Why do you play video games?

I'm researching video games - or more specifically, video gamers - for my Ph.D and I could use your help. Part of what I'm doing will be looking at the social context of gaming to see whether there are any specific factors which might lead to excessive or problematic gaming.

Basically, the thread title is my question to you. I'm open to anything and everything you have to say on the matter, such as:

• When did you begin to play video games, and how did that start?
• Did you, or do you, currently have many friends or family members (siblings, parents) who play video games?
• Do you just play video games in your spare time, or do you try to make time to play them?
• What are your favourite game genres, and what about those games makes you prefer them to other games?

I began playing video games when I was about five, and I think it naturally followed from growing up watching my brother play them. Like, I would literally sit for hours watching him play Mario. Pretty geeky in hindsight. These days I play a lot more than I did growing up because I find myself with a lot more free time in uni than at school, especially with no-one breathing down my neck to make sure I get my work done. I'll admit that I skip uni work on occasion if I know my PS3's sitting idle in the next room. And generally I prefer RPGs because I'm a control freak and like their customisability, although as I get older I find myself drawn to turn-based strategy games. Probably because my aging reflexes can't meet real-time demands any more.

Well,mostly because I enjoy them.
Started when I was around 5 or 6
No one in my family plays them or got me into them
I only play in my spare time
I mostly like RPG and Horror (and what ever you classify No more heroes under)

I believe I started playing video games when I was 4-5, unsure of the right age. I used to watch my brother play games like Super Mario Brothers, ever since then I have been playing games as part of my daily routine. My younger brother also plays video games, and even though I don't play with him as much as I used to we still manage to get a little bit of gaming in through games like Gears of War or Halo.

I would have to say that my favorite game genre are RPG's, I find myself getting into these huge worlds and getting to understand and know the characters so that I can continue playing the story to find out more about them. Their reasons behind doing what they are doing and what they intent to do what they are doing. I also like playing racing games because I love looking at stuff about cars, gives me a chance to be able to go those high speeds I can't do in the real world.

I usually find time to play games during my spare time, right now since I am unemployed I have been doing it alot more but when I have a job I sneak it in every day, even if it is for an hour or two I make sure I can forget about everything else and just play games to relax.

I started playing when I was around 4-5, I remember in pre-school we had a Nintendo NES set up in the corner with some crazy games I don't think my teachers knew we had. (One in particular was a game where you had to shoot people in their homes on a highrise via their windows, lol) My sister also had a NES and SuperNintendo and she kind of sat me in front of it whenever she had to watch me/played with me whenever we hung out.

I have a couple friends that play casually, but then again I don't play as often as I used to at all. I can name two good friends off the top of my head that own a console. I barely play anymore. My attention span kind of limits how long I can play anymore - I usually play about 20 or so minutes before I get bored or itch to do something else. It's beginning to feel more and more like a waste of time when I could be doing other things in my spare time.

I play in my spare time, sometimes. An hour or two a week, max. Tbh, wish I still got as much enjoyment out of them. Used to play all the time. Might be some of the titles I've been into lately though, there are some that are coming out that I'm looking forward to. (Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, etc.)

I like adventure games, particularly those like Uncharted, etc. Also a big fan of RPGs and dungeon crawlers. Life sims are pretty fun too, depending on the title. I also love survival-horror and survival games in general. I play first person shooters as well but not many that aren't huge titles like CoD. Zelda, The Elder Scrolls, Lost in Blue, Fallout, Saints Row, GTA, - love games like that.

I love RPGS and sims for the simple reason it's easy to lose yourself in them and kill some time. Survival horrors are fun for the suspense and I like being kept on edge when playing games.

I am usually on to talk, but I do play. I would hate to not be on (well appearing because of fear of people deleting me). If I was going to be off for a long time I would tell everyone, or if something bad happened I would access through Xbox.com.

-My brother got a gameboy advance when I was around six and I would play it every chance I got.
-My brother and friend play minecraft, and I know a few people who have an Xbox. Plus my mom played Duke Nukem a lot when we still had a windows 98.
-I don't usually try to make time for them but I could play all day if I don't have anything else to do that day.
-I like just about anything, but my favorite has to be rpg games. I like games with that fantasy/medevil feel to them so that's probably why.

When I was little, I played NES with my sister and with my mom's friends' kids. From about 11-18 years old I didn't really play any games, besides The Sims. I got into Guitar Hero, and bought a PS2 for that and some other games. Then I went on a hiatus again, and now I'm playing WKC2 and The Sims 3.

Only my older sister and cousins played video games. Now, probably just myself and my male cousins still play. My favorite genre would be RPG- I really like MMORPG's for the social aspect of it, and because you're working with a team to defeat an enemy rather than trying to defeat each other.

I play in my spare time- which is on a pretty regular schedule and I can spend my entire day off playing video games. I did call into work once when my game got a new patch and new quests, but my attendance record was pristine

Ooh, a Ph.D. I eventually want to get one myself, but it doesn't help that I have no idea what I want to do with my life yet. Good luck, hopefully this helps!

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Video games made their way into my life when my Dad brought out an old NES for my sister and I to play with. I don't remember how old I was, but I was young and it was unlike anything I had ever seen before, so I was fascinated. We would fight over whose turn it was to play Duck Hunt and luckily Mario Bros. had a 2 player mode or we probably would have gotten into even more trouble for fighting. My mother wasn't too fond of us wanting to play all the time so she set time limits and disconnected it after our time was up. I vaguely remember my dad being far more accepting than my mom was. He used to tell her how they kept our minds sharp and improved hand-eye coordination, and he eventually warmed her up to the idea of getting my sister and I Gameboy Color handhelds around the time they were released. Like many kids our age, we were addicted to the Pokemon games and would play them for hours on end. I remember having a squiggly worm light so that I could play in the dark and I was often caught playing after bed time so my parents would make me shut it off and go to bed. They were always nice enough to let me save my game before they took it away though.

This love for games continued for both my sister and I through the life of the Gameboy Advance/SP, PlayStation I, and the Gamecube. However, once we hit a certain age and started going our separate ways by hanging out with different people, things changed. My group of friends sometimes played games while hers didn't at all. Both of us were influenced by our peers in middle school, so the Wii, DS, and PS2 mostly appealed to me while she showed little to no interest.

My high school friends were totally different from my old ones and I was always going out with little to no time to myself between them and school. Out of impulse, I sold almost every game and game system I owned (with the exception of a few favorites) without thinking of how I may later appreciate them as childhood memories. It definitely involved the views of my peers and myself wanting to conform. Part of me felt it was weird for me to be playing games at my age, especially since I'm a girl. I stayed away from games effortlessly for a few years because of this, but my views are obviously totally different now. Despite her complete lack of interest and frequent eye rolls at my contrasting hobby, my sister has not sold a single one of her games to this day. She has kept everything and still gets mad when I try to sell something.

When I was little, it was something to do. It was a challenge and a learning experience and took me places I couldn't get to in real life, and what kid doesn't love that? I decided to get back into gaming about a year ago. It had a lot to do with my boyfriend of almost four years being into games himself and some of my friends playing them as well. Most of it came from me being true to myself though, and I spent a lot of money re-buying a lot of the games I sold in addition to getting caught up with the times, which goes to show the sentimental value games can have like anything else.

Now I enjoy games because they are my escape- an escape from a life that can get pretty dull and repetitive sometimes. I prefer RPGs- a chance to walk in someone else's shoes and explore worlds I could only hope to see in my dreams. I also don't care much for change and it feels like I'm growing up too fast. I'm only 19 but I have a lot of responsibilities and stress and I like the feeling of going back that I achieve through gaming. I have never been one to sit down for hours and play a game, but an hour a day or a few hours a week is enough of that extra break I need.