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The reasons we game.

I play a game because of the

  • atmosphere or vibe of a game.

    Votes: 115 73.7%

  • graphical fidelity of a game.

    Votes: 44 28.2%

  • aesthetics or presentation of a game.

    Votes: 66 42.3%

  • sense of belonging it provides.

    Votes: 20 12.8%

  • social aspects of a game.

    Votes: 9 5.8%

  • culture surrounding a game.

    Votes: 11 7.1%

  • friend group I belong to plays a game.

    Votes: 18 11.5%

  • addiction I have for a game.

    Votes: 28 17.9%

  • escapism or diversion it provides.

    Votes: 120 76.9%

  • soundtrack of a game.

    Votes: 50 32.1%

  • job I have.

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • interesting game mechanics it provides.

    Votes: 85 54.5%

  • competitive nature of a game.

    Votes: 17 10.9%

  • developer or publisher associated to a game.

    Votes: 30 19.2%

  • price I bought a game.

    Votes: 11 7.1%

  • way it helps me connect with a member of my family.

    Votes: 15 9.6%

  • design philosophy behind the game.

    Votes: 52 33.3%

  • novelty it provides.

    Votes: 47 30.1%

  • social status it provides.

    Votes: 2 1.3%

  • Metacritic or Open Critic score it received.

    Votes: 6 3.8%

  • Steam reviews it received.

    Votes: 11 7.1%

  • feelings it provides.

    Votes: 75 48.1%

  • story.

    Votes: 73 46.8%

  • subscription to a service provided a game.

    Votes: 3 1.9%

  • real life prizes associated to a game.

    Votes: 1 0.6%
  • Total voters
    156
PeteBull said:
Kinda agree but there are still recently made movies that are pretty good, to not look far 2 very new ones i just watched(both 8/10 in their respective genre, aka maybe not timeless classics but at least u wont think u wasted ur time on them :P )

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Yea I mean it's not like there aren't a few but overall when you look at the scope of 70s, 80s and 90s movies it's just wow the drop in quality is so bad to me. But I'll check those out for sure
 
Escapism is the number one... the world can be rough at times for most people unless you are rich enough in both money and family to support a healthy life balance.

When times get hard games are the best escape for me and probably most people here. We all have those games which consume us for days on end.
 
Artistic said:
As of this very second, it's like I'm keeping up with the jones.

When I was younger, I loved diving DEEP into a narrative based gaming experience. I took the 100 hours or more to get every Aeon in FFX or defeat every boss at the Coliseum in Kingdom Hearts.

Nowadays, socially is a big aspect of the MP experience for me,which is how I spend probably 80% of my time gaming. The SP gaming experiences are few and far between.

I still care and appreciate gaming, just having a hard time trying to recapture the magic of it.
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Yeah felt good back then. Now the internet has made people go berserk for some reason. I wish we went back to the 90s and 2000s. None of this 'woke' comments ever was around.
 
Based on the current poll results NeoGAF likes to play a game that provides atmospheric escapism with interesting game mechanics.
 
ThatOneGrunt said:
Does the option "feelings it provides" also include gooning? Because I'm almost certain, based on the rage bait posts on this website, that that is only reason gaffers play games.
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HLMVItma8AAaHXf

Yes.
 
Atmosphere, Vibe and escapism first, then interesting game mechanic's and in some cases graphical fidelity, like Black Flag's remake has just done for me.
 
I'm not voting in the poll because there's too many options. But honestly, I think gaming is the best form of entertainment there is. Better than movies, better than TV shows or books. It takes many elements to create an experience that has all the best bits of media as a whole. Acting, music, visual fidelity and graphics, interactivity, problem solving, fun.

But I would also that that the world is an absolute fucking shit show right now. The lunatics are running the asylums and everything about life is shit. So you might as well do something good with your time.
 
Why I still game has a lot to do with the experiences I've had in the last 20 years. I've gamed for more than 30, but for whatever reason the last 20 were so much better than what I had as a child. As selfish as that sounds, my parents spent quite a bit on me. Without that heavy influence of fighting games in the arcade to various beat em up, I probably wouldn't have stayed as connected. I'd say it's been a lot better than before and I would say From Software had a huge impact on me.
I've taken the journey from the Firelink Shrine to Anor Londo, sat and listened to the majestic ambiance of Majula, felt taken away by discovering the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, discovered the cosmic secrets of the nightmare in Yharnam, and falling in love with the landscapes of Limgrave toward Leyndell.
Some days those memories feel like home. A place of comfort when life reminds you that it isn't forever. I would have also listed Capcom and Konami, but I probably said enough as is. Being a souls fan might come off like "I cried in Final Fantasy VII", but man I would be lying if I said their games didn't have a huge impact on me.
 
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If the real world sucks then what do you do? Escape to a digital world where everything always goes your way.
 
Northeastmonk said:
a souls fan might come off like "I cried in Final Fantasy VII", but man I would be lying if I said their games didn't have a huge impact on me.
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I agree with you strongly on the Fromsoftware glazing.

Miyazaki's team has had more of an impact on gaming as a whole than even hardcore fans realise. Their worlds and gameplay tightness is second to none, I would go as far as saying the best in the world at this point. Every single one of their games has a strong sense of place and atmosphere that is simply missing entirely from the vast majority of games.

I have the plats for all of them, close to 1000 hours in each game, with nearly 2000 in dark souls 1 alone on Steam. I knew from the very moment I played my imported Demons Souls PS3 copy for the first time that this company was going to change gaming forever. The depth and atmosphere of the game blew me away at the time. I was playing the nexus theme on my way to work daily, reading gaf at work to see who had made progress on the bosses, found new items, figured out world tendency mechanics.. it was a spiral of immersion and excitement that I had not felt since my childhood years before the internet was even a thing. The first time I got invaded by another player my mind was blown, mainly because of the unknown and shock that it was possible.

I felt they hit a crossroads with Elden Ring. The game was immense, fun, but the open world aspect was not to my taste and I hope their next games return to the roots of design.
 
Not gonna vote, but:

- games are fun

- games have countless interesting stories, and characters

- interactivity

- the challenge

- visuals, and sound / music / OST

- the feeling of being part of something, especially considering that there are millions of other gamers

- there is always something to talk about

- it's entertaining to even follow fan made things like emulators, CRT shaders, decompilations
 
I think I should've had some options relating to exploration, puzzle and strategy type of games.

Well, they kind of are included but especially something related to exploration could have been a good addition.

I used the maximum limit available for the poll answers.

"Fun" is included in the "feelings it provides" option.
 
It's an amazing fun medium that makes me get immersed in different worlds and a major plus cause I can shut off from the real world and just enjoy my time
 
Looking at the votes totals it makes sense why so many new games aren't being felt by most people
 
Fun is the default baseline to me, no fun = no reason to play.

With that out of the way I'd say gameplay mechanics is king followed by atmosphere/design and how immersed I get.
 
I play games so I can shit on them afterwards on NeoGAF just to trigger the odd fanboy on here

No seriously I like games I can play for a very long time that give me a sense of immersion through atmosphere and interesting systems of progression. That being said, it's been a very long time since a game did that for me.
 
John Bilbo said:
I've always thought having fun is a feeling. Maybe people differ.
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More than that, I think it's safe to assume that nobody's playing games without having "fun" to some degree. So what'd be the other options in a poll where one is "having fun"? I always assumed your intention behind the poll's design was to find out exactly what it is that we consider to be fun. Because "fun" doesn't tell you much at all.
 
HerjansEagleFeeder said:
More than that, I think it's safe to assume that nobody's playing games without having "fun" to some degree. So what'd be the other options in a poll where one is "having fun"? I always assumed your intention behind the poll's design was to find out exactly what it is that we consider to be fun. Because "fun" doesn't tell you much at all.
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I tried to make an all encompassing poll when I realized the reasons for engaging in a hobby or activity can vary wildly between people even though the activity stays the same.

I find that fascinating.

I tried my best but still failed. The failure is expected: the reasons for engaging are at the same time kind of limitless yet so personal.

Ceallach said:
This is the gayest thread that has ever been created
Click to expand...
And gay!
 
To do stuff impossible in real life even for a multimillionaire like me, there are movies that speaks the same language like 007.
 
When you climb your career ladder the hobby becomes a secret. Call it modernity but you can't deny certain industries look at it negatively.
 
Social aspects and friends voted in such low priority is baffling to me.

Games are fun on their own but shooting the shit with the boys is infinitely times better.

It's really sad that the majority seem to be missing on that. It also explains why the Sony cinematic snoozefests are so widely praised here.

Come on guys get your buddies together and arrange a gaming night once a week. You might even help a bro out going through some hard times.
 
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Hollywood Hitman said:
Yea I mean it's not like there aren't a few but overall when you look at the scope of 70s, 80s and 90s movies it's just wow the drop in quality is so bad to me. But I'll check those out for sure
Click to expand...
Agreed it's not even close. Movies lack star power and presence and often miss the mark. Where are the young Clint Eastwoods, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washingtons, Meg Ryans, Tom Cruises? A lot of poor directors too now. Had hopes for Abrams but he's turned into a pile of crap.

Music is especially atrocious. Where are the bands? What happened to playing instruments? The medium is largely garbage with the exception of some lesser known artists. Its all derivative crap with a lot of autotune. So many bands in the 70's-90's.

Games are slowly eroding into this space as well imo.

It's the enshitification of media.

My "old man shaking fist at clouds" rant is over.

Shake Harder The Simpsons GIF
 
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Edgelord79 said:
Agreed it's not even close. Movies lack star power and presence and often miss the mark. Where are the young Clint Eastwoods, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washingtons, Meg Ryans, Tom Cruises? A lot of poor directors too now. Had hopes for Abrams but he's turned into a pile of crap.

Music is especially atrocious. Where are the bands? What happened to playing instruments? The medium is largely garbage with the exception of some lesser known artists. Its all derivative crap with a lot of autotune. So many bands in the 70's-90's.

Games are slowly eroding into this space as well imo.

It's the enshitification of media.

My "old man shaking fist at clouds" rant is over.

Shake Harder The Simpsons GIF
Click to expand...
Dude I hear ya infact I was watching jurassic Park last night and that drove the point home even more.. Not only does the whole movie look better than most movies today but the story just had me, it's incredible how a movie that old still crushes most things today.
 
Hollywood Hitman said:
Dude I hear ya infact I was watching jurassic Park last night and that drove the point home even more.. Not only does the whole movie look better than most movies today but the story just had me, it's incredible how a movie that old still crushes most things today.
Click to expand...
Spielberg not only had a good story, but also understood that dinosaurs needed to have weight as an effect to feel real. Every step felt real. Not to mention it was a great blend of Neill, Dern, Goldblum and just a touch of annoying kids. Plus throw in an iconic score.

All thats missing in the new ones is Zendaya and Tom Holland to truly hit peak crap although we are close with Pratt.
 
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