How do you feel when someone is watching you play?

I've noticed recently that I act a lot differently when someone is watching me play games. Just yesterday I was playing Final Fantasy 13 and my dad walked into the living room and sat down to watch. I wasn't sure what to do, whether or not to keep playing like he wasn't there, engage in conversation about the game, engage in irrelevant conversation, etc.
 
When a friend is over and we are playing a single player game, an example would be Uncharted 2 a few months back, I kept feeling the need to make him play rather than me just to make sure he was enjoying himself. I enjoy watching people play games, I love the Quick Looks, Endurance runs and features here on the site, but I think I'm oversensitive to the fact that not everyone in the world does enjoy watching people play games.
 
So my question is, how do you feel when someone is watching you play games?

My cousin and I played and beat MGS3 together and it was whoever got there first in the morning got to play.  but those several times I just watched were comparably enjoyable to the times I was playing it myself. 
 
What I mean is... sometimes people just enjoy watching. 
 
but when it comes to others watching me.... it's not much different.  I try to engage them... but little more than that.

Personally I can often find it enjoyable enough watching someone play a game, but it really depends on the game. I think it needs to be something with a pretty good story, so it becomes somewhat like watching a movie. RPGs are good for this. If Im playing, we'll usually talk about the game as I go along, just making jokes and so on. 
 
I actually watched a friend play some of Uncharted 2, and had fun just watching that, and helping out when he got stuck and stuff.

Depends on who walks in the room, but I play my games in my bedroom so if someone comes in it's normally to tell me something or other, they're not gonna sit down and watch me play.
 
Most of my friends are into games though so if a friend comes round then he'll probably play on my PC while I'm on PS3 or vice versa.

If it's with somebody who doesn't know much about the game, I.E my dad, I would just explain what's going on and what's cool about the game compared to others, etc. Talking to a guy that grew up playing nothing but Doom, he's actually quite interested.
 
When I'm with mates, we just usually keep talking like a normal conversation, it just happens that one of us is playing a game. Unless if it's a really tactical game, then we both have fun working out strategies and yelling at each other. :3

I only feel comfortable playing single player story-driven games with only 2 people.:
 
My best(and nerdy like me)friend who've I've known for 18 years and the missus. 99% of the time it turns into MSTK3 though:P
 
When its something like Smash Brothers or a multiplayer shooter: whatever. I'll just engage in whatever conversation comes to mind.

" If it's with somebody who doesn't know much about the game, I.E my dad, I would just explain what's going on and what's cool about the game compared to others, etc.

I feel dirty.
 
I'm not into that kinky watching other people play stuff :/

I played No Russian while my sister and parents watched recently. Surprisingly they didn't even ask a question. like they accepted 'oh this is videogames'. 
 
with more competitive scenes, In general my heartbeat is elevated and i run a little more tense.

Happens all the time, I don't think any differently. But if its someone I know is good at the game I'm playing, I often get embarrassed if I play badly.

" @AngelKore said:

" If it's with somebody who doesn't know much about the game, I.E my dad, I would just explain what's going on and what's cool about the game compared to others, etc.

Trying to explain what was going on in FF13 to my dad was a fun experience! "

I allow no other mammals into the Batcave/my room unless they're bringing me some sort of delicious biscuit. And I actually hate it when people do watch what im doing in a game...it's annoying to say the least.

personally i cannot stand being watched while playing. it tears me out of the moment and i feel like im playing to an audience.

I just worry that they will be watching an unimpressive part of the game. As in, would you want someone to walk in while gunning down nameless grunts or during a beautiful and impressive cinematic part?

I normally don't care, but usually when someone is around it means I have to engage in a conversation whether I like it or not, and it kind of distracts me, so I don't usually play video games when someone is around, or I just pop in something everyone can play or flip the channel. I don't really mind someone watching though, I think games are really beautiful to look at and people I know are generally out of touch with games and graphics, so it would probably impress them. 

If its a family member or my girlfriend I'll talk about random things, but if something cool is about to happen I'll tell them to check it out.  But with friends we usually talk about the game.  Most of my friends love games as much as I do so they can just sit down and watch me play.  One of my friends watched me play all of Ninja Gaiden Sigma and we would both freak out when a good combo was pulled off or when some awesome cut scene happened.

I am concerned when the other party's happiness is at stake. I find it much better to do multiplayer in those cases. If dealing with the uninitiated, I find it beneficial to give them the option to play, and upon declination, make an effort to wow them with my mad skillz. If playing with other gamers, I am normally given the affirmative on the multiplayer, unless they want to torment me as I make minute mistakes throughout the course of whatever game I have on. For reference, consider the diatribe between Ryan and Brad, or better yet, the jeering and hilarity that is often captured in "pulling a Brad" aka quick look style death. 

Stuff like shooters and what-not, I don't really care. However, when someone is watching me play something like Dragon Age or Mass Effect, I always feel sort of self-conscious about the dialogue choices I make. I also don't like when they come in the middle of an important cutscene that they don't understand and think it's stupid (which in the grand scheme of things, it is :) ).

If I'm trying to beat a high-score I'll usually call in the lady to watch the game, as I tend to do better with the added pressure. But more generally, it can easily distract me when non-gamers (or that special dude that only plays games with leader-boards or seizure warnings) come in while I'm playing. Especially if it's a slow part in the game where I can't hyp-mo-tize them with some flashy combat stylings, such as when I'm purposefully manipulating a lot of Dragon Age inventory. At that point I'd rather watch someone play E.T. than be doing what I'm doing.

"I played No Russian while my sister and parents watched recently. Surprisingly they didn't even ask a question. like they accepted 'oh this is videogames'.  with more competitive scenes, In general my heartbeat is elevated and i run a little more tense. "

It definitely depends on the game.  Recently I've been playing a lot of Just Cause 2 which is a perfect game to play and just hang out and talk with my girlfriend.  Other times when she's over she wants me to play stuff like Geometry Wars 2, which pretty much is impossible to do while talking haha.

All my entertainment stuff is hooked up in my room and I make it very clear that it is off-limits to my parents. Sometimes they walk in and start ripping on whatever game I'm just playing, it's this little ritual we have I guess.
 
I don't play singleplayer games when I'm with friends though. I would feel like a terrible host if I made them watch me play some random RPG that they just don't give a shit about.

I still remember when a single player game was just like co op to me and my brother. We took turns playing jak2 and it never turned into a fight. I enjoy it when people watch me play and I don't get worried about wether they are enjoying themselves or not. Nowadays we play on the same team in multiplayer games from across the country. Good Times

I seem to do poorly every time my wife sits down and starts watching me play.

" I've noticed recently that I act a lot differently when someone is watching me play games. Just yesterday I was playing Final Fantasy 13 and my dad walked into the living room and sat down to watch. I wasn't sure what to do, whether or not to keep playing like he wasn't there, engage in conversation about the game, engage in irrelevant conversation, etc.  When a friend is over and we are playing a single player game, an example would be Uncharted 2 a few months back, I kept feeling the need to make him play rather than me just to make sure he was enjoying himself. I enjoy watching people play games, I love the Quick Looks, Endurance runs and features here on the site, but I think I'm oversensitive to the fact that not everyone in the world does enjoy watching people play games.  So my question is, how do you feel when someone is watching you play games? "

When I have someone new watching me for the first time I'm a little self-aware. However, after a short period of time I feel more comfortable.