Has a video game ever helped you?

[HellStar]

Has a video game actually ever changed your life? Helped you get through something hard in your life?

In my case, yes, video games have helped me get through alot. But mostly my mom and dads divorce. Video games kinda just helped me take my mind off of what was going on.

Anyone else?

[Oobgarm]

It's certainly helped develop my reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Whoever said that games weren't healthy can go eat a bowl.

As far as having games help me through a major event in life, I can't say that they have. They're a good distraction when stress attacks, no doubt though.

[Darth Sensei]

I used to suffer from stress so badly that everytime I ate I would throw up. However, I found that if I was engaged in video games and ate, I would be fine. I started playing more VG's and doing other things for stress and have been happier ever since.

D

[HellStar]

Yeah...video games have helped me to develop hand eye cordination too. Also help releive some serious stress :)

[-hellvin-]

They help me a lot. I always load up a game when I need to take my mind off something.

[Kroogah]

Great stress relief, of course. Some games have actually made me more stressed (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, HOT SHOTS GOLF 3) but it's time for me to drag out my classic answer...

*dusts answer off*

Dance Dance Revolution helped me stop being a friggin' introvert. And I lost 30 pounds.

[HellStar]

DDR is a great game!

I lost 10 punds on it!...but now, im addicted :o

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

It's no exaggeration to say that Ultima IV helped me out in my teenage years. Keep in mind, at that point in my life, I had virtually no parental influence - my mother had died, and my dad just wasn't there anymore, he'd be gone for a week or two weeks at a time. Now, granted, I wasn't exactly a hellion in my younger days, but that game helped to reinforce the idea that you are held accountable for your actions, and that the people around you are, to some extent, keeping score.

Never did become the Avatar though. :P

[Jorpho]

I came across this thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13200) at something of a juncture in my life last year. It might sound cheesy, but playing Eggerland Meikyuu no Fukkatsu, and being the first (and only?) one to solve that "impossible" level, showed me that I could not quite give up, for I still had something to offer this world.

The game later inspired my review contest entry (http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/eggerland.htm). One of these days I might even finish the translation patch I started working on. (It would help if Charlie would come back and tell me how to finish that one level near the end. ;) )

[Half Cab Leroy]

Yeah...video games have helped me to develop hand eye cordination too. Also help releive some serious stress :)
Same here.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Video Games are the one thing I have to fall back on. Whenever I am having a tough time I just go into my video game room and relax. Alot of times I don't even play gmes I will organize or just sit and admire. I have had a really rough year and without video games I don't think i would have been able to get through it.

[Gnarkill]

I find it hard to play games when ever I have a personal problem, but if I do manage to get into a game, I forget I even had a problem.

Thanks Mario ;)

[SegaAges]

hmm, I guess it is the time to get to know me a little better fellas.

Video Games changed my life beyond means.

When I was in high school, I had no friends. I mean, literally, no friends. I ate lunch by myself all 4 years through. This got me all depressed, and got me heavy into drugs. At one point, I would take down anything you put in front of me. After awhile, I started getting all strung out, but I still didn't stop doing drugs. I used them for an escape from reality even though I was escaping every single chance I could get.

Of course drugs don't come for free. I started selling weed and coke to help myself buy more dope. I actually started making so much money at one point that I would just buy up as many games as possible. After awhile, I found out about burning dreamcast games, and that I could make more than double selling those than I could selling any drug.

Now when you are high as a kite, loaded with money, and have access to any DC game you want, you might as well play them. Don't get me wrong, I have always been into games. Always have been, always will, but it was the dc that turned me around.

One night I had an incident (I am already getting this personal with you, so sorry, I am not going into the incident). I almost died from it. It was very drug related, and it hit me that I don't need to be high all the time, or even sell drugs all the time. I could smoke a joint and play some DC (believe me, a joint and some DC is better than acid and anything else you can imagine). I could chill, relax, and getaway through my games. I slowed way, way down on drugs to the point where the only thing I did (and still today do) is smoke weed and drink alcohol.

If I hadn't found out about being able to burn dc game, I can guarentee I would be dead. Like I said, I have always been into games, but it was the DC that really pulled me away from the life I was living. I know I sound cliche, but I don't care.

This is also the reason I try to come on here as much as I can. I want to get into the video game lifestyle and stay there. I have real plans after college, and that is to go to DigiPen. I don't care about cost. I am doing it. I don't want to live like I used to. I also wish I could spend the amount of money you guys do on games, but I have a crap job and stopped making money illegaly.

Video Games are the reason why I am typing this in here. If it wasn't for games, I don;t know where I would be, but like I said, I would probably be dead.

I didn't tell you guys that for sympathy, I just think that the subject came up, and you guys would like to know more about the people you chat with. Don't worry though, I am very legit now, and it is because of games.

[DigitalSpace]

Video games always helped me relax if I had a rough day at school. I can recall memories of going home after a hectic day in high school and playing my SNES for a couple hours and even longer if I didn't have any homework.

Video games still help me relax to this day.

[brandver3]

Doom.

I can safely say that Doom saved many a school mate and many an inanimate, throwable object from almost certain peril.

[Nez]

My laptop has saved me from many a boring hour at my job. With out mame fec and other emulators I would have died long ago.

[PentiumMMX]

When I want to take my mind off of something, I play Computer\Video Games, mostly "Duck Hunt", "Tetris", "Chip's Challenge", or "Kirby's Dream Land 2".

Like when my first NES died, I was pissed (mostly because I was about to beat Ganon in "The Ledeng of Zelda"), So I played Lots of Tetris, then a few days later, I found a working NES for $1.00!

Happy Dance! :D

[tritium]

Welp, RPG's helped re-enforce the concept of honor at a time in my life where I may have gone a darker route. I never could get comfortable with stealing and being a knight at the same time.

Hand eye coordination has definately improved.

[Crush Crawfish]

Let's see....of course I've improved my hand eye coordination, but I've also increased my vocabulary by playing so many RPG's. Games are also great at taking your mind off of things. I've had a pretty terrible year, and games are really good at making me relax. And I don't know about anyone else, but I feel pretty damn good whenever I beat a game, as long as it wasn't too easy.

[Pantechnicon]

I can't think of how a singular game has helped me, but gaming in general is good for me because I have a competive nature, but at the same time I'm rather introverted. Games, therefore give me an opportunity to be competitive without being social. Maybe that doesn't seem too healthy, but I don't think being overtly outgoing and emotional is all that damned healthy either.

[gamergary]

Helped me relieve stress and improve hand-eye coordination.

[Roganjohn]

side pocket on the NES helped me play pool better. seriously. every thursday when i was at uni, my roomy and i always used to go down to this bar for happy hour and get flogged on the pool table by this skanky bastard who used to hit on all the good looking women.

then we got our hands on a copy of side pocket and played it for about a week and a half, and the next time we played the guy at the bar we wiped the floor with him. consistently. Yeah.

otherwise video games are an interesting aside to my old-toy collecting, work and writing. :D

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Does help killing time and making it easier to blur out nagging sister's count?

[DJ_DEEM]

rpging from a young age deffinitly taught me a lot about mythology and legends and things like that, that i later used to wow teachers in school , that and deffinitly the vocab in those things are crazy, that and there is no better re-enforcment that practice makes perfect ( DAMN YOU KURU KURU KURIN!!!!)

[Flack]

Atari 2600 got me into gaming.

Gaming got me into early computers (Apple, C64)

Early computers got me into PC's.

PC's got me into the computer field.

The computer field got me this job, a senior network engineer for the govt.



God bless the Atari 2600.

[rbudrick]

My teenage years were very difficult and depressing for me. God what a pain in the ass they were! I was a pretty bad trouble maker too (cause and effect? Which is which?, heh heh). But if it weren't for videogames I would have been in 10 times as much trouble as I was. Seriously, videogames got me through some of the worst times of my life.

I distinctly rememeber playing Phantasy Star II and Double Dragon II (NES) in some of my worst times.

Aside from personal bullshit, videogames also helped me bond with my brother....growing up (and being 7 1/2 years older than him), we had nothing in common and were always at each other's throats. It gave us something to do that let us be brothers rather than mortal enemies. It wasn't until he was probably 11 or 12 we actually started being real friends....we seriously could not stand each other before that, I think...well, a lot of the time anyway. :-) Hey, we're best friends now, so fuggit.

-Rob