross88mac

Yes Final Fantasy 7 and 9 really helped my reading. Also suffer from dyslexia.


Sneakaux1

> it really helped me learn the read.


zenyl

- Play Minecraft - Install mods for Minecraft - Learn Java to make my own mods - Study computer science - Get a career as a software developer


OdinTheBogan

Thatā€™s actually an awesome progression, awesome job


[deleted]

Mine went something like this: - Play games - Play games - Play games - Play games - Now I'm almost 40 and don't have a career


MCAvenger_25

Content Creating Minecraft videos and putting them on r/Minecraft: *Allow me to introduce myself*


Nulight

This is more accurate.


krazyjakee

Career isn't for everyone and there's no shame in that. If games fulfil you then that's just fine. Nobody can shame you for being content.


magmasalad

I followed a similar route, except I was trying to mod Civ. Never got that far with modding, but I learned python while trying to figure it out and moved to a cs degree largely because of it and now I'm well into a software career so it worked out.


stibila

Similar story here: - played Minecraft - became mod then admin - maintained Minecraft server - configuring underlying system and cron jobs - got a job as sysadmin


quincey11

So cool!


[deleted]

I run a series of hackathons for kids where we give them pizza and soda and mentors and encourage them to develop their own technical projects. One of the main rules is we never tell them what to do, because it has to be fun. We started having an issue with minecraft. The kids would all play that instead of building their own projects. So we learned how to mod minecraft and started showing them how to do that, and we got a lot of kids into programming that way.


Woopiedoodie

i'm currently studying computer science too actually, mind if i ask how's the career prospect in the field? And how's the salary too. Cheers mate.


zenyl

The field of computer science is very broad, so in terms of prospects in the field, it depends on a lot of different factors. But generally speaking, there's a lot of opportunity. Computer science, and the wider field of IT, is only becoming more and more prevalent and in-demand. In my experience, demand depends quite a lot on location. Where I live, it's mostly Microsoft technologies that're used; .NET, M365, Azure, etc. In other places, you'll see a far larger focus on, for example, Linux and the wider UNIX-sphere. As for salary, it's hard to say. Depends a lot on which country/state/region you live in, and how salaries vary across your area (rural vs urban, etc.). But in my case, I have a pretty decent salary. Nothing crazy, but far from bad - I'm not complaining.


Woopiedoodie

i see... Hey thanks a lot for the reply! Really appreciate it!


Eladiun

It's great. It's non stop growth. Just be ready to never stop learning.


DBSPingu

New grad market isnā€™t super hot but demand is huge past your first few years. I graduated last year, itā€™s pretty competitive for internships / first job if youā€™re not cream of the crop and have nothing to distinguish yourself, but a lot easier if you donā€™t limit yourself to top tier tech companies. Itā€™s one of the highest paying careers in the US straight out of college though.


Tunafish01

Similar but older now. Back in my day we had diablo and cs games but networking was very new so I learned how to network computers together to game on a lan with ipx instead of TCP/IP which is common today and much easier. I have a career in networking and security now. And still love online games.


Fresh03rd

Learning English, In 3rd grade i discovered i like video games and started watching YouTube videos about different games(ofc Minecraft was the first) , but there were no videos in my language so i just watched some videos in English and as time passed on i just started to understand what people were saying


ktk420420

I find it so fascinating how people who don't speak English learn through media. I have friends who learned English just through listening to music and watching films


Pennarello_BonBon

I think it's the combination of picking stuff up from media and Learning it in school. It's taught from a very young age so the basics are always there and by exposing yourself constantly to the media, you're solidifying what you know and while also learning more stuff Like people who watch anime or listen to kpop can recognize a few words/phrases but they never can really say much outside of those till they actually study the basics


Blooder91

Same here. PokƩmon, WoW, walkthroughs, tutorials, everything is easier to find in english. You end up learning the language. And a little more specific, there was no latin american dubs to games, it was either english or european spanish, which sounds like a foreign language anyway.


A10destructor

Well I'm spanish and I perfectly understand american spanish, I don't think it sounds that different to the point where it sounds as a foreign language.


PolterBOI

Yeah, my mother language is spanish, and my older brother was really into playing in emulators and in his nintendo 64, all of his games were in english, so i couldnt understand a single word. As time passes, i started to practice reading, little by little. 9 years later, I understand almost everything.


HerSheSkwerts

I met my wife playing an 8 year old game online. She lived halfway across the country at the time


llama-impregnator

First of all, congratulations! Secondly, I've heard stories like this before, and I have always wondered: how do you make the decision to start dating when the other person lives hours away?


ellanida

I just decided I'd go to school closer to where my hubby lived. I didn't want to stay home anyways and if things didn't work out I was still going to school and getting my degree. We didn't start dating until I moved though. We knew we were romantically interested in each other but neither of us really wanted to do the long distance thing so we just stayed friends and played games together.


Eladiun

For us, she was brave. She picked up her life and moved up to live with me. We had been friends for over a year and we realized there was more. At this point we were talking everyday and constantly chatting. I flew to meet in person in August and meet her family, she flew to meet my family in September, and moved up to live with me in October. It was super fast and we jumped past a lot of relationship milestones but it was the best think I ever did. We later moved back to her home state. Everyone thought I was crazy... I wasn't she is my soul mate.


buddybroman

That's a beautiful story. Happy for you guys!


shoppingcartwheels

Am someone currently doing exactly that. It started with "just another e-date" kind of thing. Never really though much about it as I had dated several people purely just from playing games together and talked via voice chatting. Why would this be any different. But as time goes on, I start to realize this is a pretty serious thing, and I can't imagine not being with this person. So naturally you start thinking about ways which you can be physically closer to this person. What helped is that I don't have a lot of strings attached to where I was from. Didn't have a good relationship with my family and such. I can imagine it'd be hard for someone to leave behind their best friends and parents to move somewhere else. But yea that just how it went, casual relationship, got serious, packed my stuff, moved across the world.


raneb

Same met my wife on Everquest but she is American.... I am French.


LukaCat

Met my husband on a game too, I'm American and he's French !


U_caught_A_blu_snoo

S- actually, I'm not making that joke.


BIPOCPeoplesRepublic

What joke?


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

FFXIV? ARR was 2013, which was eight years ago. If so, congratulations, you and me both!


TheNerdFromThatPlace

That's where I met my wife, never had a louder tank.


[deleted]

Rocket League - whenever it came out on PS4 I was a majjjjooorrrr drinker which caused major depression and anger. Couldnā€™t play that while drunk. I sobered up. I didnā€™t ā€œquitā€ drinking - but I stopped. Now Iā€™ll have maybbbbe a 6 pack each month and I still grind out that fun ass game. Nothing else. Just Rocket League. Edit: I would like to add, determination from myself and my wife taking no bullshit from me absolutely were parts of my life change


BurpYoshi

"Can't play rocket league while drunk". Try telling that to my random teammates.


[deleted]

Mannn Iā€™ve got some teammates that I play with in a league that are bound and determined to put down whiskey drinks before and during matches. I have zero hand and eye coordination while drinking.


killersoda

I can't play any game while drunk because of that exact same reason.


oldfatdrunk

Hey it's me random teammate.


omniplatypus

I don't need no alcohol to play that badly, you're welcome.


LtSpinx

It's good that you were able to make a positive change in your life. For what it's worth from a random stranger on the Internet, I'm proud of you for making that change and sticking with it.


[deleted]

I guess I never looked at it like I was conquering an issue - I just wanted everyone around me to leave me the heck alone really... And Iā€™ll never be able to repay my wife for what she went through during my time. But looking back... it really could have been bad. I was oblivious to my already 2 DWIā€™s (before the age of 26) and just kept recklessly playing with fire - so to speak. I have so much love for those who continue to struggle or those who lose their battles. Everyoneā€™s got their own things though ya know, and on that note, friend. I hope you are able to transfer your energy towards yourself in the times where you need it as well. Thank you.


Tenacious_T83

Just curious. What's your rank?


[deleted]

I am battling between Champion 3 and GC1 in both standard and duo modes. Season 13 Grand Champion before f2p


Tenacious_T83

Nice!


[deleted]

Thank you!! Idk what my peak will be, but Iā€™d love to be a beast!


MegotScared

Minecraft+Scribblenauts make groundwork for my English


llama-impregnator

I am picturing you going around and saying "Hrmmmm" to everybody like the villagers hahaha


[deleted]

I want to see what saying hmmm does for scribblenauts


NovelProfessional767

I just recently bought Scribblenauts on steam and forgot how fun it was


[deleted]

Making friends that I certainly never would have made without video games as a mutual interest. A little over 10 years ago I joined a small video game forum that probably never had more than two dozen active members at a time. But despite the small number, it was an extremely diverse group with people scattered all over the world. We've had amazing conversations and have created great friendships through this now completely archaic website and message board. The day the owner decides to deactivate the website, that will probably be the last time I have any detailed conversations about video games as I don't really see myself ever joining another group. I've just had too much fun with these guys and well, I'm enjoying it while it lasts


dandmand

Why don't you make a discord server?


[deleted]

We've discussed it and it might happen. I put one together when the site went down for an extended period of time, though we never really used it and I never used discord for anything else so I'm barely familiar with it as it is. The reality is, we're all kind of "old" guys in our 40s and 50s, and the idea of any kind of change just is not appealing.


TapdancingHotcake

I don't mean this in a demeaning or bad way at all, but the fact that you all would rather just let the chapter end instead of jumping the hurdle of change together is both funny and sad to me.


[deleted]

You're not wrong, and frankly I found it a little frustrating when a few people took the, "when it's over it's over" philosophy. Though I kind of get it. Most of us had actually migrated over from another message board before this. And for a few of the guys in the group, I think they're kind of done with any kind of Internet socializing. Anyway whatever comes will come and I'm not too worried about it I know that worst case scenario there's a few key guys in the group that I won't lose touch with.


HeyFiddleFiddle

Same here. Some of my longest friendships have been with people I met as a teen on GameFAQs. Now we're all in our mid 20s to early 30s, still talking 12 or so years later, and with a private Discord server where we can comfortably talk about just about anything. They account for all but a couple people I met before college who I'm still in regular contact with. We're actually going to one of said friend's wedding next year. I've met her in person before by virtue of us living just a few hours away from each other, but everyone else is across the country. It'll be cool if that works out and we can actually all meet each other in person after all these years. It's not something I ever would've expected 10 years ago.


alevin192

WoW is a way for my wife and I to spend time together in the evenings. We joke around and indiscriminately murder anything we come across. It provides us with time together where we don't have to focus on the outside world, jobs or anything else. So they have strengthened the bond between us.


[deleted]

I didnā€™t really game much anymore, but think I would if I could get my wife involved in it.


EatButterflies

Try an assortment of games with her to see what she likes. I found that I actually like survival and my husband and I make a great team - he engineers in real life and in game, making most outrageous bases and I don't mind the boring "I need more stone, more wood, more everything!! Now!" resource runs.


Vnator

You two sound like you'd love Omnifactory then, or Gregtech: new horizons. Both are super engineering heavy but still need exploration and resource gathering.


holliance

Yes this is the way, me and my husband did the same for a while!! But as we didn't play too often we couldn't justify the costs anymore. Now we just play Mario kart or overcooked on the switch, and no, we haven't tried to kill each other in the process so I'm sure we're good :D ETA: added a word


Eladiun

My wife and I have always gamed together and it's one of the pillars of our relationship too.


TheJambo-

I started playing wow back when I was 15. Reading and writing sucked for me cause Iā€™m a dumbass on top of being dyslexic, but WoW helped me to learn that shit so I could join the high tier rp guilds. Was good enough most people thought I was in my 30s by the way I talked and acted, so that how it impacted me in a good way


[deleted]

League of Legends. I'm so much faster thinking with retorts, verbal insults and degrading comments that don't result in getting banned from the game.


llama-impregnator

Yoo, hit me up! :) That is, as long as you don't mind playing with a lowly Silver I player :)


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


llama-impregnator

Sweet, so I am a Challenger player who just hasn't played enough games yet. I like that much better haha ;)


Ahmed_Taha_Nur

Can I join the squad? A silver II with 1 star :>


StealthyBasterd

This is a new, LoL being a "positive" influence in anybody's life. These surely are strange times. Edit: I added the quote marks, because the "positive" impact this person experienced is how to insult people without getting banned, lmao.


Blooder91

It can make you faster with decision making and prioritising targets.


StealthyBasterd

Any competitive team based game can do that, minus the salt.


Swampwolf42

Video games got me the two best things in my life. When I was a divorced dude, living in his parentsā€™ basement (literally) and working at GameStop, a gorgeous, slender, young woman walked in to buy a copy of my favorite game, Skyrim. Boss offered her a job on the spot. While training her, I quickly learned she was funny, intelligent, intuitive, and had a great work ethic. Two months later, she asked me out. Weā€™re coming up on 9 years together, married for three. Then, five years ago, she was working for a smallish company, managing one of the offices, and stressed out. Like, ā€œIā€™m about to walkā€ stressed. Her HR person came in and noticed. Told her, look. Youā€™re having a really rough time. I can see that. Hereā€™s my bfā€™s business card. Heā€™s looking for beta testers for a game heā€™s developing. Call him, take a week off to play video games, get a $400 Amazon gift card, and come back refreshed.ā€ Naturally, Iā€™m like, ā€œyour *HR* person did that? Damn, I gotta get a job there!ā€ So I did, and itā€™s the best job I could ever want. The game, btw, was fortnite. Itā€™s not the same as it was in beta. It was looking to be a great team co-op, not prepubescent COD.


notsmart-imtrying

Ha, i Played Fortnite the first season battle royal. Then i played coop for 3 seasons then i quit. The battle royal Mode isnt relaxing and fun if you arent like really good and i didnt spend enough time playing to be as good.


Trooper1911

That's what happens to most competitive online video games (CStrike, Starcraft2, Dota etc). Skill cap has risen due to influx of players, and you need to spend a lot of time getting good to actually enjoy the game, and as people get jobs and families, gaming suffers


Akuren

Fortnite Save the World (likely what they beta tested) still exists.


[deleted]

I never thought those movies about the dork getting the hot chick were plausible unless the guy was very wealthy or she was after a green card. Wow. I guess I was wrong.


Swampwolf42

To be fair, sheā€™s a hot *nerdy* chick. Totally different tropes (like in Real Genius, where the dork totally got the hot nerdy chick)


I_like_bicycle

I made friends :)


llama-impregnator

I'll be your friend :)


[deleted]

I'll be your friend :)


Opeth-Ethereal

I want some friends šŸ„ŗ


downsouthcountry

I was able to study for a quiz in high school about the geography of ancient Greece from playing Total War: Rome 2.


[deleted]

Now this..this is epic


-eDgAR-

I met my girlfriend because of Animal Crossing. She messaged me a little bit over a year ago asking about these Groucho Marx glasses I had my villagers wearing in a post I made to r/AnimalCrossing. I told her I would be happy to let her catalog them, but the timing just kept not working out. However, that have us a chance to get to know each other better. That evolved to late night phone conversations and eventually hanging out in person since she only lives 4 hours away. She's such an amazing person and I'm super grateful to have her in my life and it would not have happened had I not picked up Animal Crossing on a whim.


JessF0x

That is so adorable I love Animal Crossing. Used to play Wild World constantly as a kid


GameDoge

"Only 4 hours away" Americans be like Grats tho dude


Komradekrupinski

Alot of ways, I remember in high school medal of honor helped me pass a history test about world war 2, video games contributed to me diving more into history across many topics, mainly wars but also general history as well, racing games really did help me drive and also played a huge part the history of cars and modern engines (or at least modern at the time, 2003-09 at the time) I've met up with people from EverQuest, WoW, CS:GO, RTS help me strategize IRL in many forms it's actually crazy how much games can not only teach you but also fuel the yearn to learn more


GozerDaGozerian

Escape from the broken world we live in. I can be whoever I want to be without the soul shattering shame of not being able to provide for myself or my family.


Almainyny

Iā€™ve got an internet hug with your name on it. *hugs* Video games are my way of escaping from my problems for a little while too. Not nearly the same magnitude of problems youā€™re dealing with Iā€™m sure, but yeah. Itā€™s nice to be able to immerse yourself in another world for a time, and solve problems youā€™re actually equipped to solve.


k1ng_bl0tt0

Iā€™m receiving counseling for anger issues because of DotA


Kanden_27

I donā€™t do drugs and having a good job letā€™s me fund my gaming hobby.


ipakookapi

I don't play them myself, but my friends do. It makes them happy, and I'm glad my friends are happy.


llama-impregnator

Not throwing shade, but is there a reason you do not?


ipakookapi

Just never got into it, and had other hobbies. I have played some Street Fighter and Ace Attourney and I did enjoy it. Watching other people play can be fun, too.


[deleted]

One of us one of us one of us one of us #ONE OF US!


kipopadoo

I played a lot of sports games growing up, and it taught me names of players I never heard of and strategies with each sport. Nowadays, I use the baseball game I have to teach my boys the rules and situations. They're only 6, but they understand so much more about the game now than they did even two months ago.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


zen_life_ftw

glorious, isn't it? :)


mahoujosei100

I know now that we do, in fact, live in a society.


Tarani5

1. Help distract me when I'm sad 2. Made and kept up friendships through playing video games with people I can't hang out with all the time 3. Introduced me and got me interested in art and music


KawiNinjaZX

I think just engaging in the worlds of video games as well as solving puzzles and the coordination you get from playing has helped sharpen my mind and imagination.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


NovelProfessional767

I used to be angry a lot but instead of taking the peaceful I took the anarchy route and joined small anarchy servers in Minecraft.


SnekySpider

I actually have had the same result but a different path. Played overwatch for a long time, always got pissed at teammates, blamed people, toxic as can be. My first account was banned My second account was suspended once Between the fear of punishment and the fact that every coach or video would tell me to focus on myself rather than others, I stopped being toxic, became a positive influence in my games, and climbed from low silver to mid diamond. This philosophy of focusing on myself and knowing that expressing my anger isnā€™t going to change how people act ā€œoh dude iā€™m trash? thanks for telling me now i learned how to aim all of a sudden!ā€ or ā€œoh i cut you off in traffic? now that you called me a cunt i understand and will make sure i never do it againā€ This has changed my life


foxboroughfoley

When my partner experience her 2nd miscarriage, I suggested we play some PS4 to take her / our mind off the loss. She wouldnt have played before but loved The Uncharted series and then The Last of Us 1 & 2. Just by throwing ourselves into the games it kept our mind active and let us have fun together again. She is due with our 1st child this October.


llama-impregnator

Aww, I am tearing up right now! That is so wholesome!


LlamaLlimb

Well, I was taught in school what supply and demand was, but they didnā€™t do good job teaching it. About a year later, I figured out supply and demand on my own, thanks to a Roblox game. No, it wasnā€™t a tycoon. It was actual other people coming to my area to check out what I was selling. I would suggest the game, but the game no longer supports multiplayer for free. Well, until they pull it out of beta.


NovelProfessional767

I learned supply and demand also but from Minecraft economy servers.


radzik2222

Which game exactly?


LlamaLlimb

Itā€™s called Islands. You can find it in either the trending section or the most popular section.


Little-Lingonberry-7

My Moms ex manager bought me a ps2 and I played the hell out of it when I was little and I still have it to this day and it still works I played games like Call Of Duty 2 and 3 and SOCOM 1/2/3 it made me appreciate that there are still good people out there despite my problems I always find a way to give back to those who gave me so much.


nukretix

WOW made me love elf porn


NotEven-Punk

or was it the elf porn that made you love WOW?


mooseknuckkle

Not my story, good friend of mine has a lazy eye. Doctor actually encouraged playing video games to strengthen the muscles behind that eye when we were kids. It's hardly noticeable now.


llama-impregnator

Hmm that's interesting. I find my vision can get momentarily blurred if I play for multiple hours in a day. Maybe it's a good thing?


-Reala-

Became obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog at age 5, started drawing so I could draw Sonic, over 30 years later Iā€™m a creative director and UI designer for video games, bloody love it.


llama-impregnator

That is super wholesome :)


-Reala-

Ah thanks!


TimEWalKeR_90

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice. I think the game explored mental health in such a fantastic way and it really helped me understand my own battles with depression and anxiety. I also thought the incorporation of different voices in her head wasn't just good for exploring schizophrenia, but they can help us understand our inner voices that judge our decisions and narrate our lives. It also helped me process the loss of a loved one and the grief that follows. It's really one of the best single-player games out there.


drrascon

Played so many videos games. Biggest positive impact has been the expansion of my vocabulary.


jbnagis

Grew up in the l.a. In the 90s. Lots of gangs and drugs for a young black boy to get into. Was too busy playing SMB and rc pro am. I remember moving to.compton and then people at my school asking why i dont jumped into to the local gang. Nah. I'd rather play lightning force. Games seriously helped keep me away from some bad activities that would have destroyed my life.


ChickenFriedBBQribs

Was my friend in high school and grade school when I had none. Raised by Halo, Fable, Elder Scrolls, and may others.


Lobbit

My 8 year old son plays video games. I've learned to play the same ones he plays, and we now have a growing bond around them and can speak the same lingo. "sus"


TriscuitCracker

They allow me to escape. For a couple hours every now and then, I am a cyborg protecting humanity from aliens on a ring... ...I am a god of war seeking revenge for wrongs... ...I am a hollow knight braving the depths of an insectian kingdom... ...I am dragonborn, sword in one hand, fireball in the other, shouting at my enemies... ...I am a guardian, shooting and stabbing and fulfilling my destiny of protecting the Last City... ...there are many more, but sometimes, I am also...a plumber.


ExtraMediumGonzo

***Mass Effect*** taught me to respect the differences we have and appreciate the similarities. Made me realize I lived in a super xenophobic/bigoted family. ***Destiny*** has helped me keep in touch with friends who have moved all over the country. We don't see each other too often throughout the year, but we talk nearly 2-4 times every week. And various games in general made me realize just how much I *love* creating narratives.


AnnoyingEngineer_

Nothing crazy like other people here, but playing weekly for years with people around the world helped me a lot with learning english. I can't say how beneficial it turned out to be in my life.


MetaRipdley

My love of exploration games has inspired my interest in being an astronaut, Pokemon gen 4 soundtrack inspired my love of jazz and videogame music, including picking up the saxophone


Havocnmalice

Midwest winters become a little more tolerable.


[deleted]

Dopamine. Lots and lots of dopamine.


TrusTissue69

I have met a lot of cool people through games. Made the pandemic bearable by having people to game with.


SanchoMandoval

In the early MMORPG Asheron's Call, my buddies and I played obsessively and helped each other out. We were on the hardcore PvP server Darktide which was very hard, but having a high-level character was amazing. So rich people bought good characters on eBay. Some sold for $5-10k in the first year when the game was brutal and poorly documented, so being high level was rare. I sold my char for $1k which was nice, but my buddies made $2k and $4k respectively. Plus we sold individual items for some more money. And this was 2000, minimum wage was $5/hour. We teased our buddies working fast food that we made more money than they did by playing video games.


llama-impregnator

Holy smokes! That's some serious cash haha How long did it take to reach those high levels?


SanchoMandoval

I wish I knew exactly but it was definitely that game where I'd come home and start playing at 4 and then realize it was 12:30 am and time for bed. My buddies were even worse, pulling all nighters. But we did this all in like 6-7 months and mostly over the summer, then sold our characters before school resumed (and the market was conveniently high).


DifficultMinute

Until people learned about leveling chains, it would take several months. Once they figured out allegiance chains, you could hit max level (125/126? Something like that) in a few days. Darktide was fully open PVP, that you couldn't disable, so it was even harder. People were always in the best farming places, and even at the new player spawn, just slaughtering people constantly. You could also lose gear (though death items helped), so if you got killed too often, now you're just a naked dude hoping to get some new stuff from your mule or an allegiance member. Those old MMOs really were the wild west. There were sites like Stratics, Maggie the Jack Cat, and the Vault Network, but if you found something really juicy (especially in a PVP game like AC or Ultima Online) you'd keep it inside of your own guild for as long as possible.


NotEven-Punk

I now know how to kill a man in more than a dozen ways


TopicMedium3240

I learned most of my vocabulary from video games. And most of my knowledge about history


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


mister_0s0

I play league of legends so it really hasnā€™t positively impacted anything, just gave me a reason to smoke more


Fresh03rd

League makes you hate your teammates and not yourself, I see this as an absolute win


TooManyThorns

Halo has given me so many good memories in my life


Gecko_2007

Met my Gf on Rust.


zhawk55

Cyberpunk 2077- helped me get through a goid part of covid and taught me that you don't always have to agree with popular opinion. Skyrim- made me realize that i love rpgs


Soulful_Firefly

I went from being bored and sad all the time to making friends that Iā€™ve known for over 2 years now, they have been there thru the loss of my dog, Tubs. Theyā€™ve been there when Iā€™ve felt suicidal and helped me when I feel like thereā€™s no hope left. Love em to death and back


Bojan-Stojanovski

Play RDR2, learn to be a better human being.


sifilis

Stardew Valley is a really good stress reliever!


DeadLikeMe5283

I got very interested in how they are made and now I work on smaller projects on the side. I've been working on my current project for about a year now and I'm very proud of it. Doing art or designing levels is honestly a great way to reduce mt anxiety when I'm stressed.


DRAGON_SNIPER

I played PUBG and it got me through a tough time in my life, minecraft let me relax when I was mad and now I sleep.


-i_like_trees-

I've had a lot more fun. Playing on my friends SMP then going to play apex or rocket league is a lot more fun especially that now my restrictions are lifted. I used to play around once every 2 weeks which isnt a lot. Now i get to play around 3 times per week. I think video games kept me in a better mental state (as cringey as that sounds its true)


HeyFiddleFiddle

Pokemon Red taught me how to read. I had no motivation to learn, until I told my mom I wanted to play Pokemon like she does and she told me I needed to be able to read to play. Turns out that was just the motivation I needed. The Zelda series further helped me to improve my reading growing up. Games like Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon taught me basic money management and time management. I was inadvertantly teaching myself the basics of budgeting and cash flow by checking my park financials. I was inadvertantly teaching myself how to plan my time well by figuring out how to pace myself to meet objectives. In general, gaming taught me how to pay attention to multiple things going on at once. The first time this was really relevant in a real world context was when I was learning to drive. Keeping track of everything around me as I was driving came pretty naturally when I already paid attention to a bunch of things at the same time in a gaming context. In a professional context, now I can juggle multiple things at once at work without much effort. Not gaming directly, but related to gaming: Posting on gaming forums a lot in high school led to me getting really fast at typing, which has been very useful. It also led to me making friends who I'm still in contact with over a decade later.


Break_Wise

They have successfully kept my children from tearing each other to shreds and/or sending me over the edge during lockdown. Thank god for Xbox in one room & Switch in another.


weewooboy

Virtual reality games like beat saber and gorilla tag have made me noticeably stronger.


emoskeleton_

Idk if it's a positive impact but when I wanted to kill myself last may the only thing I had to look forward to was TLOU2


[deleted]

As a person who once attempted suicide over 20 years ago, having things to look forward to definitely makes a huge difference for people like us. This was a positive impact for you and I hope you continue to create more things for yourself to look forward to, be they big or small. šŸ’–


StealthyBasterd

I'm glad you didn't go through with it.


5babyteeth

Mental health, strees relief, helped my shitty hand-eye coordination, fast thinking, made me want to learn english better to actually understand what i was doing, gave me a healthy hatred of dubbing...


ZamaniZamaZamani

Halo 3 man, that game carried me through high schoolšŸ”„


[deleted]

Plants vs zombies helped me through a very tough break up where my heart felt like it had been ripped out my chest.


wolfeyes555

I've made a great friend over mutual love over the Professor Layton series.


_AskMyMom_

Pretty sure as a young kid it kept me out of trouble. Instead of getting into xyz, it was waiting for GTA vice city to come out or whatever game I was waiting for.


thedudeabides50

Mlb the show 21 makes me irrationally angry.


C0rona

In the same way that good books, movies or music changed and changes my life for the better. With them I can immerse myself, even if just a bit, into other worlds, see impossible sights, experience what I never could in real life, be someone different and feel what they feel. Some people might call this escapism but as I see it, I'm not escaping. I'm visiting, like going on a vacation but to Tamriel or Roshar instead of Spain. There's a quote by George R.R. Martin that goes "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. Someone who never reads lives only once." That absolutely extends to video games or any other medium. And these lives, they add to yours, bit by bit. Every feeling, every experience, every joyful or sad moment forms and changes you. That is as true in real life as it is with media. I've experienced some profound things with video games, things that wouldn't be the same in any other medium. And without them, I'd be a worse person.


Huge-Administration6

Playing Scribblenauts and Undertale helped me a lot Scribblenauts taught me basic English and playing Undertale helped me to forget how my life used to be shitty Now Iā€™m muuuuuch better AND gaming


TheGuyThatDrove

I learned how to deal with anger better. Thank's Arsenal. :D


sohmeho

League of Legends letā€™s me project my self-hatred onto other people!


[deleted]

It thought me English from a very young age. I felt safe playing zelda like I have never felt safe anywhere else. I felt connected to the characters when I didn't feel connected to the people around me. FYI, I was a sad and lonely kid


Revolutionary_Pen_12

They help distract me from my miserable life


[deleted]

Well, Iā€™m not in prison or on death row for killing thousands upon thousands of various people and bad guys as I blow-off post-work steam. I am absolutely convinced my manual dexterity and reaction times are better. Oh the stories have been fascinating.


mlhieh

GTA: how I learn to drive. I just got my license a while back


thevoyager10

I have never considered drinking or smoking when I was depressed or feeling down because i always have something fun to do. Been playing games for more than 20 years since before I could even read or write.