But why do you like them? What do you get out of them? What's the benefit?

I've watched people play slot machines. They sit there and pump money into the machine for no real benefit to themselves. Why are video games any different to that?

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Gareth321 a day ago | parent | next [-]

I get fun out of them. I don't mean to sound snide, but do you really not understand why people play video games? I derive fun from many places, like hiking, reading, movies, music, and video games. Do you not derive fun from your hobbies?

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N_Lens a day ago | parent | next [-]

No! And that’s how I like it!

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cisc a day ago | parent | prev [-]

[flagged]

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mrob a day ago | parent | next [-]

A video game allows you to develop your skills and use your brain in a complex way (especially true of competitive multiplayer games). A slot machine is played by mindlessly pulling a lever.

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cisc 20 hours ago | parent [-]

> develop your skills and use your brain in a complex way

What skills? I don't think there's anything complex about button mashing to make blinking lights blink differently.

	▲	mrob 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		In that case, you should have no difficulty winning any major esports tournament and claiming some easy prize money.

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Gareth321 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

To be equally reductive, how is any hobby more than playing a slot machine? It’s just pulling a dopamine lever.

I do not believe a hobby needs to yield social value. I believe it is sufficient to derive enjoyment from the activity itself. You don’t need to personally enjoy my hobbies, just as I don’t imagine I would enjoy yours.

	▲	cisc 20 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> To be equally reductive I'd say it's less reductive and more the objective reality. > I do not believe a hobby needs to yield social value I didn't say anything about social value. I'm talking about value to you individually. I don't think you've answered that question. I don't see there is any value. I think you're pushing buttons to make the blinking lights blink differently, just like a slot machine.

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alt227 a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Why do either of those things matter to you if the person in question enjoys them?

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ang_cire a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Any activity you enjoy is enjoyed because it produces a dopamine release (for someone who enjoys it).

People who enjoy reading get the same dopamine reaction from that as people who enjoy video games. Or slot machines.

The difference with slot machines is that the purpose of them is solely to tie that dopamine release to giving away money predicated on deception (specifically, both by not disclosing actual odds, and by lying about them).

A slot game that requires no money to play isn't a problem, because it's not tricking old people into giving away their pensions.

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cisc 20 hours ago | parent [-]

> to tie that dopamine release to giving away money predicated on deception (specifically, both by not disclosing actual odds, and by lying about them)

So just like loot boxes in video games.

> A slot game that requires no money to play isn't a problem

So similarly you should only be playing opensource and freeware video games that aren't designed to extract money from you.

	▲	ang_cire 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Which is why people have specific problems with loot boxes, yes. But most video games don't have loot boxes. > So similarly you should only be playing opensource and freeware video games that aren't designed to extract money from you. "Paying to purchase a game", and "paying to wager money on or in a game" are 2 different things. I'd also have no issue with someone buying an actual slot machine to sit in their house, so they put in money but also keep the money they put in. But people don't do that because they're not playing for the gameplay, they're playing for the gamble.