Admittedly, I am not a games enthusiast, whether video or board, but I have played both at times. In particular, I played a lot of – OK, this is totally gonna reveal that I’m an old ;P – THPS, and I’m 100℅ sure I played both RPG-type computer games as well as like Mario Bros stuff. However, I just have never really grasped what makes video games so enticing.

I suspect this is an annoying and well-trodden path, but I would sincerely appreciate it if you could find it in your heart to help me understand.

For me personally, I tend to look at things in terms of costs and benefits. Through that lens, most games seem like a bad deal. In principle, I like some of the more quirky or esoteric ones, but it quickly seems like a lot to learn relative the payout.

When I was in HS, I had a band. Has that type of interaction simply been replaced by video games?

I swear I’m not trying to troll – I really want to understand the interplay between video games and psychology. Cuz it seems like FPSes are dominant whereas not too long ago they were a single niche among many niches.

I appreciate your taking the time to read/reply.

  • Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org
    3·
    22 days ago

    It depends on the game, but i like long RPG’s. Sometimes, it can start to wear out its welcome. But for the games where it works well it’s cool. You get to experience this big world, usually going from a weakling to a strong character by the end. The stories can be really interesting (or bland too).

    I recently decided that I am going to take on a game that could potentially take me hundreds of hours to finish and it’s daunting, but if at some point if I start to hate it, I’ll put it down and Google the results of the story and feel content.

    • jtzl@lemmy.zipOP
      2·
      14 hours ago

      Thank you for responding. That–RPGs-- makes sense to me. I can conceptualize a game where you’re basically able to cram more into your actual life. I feel – nay, I’ve witnessed – a lot of businesses engage in practices that explicitly disempower their customers, and I see that practice a lot in videogames nowadays. That irks me. It’s ultimately treating customers like ATMs, and I am not on board!