Dakryn's Batshit Theory of the Week

[Dak]

I don't intend to make this into a politicized gender discussion, but I can't help but wonder about the masculine dimension(s) of video games. I know there are women who play video games, but I can't but feel that most of them appeal to a "masculine" audience.

There are plenty of games that appeal to women, but no, not the majority. I don't think that that has anything to do with it though.

The original article was about how more men aren't working because of video games. This actually implies that they're not seeking higher difficulty and a higher volume of challenges; rather, it suggests that they're complacent with completing challenges in a virtual world with no real-world stakes.

Real world accomplishment looks pretty boring when you're weighing sitting at a school desk for years and years, and then grinding it at a shitty job while being told how shitty and also privileged you are vs taking over the world, fighting dragons etc. I was there for a ~year prior to going into the Marines. Fortunately I didn't have any family to coddle that behavior.

 

[Einherjar86]

if men do this and more and women only do this -- it's obvious, no? but you've shifted to middle aged women from teenage/young adults -- it's like you're fearing a feminist is reading your thoughts at all times and you don't want to make a mistake

No need for the condescension, I'm just trying to understand.

The article was about post-grads, which is the time that most people should be entering into the early phases of their careers.

but it argues that men find the real world easy, so no

Apparently they don't if they can't extrapolate present boredom into future success. Playing video games isn't actually harder than working a 9-to-5 job at Jimmy John's, although it might be more actively stimulating.

I think you're confusing excitement and stimulation with difficulty. It's much harder to work a 9-to-5 job that you find dreadfully boring than it is to play a video game that's actively exciting.

Real world accomplishment looks pretty boring when you're weighing sitting at a school desk for years and years, and then grinding it at a shitty job while being told how shitty and also privileged you are vs taking over the world, fighting dragons etc. I was there for a ~year prior to going into the Marines. Fortunately I didn't have any family to coddle that behavior.

That seems like a misplacement of values, though, doesn't it? This strikes me as a moment when you'd say something like someone is trading future pleasure and success for present/immediate gratification.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

itt a few of you have discovered that women also play and enjoy video games ...

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Yeah I think it's more about the feeling of accomplishment than competition overall. MMOs and similar grindfests are still huge and all about raking in those pretend dollars and moving up the pretend work ladder. Even competitive games allow players to find a comfortable stopping point and "settle down"; a guy might be pretty good at his favorite online FPS, but only a small percentage of them will be competitive on the ladder. The majority are content to play on whatever their local server happens to be and not greatly improve their skill from that point forward, e.g. it just becomes another habit/form of pseudo-work. I know people that continue playing certain strategy games despite the fact that they mastered them over a decade ago and use the same technique for winning over and over; it's past the point of challenge. I'm not really convinced that it's the games themselves though; housing costs are unaffordable for most younger non-couples, the reversing of the higher-education gender gap makes more men unwanted for dating/marriage, the switching to a signaling economy hurts men more than it does women, etc.

 

[Dak]

That seems like a misplacement of values, though, doesn't it? This strikes me as a moment when you'd say something like someone is trading future pleasure and success for present/immediate gratification.

Absolutely. Of course, future pleasure is discounted by many people in many cases, if even seen.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

"future pleasure"

 

[CiG]

Tech has become Mort with his meaningless drive-by jabs.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Your big homie Mort that brought you to this forum?

 

[CiG]

Bingo.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

You should start spending more time with your kid instead of trying to impress people on this forum man. He might actually end up forgiving you for walking out on his mom when she was pregnant.

 

[CiG]

You should start spending more time with your kid instead of trying to impress people on this forum man. He might actually end up forgiving you for walking out on his mom when she was pregnant.

You're just mad because you're a childless sociopath.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

are you going to spend any time with him this holiday season? Oh what am i saying, he probably calls someone else daddy right now. Did your father also walk out on you?

 

[Einherjar86]

Absolutely. Of course, future pleasure is discounted by many people in many cases, if even seen.

Right, that's what I'm saying. I imagine gamers living with their parents aren't thinking about their futures all that much.

So perhaps I just took issue with the categorization that men preferring video games to working means they find the working world too easy. I often find crossword puzzles more intellectually stimulating than proofreading for journal submissions, but that's not because the latter is easier. I'd argue that it's harder specifically because it demands my attention for less immediate intellectual reward.

Likewise, I wouldn't say that women don't play video games specifically because they're less interested than men in the stimulation that accompanies playing video games. Giving up game-playing for committing to real-world work seems like a harder choice to make, and doesn't mean someone isn't interested in game-playing.

 

[CiG]

are you going to spend any time with him this holiday season? Oh what am i saying, he probably calls someone else daddy right now. Did your father also walk out on you?

 

[Dak]

Right, that's what I'm saying. I imagine gamers living with their parents aren't thinking about their futures all that much.

So perhaps I just took issue with the categorization that men preferring video games to working means they find the working world too easy. I often find crossword puzzles more intellectually stimulating than proofreading for journal submissions, but that's not because the latter is easier. I'd argue that it's harder specifically because it demands my attention for less immediate intellectual reward.

Yeah I definitely wouldn't say it's too easy, but it's not stimulating/immediately challenging, and I think most importantly the potential time or nature of the payoff for your work isn't clear. I'll admit one thing I like about the military and even school to some degree now is that you have regular positive feedback and clearish goals to work towards, with predictable rewards. Most places of business are not like that. Games define the goals for you and generally are structured to drip-drip-drip reward.

Likewise, I wouldn't say that women don't play video games specifically because they're less interested than men in the stimulation that accompanies playing video games. Giving up game-playing for committing to real-world work seems like a harder choice to make, and doesn't mean someone isn't interested in game-playing.

Women lean much more towards mobile games, which allows playing while at work. So they aren't really picking one over the other, they just aren't following PC Master Race and invested in Steam/XBOX/PS.

https://hypebeast.com/2018/4/females-are-dominating-mobile-games-according-to-new-study

 

[Einherjar86]

I didn't know that about women and mobile games.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

I didn't know that about women and mobile games.

... you seem to not know a lot of things when it comes to women.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

TechBarb, knower of women

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

indeed i am. Unlike Ein who constantly acts as if he's the mouthpiece for the "womens movement" or that he himself has a vagina or something. Or you, the "knower of little boys".

 

[Einherjar86]