Gaming Philosophy - Player Side

Unlike my last GP this one is not about philosophy as a dev but as a player. Some people play for the fun of it, some to win, some to pass the time, and many others. Aside from the reason you play there are underlying points of interest to consider. I find it a bit fun to try and figure out how some of the devs programmed certain features or functions and what their thought process was for coming up with it to begin with. Then there's all sorts of interesting tid bits of information that inexplicably stay with me or get me interested enough to learn more. One small example of this is I didn't know what a jetty was before I played the first fable so many years ago. I remember looking up the definition to find out what it meant and I've remembered ever since.

Sometimes these things are actually useful outside of games, other times they can start arguments until someone stops to check online. I'd love to point out how my gaming knowledge has gotten me dates before but that's usually because of my knowledge of games rather than knowledge gained from games. I remember one date though I could have attributed to dante's inferno had it not been for the fact I'd previously read all 3 parts of the manuscript as well as for some reason knowing a strange amount about catholic beliefs in spite of the fact that I'm not catholic nor is anyone I happen to associate with to my current knowledge. However I'll tell it to you anyway because it may come in handy given it's related to a not uncommon saying. I was asking my friend if he'd be okay with me going out on a date with his cousin and while he approved he added it'd be a cold day in hell before she'd go out with me, to which I reply "then today is that day". Upon approaching her she told me "when hell freezes over" and once again I laugh and I might have given up there had she not been so half-hearted about saying it and the fact I'd already thought about a precise way around that particular line. Again had she had more conviction I might've believed she seriously didn't want to be bothered, so I then proceed to inquire their knowledge of the 9th circle of hell. Believed to be completely made of ice and reserved only for the most evil of sinners the traitors as satan's wings flap trying to free himself his gusts freeze the land and the sinners in it. This little factoid isn't uncommon knowledge either I imagine however I would suggest that many people were reminded of it if they recently played the game based on the manuscript. This follow through and somewhat witty retort was enough that she changed her mind and decided to go out on a date with me. This isn't a manner of pestering or overt persistence to which she gave in out of frustration she seemed pleasantly surprised and offered to go out if I wasn't too discouraged.

What I'm essentially leading to is games can teach you many interesting things some of which have practical applications. I would encourage you to analyze your favorite games and try to understand why they're your favorites. There's a lot to surprise you if you know how to look and you'd be surprised at how many things rub off on you when you're not paying attention. I've seen people pick up new mannerisms and speech patterns without even realizing it after playing particular games for prolonged periods of time.

As to a short explanation why I haven't posted in a while I've been super busy trying to get one of my games published only to realize just how many people I need to buy licensees from for things I used and all the percentages of revenue they want as well. Looks like I'm going to have to re-work a few things to cut them all out as much as I can. More details in my other blog.