video games can do both. You just have to find the right game. Video games end. I'm not sure what you mean. Video games end, and sometimes quicker than a board game. And what's this about "what have you go? Bitcoin..." Board games give you nothing either. Both are just a form of entertainment. Again, maybe for certain games. There have been plenty of games that I've walked away from after beating that have given me motivation and made me active and goal driven. And games in general have given me a purpose in life to continue on. It's furthered my education, and has allowed me to pass my peers in terms of success. Are you implying that I shouldn't care about all of you guys on hubski since I'll never meet you? I've made plenty of great friendships from games. Some which are stronger than the ones I have in real life. It really sounds like you are hating on video games without even knowing what they are. In the most simple terms, they are no different than board games. In fact, most board games have been converted into video games. Chess, checkers, go, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Clue, etc. Simply put, if it weren't for video games, I wouldn't be where I am now. And I might not even be alive. I certainly wouldn't be getting a college degree in computer science. And to be honest, I probably wouldn't even be here on Hubski either. You aren't giving video games enough credit. Yea, they are sometimes a huge time waster. But just like any other media, they can be life changing as well as entertaining.Maybe playing that video game someday will make you feel so smart and so capable and be as satisfying as... as...
It's not.
The best thing about the board game is that it has a beginning and an end. Video games constantly level up. They only "end" after a huge commitment, and at the end, what have you got? Bitcoin to feed your family? Not even?
Self-respect or self-loathing? Maybe self-respect as in -- I'm so smart. I can win this video game! Maybe self-loathing as in - I did that? Well, it was kind of fun, but . . .
Self-respect, because you communicated some little bit of your soul. Video game? What little bit of your soul have you shared levelling up in a video game or playing with people you'll never meet?
Self-esteem or self-loathing?
Edit: Several days later. Hey Kafke I'd been thinking about your reply to my post which was simply aimed at reassuring thenewgreen that he wasn't missing out. Badged, because I like when people disagree with me thoughtfully. Original Comment:
Nicely put. Of course you are right too. I have no argument with you.
A large % of my CS students came to programming via gaming. No question about that. I'm interested in how YOU went from video games to studying CS. Some students say, "Hey, if I can play this, I can make this." - something like that? Anything can be addictive -- even AA meetings can be an addiction, and yes, even hubski. The worlds created in some video games are pretty amazing. Will kids ever play in a forest again? Do they still have forests?
I personally grew up in the middle of the desert (I posted this in the "where do you live thread"). So there wasn't really any forests or anything to go play in. And my parents/grandparents were already into technology and games (grandparents ran a movie&game store, mom was into computers). That's where my gaming habits started. I basically got all the left over stuff from my grandparents. This was back way before I could remember anything (like 2-3 years old). So I basically grew up along side video games. So my child logic went something like: These games are awesome. They had to get here somehow. I wonder how they work... Then a lifelong study of video games and computers. Note, this was when I was like 5-7. So I really had no idea what I was getting into. I basically loved everything about figuring out how games worked, and actually managed to reverse-engineer a password system (rudimentary) in one of the games. I learned my way around the internet and computers sometime around there. By middle school I was learning about the innards of computers and how to program. That's what several of my science projects were about. From there, I just kind of honed in on programming. Fast forward to high school, and I see there's game design and game programming classes. One's supposed to be advanced, but since my family was already well known by the school for a while, I was able to join both. I started taking CS classes in my community college the next year. From there I graduated highschool early and transferred to my current Uni, where I'm majoring in CS (actually Info&Comp Sci, but it's really the same thing). And I'm in the Game Development club at the school. So it's all been a really natural progression for me. I've never really had to think about what I wanted to do. And it's not like it was a last minute decision either. It's really just provided me with something to research and learn about. So I did. I was lucky to have family members who were (at least somewhat) interested in computers and games. And they were all very supportive. But yea, there's been times where I've been completely hooked on games for the worse (my horrible Ragnarok Online addiction that lasted 7 years or so). And my Mom totally yells at me for that. But we both know that it has lead into great things. So really, what lead me into CS (and game development) was: a lack of a stimulating environment, a family focus on tech, grandparents running a game store, and a curiosity about my interests.