Comments on From a Non-Gamer With Love

video games are a fucking waste of time. every minute you spend playing them is a minute you should spend fucking. fucking is the original video game.

That was insightful, max! By that logic, books, film, art, work, sport, fine cuisine, architecture and all of human expression besides naked time is a fucking waste of time.

Secret of Mana, Illusion of Gaia, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, et al.

It's all about the SNES.

Video games are stupid. That's all the logic you need.

I also have a boner for all things X-Men. Did you play X-Men Legends II? I liked it a lot better than the first one. I mean, for one thing, no annoying Magma to deal with. And in II you can be Scarlet Witch, who will fry a honky's ass.

No, the logic of the post was "video games are inaccessible", thus resulting in otherwise intelligent people dismissing out of hand a different medium for creative interaction because they don't get it. Books are stupid.

Get a Wii. It's perfect for a "non-gamer". Hell, it's perfect for my middle-aged parents!

You forgot Portal, which is totally addictive and great and accessible.

I like video games whose implicit goal is the elusive and ultimately futile prospect of fucking. Mario Bros, anyone?

She did forget portal! I haven't even finished it - it's been sitting on our shelf for three months. sad!

You know, for a supposed "nongamer" who doesn't like games, you've played more games than I have, and I make videogames for a living.

I hate to break this to you, but you're a gamer.

Exelizabeth, DTMFA. You can find another great guy who actually engages the real world and doesn't waste his life hooked up to an Xbox.

Super Nintendo, on the other hand, is a whole 'nuther ball game.

The social stigma of 'gamer geeks' has something to do with gaming's fringe status as well.

Mario Party series for the Wii or Gamecube.

Harmonix (makers of Rock Band) also have a number of other music-oriented titles such as Guitar Hero (not including #3 and up), Karaoke Revolution (singing), FreQuency and Amplitude (music-timed synchronization).

Katamari Damacy (there's three of them now) for the PS2/3, rolling a ball of junk around picking up more junk. (Really, it's fun.)

There's gobs of accessible Wii games, too. In fact, the Wii was almost specifically designed and targeted towards making accessible games. WiiPlay, WiiSports, Cooking Mama, enough Mario-themed games to put a Disney store to shame... most Wii-only games are accessible.

(Sadly there is to date no Mario FPS where a fat little Italian-American plumber goes around popping Koopas with a musket.)

I disagree with the barrier of entry bit of his argument (the wii is supposedly easy to use, we'll have to see how it's legacy plays out in future console development), but he's spot on about the investment a user has to put in. I don't care about learning how to do new things that are only game specific. I don't want to put time into something that is essentially not mine, Deadrising (or something) may be fun but it's not like my beat up books with the notes or the memories I have from listening to TLC as a kid. It's also a temporary medium that gets obsolte faster than audio/video media. It's not that hard to find a vinyl record player or a vhs player, but unless you're crazy hardcore, you're not going to know where to get a commodore computer or an ancient atari.

You forgot about Katamari Damacy, the most fun hipster game ever, EVER! You only use the two analog sticks on a PS2 (and soon the wii will have it to I guess) and it's very easy to get the hang of it. The game is even designed to allow you to suck for awhile and it really is optional if you want to get REALLY good. Check it out.

I am also a non-gamer due to the fact that I don't want to invest any time in being good at a certain game. When I was in high school, my male friends were really into fighting games, which I think are retarded. Every once in a while I would play and just hit random buttons. Sometimes I'd win. That was always amusing...

I am more apt to like puzzle-type games and what I used to call North-South-East-West games on the computer (adventure game where you'd type in a direction, move that way, encounter something).

You didn't mention the ultimate non-gamer system, the Wii. The games take about 2 minutes to learn (and be good at), and they are based on having more social interaction with actual people. If we had one in our house, I would play it all the time. Which is why we don't have one...

rock band is pretty much the only game my gf and I can play together.

carcassonne is the shit.

@10 - portal kicks ass. but my gf doesn't like it because it requires you to move around like it is a FPS.

Oh, I didn't mean to make this sound like Nick doesn't do OTHER stuff, too, or neglects me for games. But it's just if we're just doing "me-time" stuff, he'll unwind with video games, and I'll probably read a book or something. Sometimes we have to negotiate for the TV. But sometimes I'd like to play with him.

I thought videogames were stupid before I was around them all the time. Now I'm interested in their potential, especially as people are starting to argue about them as an art form.

Also, that list is just games I'VE played and enjoyed, it's not at all comprehensive. I hear Portals is amazing, and we do own it, I just haven't played it yet. People should feel free to suggest more!

We were just talking at work today (since a female co-worker asked about the subject) why some people just don't "get" videogames and consider them a waste of time. I told her some people feel the same way about scrapbooking. Anyone want these eyedaggers?

rock band is pretty much the only game my gf and i can play together. i like fps, and we both like viva pinata, but she doesn't like shooters (what violence?!) and single player games are fun for... 1 person.

the fact that you can have two players on different difficulty levels in guitar hero/rock band means she can noodle away on easy and I can play on hard and we both have fun.

party games is going to be where it's at. i haven't played it yet, but i hear sceneit is a blast, too.

carcassone is teh shit. they need more german-style board games on xbla. or axis and allies. now that would be epic.

video games Politics are a fucking waste of time. every minute you spend playing them is a minute you should spend fucking. fucking is the original video game political game.

FTFY Max.

Though, seriously, games rarely have much substance. Most are all about skill. These will have as much value as sports, gambling, board games. I haven't a clue as to why people compare them to films or books. Graphic novels fit into that category as the underdog of geekdom.

Now and then, there are the occasional RPGs that actually have some sort of interesting story with a socio-political commentary underrunning it. Final Fantasy VII comes to mind instantly (a series which does not take much precision in game skill and was not mentioned in the original post). But, for the most part these are few and far between.

sorry for the double post. it seemed to hang on the first try so I made another comment.

boy is THAT embarrassing.

I live with Gamers also-- and fortunately neither of them are my boyfriend. I find that Mario Party has enough luck involved to play without knowing much about games. Unfortunately, winning is so arbitrary that actual gamers usually tire of the game quickly and return to their bat caves to play WOW while their skin grafts to their computer chair...

Don't ever tell a gamer you like the Sims or any Sim related games, they will laugh at you and you will forever be an outcast.

I think what gamers like about games is that not everyone can play or is good. It gives them something to feel superior about.

What I suggest is finding someone who likes to play Halo on XBox, enjoys a challenge and doesn't care about ranking (that's the most important bit). Then offer yourself as cannon fodder. You just run around sporadically and shoot at anything you can, drawing enemy fire and allowing your better half the chance to snipe away at the morons chasing the idiot (you) around. I find it quite amusing and can do it while reading/drinking a martini/plucking my eyebrows. Makes for excellent quality time with friends/boy/girlfriend/husbands/wives/lovers/mistresses/fuckbuddies.

Mr. Poe is correct. The SNES is where it's at. Go buy a $20 USB controller, an SNES emulator for your PC, and go get EVERY GAME EVER for free online.

Donkey Kong Country and Chrono Trigger are where it's at. Oddly, my girlfriend agrees with this assessment.

I agree with most of what you wrote and alerted my boyfriend, Sam Machkovech, to your post. When he escapes SXSW for the afternoon I'm sure he'll read and respond.

Also, WarioWare has the sort of casual group nerdiness you might enjoy.

Chrono Trigger... *sigh*.

I always manage to get bored with video games. I willingly admit that this is partially because I am terrible at them (attempting to play GTA stoned might not have been a great way to begin), but I can't get into the interface, either. Somehow, books captivate me, but I don't feel connected to the characters or stories of the video games I've played -- and even though you can play with other people on Halo, it still doesn't work for me. I can't quite figure out why, but perhaps it has to do with what you said about the entry level creating a barrier. Then again, perhaps I prefer to create my own imaginary worlds when I read instead of having them unfold before me via someone else's hand. I don't know...

Oh WarioWare is fun. Just don't play it near any television you value or be a Nazi about everyone wearing their safety strap.

I'm still mourning the loss of a brand new LCD TV. Death by Wiimote is a tragic tragic thing. BUT if you want to laugh at other people who've experienced it check out www.wiidamage.com. Priceless.

I live with a gamer-- he's not the crazy die-hard some of our friends are, but games are very, very common in our apartment. The ones I've been able to get into are:

World of Warcraft. All y'all can talk shit about it, it's actually fun/addicting once you start it. Don't start it when you're going to college, as all homework will be put off "until I hit the next level/finish this quest". It's the game that people who make fun of gamers secretly play.

ANYTHING with "Katamari" in the title. Rolling shit up is fun, even if it sounds dumb as hell.

Rock Band. I can't play the guitars or the drums for shit, but I can sure can sing the hell out of "Sabotage", thus making me a legend in my own mind. I was afraid to play because I didn't want to look like an idiot until I heard my hosts singing. Then I knew I couldn't look like that much of an idiot.

Ditto on Katamari Damacy! It is indescribibly satisfying to roll over a big eraser/nile file/battery and have it stick to your junk ball. And I love the psychedelic King, who lifts you back to your home planet on his rainbow tongue.

I, too, am a (former) non-gamer coupled up with a gamer. As it turned out, the Nintendo DS was what got me to cross the line: Brain Age, Hotel Dusk (annoying, but addicting), and now Professor Layton have got me hooked for good. Brain Age supposedly increases your mental acuity through various "brain workout" exercises, and problem-solving games like Hotel Dusk and Professor Layton are reputedly more edifying than shooter games, but I try not to kid myself. I'd probably be playing the shooter games if I could figure out how to work the goddamn controls; I play these games because they're fun.

WarioWare is cute and addicting. But go get Super Smash Bros Brawl. Play through the adventure game and you'll be fine at controlling your character of choice. Then smack your boyfriend off the stage and you'll be a gamer for life. :)

Has no one mentioned Trauma Center? If you like the idea of removing glass from someone's vital organs under a time limit, you'll love it. It also has some of the best use of the Wiimote I've seen in any game so far.

trauma center pissed me the fuck off. that's my fault though. I wasn't very precise with the stylus.

another problem I have with all games: I'm not very patient.

The new Super Smash Bros. will make you hate your boyfriend if you play in VS. mode. But it's really fun in adventure mode, and there's only 3 buttons and a D-pad required to make your character ambulatory.

Another fun game for non-gamers is Pokemon Diamond or Pearl for Nintendo DS. I have a pink DS. I love it.

I just beat Chrono Trigger on New Game + again last night. Fuck yeah, Level 67!

My girlfriend doesn't really like any games except Mario Kart, but she enjoys the music from Chrono Trigger. And by 'enjoys' I mean 'listens to me play OC Remixes of repeatedly.'

Exelizabeth, ENDLESS OCEAN for the Wii should be on your list of titles to try. It's a very relaxing game, almost the exact opposite of Super Smash Bros.

The "game" basically just involves SCUBAing around and looking at fish and dolphins and penguins and so on. There are some tasks to complete, but you can ignore them or do them whenever. Taking "photos" of the creatures is fun, happening on whales in fun, finding a walrus on your ship is fun. It comes with some new age-y music, but I prefer playing my own chill selections, like Eno/Budd's "The Pearl."

The graphics above water are lame, but most of the action takes place underwater, which looks very nice. And there's actually some cool/creepy hidden or interesting areas to stumble on.

ALSO, there's a online co-op mode so you can swim around with your buddy (or me).

And it's only $30 to boot.

What @8 said time 100.

times! Dang it.

Okay, games: I had an NES and later a SNES as a kid, and was into the Mario games, the Final Fantasy games, Zelda, Gauntlet and the sports games, especially the Tecmo series. But as the video game industry veered towards 3D action and $300 consoles, I eventually found other ways to occupy my time.

Nowadays, I have a PS2 and an N64 with a couple of old games for each, but even if I did have the time to play, I just can't put the time into beating or mastering games like I could as a kid. When I do make time for games, it's usually sports sims on my PC.

Alot of the Nintendo Wii games are more accessible and not geared as much toward hard core gamers. As far as the XBox goes, there's a pretty cool Trivia game called "Scene It", not as good as the old You Don't Know Jack but it will do.

Why don't you have a DS? Go get a DS now!

What about racing games? When I'm at my gamerboi's house, between crazy-spectacular fuck sessions (ladies, there's something to be said for that kind of manual dexterity), I like to play Burnout and Wipeout. And many racing games are multiplayer. I have friends who play online together all the time.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE flOw. Total stoner game, requiring no skill, and it's intensely pleasurable to play. It reminds me of that game that the crew of the Enterprise (TNG) got addicted to at some point.

Growing up, I played NES, and I still think that the Mario games, especially Super Mario 3, were some of the best games every made, without being difficult to enjoy before mastering them technically (which also wasn't that hard).

I like to think that I'm a good example of how a person can appreciate video games for what they are -- creative, interactive entertainment -- without life being ABOUT them, so I liked Exelizabeth's post. :)

@4: Paul, you can stop. I've already been disregarding pretty much everything you say after your comments about all comic book readers being greasy, unloved men, obsessed with big-titted women. You don't have to keep trying to make yourself look like an even huger tool than you already do, we get the point already.