Books vs. Video Games

[8/12/14 4:37:29 AM] Lone Unicorn: And another question, you and I believe games are fun, but what if your dad says that video games are non sense and that your fun should be to read books instead what would be your thoughts on it?

[8/12/14 8:13:35 AM] Jumbled Thought: Well, I believe both mediums have merit. Books excite the imagination more often then video games, causing one to create whole journeys and worlds in their heads. However, they might have a hard time grasping one's attention, and you become numb while reading it and gain nothing from the experience. That happened a lot to me in my senior year. Couldn't find a good book to save my life.

[8/12/14 8:18:20 AM] Jumbled Thought: As for video games, they require less imagination, but (especially the right ones) actually require more practical concepts and thought. They push you to use a specific set of tools to solve a problem and YOU actually solve the problem. Because of the interaction with the game it is harder to lose focus and become numb to the experience. However, video games also have many games that are dumb to begin with (like CoD) that don't require a lot of thought to begin with. Platformers, most RPGs, and strategy games though are amazing for intellectual stimulation and task you with problem solving.

[8/12/14 8:21:56 AM] Jumbled Thought: As for enjoyment, I can't say which is better. What I can talk about is price and space. Books (especially large and long ones) take up a lot of space, but /one/ book can be relatively cheap, especially compared to one new game. However, with dedicated reading, even the biggest books can be beat in about a week or two (I think, I don't normally spend time I play video games reading, but I still manage 400 page books in two weeks normally) and you now know the story so few books have great rereadability.

[8/12/14 8:23:19 AM] Jumbled Thought: The cost will grow and the size of them will take up a LOT of space. There's a reason we have libraries, though that is also a great argument for them because you can get them on loan for free from local libraries. And yes, I just shamelessly plugged for local libraries though I go to them for wifi with friends.

[8/12/14 8:25:53 AM] Jumbled Thought: As for games, the slim design of cases and then even more compact form of the disks into sleeves (this is done in many different formats, I have two of them) make it easy to have a huge collection, in about the size of a normal cardboard box. As for price, the system and the games are expensive. However, systems come out only every few years so it is merely a bump in price, a bump you could compare to shelving for books. For the games, well that is where replay ability comes into play and length.

[8/12/14 8:28:56 AM] Jumbled Thought: Because of some games format, you can't beat them in a week. I know people have spent months on Skyrim, and even myself took a month to beat Dragon Age once. Not only that, but with solid gameplay, you don't have to care about the story. I have played the Sly Cooper series multiple times and loved each play through, and those aren't short or easy games. That s another thing. Even if they stop making games for a system (may the PS2 rest in peace) you can still play them for free because you already own them. Include just having to wait for prices to drop because games don't vanish from shelves as fast as books never to be seen again because Peter Jackson's newest bestseller came out and needs the shelf space.

[8/12/14 8:29:17 AM] Jumbled Thought: For which /I/ believe is better, it goes to video games.

[8/12/14 8:31:49 AM] Jumbled Thought: This isn't true for everyone. Some people really should read to increase their imagination, to take them to another place completely. Few games beat that possible total immersion into the world. However, you are already a writer. This means you can come up with the world, you can figure out how a narrative works and flex your imagination with great strength. Therefore, work on the practical side. Work on the practical side and the sheer entertainment that they bring because that is what they meant for.

[8/12/14 8:33:46 AM] Jumbled Thought: Even the stupidest of games still force youth master a set of skills and work with them, testing your reactions and skill with the set of options given (and yes, this applies to CoD too). So yeah, thats all I've got to say, and my endorsement is on video games.

[8/12/14 8:40:48 AM] Jumbled Thought: However, my mother just reminded me of one last point. Only using one can be bad for you. Find something else to do as well. Preferably typing seeing as you are supposedly a writer, but something. I derive literally all of my pleasure from writing nowadays, but when I feel somewhat burnt out or need something else to do I turn to video games. Or youtube videos, but that is nonsense and a waste of time that I wish I didn't do as much. Remember, either in moderation can be fun, but you will burn out anything if it is all you do.

I got this from talking to my friend Fantasia Archsage who asked me what my thoughts were on for wether video games were nonsense or if reading books is where pleasure should be derived. In fact, I have one thing that trumps both. Fanfiction, specifically Jumbled Thought's and Fantasia Archsage. :D

But seriously, those are my thoughts on the topic and I've been playing the crap out of Infamous lately. The first one, because the second one is shit in comparison. However, you guys are probably curious as to my favorite stories and games. And if you didn't I'm not stopping.
Story: Ranger's Apprentice. Love it, read the whole thing twice, cannot get my hands on the final book which infuriates me! Still, great series, wish Borders was still open because no one seems to sell John Flangan's books
Favorite Platformer: I bring up Sly Cooper, but it is a close second to my favorite, Oddworld. Also known as Abe's Odyssey or Abe's Exodus, it is just an awesome game series with minimalistic story telling but an awesome story nonetheless. They actually just came out with a revamp of the first game for the PS4 called New N Tasty and it looks fantastic. Don't believe me? Here's proof. Now if only I had a PS4.
Favorite Strategy: This is gonna be hard for me to admit. I don't own and play a lot of strategy games. I still like them, they just never end up in my house, and there isn't an abundance of them like shooters. So my favorite strategy game is an old PS2 release, Yu-Gi-Oh capsule monster coliseum. Do I recommend you buy it? Not really. Its a dead system and the game is good, but not the best I've ever played. However, that was almost my introduction to the series (I think a gameboy advance version of Age of Empires was the first one I'd really played) and I love the plethora of options and thought you do have to put in. It's a lot of fun for me, but I could see others not enjoying it.
Favorite RPG: Fuck this is tough. However, going with the fact that RPGs are games where you decide play style and follow a storyline. Well, though with limited customization, I give it to Kingdom Hearts 2. I've done a blog post (really shitty one too) on comparing the two together, and the thing that wins out on a personal level is replay ability. Is it the most deep or intelectually stimulating game I've ever played. No, but it is definitely one of the ones I have had the most fun playing, and come back to almost once a year. And I almost never replay, or reread, anything thing.