Why I play games?

I'm a gamer and I have always been. I don't remember the time as a kid when I didn't have a Nintendo Entertainment System. So I have played video games all my life and I know that I will be doing it in the future too. The question about my gaming is Why? Why do I play all these games? Why I have spend hours in front of computer screen and television?

I once asked person why he played World of Warcraft, game that I see no reason to play, it just doesn't excite me. (I might write more about this in some other post.) His answer was that it is good waste of time. I can't say that I didn't understand the answer, it just was something that I wouldn't had said about a game. I play games to pass the time, but it is very rare for me to consider a game just a way to waste time. I'm too involved into games and gaming to consider it just a thing to pass time with. Otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog post.

Because I can't think one clear reason why I like some games it is also part of a reason why it is so hard to tell why I play them. Some games I play just because the gameplay is fun, like in Katamari. Some games are almost all about interesting story, like 1213 series. In some games I like to test my skills, like in many online fps;es and Guitar Hero.

But the thing that keeps me playing comes from different direction than those. You see, I'm one of those persons who thinks games as an art form and although different forms of art give me different things there is one thing that connects them and it is emotions they give. As a art from games give out emotions to me as a player. In some games these emotions come out stronger and in some they fade back.

That's why I think that Shadow of Colossus is one of the greatest games in Playstation 2, because it is made out of feeling epic. That's also why I think that Ravenholm is the greatest part in Half-life 2. I knew all the time that there was something near, I had little ammo and because how Half-life is structured I feared that place, feared and loved. Great games give out big emotions and feelings. They aren't the only reason why some game is good, but I'm sure that if I wouldn't get those emotions I wouldn't be playing so many games.