I know the pop psychology version is that games are built like a 'skinner box' to give conditioned rewards but that can't be all as building a physical box like that wouldn't be anywhere near as fun as exploring some open world game or such you can get immersed in as the hours just drain away.

I find it funny how you could be sat in your house with no computer in a room and bored to tears yet with a computer you could happily stare at the screen from dawn until dusk playing a really good game. I know I did that when I really got in to MMOs in the early millenium. Can't say I clock in such sessions these days, with 2 or 3 hour stints probably being the max.

That is mostly because I am not able to play the more modern games I would if my machine had the capability. I imagine I could put in some good sessions for some games that had otherwise been locked out to me given the chance.

I find it weird thinking about it though that you are still just looking at a screen alone in a room which seem kind of sad and yet you will really be enjoying that during the activity.

i play with IRL friends. its a process of helping my pals to achieve some goal in game and it makes me happy.

sometimes my pals help me and its that interaction with friends that makes it fun.

i havent played in a month though, i have been coding all the time, that might seem kind of sad but i am enjoying coding

Well I have had heavy periods of coding in my life before and I could more easily say why that is fun than games. For coding it is that my mind is fully engaged on the task and having an idea in mind and starting with the blank black screen in Vim waiting to begin and problem solving and coming up with the solutions and seeing the project take shape and gain functionality. So that is easy to say why it is fun. I also used to do 12 hour days of coding at some points which would go by very fast.

For games I could not pin down why they are really fun. I suppose for similar reasons of being engaging, not as intellectually but more your imagination, yet you don't get something with real world functionality at the end, like you would with coding.

One person's fun is another's torture, and vice versa. Trying to figure out why is a losing proposition. Enjoy your fun, and let others do the same. I don't particularly enjoy video games, so I don't play them, but what others do does not affect me.

It's not about the screen. It's about the game.

If it weren't the screen, it might be, say, a chess board or a crossword puzzle.

I game
therefore I am

Useless comment. There are millions of people in the world who enjoy playing computer games. Yes there are millions/billions more who don't so what? Why comment in a thread which doesn't affect you?

Let us 'losers' who enjoy gaming keep discussing it in peace.

@slackjawedvokel

I see no reason for your post towards sgosnell. You posted a thread to query so other members do have a right to reply on topic as per LQ Rules
You need to;

I would say the above { slack...) comment is useless. No need to lash out on someone's opinion. And this is another useless comment btw.... I might play Zork, or Tux Racer, or a game of chess once in a great while. Form of keeping the mind active and relaxation. Games have been a source of entertainment for thousands of years. Shoot, my family grew up on board and card games. Even today we'll pull out the cribbage board for some family time or talk over a game of Rook. But there are a lot of brain dead games out there -- react, shoot, react.... But most time, there are better/healthier activities other than sitting... outside for fun. R/C flying, rocketry, bike riding, fishing, camping,recreational shooting, varminting, talking a ride back in the mountains, boating, watching the clouds, etc. Or programming home automation projects, robots, building module planes, cars, reading a book, etc. inside... and of course don't forget the honey-do list/chores which needs to be done! Ha!

"We are here now ... en - ter - tain us ..."

I think staring at computer game play games would be quite boring. But I guess if you were really into the game and wanted to see how it could be played perfectly, it might be fun for you.

that is one thing that i do, i create characters that are wearing perfect gear and have perfect skills etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8wRzkfmHvk

and that^ is what it looks like in most difficult settings.
its boring that your character is so overpowered.

This thread reminds me of the guilt-ridden ambivalence attached to all Art. There are those who consider Art, Music, Performance, etc as frivolous, non-productive and perhaps a few who go so far as to imagine they serve no useful purpose whatsoever. I find it rather amusing that many of those same folks will sit for an entire day hooting and hollering at a screen if it is showing some sports contest, but then sports is about triumph and subjugation, right? So few advocates mind if it is incredibly repetitive with so little variation. The devil is in the details, right?

Staring at screens BTW is what Television and Movies are about and one might drop further down that rabbit hole by including the act of visiting a museum or art gallery, let alone reading books. Those displays are just not in motion. I think it totally misses the point (in the opposite direction) to characterize gaming as "staring at a screen" since that is merely one component. Video games are engaging of many of the senses and most require eye/hand coordination as well as strategic thinking, planning as well as learned muscle memory. Some of the "it's non-productive folks will begrudgingly five a nod to military games used to train combatants or those that train medical students in micro-surgery, each involving "staring at screens".

Besides the physical training there is mental training much more general and immersive than that in many video games. There used to be a great TV show in the US called "Tech TV" that was renamed "Attack of the Show" IIRC when the network was purchased by Time-Warner or Comcast which was all about Digital and largely about gaming and game culture. One of the writer/producer/hosts noted one day that he had invested thousands of hours and effort and not a little cash in video games like World of Warcraft which involves quests and survival strategies to provide one's avatar with food, shelter, gear, knowledge and abilities to advanced and even as often "a tedious grind" and "annoying" was somehow vastly rewarding and then one day he realized that if he applied those same efforts, attitudes and abilities IRL that he would likely be quite successful.

I think he nailed it!