Monday 20 August 2007

Addicted to Gaming vs Addicted to Telly

I was worrying about this the other day, since i got my 360 i've been on it non-stop. And i mean non-stop. I can't get off it, haven't watched any films. When the missus is working evenings i hardly even have my tea coz i want to get playing.

So let's tot this up shall we, I'll say i play between 3 and 4 hours a night, 6ish hours on saturdays and sundays

So that would be:

(3.5*5)+(6*2) = 29.5 hours a week sat in front of a console pushing away at buttons and joysticks.

But before you judge me, think how many hours you spend sat watching telly. If you have offspring (like myself) you can't go out anywhere so it's either one of two things: telly or games. Games have to win every time. You can either watch someone else's plot and storyline from the third-person view or you can get involved in the plotline. The only way to progress that plotline is your own skill and hand-eye coordination. Do you honestly get the same adrenaline rush watching Jackie Chan take down some henchman as you would taking down a really tough end of level boss.

Of course telly is good, there's loads of shows i watch, mostly american. Stuff like Lost, 24, Prison Break, Heroes, The Office, etc. But the important thing is, they have a place. I watch the show, i turn off the telly. I don't carry on watching just because there's nothing else to do. I see those self improvement shows (gardening, diy, children, etc) as nothing more than chewing gum for the eyes. I can actually feel my IQ dropping when i watch these shows. I play a game and immerse myself in the storyline, enjoy the plot progression and get annoyed when i can't get past a certain place. But it's all at my pace and with open end games like GTA, the story progresses exactly how i want it to.

If you're really not a gamer (although why you'd be reading this if you're not, i have no idea) then ask your partner or friend who is one and get them to introduce you to one of their favourite games. They will happily show you how to play it and i guarantee a really good game can match any movie in terms of immersion and entertainment. Plus it lasts a hell of a lot longer than 2 hours.

You may be surprised, we've come a long way from Pac-Man and Centipede.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloody....BLOODY good post, old chap.

Chairboy said...

Yep totally agree with that, I would also point out that the telly this country produces is crap, there maybe one or two shows, Doctor Who spring to mind as the only one at the moment. But WTF do we have to pay a TV license which funds the BBC who go and produce some crap costume drama or other bollocks. Especially when the top shows they produce are now 45 mins long to cater for them to sell to other countries where they have adverts. Just start showing commercials, it's going to happen!!!