Its normal??

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I found after years of playing games, that what most attract me to then is a good story and i found that i prefer read some sci-fantasy stuff than actually play games, that could be the age?? or could be that i have too many games for years, don't know.

Example, i read all books released of the witcher in spanish (just the final book is still on translation process).

Anyone here that read a lot of books can point me good stuff to read??
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Kd125
 
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Have you checked out our What Are You Reading thread? There's libraries of excellent suggestion in there!!
 
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Well Im kind of in the same situation. Ive read and listened many books / audiobooks lately. Most of them game related though like mass effect: revelations, wing commander books or raymend e feists riftwar. Last scifi I listened was starship troopers.

The best fantasy literature right now is Song of Fire and Ice or so they say. I have the audiobook ready but havent listened it yet.
 
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Corwin said:
Have you checked out our What Are You Reading thread? There's libraries of excellent suggestion in there!!
Click to expand...

First time i make a post here on off-topic and dont take a look of it, usually see the games general topics.

I will take a look on it.
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LAGO ALBERTO ASSEMBLY
 
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zakhal said:
Well Im kind of in the same situation. Ive read and listened many books / audiobooks lately. Most of them game related though like mass effect: revelations, wing commander books or raymend e feists riftwar. Last scifi I listened was starship troopers.

The best fantasy literature right now is Song of Fire and Ice or so they say. I have the audiobook ready but havent listened it yet.
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I read starship troopers book, was good to read.

I will take a look on song of fire and ice.
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Mazda Mpv History
 
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Stories are my primary reason for playing games and it's a rather spiritual journey. To me, it all boils down to escaping reality, wether I read books, watch movies or play games.

The games which I remember the most, just like the movies I remember the most and the books I remember the most, are the ones that can provoke emotion. Somehow we remember an emotion, how the tale made us feel, long after the details faded away. So maybe it's not really the story, but the way it's told.

To many, games are just a puzzle or a challenge, but there are developers who understood what the narrative allows them to do and used that to the fullest extent.

It's something about the game narrative which compels me in a way that a book fails to do. I mean, first there was storytelling, then there was artwork, then there was movies. Games can tell a tale by image, text, audio and finally add the interactive layer to it. A game demands complete attention and makes you a part of the story. I do not think there are any other form of storytelling that can pull you in so completely.

I have to say that gameplay for me is just a bonus. I am rather quick to resort to a walkthrough if I find a puzzle to be annoying.
 
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JemyM said:
Stories are my primary reason for playing games and it's a rather spiritual journey. To me, it all boils down to escaping reality, wether I read books, watch movies or play games.

The games which I remember the most, just like the movies I remember the most and the books I remember the most, are the ones that can provoke emotion. Somehow we remember an emotion, how the tale made us feel, long after the details faded away. So maybe it's not really the story, but the way it's told.

To many, games are just a puzzle or a challenge, but there are developers who understood what the narrative allows them to do and used that to the fullest extent.

It's something about the game narrative which compels me in a way that a book fails to do. I mean, first there was storytelling, then there was artwork, then there was movies. Games can tell a tale by image, text, audio and finally add the interactive layer to it. A game demands complete attention and makes you a part of the story. I do not think there are any other form of storytelling that can pull you in so completely.

I have to say that gameplay for me is just a bonus. I am rather quick to resort to a walkthrough if I find a puzzle to be annoying.
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I have to say that while some games have that same draw and same effect for me--real role-playing games is how I think of them--and I do love that experience, there's also another experience I look for from games, and that's to escape emotion--in particular worry over real life.

Some people take anti-depressants or rely on their faith to overcome anxiety. For me, nothing works as well as a procedural, non-emotionally involving type of game. In fact for years strategy gaming helped keep me from dwelling on and over-reacting to some difficult personal situations by totally immersing me in a brain activity I rarely use--non-emotional,non-hormonal and neutral thought. I don't know if this is a gender thing or not. :)

I do love to read, and I do love stories, but sometimes the mindlessness of a combat-oriented game or an action rpg soothes my overwrought brain cells, and gives me a better mental focus.
 
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I cannot explain to myself how my brain works but it have nothing to do with gender. I have a deep interest in humans and everything human, from culture to artwork to behavior. I enjoy to connect with another humans experiences as the tale they can tell me enrich my own otherwise limited life. There's something very human about emotions and I embrace them, others and my own. It have something to do with my quest to understand humanity.

I have a brain that never stops working and when I cannot spend time with my interests I simply get bored.

I also fit the archetype of an artist. I tend to excel at everything there is in craftmanship as long as I have the time for it.

When there's nothing for me to learn about human behavior, nothing for me to build and create, nothing to add to my experiences, I feel like I am wasting my limited life away.
 
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Well, I always prefered reading a top book to playing a top game. However there is not much high quality litterature to read.

After having read Robert Jordan's superior fantasy epic, all other writers became boring, and after his demise I pretty much gave up on reading. That is until my friend reccomended me Haruki Murakami , he also writes brilliant books which are a pure joy to read, my personal favourite is Dansu Dansu Dansu, pure brilliance! Had me nailed from the first page until the last. Sputnick sweethearts and Norwegian wood are also amazing pieces of litterature!
 
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JemyM said:
I have a brain that never stops working and when I cannot spend time with my interests I simply get bored.
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Sounds like a case of what I know in English as "intellectual giftedness".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted

You might check it out, especially in your own language.

Highly intelligent people often show these symptoms.


On books: Sometimes i wish I could "nail it down", too, but I lack a very important talent in wrirting: I just can't make up interesting plots.

That's why I never tried longer stories so far.

Currently I'm thinking about a longer story, but it will be a very generic story of a small "special forces" group trying to invade a besieged fortress of an evil mage and to open up chances for the troops outside.
I wish to try to do some characterization of the protagonists, but I must say that I didn't try this much before.

It's one of the symptoms of the so-called "intellectual giftedness" I have : My works might be brilliant from the start or I don't even consider making them at all.
All in all it's very depressing this, having far too high standards towards my own works, because it hinders me from *really* doing stuff.
 
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JemyM said:
I cannot explain to myself how my brain works but it have nothing to do with gender. I have a deep interest in humans and everything human, from culture to artwork to behavior. I enjoy to connect with another humans experiences as the tale they can tell me enrich my own otherwise limited life. There's something very human about emotions and I embrace them, others and my own. It have something to do with my quest to understand humanity.

I have a brain that never stops working and when I cannot spend time with my interests I simply get bored.

I also fit the archetype of an artist. I tend to excel at everything there is in craftmanship as long as I have the time for it.

When there's nothing for me to learn about human behavior, nothing for me to build and create, nothing to add to my experiences, I feel like I am wasting my limited life away.
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I agree that emotions give us a profound element of our humanity. So does the ability to reason and apply logic. Neither element can really stand alone for an integrated personality, or a happy one, imo. In our two different perspectives I think perhaps we're both looking for connection to what is an important component for wholeness.

My life has been a long struggle not to be governed by emotional overload. Now that I'm older, I really can see how much emotion drove the car for me, and reason often took a back seat. Constantly going through emotional upheaval is very wearing, and while sometimes experiencing the kindred emotions of others can be cathartic, when emotion is running rampant in your life, order and structure have a strong appeal.
 
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@Alrik, thanks for the link. You know a bit of me, and I think that wikipedia link describes me pretty well.

@magerette, I think you are right. People consider me to be a highly logic, rational person who live a very strong disciplined life in which things are planned with perfection, but I also believe they see me as a person with a wooden pole deeply stuck up my dark area, or in other words, someone who behave like a robot, who find it difficult to express emotions. I also have problems understanding other peoples emotions just by looking at them and when people show too much emotion, I often look for the exit and run away.

Games, movies, tales etc is a way that I can come close to other humans emotions without actually being close to them.

So maybe I simply belong to the other end of the spectrum, searching for the part that came natural to you.

It's ironic... I currently aim at becoming an anthropologist, studying human behavior and human culture. But sometimes I wonder if I am a colorblind who wish to study the color red.
 
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Hm, I think might might try to seek out books which can help you.

I mean that you perhaps don't really know how to focus on things.

And about this "colour-blind" thing . I had been for a very long time a very rational person - and I lost totally connection to the emotional part of my self.

Perhaps this could be it ? That you have problems with connecting to the emotional part of your self ? Of emotions in general ?

I found a rather esoterical way of connecting my self to it again, but I'd rather tell you about it via a PN, if you are more interested in it.


By the way, human culture is kind of a sub-hobby of mine, too. ;)
But in contrast to you I'm more interested in ancient cultures ...
 
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How exactly does one feel that more passive entertainment (such as story and music) possible to invoke more deep emotions than say more interactive entertainment can do - for example and most obviously - games.
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Because in story and music, your brain can work its imagination. If you read a book, you have no idea how anything looks but you create your own world in your mind, which create more fantastic pictures than any 3d graphics ever could, and more living environment. Music also works to start your brains imagination and activate your brain ( unless it is crappy rap or hiphop music ). So the answer to that is quite easy.
 
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Personally, I can't stand rap or hiphop, because it has no complex melodies or/and tunes I prefer.

I acknowledge, however, the rhyming part of it.
 
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JemyM wrote:
It's ironic... I currently aim at becoming an anthropologist, studying human behavior and human culture. But sometimes I wonder if I am a colorblind who wish to study the color red.
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Oh I don't think so. I think the value you place on those qualities we've talked about is high, plus your ability to analyze and categorize will be extremely useful.

Your statement reminds me of the Wizard of Oz--the Scarecrow complained his head was stuffed with straw, but had the best ideas, the Cowardly Lion valued courage above all, etc. ;) I think you'll make an excellent anthropologist because you are looking for the right things whether you personally embody them or not.
 
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