Online gaming

[OpheliaPayneAgain]

(Yes this is leading on from a comment made in another forum)

Dunno what I'm BU about though. Ok, AIBU to think that it's all a bit juvenile to be blatting imaginary people on Black Ops or Warcraft?

I don't know any 40yo who xboxes or online games - do I lead a sheltered life or just mix predominatly with adults? All I know is - they are out there, with an inability to sustain a RL relationship. Apparently.

YABU. People can do what they want in their spare time, there are lots of different hobbies. One hobby is not any less valid than another. If its done in moderation and makes you happy, what is the problem.

No doubt you have got some some hobbies that other people find boring too.

Some would think it somewhat juvenile to speak to strangers on the internet.

As long as it's harmless, what's the harm?

but some of these games ou play against real people else where in the world - people use it as stress reliever etc...something to do when only rubbish on tv perhaps? it does not make them unable to have RL relationships??

(Yes this is leading on from a comment made in another forum)

wtf, why have you brought it over here if you can debate it in another forum, I don't see the point?

40 year olds weren't brought up with these types of games so I guess they do other things to relax instead. I don't think its juvenile, I think its a method of relaxation (not one that I would choose) but that does not make it juvenile.

You sound delightful.

YABU

What do you do for stress relief?

YABU and a hypocrite as you chat to strangers online to.

DP and I are gamers. We play online games, often together. We're both adults, thank you very much, and have been sustaining our relationship future nearly 9 years now, in addition to having many dear friends, both in real life and online, as well as family we get on with.

It is a way to spend free time like any other. I play games in the evening. Some people watch TV or play golf or do embroidery. Why is gaming juvenile?

I think it's only an issue when it takes over your life same as any hobby.

DH is 48, I am 53. We play Lord of the Rings Online (and have previously played WoW, D&D, Star Trek and a few others). We're far from the only people of our age to do this.We played tabletop AD&D years back, the online games are just a extension of that. We've been gamers since the 70s :)

We also have a RL, are happily married, other hobbies (fishing, photography, home brewing) and have even been known to go to the pub on occasion. :P

I don't kill people online though, therein lays the difference.

Oh well horses for courses as they say.

YABU. DP and I aren't huge online players but for both of us it's a good way to switch off. I'd rather ply games than watch TV!

Nor do I. It's a game. No one actually dies.

I'm a gamer, I'm 38. I don't watch much TV and prefer games that have an in-depth story - I far prefer being a part of/have control of the story rather than sitting passively watching one.

Plus, for around £30 I get over 30 hours of entertainment - probably the best value entertainment you can get, especially when you start looking at the costs of a Sky subscription or buying DVDs/books!

I find much joy in online gaming. Being stuck at home a lot due to being disabled and also a single parent to a behaviourally challenging child, it's a lovely release to go explore an online world like WoW and meet and interact with people. It was as much a community in my guild as you find here on Mumsnet and I dislike being told I am childish or not grown up because I enjoyed that.

YABU

Do you watch TV? Read? If you are going to take it so literally then you get pleasure from reading about/watching others suffering.

Except we both know that isn't the case. Same as fighting in video games isn't the same as getting pleasure from killing.

YABU

DH and I used to game online. We haven't since we had the DCs, because there just isn't enough time. I'm sure we will again once we are out of the toddler/preschool phase.

We have a relationship

"All I know is - they are out there, with an inability to sustain a RL relationship."

Shit, I best tell DH that we don't have a real life relationship. And my son. And my friends. And my family. Maybe too much gaming has made me imagine them all? Christ, you'd have thought I'd have imagined myself a quieter, less pooey baby wouldn't you?

Best not mention here then that my DD is the result of a relationship that started in an online game, and eventually became real life then. Do you think that means she is not a RL DD? Feels real enough to me.

True enough that I can't seem to sustain a RL relationship though, but that's more to do with my own health making having a physical relationship very difficult, and me feeling like a burden and not wanting to commit to any relationship.

YABU

I think your looking at a fairly dated stereotype of what a "gamer" represents.

Almost no one I know in real life knows I play online games. Trust me, if you're the sort who clutches her pearls at the mention of such things, I'd have sensed it and not mentioned it. You probably do know people who game, they've just never said anything about it.

I don't understand how people can watch shite like the X Factor or Strictly, much less feel involved enough to pay to vote. Half my FB list goes on about those programmes when they're on, as if they have some personal stake in what happens. I don't lecture them on their use of their free time; they enjoy it, good for them.

YABU.

OpheliaPayneAgain
"I don't kill people online though, therein lays the difference."

To my knowledge I haven't killed anyone but then I have never tried to undermine someones choice on the internet.

Tabu. I played wow for a couple of years and I have a family. It was a release at the end of the day to turn on a fantasy world and lose myself in it for a few hours once the kids had gone to bed and the housework was done. Much better than sitting slack jawed at the telly!

Tabu not tabu

Oh for fucks sake Yabu

As a thread hijack, has anyone played The Old Republic? It's free to play soon, would love a MN guild on there!