1) 21
2) 3-6 (damn job - but back to uni-life soon, so these stats may go back up
)
3) Entirely mood dependent, for (a personal) example: "UT" for an all-out frag-a-thon, "Deus Ex" for compelling storylines and 'free-choice' of playable possibilities (stealth vs bloodbath) and then other games that just have that "undefinable something" that is addictive - JK being a shining example, as well as Zelda:OOT. It's easier to state which games I don't like - mostly all iso-metric based games, as I just don't like that particular p-o-v (so I guess that eliminates most games in the "strategy" genre)...
4) From a game-playing perspective, the diversity of video games available allows me to pick a game directly related to the mood I'm in/want to create
. As far as actual productivity is concerned, they've sped up my reflexes (I
hate headcrabs/mine-monsters/dogs - scary fast little gets... - they get the old adrenaline pumping!) but that's about all - the nature of games themselves is to be enjoyable and emmersive and as such, real-life "time" is *thinks...* "misspent"
. By the end of the game/gaming session, you haven't actually accomplished anything in real-time, other than some personal satisfaction(/frustration) after having beaten(/died at) the final boss/challenge. However - I do feel better in terms of being "pumped up" after a good gaming session - as your brain is still active for up to 20minutes after, this
can* help you focus your mind on specific tasks/help concentration...
From an editing perspective (thinking primarily from a JK p-o-v, but this
could be applied across the board, to all genres of "gaming"), video games are a good means of exploring innovative thinking, whether it be from a coding/scripting perspective, with special in-game effects, or alternatively, creating a world that can be similar to our everyday reality or a completely new environment that totally defies any of our "normal, everyday" concepts - in short you can create a world as similar to or different from our world - the only limits are imagination, creativity and effort.
5) The age-old question - detrimental or not, that is the question...
. I think games are entirely for "escapism" - something that alleviates boredom as well as allowing yourself to escape from whatever pressures arise from everyday life. The key issue to remember is the distinction between game genres, because each genre encourages the gamer to "perceive" things differently; for example, "Tetris" isn't going to provoke a fight or "end the world". However, someone I know once used an on-line role-play game as a "pschology base" for his own private study of individuals, in some cases inciting rival, competing gamers (it was a "stat-based" game, I seem to recall...) to actually manifest their anger - some games ending in a somewhat "physcial" manner (hey - it does happen
... )
I guess if you're after culture as a whole, whilst I don't have a problem with the "point" of computer games (hey - I know they waste my time [as well as my money], but it's the same concept as cinema - if people wish to pay for "escapism", then "why not!"
), I guess some individuals, more than others, need to distinguish between "game-play mode" and "real life (TM)".
Sure the whole "social" issue arises too, but then that's down to each individual (gamer) to make the most of
their life - if they don't want to socialise then that's their decision - they shouldn't be mocked for
their particular choice of life-style. Despite this, we have all (and don't try and deny it) mocked the geeks of this world at some point. Even GBK
Well just my tuppence worth of British pennies - hope this gives you something to write about
-Jackpot
* No promises are made as to the complete accuracy of this statement - results are bound to differ from individual to individual... [/end of "covering my a$$" statement]
PS:
The author would like to stipulate that his "life" ended after relinquishing his soul to Massassi. Therefore, any afore-mentioned "notions" of "life" *could* be seen as being void...
------------------
"lucky_jackpot is the smily god..." - gothicX
"Life is mostly froth and bubble,
But two things stand in stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own"
("Ye Wearie Wayfarer" - by Adam Lindsay Gordon)