Reasons besides "pure fun" for playing videogames

Hey fellas

I wanted to start a discussion because I wanted to talk to people more about why they love playing video games, for reasons that might not be directly related to their personal enjoyment as a consequence of flashing green lights/number go up.

This is not by any means supposed to be a high-brow approach to why we play games, but rather a discussion of other external factors.

As an example, I've got 3 main other reasons:

Cultural value/legacy

Games to me are an art form just like music and film is, which influences my way of approaching certain franchises.
Finding the origins of something is relatively important to me when approaching something that left a mark on the world. A movie example would be refusing to watch Shadow of the Vampire before seeing the original Nosferatu. Razor sharp demographic reference right there.
Turning that over to games - despite having the Metroid Prime trilogy installed in my Wii, I won't even dare touch it before giving Super Metroid a good shot (or finishing it), plus the GBA games. In the same manner, I'm not allowed to touch Metroid Dread. Obviously there's a line regarding this, having no interest in games I consider very much relics of time that won't bring me joy in actually playing them.

Applying this to myself only, certain franchises or artistic visions should be approached with knowledge of previous iterations, so that the artist's/team's vision can be examined with reference points.

Bonding

I'm blessed to have friends that come over regularly, and it's very much a reason why I still keep home consoles around - each with multiple controllers. Some of my most precious memories have been made in Mario Party 8 (Wii), Rayman Legends (PS4), Goof Troop with my brother (SNES), etc.
Considering the times we live in, there are few things that I value more that these moments.

Escapism

Despite having an autoimmune disease, I found a way out. Should be back on my feet in September-ish. Found healing medication-free (with doctors telling me the opposite), but the process of getting better is extremely slow, which has left me somewhat physically disabled - unable to leave the house for longer than an hour a day or so (past 2 years).
Movies are a social activity for me so I don't have that much enjoyment watching them alone, while music and books can only do so much. Games have provided me with immersive worlds that let me forget where I am, and I'm thankful for having access to them. Living alone, it's very difficult sometimes to wake up and very slowly leave the bed without having no one to say "good morning" to.
As much as it sounds like a pity party, I'm coming here with an angle of genuine appreciation for being able to sit down and just play for most of my day, working part time.

Sometimes I'm just thinking what I'm going to do with this hardware when I'm all well again ahahah

Every day is a blessing if you make it one. Use your body if you can, and keep yourself in shape. It's the only thing you will ever truly own.

Hope u get better soon dude. The next walk I take will be dedicated to you...
About the topic, other than pure fun I find myself playing games rather than maybe watching a movie or reading a book because of the interactive nature of the medium.. The interactivity really makes my brain go tard Mode..

Pretty much the same thing @2arda said. Fun is the most obvious answer, but interactivity is the reason I enjoy games more than other mediums. Just sitting there watching TV can feel boring or unproductive but interacting with a game makes me feel more engaged and accomplished as dumb as that may sound.

Bonding as well. Sharing the experience with friends, or theorizing about stuff to come if we're playing the same thing. Or, one of them playing something for the first time I have already played and then giving me those sweet, sweet reactions. And just generally having made friends from a starting point of a shared love for a game then moving on from there.

Storytelling. Other forms of storytelling are great too of course, like I love books, but the interactivity of games creates it's own special connection. Plus there's so many different ways those interactions take place.

Inspiration. Sometimes games spark some good creativity!

And yeah some escapism too

Hope u get better soon dude. The next walk I take will be dedicated to you...
About the topic, other than pure fun I find myself playing games rather than maybe watching a movie or reading a book because of the interactive nature of the medium.. The interactivity really makes my brain go tard Mode..

go get them steps in bro

as a former athlete, it's heartbreaking to see people throw their body away

For me I think it's mostly because my family played games a lot growing up, and we played a lot of games together, so I guess it's the nostalgia of the general idea of playing games. I think escapism is also a part of it, I tend to get anxiety so sometimes games just take me away from all my worries, that might be why I'm so drawn to RPG games is because I can just be someone else. I agree that interactivity probably is a part of what makes them so fun and popular in general.

I've been going through a weird existential crisis of sorts since covid began, it's been quelled somewhat but I can't deny that video games and watching anime, live shows, and cartoons and the occasional movie is what I mainly do now especially gaming, beating a game every 2-4 days and seeing the backlog counter go down has been an addiction for me ever since I got on this site, I might've beaten more games because of it. Now I write reviews too been doing it since 2022 despite starting on the site in 2018.

But anyways, with gaming when I play a good or at least solid enough game, I can be immersed for hours more so than with any show or movie, the dopamine rush that good combat and level design can bring me is just unrivaled, it's why I still play video games to this day despite gaming arguably being the hardest medium to get into. Gaming just hits me in that "sweet spot" that no other medium does even if storytelling is probably easier to do in a movie or show but that's a different topic.

In a book, show or movie, you aren't exploring worlds or being immersed. For me, watching more than 4 episodes of a TV show drains the shit out of me even sitting, it's why I don't "binge watch" but playing a video games for hours on end? That is something I can do with ease.

Years ago probably back in 2019, I thought I was going to quit playing video games but now, after 5 years and I'm still playing, it's safe to say I will still do it. At least old games can now be emulated at the very least.

Stories.

All I want are good stories.Stuff that makes me think about something, or make me feel something.
It's what i look for in all sorts of media, but games as a medium are special. Interactivity adds a whole new layer of attachment and immersion and it's a really cool thing when a game pulls something like that off successfully.

Edit: yeah basically just what siver said 😅

I've been through a lot of shit in my life, both mentally and physically, in my worst days as well as my best days, games were always there for me, either by helping me escape the sad reality, forging a new, better one, or by giving me the opportunity to discover new people and communities - like this one for example.

Also, it was one of the reasons I became a software developer, I don't code games, but as a gamer it's easier to end up any kind of dev as you're already messing up with programs - which have bugs, glitches and crashes, my favorite part! Yes, I do like finding bugs (not the progress blocker kind though lol)

Games increasingly have value as cultural references these days.

The story telling in games is at a real peak in the last five years or so. It's an artform and the power to evoke feelings and thoughts is increasing with ambitious production and scope. Just look at the number of games turned into tv shows to understand their wider impact. They are on occasion as good as reading a book or watching a good movie, but you are immersed to a greater degree. Unlike movies and books where you observe or consider the story or fun, In a game you experience it.

Agree with you on legacy- if I'm new to a franchise I try to start with playing the first in it's series to become familiar which will have me appreciate the next iterations. I'm currently playing Terra Cresta series and before jumping to Terra Cresta 3D I started with the original and worked my way forward instead.

I have family members that are interested in my retro gaming hobby, but it isn't the main reason why I have home consoles around. I do cherish my memories in all my gaming ventures throughout my life from 4 player multi-player gaming on the original PlayStation, Dreamcast to when I was a kid on NES, SNES and Saturn. And the times I played against strangers on arcade and had healthy competitive matches.

That's awesome to know you have found a healthy alternative. When I'm alone I prefer to play role-playing games which take plenty of hours to complete. Thank you for sharing your words of encouragement, God bless my HLTB neighbor.

@Civilwarfare101

For me, watching more than 4 episodes of a TV show drains the shit out of me even sitting, it's why I don't "binge watch" but playing a video games for hours on end? That is something I can do with ease.

I'm the same way, I don't know how people can binge watch anything. I typically only watch TV when I sit down to eat and then go back to video games afterwards.

@stealthrush

Agree with you on legacy- if I'm new to a franchise I try to start with playing the first in it's series to become familiar which will have me appreciate the next iterations.

Same. I find it difficult to go back to an earlier game in a series if I started on a later one. I recently completed GTA III after beating IV and V years ago and it was rough. It'll probably bite me in the butt when I start a long series like Final Fantasy but for now it's always my policy to start at the beginning.

@Civilwarfare101

For me, watching more than 4 episodes of a TV show drains the shit out of me even sitting, it's why I don't "binge watch" but playing a video games for hours on end? That is something I can do with ease.

I'm the same way, I don't know how people can binge watch anything. I typically only watch TV when I sit down to eat and then go back to video games afterwards.

@stealthrush

Agree with you on legacy- if I'm new to a franchise I try to start with playing the first in it's series to become familiar which will have me appreciate the next iterations.

Same. I find it difficult to go back to an earlier game in a series if I started on a later one. I recently completed GTA III after beating IV and V years ago and it was rough. It'll probably bite me in the butt when I start a long series like Final Fantasy but for now it's always my policy to start at the beginning.

I can probably "binge watch" when on Netflix(Amazon's ads is slowly starting to piss me off and is encouraging me to pirate their stuff), but when I'm on my PC, I have to stay far away from the keyboard and mouse just to sit through any episode of a show, anime and a lot of cartoons I can generally do this with especially when watching with food, for example, get halfway through an episode, start eating. But a lot of live shows, my patience gets pushed through to the limit due to the episode lengths being about an hour, I literally can't move for an hour, and spacing out the eats becomes more difficult, it's why I don't watch movies as much anymore, I can't move for 2 hours if not longer. Games on the other hand? No issues, my hands are busy and I need to pay attention to the game or else I won't get anywhere. Some games have combat challenges while other games require you to pay attention to the levels to progress furthur, not all games get me in that "zen" state but when they do, it's an amazing feeling. I'm just so immersed and into the game, and I get more into it than any other medium. Movies and shows don't have that effect on me as much anymore since I know the tropes and I know the mechanics and structures, I don't mind but I feel like an observer, with games, I can still feel like I'm in another world especially if the game gets me into that aforementioned "zen" state. I play a lot of games while standing up, and some games can keep me standing for over an hour. Show and movies don't do that for me.

That's an interesting question. As I already said on other threads, I don't see video games as art, at least not most of them and not in the way people usually do (I'm not going to elaborate, that's a whole - and touchy - topic). And yes, pure fun is my number one factor. But obviously, I wouldn't play as much if it was just a question of fun.

I think the most accurate answer in my case is challenge. It's something you can't really find in any other media. I'm not talking about games being necessarily hard. I'm very fine with easy games (even easy modes). It goes with interactivity in my mind, and it's more like a stimulation. I'm not very interested in stories in video games, but a good video game is, for sure, the most rewarding way for a story to be told. That's probably why I'm not into walking sims or purely narrative games. I don't have to play them to know they're not for me - they just don't fill my blanks. In a way, games for me are closer to sports than to books or movies (and that sounds funny to write since I'm really not into competitive scene or anything like that).

It is surely no coincidence that, for health reasons, I can no longer really practice sport. Now that I think about it, I had a period in the 2000s when I hardly played anymore and where I actually started again after a serious sport injury. I've been stucked in bed for months and then, gaming came back in my life like it never left. Never thought about that actually, so thanks for the question. Hope you'll get well soon.

So this topic is a pretty good one that I've talked about with a few others from time to time. My reason for playing games is that I had a bad childhood or lack there of to be frank. When I was a kid I had a couple hand me down systems and games and when things would get bad in my house I would play games as a means of escaping since there was nowhere I could actually go that was safe. That brings me today. With all the trauma I've been through its no surprise that I have to work through depression and anxiety on a daily basis and ironically enough I work a career that has one of the highest rate of depression, alchoholism, and suicide. Our average life expectancy after retirement is 15 months.

I can honestly say that video games have saved my life. If I did not have a way to escape via gaming than I probably wouldnt be here right now. Being out of my own head was the best thing I could do. Nowadays I am better at managing those emotions but having ADHD on top of all those other issues my mind is constantly racing, theres about 5 dialogues and a song or 2 going on all at the same time.

But when I play games it all goes quiet and the only thing my brain focuses on is the story, sounds, visuals and the challenges you overcome in games. I only play single player story based games. Being lost in another world is theraputic to me and ill say once again.

I wouldnt be here right now if it wasn't for video games, they hold a special place in my heart.

The two big reasons for me are the Healing of Mental Health and the Overall Experience. If I'm going through a scary or bad time, I can always play my favorite games and feel good about myself. I haven't done that in a long while, but maybe I should! I always want to play stuff that will keep me comfortable and make me feel good inside. Obviously, this seems odd considering until last year I've done nothing but play FPS Games almost exclusively, but games like Doom 3 or Titanfall 2 and of course Serious Sam (more notably 3 and 4 nowadays) really just make me feel like I belong in those games sometimes, despite all the violence because of the interesting worlds they build. I don't know, it might be part escapism, part me wanting to really just go back to things that I know will give me a positive experience.

The Overall Experience is something I've also been more fond of. I'm going through the Yakuza games right now and I'm absolutely loving them. What really makes me compelled by these games is the first time experience. You'll never know what you're going to get whether it be shock, surprise, laughter, sweetness, dopamine filled moments of awesomeness and it helps that the characters are so amazing in these games that they keep me coming back to them. First Time Experiences mean so much to me because that's what I remember the most fondly. Although, replaying games can sometimes mean not getting the same experience 99.9% of the time. Having those same reactions is just not possible with a second playthrough which is why I hold experiences like the Forza Horizon games, Lil Gator Game and Yakuza 0 so dear to me (and playing Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem for the first time of course)

It also means I get to share my experience and my feelings with others which is why I started my Backlog Blog in the first place. I get to tell everyone about amazing games that really meant something to me. It's been a year since I've felt a game was deeply special when I played Lil Gator Game, but I always hope to find an experience that will truly captivate me and I can tell others and they will hopefully play those games and get similar reactions. With the upcoming slate of games from Xbox like Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Perfect Dark, Mixtape, Avowed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I hope that I will get some amazing experiences like always to tell them about. Being disappointed and talking about a mediocre/bad game is also fun, but I much prefer to talk about good or great games and try to look for positives first before going to look for flaws.

That's just me though. But seriously, I think just like anime, movies, television, books and music, Video Games can heal us and breathe some excitement into our lives.

People are giving thoughtful reasons, and I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses to why they play, or the value that games have in their lives. Many of them resonate with me at some level. I'll add another one though: work and not-work.

Re: work -- Playing videogames is important to me as part of my professional life. The more familiar I am with a variety of games and genres, the more I know about gaming cultures, and so on, the easier it is for me to do a variety of things with games related to those parts of my work such as doing and understanding games research, teaching about/with games, collaborating with designers and others on projects, and so on. This is also a great justification for having some extra fun: "I'm not playing; I'm working!"

Re: not-work -- I put in super long work hours (during the semester at least) and often feel exhausted; I need to turn my brain off and recharge. But as many people on here have said, TV doesn't do it for me. I feel no accomplishment after watching a couple hours of TV and somehow usually feel even worse. But a couple hours of gaming, getting into a zen-like state, as someone mentioned, and feeling like I can shut off my work-brain and get transported into a virtual world, does wonders. I try to rotate the not-work activity also with reading (if my eyes can still focus after the workday) and exercise (if I can still move after the workday). I will read while walking on a treadmill and just moved my PS4 into the exercise room to see if I can walk and play games at the same time. This reason is related to the escapism reason (which does apply to me on occasion), but the not-work reason isn't playing to avoid reality; it's more like recharging so that I can continue to engage with reality tomorrow.

I mainly play video games to fill up the void between birth and death.

I think one of the main reasons I fall into certain games outside of them being fun is the easy dopamine drip. It's dangerous and kind of addicting. Probably explains why WoW ate up so much of my teens and 20's.

Well, if I have to choose between games, books, movies, series, etc. games and book are my top go to.

Media that I can consume passively kinda wears me down and leaves me numb and tired. But books and games are more engaging, books because I imagine the scene play out in my mind, and games because it is easier to get immersed into the world and feel like you are going on an adventure.

And well, I like that games give you a challenge and/or freedom of choice :3

Well, if I have to choose between games, books, movies, series, etc. games and book are my top go to.

Media that I can consume passively kinda wears me down and leaves me numb and tired. But books and games are more engaging, books because I imagine the scene play out in my mind, and games because it is easier to get immersed into the world and feel like you are going on an adventure.

And well, I like that games give you a challenge and/or freedom of choice :3

+1

Books are the best.

It's catharsis.

That moment, usually, at the end of the game, a storyline, or a character arc when everything comes together perfectly and you are just sitting there and basking in the feeling of raw emotion. The moment when you feel like it was all worth it. That moment of satisfaction is what I pursue in almost every game that I play.

I mostly find that in narrative experiences because there's nothing like a good story, but there is something to be said about more gameplay-focused experiences. You could find plenty of satisfaction in, for example, overcoming challenges like finally beating that soulsborne type boss, or something simpler like finishing a more intense mission in Deep Rock Galactic. Although when it comes to more gameplay-focused experiences I personally lean much more toward the pure fun side of things.

Nothing, however, compares to the conclusion of a well-executed narrative payoff.

For me gaming is something different. It started as an addiction and escape from reality. Then I became a "gaming" historian during college looking at all the history of gaming. Now a adays i combined my love of colllecting with gaming and gaming is my main hobby that I collect for!

I've been thinking on this for a minute now- if I were to summarize why I play video games in three reasons, it would to (1) find the joy and thrill that I experienced as a child. This is the "pure fun" that you're referring to, that we likely all experienced the first time we played a video game as a kid. I'd also say that (2) the satisfaction of feeling good at something, or maybe just winning, is also a thrill, but a fleeting, short-term feeling.

Do I generally want to "escape" as well? I try not to frame it like this, that video games or media is an escape from the real-world, because it often tends to be this roundabout way of saying "I don't want to see POC/LGBTQ people/women and the struggles they experience that I may corroborate in my media." However, this anti-escapism is actually why I want to play video games and what keeps me going.

I think art in creating and experiencing it is a part of human experience, and always has been. In the same way that one reads books and watches movies and listens to music to learn about themselves, people, the world, I think video games could easily fit into one of these mediums that illuminates something for us.

Are all video games art, though? I think to a degree, yes, all video games undergo some sort of artistic thought process that's then tampered with because of general workflow problems, hardware/software restrictions, or business decisions that arise from living in a capitalist world. But there's certain stories and feelings that can only come from the video game medium. Its interactivity and immersion that so many of us seek give video games the power to elicit empathy on a level that no other contemporary medium can. So why do I play video games? Perhaps to find greater meaning, not only in myself but in life!