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About Me
First off is my highest honour -- my shit on the front page of Destructoid.
I was born back in the days of yore, when 3-D graphics were only a dream.
I like games.
Super Nintendo had to be one of the best consoles. Mario, Metroid, Link, Kirby, Donkey Kong and everyone else came to the party. Good times.
I own a Super Nintendo, N64, Gamecube, Wii, PS1, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and a DS.
I regret missing some of the good old days, back in the early 90's, because I was too young to appreciate a good game when it smacked me in the face. Such is the folly of youth.
Somedays I wish I could have lived through such tumultuous times, what with the advent of Spandex tights and Rap, but then I think that it is much better to live longer and be younger than all of you people who did enjoy Super Metroid and Mario Kart in it's heyday and just be content with an emulator and a Xbox 360 controller.
Favorite Games: Mario series, Donkey Kong Country/64, Metroid series, Legend of Zelda series, Fable, Halo series, Shadow of the Colossus, GTA series, God of War 1 and 2, Morrowind, Oblivion, Tales of Symphonia, Final Fantasy X, Banjo Kazooie/Tooie and more that I can't recall.
Send me a friends request if you dare, just send a message telling me you're from Destructoid so I don't think you're a 63 year old pedophile masquerading as a teenage girl to lure gullible, young boys to your basement. And if that description both fits you and you are from Destructoid then expect to recieve my home phone number and address.
Update: One year later
New games I would add to my favorites are Gears of Wars series, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock (hey, I was playing it when I joined!), and other games I cannot recall. Some games I have loved for a long time but forgot to list over a year ago are Rome: Total War, the top Mario games, and the main Pokemon GB games. The rest escape me at this time.
So these days God no longer compels you to blog, Atlas is Fontaine, and generally speaking I am pretty well known around these parts. (I hope) I regret not joining Destructoid sooner, when I first had the chance with a link from Chad Concelmo's IGN blog. Even he was born in the primordial soup IGN was, or so it would seem. I no longer frequent there or other gaming sites except from time to time because Destructoid is hopefully my internet home from here on out. A great place to be, cheers to another year at Destructoid!
Update: Another year later
Okay, so year three isn't going that great. I haven't blogged for six months and have barely visited the site. In fact, it is nearly November and my 2 years happened almost 2 months ago in early September. Damn life, going outside into the real world is time consuming! I haven't even turned on a videogame since April... (until just recently!) But of course I haven't forgotten about Dtoid; THE GREATEST SITE ON THE WEB! Sorry Dtoid, I will try to live less and Dtoid more.
Update: Another few years later
So life hit me... I still visit this site when I can... to think I started visiting this site when I was 15, and made an account two weeks after I turned 16... I'm 20 now, Destructoid is practically part of my life story at this point, even if I disappear for years at a time. Still, I remember the good old days, the days when Dtoid was like the Wild West, when I was at my most active, and when we would open the gates of Hell in our mischief, always walking on the edge of the banhammer. Now I'm just an ancient, obscure memory to the last surviving cowboys, a group even to this day I feel I'm a part of. Still, I raise my glass to you. Good times Destructoid, good times!
Oh, and to a few of us oldsters, Atlas is Fontaine.
I was born back in the days of yore, when 3-D graphics were only a dream.
I like games.
Super Nintendo had to be one of the best consoles. Mario, Metroid, Link, Kirby, Donkey Kong and everyone else came to the party. Good times.
I own a Super Nintendo, N64, Gamecube, Wii, PS1, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and a DS.
I regret missing some of the good old days, back in the early 90's, because I was too young to appreciate a good game when it smacked me in the face. Such is the folly of youth.
Somedays I wish I could have lived through such tumultuous times, what with the advent of Spandex tights and Rap, but then I think that it is much better to live longer and be younger than all of you people who did enjoy Super Metroid and Mario Kart in it's heyday and just be content with an emulator and a Xbox 360 controller.
Favorite Games: Mario series, Donkey Kong Country/64, Metroid series, Legend of Zelda series, Fable, Halo series, Shadow of the Colossus, GTA series, God of War 1 and 2, Morrowind, Oblivion, Tales of Symphonia, Final Fantasy X, Banjo Kazooie/Tooie and more that I can't recall.
Send me a friends request if you dare, just send a message telling me you're from Destructoid so I don't think you're a 63 year old pedophile masquerading as a teenage girl to lure gullible, young boys to your basement. And if that description both fits you and you are from Destructoid then expect to recieve my home phone number and address.
Update: One year later
New games I would add to my favorites are Gears of Wars series, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock (hey, I was playing it when I joined!), and other games I cannot recall. Some games I have loved for a long time but forgot to list over a year ago are Rome: Total War, the top Mario games, and the main Pokemon GB games. The rest escape me at this time.
So these days God no longer compels you to blog, Atlas is Fontaine, and generally speaking I am pretty well known around these parts. (I hope) I regret not joining Destructoid sooner, when I first had the chance with a link from Chad Concelmo's IGN blog. Even he was born in the primordial soup IGN was, or so it would seem. I no longer frequent there or other gaming sites except from time to time because Destructoid is hopefully my internet home from here on out. A great place to be, cheers to another year at Destructoid!
Update: Another year later
Okay, so year three isn't going that great. I haven't blogged for six months and have barely visited the site. In fact, it is nearly November and my 2 years happened almost 2 months ago in early September. Damn life, going outside into the real world is time consuming! I haven't even turned on a videogame since April... (until just recently!) But of course I haven't forgotten about Dtoid; THE GREATEST SITE ON THE WEB! Sorry Dtoid, I will try to live less and Dtoid more.
Update: Another few years later
So life hit me... I still visit this site when I can... to think I started visiting this site when I was 15, and made an account two weeks after I turned 16... I'm 20 now, Destructoid is practically part of my life story at this point, even if I disappear for years at a time. Still, I remember the good old days, the days when Dtoid was like the Wild West, when I was at my most active, and when we would open the gates of Hell in our mischief, always walking on the edge of the banhammer. Now I'm just an ancient, obscure memory to the last surviving cowboys, a group even to this day I feel I'm a part of. Still, I raise my glass to you. Good times Destructoid, good times!
Oh, and to a few of us oldsters, Atlas is Fontaine.
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Gamertag: T0M HANKZ
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Gamertag: T0M HANKZ
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So, I just got called and invited out tonight. It is relatively late (11:30) to be going out and I would rather just browse Dtoid and chill with some videogames instead of going out. But here is where things get tricky. I got invited out by a girl I work with, a slightly drunk one at that, and she wanted me to hang out at her place. You all know what that means, right? And yet I would rather stay home, on Destructoid, than getting drunk with a girl who more than likely wants me over there. She is attractive, yes, but yet I stay here doing what else than blogging on the internet on a site that spends it's effort talking about videogames and the like, which is not especially a popular thing to do for most.
Am I wasting my time? So I have to look at my values. I would rather spend my time playing videogames than actually going out to parties. It is not that I am particularily addicted to one or many games, but more that I really could care less about going out to stuff that alot of other people enjoy. Drinking, partying, women... they have no hold over me. I'm not sorry to say it, but videogames can do things that none of those other things can. Some people drink to deal with their life. Some people do it because they are bored. It is an escape from the world they must live in around them, a world they would be stuck in otherwise. But I feel no urge to drink, no urge to get high. I have no depression or addictions, but still somehow videogames manage to fill the void more effectively than anything else ever could. Mario is better than booze. Fallout 3 is better than sex. No drug could be more fun to me than Left 4 Dead. My Xbox will always be sitting there when I want it and never tells me what to do or how to act. I can just sit down and enjoy myself with no worries or obligations. I feel no draw or urge pulling me toward Destructoid or videogames when I am at work or away, but always and forever it will be there when I get home, ready to do whatever I want. 
I lead a fulfilling life. I don't need the stuff others need to be confident or satisfied. All I need is a good game and some time to play it. My personal values place videogames above almost all else. Which leads me to a question. Am I missing out by declining offers to go out and party, to go out and chat up girls more than willing, to have fun with my friends because videogames satisfy my life in ways these things just can't? Is gaming a virtue or a vice?
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Living the dream since March 16, 2006
Living the dream since March 16, 2006
I asked myself this question in the form of: "Why the fuck am I playing WOW?!", and thus I haven't played wow in more than a year.
When times are financially rough, I bunker up with a good game and avoid going out unnecessarily. You can look at the time spent playing a game and perhaps put that time to something that is more of a long term investment, like learning a musical instrument, a craft etc. Then again, life can be short and it is best to live it enjoying the things that make you happy. The end.
I'm so cryptic and intellectual.
(*not harming anyone)
As soon as they hit 18, and could buy alcohol without any laws against them, they went bat-shit crazy. Continually drinking and trying their hardest to get laid. It led to them embarrassing themselves and me(I was the one that always was sober, and had to take them home, AND their 'GF's'), many a times.
I have lost contact with most of them, a LOT of people, I can't be arsed dealing with that type of shit anymore, I'm better than all that, I'm better than them.
So,in short it's a virtue.
Oh and the whole girl issue, there's always more to choose from, no really their is. :)
Really, I never saw the point in choosing between those things. I don't go out to many parties because I don't like going to places where I only know a few of the people, but there's no reason not to go party if you know many friends will be there. If it's a hip party, maybe they even have Rock Band or some party game set up (at least, that's what I would do). Drinking? Why not drink and game? Drugs? You can't tell me you wouldn't enjoy over half the games on XBLA with a little "enhancement."
Look, I love video games, and I've been lazy and stayed in to play them on many a night, especially if I'm really into a current game. But see if you can't mix in some other stuff with it. Hell, socializing with Dtoiders is great (and I highly recommend it), but in lieu of awesome real-life parties with Dtoiders, get together with some people, get a few drinks, and play some multiplayer games while other people hang around and chat.
So gaming's neither a virtue nor a vice: it's just another piece of entertainment, for better or worse. I don't mean to condemn you or anything, it's just my persona view on the gaming vs. socializing thought.
@ Mushman
Protip: The sober one in the group never has fun.
and like what jhett said all things in moderation, I wouldn't have passed on the offer, but I do get urges to play games when I don't have that gaming/real life balance, and I'm a more grumpier person when I haven't played a game for a while :P
(( Save your job... Or @ least save the unwanted stress! Especially, of constantly being poked to go out. ))
I think this is a common thought that runs through most of ours heads every now and then. I am 100% with you on not wanting to go out, and even pass on the drunken gf for my vidya games, so I can totally relate.
Jhett, Necros and Torzelan had perticularly good posts:
Jhett: All things in moderation
Necros: See if you can't mix in some other stuff with it
Torzelan: Happy* = doing it right. (*not harming anyone)
...and they are pretty much right. If you are happy and you are enjoying yourself, and you are not infringing upon the freedoms and rights of others, then you are doing no wrong; but, as was said before, all things in moderation
Constantly pursuing the same thing and ignoring other aspects of your life is unhealthy and will, ultimately, leave you unfulfilled; be sure to investigate other things you are interested in. But Im getting ahead of myself here, it's not like you are going to spend the rest of your life doing nothing but playing video games, and you have many, many more years to meet people and experience new things.
The important thing is that you are happy with what you are doing. Everybody is different, and what pleases some will make others miserable, so don't feel like you are doing something wrong because you are not following the crowd.
It is up to you to make sure that you are happy and that you only do the things that you want to do; not wanting to do things, but doing them for others is still wanting to do them. It may sound selfish, but doing what you want and keeping yourself enjoying life is the key to making sure others enjoy it with you.
Also, very good post; you can tell from the responses that this is an issue that hits close to home with a lot of people.
@BENJAXEZ
Of course, in your case, what I said cannot be applied, it's great that the majority of your freinds are like that, it really is!! :) but in my case, sadly it's the reverse. I live in england, where the beer runs as much as water, especially nowadays.
We'll just leave it at that, or we'll continue to debate something we cannot reacha common ground on, is that ok? :D
@ATLAS
'All the bullshit concerning girls is overrated in my opinion'.
Fucking too right mate, I'm soory but I cannot stand guys who think the only thing to achieve in life is banging the next woman they meet. No offence guys, but there are much more important things in life than sticking a dick in a vagina.
I never got male obession with sex, and never will, I just think there is more to life, acheving acedemic success, being the best person you can be, getting a good job, and having a relationship with a woman that will love you, no matter what, to me, is far, far more important.
I might be 'old school'. but it has always worked for me, and more importantly, always made me happy.
Also, nice read!! :)
there's nothing wrong with being old school, I mean as long as you're not completely oblivious, you will always have the upper hand in the long run against these bafoons lol :P
and yeah I agree with the fact that I am more happier that way. Cause you actually feel like there's something there to keep rather than having one night stands.
the only thing bad about it with me though, is when i drink i tend to fall asleep playing a game, and that means the headset on, 360 still fired up; the lights are on but no ones home. the only thing that could possibly help this problem is if microsoft decides to put an adjustable timer to power it down. the current, 6 hours, is obviously not very good, i end up waking up with my xbox still on by then. i'm surprised i haven't been slapped in the face with a RROD.
On the other hand, if you make a different comparison (say, video games vs. paying ample attention to your kids), even though one side of the equation is the same the comparison is completely different (heck, you could even toss up "getting drunk/laid vs. killing somebody," though that's obviously extreme). As with almost anything else, there's really no set answer for whether video gaming is "virtuous" or not - on its own it really doesn't help or hurt anybody one way or the other, but the catch is in what it replaces.
'All the bullshit concerning girls is overrated in my opinion'.
I HAVE HAD THIS THOUGHT FOR YEARS :D
Get playing. Seriously.
"if a girl calls you up and asks you to come hang out with her, go. We can wait for you."
I know my games are always gonna be at home waiting for me. Sometimes it's alot more fun to socialize.
And concerning what Torzelean said, i think he said it best "happy= doing it right"
Sure, you could be happy staying home all the just gaming, but there's nothing wrong with socializing sometimes. As for involving games with your socializing, sure thats ok sometimes.
In fact its somewhat of a ritual for me and 3 of my buds to get together every weekend to drink some brews and play Super Smash Bros. Then again, it does definately get tiresome, so you should also take into consideration what jhett said about everything in moderation.
As far as females go, if you can't put down the controller or step away from the keyboard one night a week to go hang out with other people, you have a problem. I'm not saying you have to "chase tail", but when you write this "I got invited out by a girl I work with, a slightly drunk one at that, and she wanted me to hang out at her place. You all know what that means, right...a girl who more than likely wants me over there. She is attractive, yes" I cannot see a logical reason for not acting on that. As others have said, DToid and games will be home whenever you get back, social opportunites can be fleeting.
It's not that I don't love DToid, ask anyone that has attended the Cinci NARP, or PAX, or one of the TX NARPS, I love hanging out with DToid people, but you know what we do when we get together? We fucking drink. No one's forced to, but the vast majority of us do.
As a wise man once said, "I love video games, but I love beer and pussy too."
When I was younger, I couldn't really afford any videogames, and so, I would go to friend's houses and play. Our fascination in video games is what kept us friends. This happened on more than one occasion, and currently one of my best (if not the best) friends, I actually met on Warcraft 3. Nearly every single good friendship I've had with anyone has had its roots in gaming.
That being said, about 6 years ago I got heavy into Diablo II. Initially, it was something to do with the friends, but it eventually was just me left. This was because they had all moved on to "bigger and better" things, AKA, we got into high school. This is when gaming became a vice for me. While people debate it, I believe in gaming addiction (a mental (habitual?), not physical one) and I used D2 to compensate for my lack of dinking and drugs. I started to ignore my friends, and lost many of them. Simply because we had moved on, and they lost their interest, while mine grew too large.
Today, whenever we can game, we do. Usually I'm the only one with a working computer. Though, two of our friends have 360s. We work both; usually they're all high (usually just pot) and drunk (not a single friend of mine doesn't do it-though, this one Belgian guy, pot makes him puke). While I don't touch anything.
So that's my story.
Does gaming hold you back? Of course it CAN, it's a matter of balance, everything in moderation as JHETT mentioned.
So, I think in your case, it might be an issue of have you tried things or not? Are you sure it's lack on an interest, or is there a deeper reason for not being interested in these things? I know for myself, I always said it was just a lack of interest, for years. But I now know it wasn't, there was more to it. Not to make an insult on your intregrity or anything.
only jking, ;)
Is drinking bad, even though I don't partake in that activity?? Hell fucking no, I already said I don't mind being round people who drink.
(sorry if I am wrong COONSKIN05, but I do feel if some of what you are saying is aimed directly, pacifically at me, even if it is, I do not mind, really, it's YOUR opinion, say whatever the hell you want, it's your God given right, let no one tell you different)
What I gotta say is this though, it has been extremely interesting reading people's views on this, and quite enjoyable, thanks Atlas once again. :)
Just do what you want people, as long as it makes you happy, and it doesn't hurt anyone. Follow the 'crowd' if it makes you happy, drink if it makes you happy, fuck if it makes you happy, play vidya games(which we ALL do ;) )if it makes you happy. I'm outta here, three comments IS FAR TOO MUCH, I'm becoming a fucking spammer. :(
However, as far as people not liking sec and booze being socially crippled, I can think of 1 person for sure who fits this bill.
One of my older brothers has always hounded me for not drinking, not going out and getting laid, and generally not partying. In highschool, he was a jock. In university, he really was "that guy" who everyone knew, partied with. Infact, to thhis day, simply seeing my last name in his university town at various bars puts me in a special class without a word out of my mouth. (it's really weird actually, and usually ends in dissapointment for them).
He has it hard wired into him that this is how life should be. That he is leading the "right" life. So yeah, there are people who truly think that those of us who don't induldge are failures at life.
If you don't drink for religious reasons, that's fine, but my point was that if you're the only one who isn't drinking, you shouldn't be surprised when you're not having the same sort of fun that people around you are enjoying. (This also works backwards; if you're the only one drinking, you're going to feel too awkward around all the sober people to have fun.) So while you obviously won't be drinking, I was just pointing out that to be having fun with drinking, everyone needs to be on the same page, and if you're not, you really shouldn't be surprised.
Good sir, you are absolutely right, and I do see what you are saying, it seems that there is a very fine line to tread in order not to be hypocritical, and I for worse, appeared and to an extent was, hypocritical, point taken and remembered for future reference, thank you, really, no really.
@Necros
Hey, no worries, it was my fault for not elaborating on what I was saying on my first comment, I should gone into more detail on what I was meant to say, and what I was getting at. I failed to do that, sorry, really.
And while drinking can be a lot of fun, after you've done it enough you realize it really isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's a crutch people use to have fun. If you can have fun without it, then frankly it's better to abstain.
But not everyone is that strong (guilty).
In short, if you don't like to drink, then don't do it. I think you should have gone with the girl, but I don't know you or the situation so I really can't judge.
And I'm not saying this is the case, but if you feel your escape from reality of choice (videogames) are preventing you from living your life to the fullest, then it is an addiction and one that can be just as dangerous as an addiction to drugs or alcohol.
I think a lot of people that have commented have a lot of good ideas and a lot of bad, but hey, thats an opinion right?
For me, i find it easy to balance out video games and hanging with friends by waiting. I'm one to do my own things every now and then, so i usually do so until i'm invited to go places, whether its drinking at a party or just going out to the movies.
If i dont know of anything going on tonight with my friends, then hey, its open to gaming. :)
Yep.