The Extra-Solar Union of Systems Archive

I think what we all have to define here is the word "fun"....

That said, each persons gaming experience (i.e: how they relate too said game) will very from individual to individual.

I rarely, if ever, play a game to "maximum efficiency". I simply couldn't be bothered. I will relate (on a purely visual level) to a given game and go from there. Beyond that, its game mechanics.

Granted, it obviously comes down to subjectivity. The point is, that if one goes from playing a game with nothing at stake but one's own entertainment, to playing a game with real money, rankings, and status on the line when one goes to it, that you have crossed the boundary between pleasure to work in full. Yes, you can play on your free time for enjoyment, but the psychological association will still be there. When I put groceries in a bag it brings to mind, indelibly, the fairly short period when I was a grocery bagger. When you win, when it's on the line, perhaps the highs are higher, but it would seem to me that defeat can never be meaningless nor easy to shrug off, especially the higher you go in rankings or status. To me, that sounds awful. I would rather have a job that I can enjoy on its own merits (while of course satisfying its demands) and have a game I can enjoy on its own merits, rather than muddy them both by mixing, and I don't want defeat to grievously injure my livelihood and prestige. I play games to relieve stress; I could have sworn thats the main point.

Also granted that there are pleasant people as well as jocks in every activity people undertake, jocks being understood to be that kind who only find meaning in life if they're showboating (whether or not they actually have the ability to justify it). Yet the type seems to gravitate to sports, or anything where one's superiority can be quickly summarized on a win-loss and numeric scale, and thats the framework a competitive professional atmosphere indubitably brings. It's something I like to avoid, and I find it alarming when it seems that it's creeping into my own sphere. Yes, Starcraft pros are not literally blowing my door in with a shotgun and demanding a match, but still, where was this ten years ago? Where will it be in the next ten? Do I even want to know? You can see its beginnings in WoW already with the huge PVP tournament servers going online. What happens if one day Blizzard finds it's more profitable to do that over running everything else? Even if they don't shut down the rest of the game, if it succeeds and garners attention, then everyone knows where development for everything new is going to lean.

Arizona Nova wrote:Granted, it obviously comes down to subjectivity. The point is, that if one goes from playing a game with nothing at stake but one's own entertainment, to playing a game with real money, rankings, and status on the line when one goes to it, that you have crossed the boundary between pleasure to work in full. Yes, you can play on your free time for enjoyment, but the psychological association will still be there. When I put grocieries in a bag it brings to mind, indelibly, the fairly short period when I was a grocery bagger. When you win, when it's on the line, perhaps the highs are higher, but it would seem to me that defeat can never be meaningless nor easy to shrug off, especially the higher you go in rankings or status. To me, that sounds awful. I would rather have a job that I can enjoy on its own merits (while of course satisfying its demands) and have a game I can enjoy on its own merits, rather than muddy them both by mixing, and I don't want defeat to grievously injure my livelihood and prestige. I play games to relieve stress; I could have sworn thats the main point.

Also granted that there are pleasant people as well as jocks in every activity people undertake, jocks being understood to be that kind who only find meaning in life if they're showboating (whether or not they actually have the ability to justify it). Yet the type seems to gravitate to sports, or anything where one's superiority can be quickly summarized on a win-loss and numeric scale, and thats the framework a competitive professional atmosphere indelibly brings. It's something I like to avoid, and I find it alarming when it seems that it's creeping into my own sphere. Yes, Starcraft pros are not literally blowing my door in with a shotgun and demanding a match, but still, where was this ten years ago? Where will it be in the next ten? Do I even want to know? You can see its beginnings in WoW already with the huge PVP tournament servers going online. What happens if one day Blizzard finds it;s more profitable to do that over running everything else? Even if they don't shut down the rest of the game, if it succeeds and garners attention, then everyone knows where development for everything new is going to lean.

Duane, I used to be like you, and play games on easy settings for sheer enjoyment.

Then I discovered that when one amps up the difficulty, and wins anyway, the enjoyment is exponentially improved.

I mean, you could play Halo on easy and be all like, "the Power, the POWER!" But when you get right down to it how much more satusfied will you be when you crush it on Legendary?

See, you're playing it on easy. I didn't say to do that either. When I play on BG, it's on normal or Core D&D if I'm feeling adventurous. I play King on Civ. You played it on easy, I take it, to get the feeling of absolute power that you get from effortlessly sweeping aside enemies, which is nice but it's not what I go for either. I like having some challenge to it but not to the point that things have to get stripped down to formulae and cheese tactics. It all comes down to moderation.