I have problems with video games

[Yahya Elyasse]

Hi Guys,

you will not beleive me guys if i tell you i have played video games only twice or so im my whole life (now approaching my 40ties). i feel a psychological obstacle with video games . i don't feel joy playing them . in the contrary this increase my tension and frustration especially if i'm not doing well in the game.(especially those fighting ,warefare and action games that requires quick reflexes etc..).
I remember in early 90s i applied for a position as student in Civil aviation school as a pilot student candidate. i remember i was eliminated in the psycho-technical test which consisted of dealing with a plane simulator Game in which i performed badly and thus was not accepted in the school of Civil Air Pilots .
what the hell could be this story with me with video games?
does anyone of you guys (programmers and developers ) encounters some similar symptoms about this video game problem i have? and how can i overcome this psychological obstacle which is making me feel uncomfortable.

thanks.

[Bear Bibeault]

I don't like liver, so I don't eat it.

If you don't like playing video games, simply don't play them. You make it sound as if that's somehow a problem that you must fix.

Many people seem to enjoy big parties and going out drinking. I don't, and never have. So I don't go to big parties, and I never go out drinking. I don't feel that this is anything I need to "fix".

Why do you feel the need to "fix" yourself?

[Bear Bibeault]

P.S. I'm currently playing Dead Space on my PS3. It's incredibly gruesome and creepy!

[Yahya Elyasse]

Bear Bibeault wrote:I don't like liver, so I don't eat it.

If you don't like playing video games, simply don't play them. You make it sound as if that's somehow a problem that you must fix.

Many people seem to enjoy big parties and going out drinking. I don't, and never have. So I don't go to big parties, and I never go out drinking. I don't feel that this is anything I need to "fix".

Why do you feel the need to "fix" yourself?

Yeah you right ! i don't like games so i simply won't play them.
I was just wondering if every programmer should be a good game player? no connection i beleive?
The problem is i feel my reflexes are quit slow (like my speed in typing on keyboard and so..) i'm just worried about this slowness in mechanical activities that most computer users do quickly..this doesn't affect my abilities to solve problems and write algorithms..it is just this slowness in motor activities that worries me a bit. and while i'm a programmer, people should not notice I'm slow in typing keyboard or reacting to events happening in the screen of my computer..

[Bear Bibeault]

Yahya Elyasse wrote:I was just wondering if every programmer should be a good game player? no connection i beleive?

I don't see any connection whatsoever. And if there were, I'd be in big trouble. While I enjoy video games, I'm horrible (abysmally horrible) at them. I have no hand-eye coordination to speak of. (Being legally blind in one eye probably doesn't help. Depth perception and all that.)

people should not notice I'm slow in typing keyboard

I've been in the industry for over 30 years and I've never learned to touch type. I'm still a hunter-and-pecker and I don't think it's had any effect on my career.

If you'd like to have better coordination, there are exercises that you can use (google for them). But except for your own personal satisfaction, I think you are worrying for naught.

[Yahya Elyasse]

Bear Bibeault wrote:

Yahya Elyasse wrote:I was just wondering if every programmer should be a good game player? no connection i beleive?

I don't see any connection whatsoever. And if there were, I'd be in big trouble. While I enjoy video games, I'm horrible (abysmally horrible) at them. I have no hand-eye coordination to speak of. (Being legally blind in one eye probably doesn't help. Depth perception and all that.)

people should not notice I'm slow in typing keyboard

I've been in the industry for over 30 years and I've never learned to touch type. I'm still a hunter-and-pecker and I don't think it's had any effect on my career.

If you'd like to have better coordination, there are exercises that you can use (google for them). But except for your own personal satisfaction, I think you are worrying for naught.

Thank you for reassuring me ;)
I think i'm exaggerating a bit. probably i'm too perfectionist and want to be in control in all aspects of the computer world ; which is not a rational way of thinking..so yes Thank you for reminding me i'm ok and don't have to worry so much !

Btw, Happy new year to you all -even a bit late-

Regards.

[Bear Bibeault]

Yahya Elyasse wrote:Happy new year to you all -even a bit late

It's never a bad time to give someone good wishes!

[Pat Farrell]

Yahya Elyasse wrote:especially those fighting ,warefare and action games that requires quick reflexes etc..).

I'm with Bear, if you don't like it, don't do it.

I enjoy some computer games, but I don't have any reflexes, and can't see all that well. So for me, first person shooters, warfare, etc. are hopeless. I get killed in the first seconds.

But I do like to play Real-time strategy games, if I can skip the reflexes stuff. So I can play a decent game of Warcraft, or Command and Conquer against the computer. But I get simply destroyed on battlenet, etc.

One of the first games that I played on a computer was "adventure" or zork. I was fairly good at it, but didn't have the patience to properly gather stuff to drop to figure out the maze of twisty little passages, all alike.

One good side is that folks who don't like first person shooters save a lot of money on computer hardware.

[Mike Simmons]

On the other hand, I stay away from video games because I like them. I can't afford to get addicted to another one and lose several weeks or months of my life. So I avoid trying them in the first place. Usually. They are cool, though.

(I'm not very good at them either, but that doesn't prevent me from spending way too much time on them if I'm not careful.)

[Monu Tripathi]

Mike Simmons wrote:On the other hand, I stay away from video games because I like them. I can't afford to get addicted to another one and lose several weeks or months of my life. So I avoid trying them in the first place. Usually. They are cool, though.

(I'm not very good at them either, but that doesn't prevent me from spending way too much time on them if I'm not careful.)

Much the same here. Indeed, they are cool; once I start with one I can't keep my hands off...It becomes an addiction.
I make effort not to get involved with them now...(I still cant get over FIFA08, the soccer game from EA).

I don't think gaming is an obligation, it is a question of personal interest. And IMO, you don't have to ace a game so as to enjoy it.