Thanks for your explanation. I have not met anyone like you, or the type of gaming you described. It must be a small minority of the gaming population? You mention having a fast brain...so how have you personally been able to apply your gaming experience to your real world career? Has it made you successful in terms of work, and finances?
So many people that game are doing nothing but gaming, and thus, I do not see the point of gaming other then it tends to be an escape from reality, or becomes an addiction. Or an obsessive hobby. No wonder childhood obesity is escalating, and they never go outside to play- they want to stay glued to electronics.
Ah, but how do you know any of that? When you see people gaming, there's no way for you to know that it's all they do, or even MOST of what they do. Even if they state it to be their main hobby. Again, that's just another common misconception... the idea that gamers are just "losers" that live in their mom's basement or something. Obviously that's not exactly what you said there, but when someone does bring it up, that's the most cliche'd way that it is often phrased.
Interestingly, some of the people that are most into gaming are also unusually active. Whenever I hear about "professional gamers"... the sort that play competitive games for really big money (and I mean REALLY big money, and yeah, there really are people that make a living doing that), I also always hear about that stereotype. Yet if you actually look up those people and read about them, most of them dont fit that. They're not obese for instance, and are usually into some sort of sport or physical activity. Hell, I remember reading about one that was into rock climbing. And these are people for whom gaming is literally their job. But it makes sense; one cannot be effective at this sort of thing if one is slow and generally out of it. So they take part in sports or other activities and it keeps their mind sharp, and keeps physical problems away. Most of them dont drink or anything either (and neither do I, for that matter).
See? That's the answer to another misconception. Even though they've taken a hobby THAT far, there is still alot more to them. Obviously, very few gamers take it to that level, but the concept still applies here. Applies to me, too. Gaming is my main hobby/activity, yet I travel alot, and must get out of the house and drive somewhere at least once per day to retain my sanity. I like to go hiking in forests, when I can find a forest that doesnt suck. If I'm down at the island house I go outside *alot*. And I have a young dog who requires alot of attention and exercise. None of this cuts into the time I take for my hobbies, either. But alot of people would, upon hearing that I'm into gaming, never guess that I do any of that sort of thing.
Now, as for that sort of game that I showed you being the minority as well, it really isnt, and yet it also is. The problem is the media and the corporations. Companies like EA, Activision, and so on. These guys spend BILLIONS of dollars trying to convince you and everyone else that they are the only game in town. That's why, when you hear of video games, you hear about things like Call of Duty or whatever other "mature" game they want to spout. By getting people to think that they're the only option, they generate more sales for themselves. They are, in fact, the source of most misconceptions, and they are absolutely fine with that since it leads to more money for them (even if it leads to trouble for everyone else). But not everyone plays those. Particularly those that do their gaming on computers instead of on consoles. On PC, *anyone* can make a game and sell it via the major vendors... anyone at all (cant be done on consoles, there's ALOT of restrictions with those). So... alot of people do (these usually being referred to as "indie" developers, since they're not associated with one of the major publishers, and technically my own development work also falls into this category), and that means ALOT of choices for players. There's thousands of creative, unique games out there, with more being released every day... it's almost overwhelming. There's simply WAY too many to keep track of. The problem is that some players will never know that ANY of these games exist for the reasons mentioned above. But games like the ones I play have been getting more and more popular in recent years, particularly as more and more people get fed up with the other side of things. I've had the chance to meet ALOT of players through my exploits, and all of them are into these sorts of things. I'm meeting more and more that have gotten fed up with the "big guys", so to speak, and are now ONLY into things like this.
Which brings me to myself, I guess. To answer your question: I do not work. Well, sort of. I do not have what you would call a true "job". Specifically, I have no need of one. For the reason, I'll just say "wealthy family" and leave it at that... doubt I need to explain that further.
However, I've still done stuff even if that stuff doesnt qualify as a "job". I've done game development, for instance... TECHNICALLY maybe that one was a job, since there was a contract involved, but I doubt it. Technically that one is still ongoing (and my role in it is major, I was given alot of control/authority over the project), but I'm doing it on a volunteer basis now, since I dont need the money but do want to help the developers. I've also been involved in game testing for... honestly I dont even want to know how long, the answer will only irritate me. A long time. All of the testing work I do (which is ALOT at this point), and some of the development stuff, is all done on a volunteer basis, because I bloody well can (mostly, I just want to be able to help out when I see a chance to). If I actually needed a real "job" by the traditional sense, this is the sort of stuff I'd be doing. So I guess in reality, it's not far off that mark. I'm also getting into reviews, too, almost forgot about that. As in, writing reviews. There's a site called SaveOrQuit, I write reviews for them, and I also do them on Steam... big long ones. That's a fairly recent development. There's some other stuff that's developing as a result of that, but... too early to speak of those things. Interestingly, none of these things required that I seek them out, like someone trying to look for a job. These all came to me... funny how that works sometimes. But those are all stories for another day. Lastly, I'm recently trying to learn to draw and get into art a bit... again, inspired by this hobby.
Based on that stuff, it's pretty obvious how my skills/knowledge fit in. However, we can step outside of that a bit too. These skills arent just helpful in ONE area. They can be helpful in many. Driving, for instance. All of that coordination I have, and the reflexes and all of that, it helps alot when it comes to driving. Particularly when dangerous situations happen (and with as much driving as I do, you bet I've been in some bad situations). I can avoid things that most people would be too slow to dodge, and I can deal with chaos better than most. As in, hazardous weather and stuff like that. I've been outside in some seriously crazy weather before (I live in the midwest of the US, known as "tornado alley", the weather can go bonkers sometimes) and often when that happens, the only option is to push through it... and you better believe those skills come in handy there. And that's good because again, I do alot of driving.
And you bring up things like childhood obesity, but to that, I say this: It's not the hobby that does it. Hell, you could link it up with alot of "hobbies" or interests, really. TV and movies, even books could be linked to obesity (you dont exactly move around much when reading). LOTS of things could be linked to it by that logic. But no, it's not the hobby... it's the individual. And in the case of children, it's how they are raised. Again, even with this hobby as my main thing, I still have plenty of time to do other stuff... and that applies to many others too. Everyone I know is really into gaming, and all of THEM also have jobs to worry about... and none of them are overweight. Thusly, obesity isnt caused by merely one thing. You wanna dive more into the cause of THAT though? It's going to be not JUST about habits/hobbies, but also about what parents are letting their kids eat. Or what vices people are allowing themselves to dive into. I honestly think that when people blame it on things like gaming or movies, it's really being done as a sort of... scapegoat. It's an easy target, rather than look for the REAL cause, which is going to be something in their own personal lives, which they would be forced to confront if they wanted to deal with it. It's easier for someone to say "no it's all the TV and movies" or whatever. Sad, but that's how way too many people are.
Does that count?
