Day 30: The biggest question of them all...

[Toffer]

I'm rounding this little feature off here. Yes I know there is 31 days in July but it's called 30 days of gaming so there you have it.

Our final question is a simple one.

What does gaming mean to you? Why gaming over any other hobby? Why pour hours upon hours into a virtual world as the real one passes you by? Is it just for the enjoyment or is it something deeper?

[The Author]

Gaming de-stresses me. There's nothing I need more than shooting people after a bad day at work.

[PhantoM]

It means everything to me, really; I can't break it down. I don't know anything different given how long I've been a hardcore gamer. I get a challenge from gaming, I get social interaction from gaming and I get great stories/experiences. I'm very competitive and I love testing myself and proving I'm the best online, but I also love going on incredibly crafted single player stories. Gaming isn't just what I do, it's who I am!

[etherfiend]

I enjoy lots of stuff from dicking about on websites to watching movies to going down the pub. I could forsake all of those, if needed, but I couldn't go long without gaming. It amuses me, frustrates me, chills me out and provides more entertainment than any other hobby I've ever enjoyed. I've been gaming for so much of my life it is now a part of who I am and a life without gaming is a horrible nightmare that I hope never becomes a reality.

[Blucey]

I've been a gamer ever since I was a little kid. By this time it's pretty much fundamental. Even if I'm grinding some lemon for achievements, I enjoy the zen of it even if I hate the game. Xbox Live has improved it all by introducing me to folks like you and all that.

[MarkuzR]

Gaming, to me, is the bridge between imagination and reality. There are so many things that the psyche has flying around, so many curiosities and inquisitive questions, and neither books nor movies can unleash or satiate these desires. Gaming can't do it either, but it goes a long way towards it. When you close the pages of a book or take your eyes away from the screen in a movie, the feeling is lost.... but not with gaming. How many people have ever said to you "Oh my mind wouldn't shut off last night as I kept on re-living pages from that book" or "All night long I kept on seeing the same scene from that movie playing over and over again"... none, I'll pretty much guarantee it. How many times have you heard someone saying "Was dreaming about Minecraft/adventuring/questing/LEGO studs/isometric shit all last night and can sometimes hear the clunk clunk clunk of the little guys in Enemy Unknown HOURS after I stop playing".... and I bet you've heard it loads of times.

SO yeah, gaming is that bridge between the imagination and reality, and sometimes it spills over... moreso than any other entertainment genre. For creatives, it's inspirational. For the troubled mind, it's utter escapism. For those who just want to while away the hours having fun, it can be the most rewarding of all the entertainment modes.

Gaming LIVES (as in "live and let die" not as in "cat with nine lives")... it really does.