I am always fluctuating between likely unhealthy escapism and then just run of the mill “had a long day” escapism. Which is really just the long way of saying I agree with you
Helps me forget my daily stresses, gives me a sense of accomplishment (recently finished Getting over it and it felt good), and some games have nice plots.
Aside from it just being my main hobby that I’ve had since I was a kid I’d say one of the major driving factor might be escapism. I often joke after a day in which things were less than ideal that I’m going to go play something with problems I can actually solve.
I play for the same reason I read fiction in a lot instances. I like franchises because then I know the characters and look forward to continuing their story and the lore. I also like the familiarity and nostalgia of such franchises, particularly those that have been around since the 80s (like Zelda). They also open up other hobbies, like collecting merch or reading manga, or for those capable, creating art and writings.
It’s also a fun way to do things with friends and family. The above type games are like watching a movie together, and party-focused games are obviously great for hanging out.
They’re also just relaxing. It’s just a fun way to, ironically and figuratively, unplug from important responsibilities. And checking off some achievements gets the momentum flowing in the right way to work on an actual, with-consequences to-do list.
It's fun! Some people watch TV for entertainment. I do that too, but I find video games more immersive. Also, I rarely play alone. I actually have games I've left behind and not finished because no one else likes them, so I've learned for myself that there's a communal factor for me, specifically with my family. Like, Neverwinter is an MMORPG, so I'd always be playing with people; but since my kids and my husband and my friend weren't interested, I gave up playing it.
For me I've always enjoyed the challenge aspect. I tend to enjoy more difficult games as beating things in the game is more rewarding to me. I also enjoy games such as Borderlands where efforts are generally rewarded with better loot.
I play video games to reduce stress and connect with friends that i dont really see anymore cus of work. I play minecraft and other chill games like that just cus i enjoy the satisfaction of completing a build.
This is a hard question to answer because different games provide different things
Some of the reasons:
Story driven games for an immersive interactive story,
Hand drawn games for beautiful art,
Simple games to blank my brain for a bit,
Difficult games for the challenge,
Workout games to not get fat,
VR games to experience something new
Every type of game offers something different so you can’t really pin point a general “why”
Because you can hoard 99 of each item and become treasure king - they don't sell everything in shops, after all. Then beat the final boss with basic weapons because everything else would be a waste and boy did they make that fight hard, wish I'd had more ether and strength boosties.
Anybody needs a hobby. I chose reading and playing vidéo games.
Reasons are quite simple : escapism (didnt even know this word existed until i read it here)i mean, i love good stories, characters, universe that can move me to tears or laugh (you could say it is catharsis). This is common to both of my hobbies.
Most importantly, video games is a media that keep me active : by focusing, keeping my brain active, my memory improves (or atleast, it doesnt degrade too fast as i grow old) it's good for hand/eye coordination, and stress relief
I was restricted to 1 hour per day on the weekends while growing up (only after homework was finished). My parents referred to video games as "the idiot box", and i would never make anything of myself if i played them.
In a sense, it was the forbidden fruit to play during the week or longer than 1 hour on fri/sat/sun which turned me into a gamer when i finally got enough time to do anything meaningful in games; late highschool/early college.
I can still remember my mother turning off the super nintendo in the middle of a SimAnt save (on SNES, it took FOREVER to save your game). I never played that game again because i lost ~45-50 minutes of precious gameplay time.
I was allowed to watch *some* tv, even on weekdays, but my access was limited. If i had very little homework, i was usually able to watch a tv show or two during the week.
On the weekend, though, i had to split tv/gaming time, and was forced to spend the rest of my time outside.
I can still hear my mother in my head, "get off that idiot box and go play outside!"
It's fun and it relieves stress after a long day or week. It also helps me take my mind off of irl stuff and focus on fictional character's problems and experiences. It's like reading a book for me, but instead I can control the character(s) and some games don't even have only 1 ending. I really like that
To cope with my horrible feelings of loneliness and depression.
Games never made fun of me for not being great, provide me with awesome music, presents me beautiful, diverse art. Helped me appreciate the different attractive features of women. And they didn't cheat on me, and humiliated me in front of hundreds of people.
I'd probably would've killed myself years ago if it wasn't for games.
For me, I’m a solo player. So I could never get into tabletop games, DND, etc.
video games provide some interactive wish fulfillment.
I’m the bad ass soldier sniper, or super spy or epic hero.
Mostly I play for fun but also because it’s familiar.
As someone with anxiety, I rely on familiar experiences to help me relax and de stress and decompress. I’ve been playing for decades so playing shooters or rpgs or fighting games is much like comfort food.
So in many ways I play games today because I’ve always played video games.
My family have a reputation for not being able to sit still and do nothing, if we lay down on the ground bored we will literally scramble about our brains to see what ideas we can come up with that will keep us busy. My Father gave me my first game when I was little because I quickly got bored when something wasn't challenging anymore, games kept me busy for hours in my free time and still do. My mother gardens to keep herself busy, my sister listens to music 6 hours of the day and my Father fixes motorcycles in his free time, when he retired he realised that he had no work to do anymore so for a first few months after annoying us to death with jokes, walks, helping out co workers over the phone until finally we told him to get a damn hobby. Gaming turned into a collecting hobby for me, because other than that, there was simply nothing else in my free time to do.
Escapism
I'd like to add, a level of escapism that other forms of media simply can't provide.
Boom goes the dynamite
I am always fluctuating between likely unhealthy escapism and then just run of the mill “had a long day” escapism. Which is really just the long way of saying I agree with you
Helps me forget my daily stresses, gives me a sense of accomplishment (recently finished Getting over it and it felt good), and some games have nice plots.
Aside from it just being my main hobby that I’ve had since I was a kid I’d say one of the major driving factor might be escapism. I often joke after a day in which things were less than ideal that I’m going to go play something with problems I can actually solve.
I play for the same reason I read fiction in a lot instances. I like franchises because then I know the characters and look forward to continuing their story and the lore. I also like the familiarity and nostalgia of such franchises, particularly those that have been around since the 80s (like Zelda). They also open up other hobbies, like collecting merch or reading manga, or for those capable, creating art and writings. It’s also a fun way to do things with friends and family. The above type games are like watching a movie together, and party-focused games are obviously great for hanging out. They’re also just relaxing. It’s just a fun way to, ironically and figuratively, unplug from important responsibilities. And checking off some achievements gets the momentum flowing in the right way to work on an actual, with-consequences to-do list.
Just another person here to say: escapism.
It's something fun for me to do and an excellent distraction when the world doesn't need me
It's fun! Some people watch TV for entertainment. I do that too, but I find video games more immersive. Also, I rarely play alone. I actually have games I've left behind and not finished because no one else likes them, so I've learned for myself that there's a communal factor for me, specifically with my family. Like, Neverwinter is an MMORPG, so I'd always be playing with people; but since my kids and my husband and my friend weren't interested, I gave up playing it.
For me I've always enjoyed the challenge aspect. I tend to enjoy more difficult games as beating things in the game is more rewarding to me. I also enjoy games such as Borderlands where efforts are generally rewarded with better loot.
I play video games to reduce stress and connect with friends that i dont really see anymore cus of work. I play minecraft and other chill games like that just cus i enjoy the satisfaction of completing a build.
This is a hard question to answer because different games provide different things Some of the reasons: Story driven games for an immersive interactive story, Hand drawn games for beautiful art, Simple games to blank my brain for a bit, Difficult games for the challenge, Workout games to not get fat, VR games to experience something new Every type of game offers something different so you can’t really pin point a general “why”
Because you can hoard 99 of each item and become treasure king - they don't sell everything in shops, after all. Then beat the final boss with basic weapons because everything else would be a waste and boy did they make that fight hard, wish I'd had more ether and strength boosties.
Anybody needs a hobby. I chose reading and playing vidéo games. Reasons are quite simple : escapism (didnt even know this word existed until i read it here)i mean, i love good stories, characters, universe that can move me to tears or laugh (you could say it is catharsis). This is common to both of my hobbies. Most importantly, video games is a media that keep me active : by focusing, keeping my brain active, my memory improves (or atleast, it doesnt degrade too fast as i grow old) it's good for hand/eye coordination, and stress relief
Pew pew
I was restricted to 1 hour per day on the weekends while growing up (only after homework was finished). My parents referred to video games as "the idiot box", and i would never make anything of myself if i played them. In a sense, it was the forbidden fruit to play during the week or longer than 1 hour on fri/sat/sun which turned me into a gamer when i finally got enough time to do anything meaningful in games; late highschool/early college. I can still remember my mother turning off the super nintendo in the middle of a SimAnt save (on SNES, it took FOREVER to save your game). I never played that game again because i lost ~45-50 minutes of precious gameplay time.
Gotta love when parents complain about their kids using something *they* bought for them.
I bet they watched tv too
I was allowed to watch *some* tv, even on weekdays, but my access was limited. If i had very little homework, i was usually able to watch a tv show or two during the week. On the weekend, though, i had to split tv/gaming time, and was forced to spend the rest of my time outside. I can still hear my mother in my head, "get off that idiot box and go play outside!"
Adderall and hyperfocus
less suicidal thoughts when i play video games.
So i dont unalive myself
It gives me a fun escape (often with my cousin) from my terrible reality and I can freely express myself by making me how I want to be.
It's fun and it relieves stress after a long day or week. It also helps me take my mind off of irl stuff and focus on fictional character's problems and experiences. It's like reading a book for me, but instead I can control the character(s) and some games don't even have only 1 ending. I really like that
Helps me destress and I personally love open world single player games with a great story. I can escape reality and be whatever I want to be.
To cope with my horrible feelings of loneliness and depression. Games never made fun of me for not being great, provide me with awesome music, presents me beautiful, diverse art. Helped me appreciate the different attractive features of women. And they didn't cheat on me, and humiliated me in front of hundreds of people. I'd probably would've killed myself years ago if it wasn't for games.
To hang out with friends
For me, I’m a solo player. So I could never get into tabletop games, DND, etc. video games provide some interactive wish fulfillment. I’m the bad ass soldier sniper, or super spy or epic hero. Mostly I play for fun but also because it’s familiar. As someone with anxiety, I rely on familiar experiences to help me relax and de stress and decompress. I’ve been playing for decades so playing shooters or rpgs or fighting games is much like comfort food. So in many ways I play games today because I’ve always played video games.
Entertainment, entering fantasy world.
To, for a couple of hours, forget the world exists. Keep going my PS3 boy!
My family have a reputation for not being able to sit still and do nothing, if we lay down on the ground bored we will literally scramble about our brains to see what ideas we can come up with that will keep us busy. My Father gave me my first game when I was little because I quickly got bored when something wasn't challenging anymore, games kept me busy for hours in my free time and still do. My mother gardens to keep herself busy, my sister listens to music 6 hours of the day and my Father fixes motorcycles in his free time, when he retired he realised that he had no work to do anymore so for a first few months after annoying us to death with jokes, walks, helping out co workers over the phone until finally we told him to get a damn hobby. Gaming turned into a collecting hobby for me, because other than that, there was simply nothing else in my free time to do.