I don’t think you’re an open book to people just from the type of video games you play, I mean just because I, Simon Barker play a Grand Theft Auto game, that doesn’t necessarily make me a threat to society, does it? Despite what certain people would have you know about games such as these. What does playing certain video games say about me?
However, that said if people were to play the following games they could perhaps get an insight into who I am as a person and therefore get to me know on a certain level — or at least I can interpret what I think playing these games say about me. I mean, if you were to play them you’d take your own personal experiences away from them which may not be what I would, don’t you think?
Civilization
There have been various incarnations of the Civilization game, all of which have been a firm favourite of mine for the last 15 years or so. I believe this is mainly because I appreciate the strategic nature of the game and with it being turn-based, it affords me the luxury of having plenty of time to consider the decisions that I make — that’s probably why I don’t like real-time strategy games, I don’t get the time to really consider the strategy element to them.
That then probably translates to other areas of my life, particularly when it comes to decision-making. I’d much rather sit back and take a strategic, big-picture view to decide how to deal with a problem or make a choice of what to do next. Take a look at this video review and you’ll see what I mean!
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 is a science-fiction game that has a great story and is entertaining and involving as you play a scientist who has to save the world — would I want to identify with a science geek that ends up being a gun-shooting hero…ermmm…well! Also, when this game was released it was a real technical leap forward for video games in general. Not only for how it looked in terms of graphics but because of its use of physics which meant items in the world would fall or fly around in a more realistic manner. Being the technical person I am, I could really appreciate both of these advancements.
In addition to those technical elements being involved, in follow-up Episode 1 game, there’s a point at which your in-game companion, Alyx tries to scare you by making zombie noises in the dark — that for me is a classic moment in gaming – a little bit of humour injected into otherwise very serious proceedings is always a nice thing to have, anyway here’s that and another (attempted) joke from her…
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is perhaps the most famous massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) there is, it means that it’s not just a single-player game, there are millions of other players worldwide and probably thousands playing on the same server as your character’s. You can work together with others to play cooperatively to accomplish quests and venture into dungeons.
What you do in the game can also be compared to others and therefore I feel as though your achievements mean more, which is why I think that I could never really get into a single-player RPG game such as Oblivion. It looked like a cool game, but for me, the sense of community and true interaction wasn’t there. So I couldn’t justify investing a large number of hours into playing it, especially when I could be working together with others towards mutual goals in a game such as WoW!
Playing cooperatively is usually a good thing, but obviously, other people can then let you down occasionally…just take a look at the now-infamous Leeroy Jenkins video!
Summary
So there you have it, a little glimpse into what playing certain video games might say about me as a person. I’m a technical-minded person who likes to work cooperatively to a larger goal, prefers to make strategic, considered decisions and likes the occasional bit of humour mixed into proceedings.
What games would you suggest someone play if they wanted to get to know you better? Can you tell what kind of person somebody is just from a list of the games that they play? Or does each game require further analysis of which specific elements appeal to you?
Simon Barker is the founder and editor of Zath and has over 25 years’ worth of experience of using computers and technology in general. He can normally be found researching or testing the latest in technology products.
He has provided IT consultancy services to both home and small business users for over 15 years, building PCs, fixing hardware/software problems and providing comprehensive training.
Simon always likes to get the best out of the technology products he is using, by both making informed purchasing decisions and also optimising how they are used to get the most benefits possible.
