Welcome back mighty Axeheads! As the week rolls on, we continue to dive into the discussion on why we game. We’ve seen a dearth of opinion on the matter this week everything from sheer entertainment to therapeutic escapism.
Today’s Member Battle Cry comes from theguyinyourhead who, in addition to telling you to steer into oncoming traffic while laughing maniacally, draws some clever connections between gaming and the natural impulse all humans exhibit towards creativity, competition, and recreation.
theguyinyourhead Says:
remember building blocks,puzzles,sand castles, mud pies hide and seek, all of the made up games you and your friends played when you were a kid. well thats because as people one of our natural urges may be to be creative and competitive while having fun doing it. we wanna solve puzzles, race, fight, shoot, jump, whatever and now with online multiplayer we can do it with people all over the world, regardless of age or skill. never before could we do that. its common place now so we dont realize how amazing it is. we shouldnt compare games to music or movies or conventional art. the interactive world of games is unlike anything else we have in fact its all of those things and so much more. i love the community with all of their flaws and awesomeness. and i love all of the innovations and creative minds the world of games has to offer. im glad to have been a kid playing super mario world and being an adult playing mario galaxy and still having a great time games are the best form of escapism we all need that sometimes.
End
Gaming as a cultural phenomenon goes back as far as human history. The need to entertain ourselves crosses every culture on the planet. Its really a no-brainer that natural human inclination towards creativity and competition would fuse themselves to this drive for recreation giving birth to countless leisure activities through the centuries but ultimately culminating in Grand Theft Auto. When you step back and really consider how gaming has moved from a way of just passing the time to a driving force in both culture and technology, its quite a remarkable thing.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and if you have something else entirely that you’d like to sound off on, then feel free to do that over on this week’s topics starter post where you can SUBMIT A NEW TOPIC:
SUBMIT YOUR MEMBER BATTLECRY IN THE COMMENTS SECTION HERE.
Alright everyone, that’s gonna do it for now, but we hope you have an awesome week and keep your rants, raves, and recommendations coming here on EpicBattleAxe.com!
Kidney punch,
Viking Brent
I completely agree, I play because I wanna have fun, I wanna be challenged and I want to interact with other people, and all of these things I can do with gaming in the comfort of my own home. And different games can give us different challenges. Call of duty gives me a challenge to be better then the oposing players, Forza gives me the creativity to design wonderfull designs for cars, and the list goes on and on. I am not that old so I can’t recall the good old gaming days but I can remember me playing super mario 64 for hours and hours having fun with friends at my home when I was little and now I still do that with other games and other people, gaming is just my main form of entertainment, And the challenges and social interaction makes it just one of my favorite things to do.
That was an excellent assessment of people’s desire to be creative, entertained , and competitive. I remember running around the neighbor’s yard as a kid with Nerf guns playing cops and robbers even if we lost all the darts and just yelled bang bang at each other. Then we’d argue for 5 minutes whether or not we’d hit one another (I believe back then this was considered modding) and continue in an imaginary hail of gunfire. Other times we’d scrounge up as many people as possible for some sandlot football or a nice scary game of ghost in the graveyard.
I’m glad I had such an active time as a kid and all of this imagination and creativity is why I eventually started playing video games.
As Schiller, a famous German author wrote:
“Der Mensch spielt nur, wo er in voller Bedeutung des Wortes Mensch ist, und er ist nur da ganz Mensch, wo er spielt.”
“Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays.”
And Sartre said:
“As soon as a man apprehends himself as free and wishes to use his freedom…then his activity is play.”
I could add my own words, but I think these two famous men nailed it perfectly.
COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL
Great BattleCry!
My battlecry goes to the Warhammer 40000 Spacemarine action game and its recent news! About time they got an action game in the Warhammer universe! (Firewarrior does not exist)
I think this goes to show that there are a lot of things that all of us cant find out ourselves and thats why we need places like EBA. I found out this game had been at E3 this year AND the year before and I had NEVER heard of it in the passed. Im sure many people were at the same position I was. This makes me ask the question “What else am I missing out on?” Theres a fantastic game out there and I haven’t even heard of it and I believe it is our responsibility as Axe heads and gamers to spread the good news of great games! Stay cool Axeheads
PS. I would of much rather a cover system type Imperial soldier game… Ohwell the Marines will do:)
This got me thinking, one of the main reasons (which I had not thought about) why I play games is because of the value for my dollar. I can rent a 2 hour movie for $5 or I can buy a game that has a robust multiplayer and countless hours of entertainment for $60.
This guys opinion makes sense though. Online games are very much the tag and dodge ball of this generation. Instead of scraped knees you get cursed out.
I agree a 100% =) Same goes for me.
Totally. Great choice for a battle cry. I agree with the guy in my head.