looking for help

[adrienmundi]

This is aimed at those of you out there who play games. In recent years, I seem to have lost my connection to what games used to give me, for a variety of reasons, and now I'm not sure I can see it any more. I think I miss it. So, if you don't mind, why do you play games? What do you get out of it? What does it do for you? I don't anticipate right or wrong answers, I just want to mine the insights of others for my own ends, to try to get some of that back.

Comments

[deciding.livejournal.com]

a-fucking-men.

[grendel317.livejournal.com]

A wide variety of reasons, but I think most of them come down to social interaction and an opportunity to exercise my mind in some fashion (either creatively or more analytically). On the analytical side, I particularly enjoy playing with complex systems, picking them apart and trying to understand them. It's part of why I love my job so much. The theatrical elements of LARPs and table-top RPGs are a lot of fun for me, too - if I weren't a programmer (and liked Ramen better), I might have been an actor. Socially, many of my friends are gamers, so it's a reason to get together and hang out with them.

[arjache.livejournal.com]

I'd say I mainly like tabletop RPGs because of the potential to be silly. It's not a good game unless you've spent 5 minutes laughing and gasping for air. I've also noticed that I tend to put a lot of my unspoken self into my characters -- creating them as literal expressions as my own personal metaphors -- but on some level that seems almost more like a lack of creativity than a desire to explore myself through gaming.

I suspect you mainly meant RPGs, but in a wider sense of games: Lately I've been getting into DDR; it's fun and, like any form of exercise, helps me clear my mind and relax. It's also the ultimate social lubricant; rather than having to come up with ideas for hanging out, I can just suggest playing the free DDR at my workplace instead.

[casketgirl.livejournal.com]

board games - tried them out as a way to meet people. Was fairly successful. I enjoy them, but mostly focus on board game events where people I know and like will be in attendance. while I enjoy playing board games, I enjoy playing them with friends (and people I like) more than playing them with strangers.

role playing games - I have two regular games I play in, both of which I enjoy. One weekly and one bi-monthly. I also still do the rpga -- I got into that to meet people (which is how I found both my regular games). I still play rpga occasionally, usually at cons and/or with people I already know and like. As with the previous, playing with people I like is far better than strangers. I use rpgs as social outlets and ways to build connections with my friends. Initially, I used them to meet friends, now I use them to focus the friendship.

larps - almost never anymore. i tried a few, but was never really able to recapture the roleplaying experiences from my youth. Most of the organized games out here are vampire (which I won't play) or boffer-based (which I don't like). I'd love a good non-vampire theatre-style larp. it's one of the few games I would play purely for the fun of it, even with strangers.