Only computer game I ever loved was the old Oregon Trail......I still look occasionally to see if anyone has come up with a version for today's Windows!
Still a MarioKart man after multiple decades. It's just super-fun, challenging, and doesn't require a lot of onboarding. Plus, these days the graphics are amazing, there are tons of tracks, and I can race head to head with people around the world in real time. VR golf and football are pretty sweet too. Totally know those who have fallen off the deep end though.
Hello! I first played arcade games as a wee lad at the local King Kwik and then continued gaming on the PC, Mac, Nintendo, Playstation, XBox and now I am back to the PC. My excitement would wax and wane but I always loved the interactive nature of video games. Similar to a good novel or movie, a good game can grab a hold of you and take you to some fascinating place while letting you interact and build your own story. There is honestly nothing quite like it.
Today, I view video games as just another source of media. There are indeed violent games that are bloody, sensational and are often used as examples by mainstream media. Yet there are also games that involve growing gardens, building towns and just hanging out virtually with your friends. There is also everything in between. Most adults I know who game (I am in my mid 50s) just use it as a way to spend time online with friends doing something fun. Sure you are sitting on your couch, but the level of social interaction often feels similar to hanging out on a barstool at the local watering hole. It's just a different experience.
Doc, outstanding read with multiple contributors. Your talents ripen well with age, as is often the case with doing things because you want to instead of because you have to.
Video gaming dulls the spirit if not kept in control just like any other addiction. There are plenty of outdoor spaces and opportunities for personal interaction to keep balanced. Between video gaming and phone screen obsession, I fear for our kids and grandkids.
I just turned 40 and grew up with games (original nintendo when I was young and one console from every generation after). All my friends played, or are still playing heavily.
The downsides to gaming that are mentioned can be said about anything. I know multiple men who let their wives work multiple jobs while they sit and watch sports all day. I had one friend who told his wife there was no way she could get rid of cable because he needed to watch the sports package (they were behind on bills and he didn't have a job). How many people here can rattle off sports statistics that don't matter to anyone else? Gaming is the same as any other hobby with the same upsides and downsides.
I know some people will say how it desensitizes violence, that was written by people who don't game, I grew up as did all my friends, and none of us committed crimes or are violent people, thats like saying heavy metal and rap causes shootouts. How many people played cops and robbers or cowboys and indians when they were growing up (not PC names now), and pretended to shoot their friends with toy guns that looked real, did that also make them prone to violence?
Sorry, don't mean to get fired up, I'll stop now, this is one of those topics that gets a bad wrap in my opinion because older generations never got into it. You know, like younger people have trouble getting into baseball.
We are very small club - the ATown Buckeye Hemingways. Nice work.
I got in big trouble when I was 11 or 12, taking about $40 of my caddy money, riding my bike up to the shop that now houses the KOI Auto Parts on Salem Rd. and buying the Berzerk game for my Atari 2600. I don't remember if the issue was spending so much money or going so far afield - both without permission - but either way it took a lot of the shine off gaming for me. I'd still drop the occasional quarter to play Asteroids at Aladdin's Castle in the Beechmont Mall, but I was never good enough at games to be passionate about them. My sister and her family got me a Wii maybe 12-15 years ago. I enjoyed theirs when I was at their house and we did family bowling tourneys and such, but living alone, it just didn't/doesn't get used much. I'm like you... I'd rather read while listening to a ballgame.
Andy, I too have avoided any video game addiction, essentially by abstaining. Perhaps in the back of my mind there is a concern I would become addicted. Never smoked so maybe I’m on a semi-hot streak ... 2 for 2. On the other hand I must admit to too much scanning You Tube looking for things of interest! 😁
I have a working Atari 2600 (my wife's) that is original, and a working Super NES (that's mine), that is original. We have an Xbox One that is a few years old, that I mostly play sports games on, but my daughter and I play Star Wars Battlefront I and II. We aren't gamer nuts, but we play from time to time. I tend to shy away from gore and more adult-themed games. I never liked that crud when I was a kid (Hello Leisure Suit Larry) and I don't really care for it now. To each their own.
Great job, Andy.
PS: Why does Georgia O'Keefe look so Yoko Ono-esque in that picture?
We were in a bar in the Florida Panhandle last winter and the sub channel ESPN-BS was broadcasting (with paid commercials and everything) a competition of some sad mash up of Tag & Parkour. Wondering if this is an N C double NIL "sport"? I didn't see the contestants wearing uniforms like they do in NASCAR.
Been watching Mikaela's run to Stenmarks record. She is already the GOAT and is remarkable. People only remember the Olympic failure and even NBC and Peacock has not been covering races because the Winter Olympics are three years away. I get my fix from a paid streaming service Ski and Snowboard Live. Best 9 bucks a month Johnnie Thinwallet ever spent.
Never a video game player myself. Enjoyed watching other people play early stuff like Frogger. Daughter played the original Legend of Zelda on Nintendo as homework for therapy - boosting assertiveness. I liked that the game was not timed and was more quest than battles. Yes, rooms had to be cleared of baddies, but the magical aspects were appealing. Her boyfriend in late high school could beat any game of the time. Because of him we saw how some games ended. Good Hemingway.
Feb 3, 2023·edited Feb 3, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
I'm in my early 40s. We got a Nintendo probably around 1990ish (it had been out a few years). My younger brothers & I played it, but we only had maybe a half dozen games. Later on, my younger brother got a SNES, then a Playstation. Again, I played them some, but now being in high school, I was more into sports and girls. In college, Tiger Woods Golf came out for Playstation and I played that and Madden. But not a ton.
Today my boys have a PS5 and a Nintendo Switch and play them more than I would like. I have zero interest in playing. I must have just missed the age cutoff or something, because I notice a lot of other, slightly younger parents (say 40 and younger) play video games. Not judging, but it's kind of odd to me.
At the risk of sounding like a "get off my lawn" guy, I think being an adult means deriving an increasing portion of our joy and satisfaction in life from more productive activity, and less purely consumptive. I'm afraid we're losing that. We now have adults who spend their weekends binging Netflix series for hours on end, or making it to X level on Y video game, or spend hours updating their social media - and they think they've accomplished something.
If you delve a bit deeper into some of those statistics, you might find that they also include games such as online crossword puzzles, Wordle, trivia, solitaire etc... With all of those lumped in, it makes those statistics more believable. You might even be a gamer yourself and not even know it!
I believe the statistics just not that they are more than US Book publishing, music and US pro Sports. combined. I was astonished how big the industry is and how many adults (2/3) play. Plus I have a hard time thinking of my kids as adults They're in their 30"s, they're adults! Just an old guy thing.
From a fellow TOSU alum- well done on an outside the box topic. However I am (playfully) calling you out for a big miss in your post and that is how in the hell does someone sit and watch YouTube videos of people playing video games???? Cmon now, my kids couldn’t have been the only ones to do that are they??😂
Yes- when I was in Columbus NBA Jam and Madden were GPA killers (and maybe High St had something to do w that too)
But I haven’t really touched the consoles since PS4 came out and now just let my kids nerd out on them. I can’t say I miss it at all although the Oculus is pretty bad ass.
Several years ago for work I came across some info that I think is also relevant to your point about “us old guys”. I consider myself a child of the 80s and for my generation we played video games- yes- but for social interactions we perused the malls and food courts, etc. The OGs- you guys probably cruised the block in your chromed out cars and went to the malt shop and hung out for hours I’m guessing. This current generation of yungins get their social interactions through FaceTime, SnapChat and the video game streaming. Just totally different times and not of all it I can relate to LOL
I didn't go to the malt shop either. My older sister did and she's in her mid 70's. My first car was a not chromed out Dodge Dart with a 3 on the tree manual. I did spend a considerable amount of time cruising the mean streets of Anderson in that car.
I would never use baseball cards in the spokes! Didn't want to ruin em, even if it was an old Gates Brown....I stole them from my parents playing cards and they would get PO'd at me when they went to play bridge w the neighbors! HA!
Only computer game I ever loved was the old Oregon Trail......I still look occasionally to see if anyone has come up with a version for today's Windows!
Still a MarioKart man after multiple decades. It's just super-fun, challenging, and doesn't require a lot of onboarding. Plus, these days the graphics are amazing, there are tons of tracks, and I can race head to head with people around the world in real time. VR golf and football are pretty sweet too. Totally know those who have fallen off the deep end though.
Just to go on the record as one who did not, and does not play video games. Nice job from the Andersonian Hemingway anyway.
Hello! I first played arcade games as a wee lad at the local King Kwik and then continued gaming on the PC, Mac, Nintendo, Playstation, XBox and now I am back to the PC. My excitement would wax and wane but I always loved the interactive nature of video games. Similar to a good novel or movie, a good game can grab a hold of you and take you to some fascinating place while letting you interact and build your own story. There is honestly nothing quite like it.
Today, I view video games as just another source of media. There are indeed violent games that are bloody, sensational and are often used as examples by mainstream media. Yet there are also games that involve growing gardens, building towns and just hanging out virtually with your friends. There is also everything in between. Most adults I know who game (I am in my mid 50s) just use it as a way to spend time online with friends doing something fun. Sure you are sitting on your couch, but the level of social interaction often feels similar to hanging out on a barstool at the local watering hole. It's just a different experience.
Doc, outstanding read with multiple contributors. Your talents ripen well with age, as is often the case with doing things because you want to instead of because you have to.
Video gaming dulls the spirit if not kept in control just like any other addiction. There are plenty of outdoor spaces and opportunities for personal interaction to keep balanced. Between video gaming and phone screen obsession, I fear for our kids and grandkids.
I just turned 40 and grew up with games (original nintendo when I was young and one console from every generation after). All my friends played, or are still playing heavily.
The downsides to gaming that are mentioned can be said about anything. I know multiple men who let their wives work multiple jobs while they sit and watch sports all day. I had one friend who told his wife there was no way she could get rid of cable because he needed to watch the sports package (they were behind on bills and he didn't have a job). How many people here can rattle off sports statistics that don't matter to anyone else? Gaming is the same as any other hobby with the same upsides and downsides.
I know some people will say how it desensitizes violence, that was written by people who don't game, I grew up as did all my friends, and none of us committed crimes or are violent people, thats like saying heavy metal and rap causes shootouts. How many people played cops and robbers or cowboys and indians when they were growing up (not PC names now), and pretended to shoot their friends with toy guns that looked real, did that also make them prone to violence?
Sorry, don't mean to get fired up, I'll stop now, this is one of those topics that gets a bad wrap in my opinion because older generations never got into it. You know, like younger people have trouble getting into baseball.
Touche
We are very small club - the ATown Buckeye Hemingways. Nice work.
I got in big trouble when I was 11 or 12, taking about $40 of my caddy money, riding my bike up to the shop that now houses the KOI Auto Parts on Salem Rd. and buying the Berzerk game for my Atari 2600. I don't remember if the issue was spending so much money or going so far afield - both without permission - but either way it took a lot of the shine off gaming for me. I'd still drop the occasional quarter to play Asteroids at Aladdin's Castle in the Beechmont Mall, but I was never good enough at games to be passionate about them. My sister and her family got me a Wii maybe 12-15 years ago. I enjoyed theirs when I was at their house and we did family bowling tourneys and such, but living alone, it just didn't/doesn't get used much. I'm like you... I'd rather read while listening to a ballgame.
My son's (four of 'em) make fun of me when I try to play first person shooters.
"You suck at games, Dad!"
I challenged them.
"If you can out score me in Super Mario Brothers 3 or beat me in Techmo Super Bowl, I'll do all your chores AND give you $100."
"Sweet!"
"If I win, y'all have to clean out the garage and weed the gardens out back."
"Pshhhhhfffftthhhh. We got this!"
... Guess who's getting a clean garage this weekend?
#MeBaby #Me
Andy, I too have avoided any video game addiction, essentially by abstaining. Perhaps in the back of my mind there is a concern I would become addicted. Never smoked so maybe I’m on a semi-hot streak ... 2 for 2. On the other hand I must admit to too much scanning You Tube looking for things of interest! 😁
I have a working Atari 2600 (my wife's) that is original, and a working Super NES (that's mine), that is original. We have an Xbox One that is a few years old, that I mostly play sports games on, but my daughter and I play Star Wars Battlefront I and II. We aren't gamer nuts, but we play from time to time. I tend to shy away from gore and more adult-themed games. I never liked that crud when I was a kid (Hello Leisure Suit Larry) and I don't really care for it now. To each their own.
Great job, Andy.
PS: Why does Georgia O'Keefe look so Yoko Ono-esque in that picture?
Leisure Suit Larry!!
Thanks for the re-quote about Doc's retirement.
Have not played video games since Ms. Pac-Man in 1983. I was seeing goblins in my sleep.
Most unexpected thing Doc ever wrote, and which he touched on today, was that he liked to relax by playing GTA and "blowing stuff up."
Was in a bar in Florida several years ago and the TV was tuned to a station broadcasting guys competing against each other in Tetris. Crazy.
Nothing wrong with writing about ski racing. Give us some insider perspective next time.
We were in a bar in the Florida Panhandle last winter and the sub channel ESPN-BS was broadcasting (with paid commercials and everything) a competition of some sad mash up of Tag & Parkour. Wondering if this is an N C double NIL "sport"? I didn't see the contestants wearing uniforms like they do in NASCAR.
Been watching Mikaela's run to Stenmarks record. She is already the GOAT and is remarkable. People only remember the Olympic failure and even NBC and Peacock has not been covering races because the Winter Olympics are three years away. I get my fix from a paid streaming service Ski and Snowboard Live. Best 9 bucks a month Johnnie Thinwallet ever spent.
Never a video game player myself. Enjoyed watching other people play early stuff like Frogger. Daughter played the original Legend of Zelda on Nintendo as homework for therapy - boosting assertiveness. I liked that the game was not timed and was more quest than battles. Yes, rooms had to be cleared of baddies, but the magical aspects were appealing. Her boyfriend in late high school could beat any game of the time. Because of him we saw how some games ended. Good Hemingway.
I'm in my early 40s. We got a Nintendo probably around 1990ish (it had been out a few years). My younger brothers & I played it, but we only had maybe a half dozen games. Later on, my younger brother got a SNES, then a Playstation. Again, I played them some, but now being in high school, I was more into sports and girls. In college, Tiger Woods Golf came out for Playstation and I played that and Madden. But not a ton.
Today my boys have a PS5 and a Nintendo Switch and play them more than I would like. I have zero interest in playing. I must have just missed the age cutoff or something, because I notice a lot of other, slightly younger parents (say 40 and younger) play video games. Not judging, but it's kind of odd to me.
At the risk of sounding like a "get off my lawn" guy, I think being an adult means deriving an increasing portion of our joy and satisfaction in life from more productive activity, and less purely consumptive. I'm afraid we're losing that. We now have adults who spend their weekends binging Netflix series for hours on end, or making it to X level on Y video game, or spend hours updating their social media - and they think they've accomplished something.
If you delve a bit deeper into some of those statistics, you might find that they also include games such as online crossword puzzles, Wordle, trivia, solitaire etc... With all of those lumped in, it makes those statistics more believable. You might even be a gamer yourself and not even know it!
I can play free cell like a champ.
I believe the statistics just not that they are more than US Book publishing, music and US pro Sports. combined. I was astonished how big the industry is and how many adults (2/3) play. Plus I have a hard time thinking of my kids as adults They're in their 30"s, they're adults! Just an old guy thing.
From a fellow TOSU alum- well done on an outside the box topic. However I am (playfully) calling you out for a big miss in your post and that is how in the hell does someone sit and watch YouTube videos of people playing video games???? Cmon now, my kids couldn’t have been the only ones to do that are they??😂
Yes- when I was in Columbus NBA Jam and Madden were GPA killers (and maybe High St had something to do w that too)
But I haven’t really touched the consoles since PS4 came out and now just let my kids nerd out on them. I can’t say I miss it at all although the Oculus is pretty bad ass.
Several years ago for work I came across some info that I think is also relevant to your point about “us old guys”. I consider myself a child of the 80s and for my generation we played video games- yes- but for social interactions we perused the malls and food courts, etc. The OGs- you guys probably cruised the block in your chromed out cars and went to the malt shop and hung out for hours I’m guessing. This current generation of yungins get their social interactions through FaceTime, SnapChat and the video game streaming. Just totally different times and not of all it I can relate to LOL
I didn't go to the malt shop either. My older sister did and she's in her mid 70's. My first car was a not chromed out Dodge Dart with a 3 on the tree manual. I did spend a considerable amount of time cruising the mean streets of Anderson in that car.
I never went to the "malt shop'' in my "chromed-out'' car, I swear. Now please getoffamylawn.
LOL ok fine how about baseball cards in the bike spokes??
I would never use baseball cards in the spokes! Didn't want to ruin em, even if it was an old Gates Brown....I stole them from my parents playing cards and they would get PO'd at me when they went to play bridge w the neighbors! HA!
I with ya on the cards in the bike spokes
Andy you and I agree. I have no use for video games. I guess it’s a generational thing. Fellow Buckeye class of 1979.