novaknight said:
Yes they do. Videogames teach dedication, and when played at a competitive level, require great mental abilities. It's kinda like a high speed game of chess. It also taught me a wide array of positive values to have.
How about playing an instrument? If you think about it with an instrument you're basically sitting in a chair pressing a bunch of buttons, to produce a desired result. *Gasp* Oh my god...JUST LIKE VIDEOGAMES! People dedicate countless hours to getting better at instruments. I've seen it myself. Yet, nobody looks down on musicians, while people talk trash about gaming all the time.
With instruments, you dedicate insane amounts of time to produce notes. In videogames, you dedicate insane amounts of time to produce wins.
Only difference is that one of those activities, society approves of. Well, **** Society.
But you do have a point. Musicians and Gamers both have something in common. Most musicians and gamers fail to balance their lives with physical activity. That's why a lot of gamers are scrawny nerds, and a lotta musicians look like whales that suffer from obesity. Hence why I began lifting again.
I feel that a reason why people look down on gamers so much is because the gamer stereotype really does have a lotta truth in it. Games themselves aren't bad. It's a lotta the gamers that cause all the negativity. And as a gamer, it's my job to break that stereotype.
Dude, video games have no return. They give you absolutely nothing to pay the hours they take up. Playing is dedication, it's a waste of life. That's why people look down on it.
Yeah, the difference is music crosses over into other skills. Also, music is worth money. Respect. Fame. You know Jaedong? Yeah, me too. Who else do you reckon knows him? Like what, 40 people? How about Lady GaGa? Rebecca Black? Anthony Kiedis?
Music and games aren't the same things. Games are more like porn. You can spend an hour or so here and there, or you can be "dedicated". You get no return, no matter the level you mentally/physically masturbate at.
Games just eat away at people. Don't get me wrong, I play Oblivion every now and again. But the difference is I don't think my lvl 50 Sex Lord deserves respect, I think my real life accomplishes like my scholarship or being the life of parties do. I boast about my Oblivion saves about as much as I boast about my porn. Which is to say rarely.
Even at a non-competitive level, music is social. The most social interaction gaming requires is buying the disc at a store. Fcuk, most you guys skip even that. What, you think those conventions are social? Nope, there is an inverse relationship of amount time spent playing to amount of social skills. Those guys are 'dedicated' to mindlessly staring at a computer screen.
To be honest, I see drug addiction as having more potential. Even though the immediate risks are greater, you have to overcome fears, you learn 'dedication', you learn humility, you see things from a new perspective -vs the 'mental skills MMORPG's require, you learn a special set of social skills. I can't think of anything to compare from videogames. Seriously, what is there value? I've seen addiction enough to know it when I see it, you're a video game addict so you can't say the obvious answer: None.
Ultimately my choice is my choice and your choice is your choice.
