Reasons People Play Games and MMORPGs

cantankerousmage

Fun

Socializing

Challenge

Escape - Bored with their everyday lives, stressed, etc.

Travel to Imaginary Worlds or Visit Places they aren't willing or able to visit in real life

Experience Life as Someone Else

to Feel Powerful - a lot of people these days might feel powerless in their real lives

Just to Pass Time

Read Stories While Playing

Reasonably Cheap Entertainment

Addicted

Feeling of Being Rewarded for Effort

Keeps You Busy (and possibly out of trouble)

Replacement for Another Hobby


As for World of Warcraft and its many clones and imitators with different bells and whistles:  Believe it or not, some people seem to enjoy endlessly spinning on a hamster wheel grind ladder.  Pretty much just gaining power for the sake of power or to kill other player-characters sometimes.  Whoever invented endgame raiding was a sadist.


IT'S BETTER THAN WATCHING TV.  Most of the time.  Usually.

Scorchien

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

My God , who would of ever thought that , this is so profound , thx you for enlightening us ..I mean its brilliant ..

  I never looked at the world this way ..
 
  When i drive to the store.. Im passing time
  
  When i go to the grocery store ... im passing time..

  When i cook my dinner .. im passing time

  When i shit ... im passing time ..

  When i watch Tv ..... Im passing Time

  When i play a game... im passing time

  This all never occured to me ..   Thx for ,This man , for clearing this up ....

  Dam this time thing blows my mind .. Its always passing ...

    I mean people would never play games to have fun while time is passing .. that would be silly .. They do it to actually pass the time .. Not that time wouldnt pass any way .. This is all so refreshing ..

cantankerousmage

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

I know what you mean.  I have played games for that reason in the past.  Kind of sucks when you put it that way though.  Still, I will add it to the list.

ConstantineMerus

I play MMORPGs because I like to experience different (virtual) worlds in differrent roles. 

I play video games for the story and the challenge. 

I do nothing in my life just to pass the time. Time is a finite resource and I just don't fuck it. If I just wanted to pass the time, it didn't matter what I did. I could play any game or do crack. Maybe my life as a whole in the universe doesn't have a meaning. But for me, and others are in contact with me, my actions have meaning. 

To prove this , sometimes people ask me "what do you mean by doing this?" then I explain, then they go "oh, wow!!"

cantankerousmage

Scorchien said:

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

My God , who would of ever thought that , this is so profound , thx you for enlightening us ..I mean its brilliant ..

  I never looked at the world this way ..
 
  When i drive to the store.. Im passing time
  
  When i go to the grocery store ... im passing time..

  When i cook my dinner .. im passing time

  When i shit ... im passing time ..

  When i watch Tv ..... Im passing Time

  When i play a game... im passing time

  This all never occured to me ..   Thx for ,This man , for clearing this up ....

  Dam this time thing blows my mind .. Its always passing ...

    I mean people would never play games to have fun while time is passing .. that would be silly .. They do it to actually pass the time .. Not that time wouldnt pass any way .. This is all so refreshing ..

I'm glad you don't have anything better to do than to mock me.  Thank you for passing your time in this thread. 

cantankerousmage

ConstantineMerus said:

I play MMORPGs because I like to experience different (virtual) worlds in differrent roles. 

I play video games for the story and the challenge. 

I do nothing in my life just to pass the time. Time is a finite resource and I just don't fuck it. If I just wanted to pass the time, it didn't matter what I did. I could play any game or do crack. Maybe my life as a whole in the universe doesn't have a meaning. But for me, and others are in contact with me, my actions have meaning. 

To prove this , sometimes people ask me "what do you mean by doing this?" then I explain, then they go "oh, wow!!"

That's true.  Most of us probably want to do something we enjoy while we're passing time.

Eldurian

Because 15$ a month for unlimited entertainment is one of the cheapest hobbies in existence. 

DeadSpock

Personally I'm an addict. 
My first mmorpg was FF11 and ever since played every mmorpg there is. Only issue I have now is time cause before mmorpg I use to beat every game I played but since got introduced to mmorpg can only count a couple I beat. Have many games on PS4/Vita and Steam but still mmorpg hop most of the nights.

Raquis

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

there is a reason you are on earth you are not here just to pass time.
make a choice what you are going to live for.

cantankerousmage

Raquis said:

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

there is a reason you are on earth you are not here just to pass time.
make a choice what you are going to live for.

I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.  And I am still adding things to the list that I didn't think of when I started this thread. 

cantankerousmage

Eldurian said:

Because 15$ a month for unlimited entertainment is one of the cheapest hobbies in existence. 

True enough.  And I would much rather play a subscription game without a cash shop than any other kind of mmorpg.  I hate free-to-play.  I hate cash shops.  If a game can't survive on subscriptions alone, maybe that just means that game isn't very good and cannot attract enough customers.

GeekGearZone

And people play video games because video games give an endless amount of constant dopamine. But MMORPG'S are different, because you have to work for things, and it doesn't really mess up your reward circuitry. But still uses up a lot of time.

cantankerousmage

GeekGearZone said:

And people play video games because video games give an endless amount of constant dopamine. But MMORPG'S are different, because you have to work for things, and it doesn't really mess up your reward circuitry. But still uses up a lot of time.

Yes.  I will add Feeling of Being Rewarded for Effort and Keeps You Busy.

Tsiya

I ran out of room for more books? MMO's pretty much replaced my reading addiction.

cantankerousmage

Tsiya said:

I ran out of room for more books? MMO's pretty much replaced my reading addiction.

Yes, really good novels that I enjoy aren't all that common.  I can always read more about history and current events though.  Or any given subject.  Hard to know everything there is to know about this world.

13thBen

Playing to leave the real world behind

cameltosis

Raquis said:

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

there is a reason you are on earth you are not here just to pass time.
make a choice what you are going to live for.

This is a bit spiritual, but I believe there is no reason we are here, it's merely an accident of nature. So, you have to give yourself a reason to live and "just passing time" is as equally valid a reason as anything else. I personally haven't found my raison d'etre yet and so choose to spend my spare time attempting to have fun and be happy. 

Octagon7711

cameltosis said:

Raquis said:

DMKano said:

It's a way to pass time, that's what everything boils down to.

We can give whatever meaning to our actions - but in the end, we're just passing time.

there is a reason you are on earth you are not here just to pass time.
make a choice what you are going to live for.

This is a bit spiritual, but I believe there is no reason we are here, it's merely an accident of nature. So, you have to give yourself a reason to live and "just passing time" is as equally valid a reason as anything else. I personally haven't found my raison d'etre yet and so choose to spend my spare time attempting to have fun and be happy. 

I really think life is too elaborate to be an accident.  Like space is too big for us to be the only ones here.  

I play games mostly to have fun and to explore the world someone created.  I seldom play just because I have a few free hours open.  Passing time is more of a side effect of gaming then a focus.

redneckgamer

I mostly just use it as a stress release, I enjoy socializing sometimes, especially with the friends i have made in my guilds.  but sometimes i just log in to kinda zone out and forget about the stress of the day for a little while. 

Octagon7711

redneckgamer said:

I mostly just use it as a stress release, I enjoy socializing sometimes, especially with the friends i have made in my guilds.  but sometimes i just log in to kinda zone out and forget about the stress of the day for a little while. 

There is nothing like meeting a group of players and having an awesome adventure together.

rodingo

For me I think it's a habit/way of life that has been a part of me since the late 70's.  Kind of too late to change or do anything about it now.

cantankerousmage

As for myself, I mostly play games to have fun.

However, there are certain requirements a game must meet in order for it to be truly fun for me.

#1, and most importantly, it must be challenging.

There are two essential factors I am looking for at this time in this regard.

1. Realism = Challenging
     a. Logic = Realism

2. Fair and Balanced Competition = Challenging

Now, more specifically, I play MMORPGs (and have played pencil-and-paper rpgs in the past) because I want to experience what it's like to live in a fantasy world.  Such as Middle Earth, or the world of a Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones).  Or what it was like to live in Medieval Europe.  Or Feudal Japan. 

Of course, I know there are limits.  But I would like to experience a fantasy world or a historical setting that is as realistic as it is humanly possible to code.

I already experienced what it's like to play an unrealistic adventure game when I played The Legend of Zelda on my 8-bit Nintendo system at the age of nine back in 1986.  And I already experienced what it's like to play a unrealistic, so-called role-playing game when I played Final Fantasy II on Super Nintendo at the age of fourteen back in 1991.

Tiller

World of Warcraft clones lol

I get it, because WoW was the first MMO. xD

cantankerousmage

Tiller said:

World of Warcraft clones lol

I get it, because WoW was the first MMO. xD

No, World of Warcrap is just Everkill Reloaded.

SEANMCAD

actually the only reason I am even on MMORPG is to talk gaming, when it comes to MMORPGs specifically the only reason I ever played them was depth of content. Now there are so many single player options with deeper game play i never play MMORPGs

cantankerousmage

When I quit my last MMORPG, I was having more fun trolling zone chat than actually playing the game.

I would like an MMORPG made for adults who know how to tie their shoelaces.  And for those of who know that 2 + 2 = 4.