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[skaldicpoet9]

We all love games obviously, if we didn't we wouldn't be here on this site. I started thinking though what one person loves another person might not, so I was just wondering what everyone loved about video games on the whole? No matter if it is indie, commercial or not.

I would have to say that, for me, video games are the best form of expression out there. I always valued comic books highly because they were the marriage of words and images, same way I feel about movies except that movies can use music to create emotional impact. But with games you get all three, but the thing that is key is the fact that you are no longer just a passive participant in a static story, you are the character. I think games are just gracing the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what can be possible using the tools we have available, what I really love about games, however, is the future's potential possibilites...

[fish]

myb relationship with everything videogames is a serious love/hate one.

right now, there's TONS of games coming out i want to play. after months of not playing anything. but im under s strict no-game diet until im done with my IGF demo.
which sucks. that bioshock demo was like putting salt in the wound. hot venomous lava-salt.

[skaldicpoet9]

myb relationship with everything videogames is a serious love/hate one.

right now, there's TONS of games coming out i want to play. after months of not playing anything. but im under s strict no-game diet until im done with my IGF demo.
which sucks. that bioshock demo was like putting salt in the wound. hot venomous lava-salt.

lol...yeah I know what your saying...I want to play Bioshock soo bad but I know my comp won't be able to run it....I don't have a fast enough graphics card damnit

[Pigbuster]

I like them for the worlds they are able to create.

You are being thrust into a place that is completely different from reality, and it allows you to do things you could never do in real life, and interact with creatures that are not human.

If I really ever make a game, I'm going to work hard putting as much fluff into it as possible. Every character would have a personality and a backstory. There would be a discernible culture. I would put doodles inside journal entries. You could read advertising pamphlets. I would create my own language.
It would take AGES, but the more time I put into it, the more real the world would become.

Of course there are things like "budgets" and "deadlines" that keep most mainstream games from utilizing the power of fluff. They can still be quite enjoyable, but they aren't going to get to the top of my list.

[Alec]

I like how the player gets to direct the action. I really enjoy the Metal Gear Solid games for that reason. I really like making Snake do stupid, stupid things because I find it funny. Any game will let you take a serious situation and flip it on its head, if you would rather be playing a comedy.

Its also something that makes things a bit more human, because of the amount of flaws the player can introduce to the experience. (mainly, the amount of times and variety of ways they can screw up) In an action movie, the hero usually gets beat up a bit, but eventually prevails. In a video game based on that movie, you can make the hero look like a complete dork.

[skaldicpoet9]

In a video game based on that movie, you can make the hero look like a complete dork.

lol...

[Xion]

Pigbuster pretty much spoke my thoughts.

[Melly]

What I love about videogames is, like it's been mentioned, the ability to create new worlds, and tell stories in ways no other medium can possibly do. It's something that has tons of possibilities, a huge part of which has not been tapped into. It's an exciting thing to work on.

The biggest problem in the way of seeing those possibilities flourish is how tough it is to make a quality game. If there were more powerful development tools that were still as easy to use as Game Maker drag'n'drop, we would see even more experimental awesomeness out there. It's coming already, but we need more.

[Guert]

What I enjoy the most about video games is that it's an emerging medium that have unique capacities to create experiences for the player.

I feel, as an artist, that a medium should allow the artist complete freedom of creating every details of his idea without any limition while keeping it accessible for its public. The video game medium has the strength of being create-able by anyone who has a little bit of time to invest and anyone with a computer can see the results.

Of course video games are not as creator friendly as other mediums, such as pencil drawing or sculpting, but they are part of the new era of tools: computers. As computers continue to impregnate themselves into our culture, video game creation will become as accessible as doodling or playing a song in the subway.

I believe that we will need to find a new name for this medium since the traditional view of what is a video game, the one we have right now, will become obsolete. As new titles will change this view, we will truly see the medium's full potential. Just compare a video game made in 1980 and one made 25 years later. Now try to imagine one that will be made in 25 years. I want to be part of those creators that will shape up the future of this medium.

So, I love it because its giving me new ways of creating, teaching and most of all, entertain my fellow humans. On top of it all, it gives you, as a player, the feeling of accomplishement that you can't get from other mediums.

I think that's pretty much why I like video games... Plus they are fun! Real fun! :D

Later!

[skaldicpoet9]

What I enjoy the most about video games is that it's an emerging medium that have unique capacities to create experiences for the player.

I feel, as an artist, that a medium should allow the artist complete freedom of creating every details of his idea without any limition while keeping it accessible for its public. The video game medium has the strength of being create-able by anyone who has a little bit of time to invest and anyone with a computer can see the results.

Of course video games are not as creator friendly as other mediums, such as pencil drawing or sculpting, but they are part of the new era of tools: computers. As computers continue to impregnate themselves into our culture, video game creation will become as accessible as doodling or playing a song in the subway.

I believe that we will need to find a new name for this medium since the traditional view of what is a video game, the one we have right now, will become obsolete. As new titles will change this view, we will truly see the medium's full potential. Just compare a video game made in 1980 and one made 25 years later. Now try to imagine one that will be made in 25 years. I want to be part of those creators that will shape up the future of this medium.

So, I love it because its giving me new ways of creating, teaching and most of all, entertain my fellow humans. On top of it all, it gives you, as a player, the feeling of accomplishement that you can't get from other mediums.

I think that's pretty much why I like video games... Plus they are fun! Real fun! :D

Later!

Nice, Great sentiments

[Pacian]

I like them for the worlds they are able to create.

Seconded.  Movies and books may well feature all sorts of intricate worlds, but you can't just stand around and soak up the ambience, or take a wander down that alleyway and see where you end up.  Games are the highest form of escapism.

Except for multiplayer games.  I don't need to play Counterstrike to realise that I'm an inferior gamer to an eight year old.

[Guert]

Except for multiplayer games.  I don't need to play Counterstrike to realise that I'm an inferior gamer to an eight year old.

:D I second that!

[skaldicpoet9]

I don't need to play Counterstrike to realise that I'm an inferior gamer to an eight year old.

:D

[Headmade]

I agree with most above mentioned aspects but there is one thing that wasn't mentioned yet.
Video games bring people together. Doesn't matter if it's guitar hero at a party or some MMORPG online, video games are a good excuse to meet and befriend new peole. When your playing a game you're too busy to feel awkward as a newcomer (respectively make the newcomer feel arkward). Games also provide a great field for competition. In this aspects video games are very similar to sports.
Games are simply such a rich and versatile medium, what is there not to love about it?

[FARTRON]

I love video games because they are allow the preservation of an algorithmic understanding of a concept.  Allow me to untangle that statement.

Civilization is an amazing game with very clear metaphorical connections to the real world.  Within the gamespace, you are given certain freedoms in playing out human history, and you learn something of economies, technological change and warfare.  You learn about the impact of geography on a civilization's viability.  But the limitations of the gamespace are as telling as the possibilties; you can't ever develop a human history without banking.  Banking is right there on the tree, waiting to be discovered.  The game enforces an almost deterministic view of history.

I can't think of a single game that features an economy that doesn't implement a simplified version of neo-classical economics.  Of course, most game makers aren't economists, but neo-classicism is a world view with lots of detractors, and which relies on a form of cartesian thought that I personally have a distaste for.  In creating a game economy based on a particular (dominant) philosophy, the designer implies a belief in the validity of that philosophy.

Not all games are so directly connected, metaphorically, to the real world as strategy games often are; but all games reflect some aspect of the designers perspective, and in a vibrant, reactive manner unlike the calcification of old media forms such as literature or film.

While reading a random book on film making in a book store once, many years ago, I came across a quote that I cannot begin to attribute, but that has stuck with me nonetheless.

"Movies will never be a true art form until camera and film are as cheap as paper and pencil."

Of course I doubt anyone, even the speaker, would really argue that there is no art in movies, save on a particularly bitter day.  But the point is a good one; that every barrier to entry of an art form stunts its growth and limits its potential.

Literature can flourish because any shlub with a pencil and a piece of paper and a minimal education can write.  Music flourishes even more because you don't need the equipment or the education.  Anyone can sing.  Anyone can bang on something.

I love games but I hate them.  On top of the costs of the equipment on which these creations exist, which is prohibitive enough, there is a significant amount of education required to begin productive programming and art creation and thus game development.  The result is the stultified field we see today.  The current rise in indie gaming is I think in large part due to the groundwork laid previously that has lowered the bar and allowed more people to create.

I think my favorite creative form is graffiti.  I look forward to the day when people can create games as easily as they can draw a penis on a poster in the subway, or compose a lymeric on a bathroom wall.

[moshboy]

Generally what I love about videogames is that anything can be done - you never know quite what to expect, especially within the indie community.

The thing I love specifically about the indie community is that, it's almost as if Commercial games went off in one direction when games like Doom were released (and became less creative) and the Indie community kinda picked up the pieces and ran with them and ever since than has constantly gained momentum. And ofcourse some downright beautiful games came of it.

[skaldicpoet9]

Yeah man, the indie community rocks! I have been fortunate to find places like TIGS and the great games experiment website that embrace innovation and trying to push the medium forward. I think that this community is definitely much more dynamic and unpredictable than commercial games...I look forward to where this kind of culture influences video games and where, ultimately, it takes them...

[Pigbuster]

As computers continue to impregnate themselves into our culture, video game creation will become as accessible as doodling or playing a song in the subway.

Oh man... think about it.

Street video game designers.

[Melly]

What about one-hour game making competitions held live on TV? 

[skaldicpoet9]

As computers continue to impregnate themselves into our culture, video game creation will become as accessible as doodling or playing a song in the subway.

Oh man... think about it.

Street video game designers.

Do you know just how much that would rock...ok, yes I think you do :D

Oh, man...imagine some dude doing some quick coding on some sort of holograph projector....reminds me of this Futurama episode I saw one time....