Did this book change your view of video games and those who play them? If so, in what ways?

Did this book change your view of video games and those who play them?

I enjoy playing some video games and I have seen my children and now my grandchildren get engrossed in many of the games that were discussed in this novel. I think they are a great escape. I never really thought about how a game was developed, it certainly sounded more complicated that I realized. I guess this novel made me realize that behind ever game is a person or a team of people who spent months making their ideas translate into a game.

It did, actually. Although I do play video games myself, it's more as a way to clear my mind - "brain candy." I've always been hesitant to get into role-playing games because I think I could easily get sucked into them and get little else done. This made me think about the role these games can fill for others, though. I came to realize how helpful they can be for people who have trouble forming IRL relationships. It's a way for some people to develop friendships with a lower risk level - they're not putting their real selves out there to be hurt.

This book did change my perspective. I worried about my children playing video games as they grew up as I saw them as a waste of time (or worse, a form of dependency or potential addiction), without seeing the more positive aspects including the skill and creativity it takes to play them, let alone make them.

Today, they are highly functioning adults in their late 20s and they still play role playing games once or twice a week--but they're not doing so out of any problems with forming real life relationships (as kimk suggests). In fact, very much the opposite as they play them with friends spread out across the country, and other parts of the world as a way to stay in touch; just as I might chat in between games of tennis and go out for a coffee afterwards; they are doing the same, sharing comments while they play and then hanging out afterwards in the world of the game.

That's a really good point, JuliaB. I can see how it could certainly be a healthy social activity. Since it's never been that for me, my mind just didn't go there. But now that you mention it, I have two friends with teen children, and that's a huge part of how they interact these days. It's a new world!

I am not a gamer by any means, and I pretty much only played on the big machines decades ago. My perception was that most of the games are violent, and numb the player to actual violence and death. I still think there are a lot of those games, but there are apparently many other types of games.

I still kind of feel that a lot of time playing games is wasted..although I impressed at what goes into the design and marketing.

Yes, my perspective has changed. I really did not realize how much work, intelligence, and personal investment went into the development of games. As a former teacher and current grandmother, my main concerns were safety and negative influence on young players.

I did not grow up playing video games. I grew up with Hide and Seek, Monopoly, and Kick the can. My children played Pokeymon and Donkey Kong. They played outside the majority of the time so games seemed healthy. My grandchildren were obsessed with fortnight and I never understood how it was played but I worried they spent too much time on it. This book made me realize the gaming generation thinks in an entirely different way
than I do so this book was hard for me to understand.

Yes, the book did change my view of video games and gamers. I have little reference, as my experience is limited to Atari in the 1980s. My 17-year-old daughter is a gamer (so much so that if she is not playing, she is watching other people play on Youtube, which I do not understand). But I think a lot of the games in Tomorrow... are used as metaphors for the primary characters lives and what they are going through during each period of their lives. I do still view gaming as escapism, but maybe it is such in a more healthy way than I previously thought.

AshleyB, my friend's son does the same thing - watch others play. At first I thought that was weird, but then I spent a couple of hours watching others play basketball last night. So... same thing, different "sport" I guess.

I have never played video games and have never thought much about them. I enjoyed reading about the process, now having the knowledge of how time consuming and difficult it is to make the games!

Yes, I learned a lot about gaming and gained a much more positive view of it. My default entertainment is reading, but I began to see how absorbing a good game might be. I may even try some games!

It did change my view of all that goes into the creation of video games. I realized how much work and creativity was expended on the making of these games. There were long nights and years of work. Two of my sons have always loved video games and seeing the intense effort, coding, engineering, and programming made me much more aware of the fact we often just see the end product.

I have to confess, one of my kids (who is in their mid 30’s now) has always loved video and role playing games and I was always worried about the amount of time spent in the virtual world and who they were interacting with on the internet. Now a high functioning adult, my child has a successful career, is a caring and thoughtful person who still occasionally plays RPG and connects with virtual friends across the country and world. I feel I understand now how these games can be a diversion, a comfort, a way to work through grief or trauma.

Absolutely, yes, this book did change my perceptions. For me, "games" had been only an occasional word puzzle if I want to kill some time or have nothing more pressing. I was aware of the gaming community but had not paid a lot of attention and so knew nothing of the intense preparation going on behind the scenes.

I have always thought that video games serve a purpose. It allows lonely people to engage with others and they stretch your mind.

I was intrigued by the reference to Strawberry Thief and wished that I could have seen it. I never really thought about all the different kinds of game types there are. It’s a much more complex world than I imagined.

I knew nothing about video games or the creation process. It has made me understand much more about the people, the process and they why.

Yes. At first I was put off by the gaming, its lingo and its central place in the story, but I grew to embrace it. My kids are big gamers so it gave me some perspective on their interests.

No. I still think that gaming is a waste of time. I would much rather read a book!

What I learned was that there is a lot of work that goes into making a game from start to the launch of the game. I do think some play theses game too much. it is a way to escape. Id rather escape in a book.

Absolutely!
I definitely gained a better insight and respect into the creativity and art involved in developing these games and the creativity it can develop in those that play. I hadn’t thought of gaming in those terms before.

It did, I always thought of video games as time wasters and never thought about what goes into making them. I didn't grow up playing video games (too old) but my kids loved them and played all the time. I tried to instill a live of reading in my children but video games won out with my son. I played Duck Hunt and Mario with him but never enjoyed the role playing games. They are so elaborate now and it takes a very creative and dedicated mind to dream them up.

Definitely. I never was a video game player, although I love to play games. I now have a huge amount of respect for the work and creativity that goes into creating the games. I now see that the games are visual world building.

Yes, this book made me appreciate video games as works of art and technology, in a way I had not recognized prior.

The book didn’t change my feelings about gamers. However, the discussions around the design, development, strategy and marketing of video games was enlightening and interesting - not a topic I had given any thought to before the book.