JCC Has gaming influenced how are you socially?

I'm doing some studying and just curious to see if Gaming has had an influence on you as a person socially.

For me, I did let it control some of my school years, made me a bit more rebellious towards my teachers etc.. I sorted a balance out eventually but I was wondering what you guys experienced or felt?

 

Video games have been both a blessing and a curse when it comes to my social life. On the one hand, because of some of my mental health difficulties, I am more prone to addictive behaviours than others. So video games have been something that eats the vast majority of my time that could be done doing other things, even when I make great efforts to distance myself from them. My compulsive behavioural patterns end up dragging my back into their orbit.

Yet on the other hand, I was pulled out of school when I was 12 because of the level of bullying I endured (We're not just talking name calling here. I mean being pushed down flights of stairs, being attacked with a set of scissors, that sort of thing.), while the school and the police would do nothing about it. Growing without any of my peers around, online gaming was one of the few social outlets that I had during my teenage years.

 

It certainly did. I'm an introvert, and gaming is very much my escape valve; but I've also gotten involved with a lot more people than I used to through one MMORPG in particular, Dark Ages of Camelot - I was a large guild and alliance leader on that one, and its open world nature, in particular in Realm v. Realm format, got me to lead raids with upwards of a hundred participants on ~50-60 occasions, and more than 200 about a dozen times. Teaches quite a bit about logistics, scheduling, chain of command, tactics and managing attrition... ^^

 

So there was no online gaming when I was growing up. Which meant when I played Perfect Dark for endless hours with my best friend, she and I actually had to meet up to do that It was just one of the things we did together, and it was great fun.

As for now, it's been a huge blessing actually. Because my brother is one of my best friends and now we live 1800 miles apart. So we play Destiny and ESO online and get to talk about life while we are.

Personally I'm an introvert, and even if video games didn't exist I wouldn't want to be going out and partying or seeing lots of people in-person. So now the existence of online gaming is nothing but a blessing to me.

 

Shush, you'll remind me I'm turning 40 next year

 

Yes it has. I no longer have to go out in public and kill people. I fire up my game console and wage war on the innocent there.
Bonus: I save a lot of money on dry cleaning.

 

Yeah I've seen a couple parents now saying thank God for Fortnite. They used to think it was terrible and useless, but now that the kids are all trapped at home, it's fantastic that they have a way to keep socializing with friends.

 

I remember playing a ton of Diablo over LAN and battlenet with my dad growing up, lots of fun. We still play Diablo Three together online.

 

I was a teenager in the 90s and we didn’t have online gaming then. I think that’s why I’ve never been really drawn to big online games. I remember my friends and I would trade games and go to each other’s houses when one of us got a new game. If it was something like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter II, we could spend whole days playing.

I gamed through my 20s and into my 30s now. I can’t play as much these days because of other commitments, but every now and then (maybe once every year or two) my friends and I will have a LAN party at someone’s house and spend the afternoon playing video games. My friend’s wife suggested that LAN stands for Losers and Nerds.

My gaming preference is big narrative-driven open-world games like Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2. I just like to switch off and lose myself in the game world without having to worry about other players.

 

Yeah I definitely prefer narrative-driven games. Right now I'm playing the Banner Saga trilogy, which is all very narrative-driven. And it's a fascinating narrative as well. Love games like this.

 

I recently downloaded Division 2 on the advice of a friend from work. I’ve been playing a bit and teaming up with other players. I can see the appeal, but things do start to get a little repetitive.

I don’t know why, but I have always struggled to really get into these online games. I am much happier riding around Skyrim on my horse. I’ll look into Banner Saga as I’ve suddenly got a bit of extra time for gaming.

 

I've never gotten into multiplayer and I've never let gaming come before socializing, so not really, no. I haven't spent much time discussing games, either.

 

The Banner Saga is a trilogy of games, where one game carries over directly into the next. So it's really more like one long game. Not that long, though. About 30 hours for all three games, and your saves carry over.

The way I would describe it is "Oregon Trail meets Fire Emblem". You're leading a caravan of your clan through a Norse setting, and encountering turn-based SRPG battles along the way. But you also have to make decisions all the time that affect the outcome of not just the story, but some turn into life or death decisions for your characters. Plus you have to manage your resources to an extent. It's great!

 

@solojones That sounds right up my street. Thanks for the info. I like the idea of saves carrying over a trilogy of games. Reminds me of the Mass Effect experience.

 

I used to game a fair bit but reached a strange point where it started to feel a bit hollow. I rarely felt a great rush or sense of accomplishment like I do when I'm playing music or climbing or biking with a mate. I don't know why. Maybe it's to do with getting older. I'm not sure.

 

Sort of. Sometimes instead of doing school work I'd play PlayStation for a few hours. But in the long run, not really. It's given me a lot to talk about with friends, especially when I play with them. It's also given me a lot of great memories from my childhood years to this very day.

 

Well back in the day when I didnt have internet and TV or friends I just played my Medal of Honor, Lord of the Rings games, and Battlefront 2 over and over. Tried FFVII but was stuck on the roller coaster area so never completed it.

But socially it was something I did because I was a lonely kid. Very quiet and off I was in life

 

Thanks for the responses

 

You’ll always have us as friends no matter how different our opinions on life might be.

 

Online gaming has made some people more antisocial simply because you are no longer required to meet face-to-face as you were back in the days when gaming didn't have online capability (especially console and handheld). Trading Pokémon used to involve two GameBoys and a connecting cable so you had to be in the same room, now you do it through WiFi with anyone around the world.

At the same time, internet has long-distance communication easier. I can play with friends now who live far away, which increases social interaction.
And I know a few people with long-distance relationships that benefit immensely from being able to play games online with each other.

 

I think basically what you're saying is it's worse for kids than it used to be (when you'd have to be in the same room to play together)... but it's better for adults, who tend to wind up living apart from their friends.