How Life Dependent is your Love of Video Games?

My question is whether or not your opinion of a video game depends on how the other factors of your life are going while you are playing the game. For example, if the rest of your life is falling to pieces (e.g. hate or lost your job, girlfriend/boyfriend broke up with you, etc.) do you think that makes you reflect more poorly on a game that you happen to be playing at that time? Conversely, if your life is all coming up roses (new love interest, killing it at school or work) does that spillover to your video game playing and make you love on some level whatever you're playing?

OR...does it work the other way for you? Do you think more highly of video games because they seem great compared to the garbage in your day-to-day life. If your personal life is falling apart, are you more likely to love the video game that you're playing because it seems great in contrast to what you're dealing with in your real life? Will you be more dismissive of an otherwise pretty good game because the rest of your life is going well and you don't need its joy that much any more?

OR...option 3, is there no life effect on your enjoyment of a video game?

I play video games for multiple reasons, one of which is to forget about whatever is happening in my life, good or bad. When I play a game I like to get wrapped up in the story and enjoy what is happening with the character, or play a game with addictive gameplay for hours while listening to the bombcast, both situations blocking out the outside world. So I guess I would fit into option 3.

Not at all really. I actually find if things are going crappy, playing a game helps me to forget about it for a little while.

I can usually just ignore whatever the situation is. Not sure if that's good or bad.

I tend to play more video games when i have less going in my life and less video games when i have more going on in my life.

If I were not alive, I could not enjoy video games.

It depends on the game, but sometimes if I'm playing when in a stressed out mood it can be mellowing, but other times like in a skill based game that requires your full attention that I couldn't give it due to thinking about other stuff, it can be incredibly frustrating.

I play video games for multiple reasons, but mostly its because my life is boring. I escape to books/games/movies to escape my boring life and experience others. Plus video games are pretty Cool!

I normally find it's inversed.

Life turning to shit? Time to immerse myself in a game. The more complex and time consuming the better.

On the other hand, if everything is peachy I find I have less time to indulge in gaming as I'm busy doing 'real life' stuff.

@Hizang said:

I play video games for multiple reasons, but mostly its because my life is boring. I escape to books/games/movies to escape my boring life and experience others. Plus video games are pretty Cool!

This.

I play games because I like them, I'm bored or because it gives me a chance to escape the real world for a couple of hours a day. So I guess i'm number 3?

I would say that my love of video games is very life dependent. If I wasn't alive, it would be very hard to love them.

Not really, no.

If I'm feeling really bad about things, like everything's going to shit so bad that I don't want to do anything, then I'll take a nap. When I wake up, I'll play a video game.

If I'm feeling really good about things, like everything's going so great that I feel like I can do anything, then I'll go do whatever I want to most. When I'm done, I'll play a video game.

It seems like what game I pick up doesn't matter either. I guess a bit of depression - not debilitating depression, just feeling really bad - can affect how much fun I'm having, but it won't keep me from playing.

I play not because my life is boring, nor to forget problems. I just play for my love of the games in general. I love to traverse a universe built up by other people, that way it fuels up my own imagination and I can use this to keep on writing more successful books.

I seem to enjoy games more when I'm stressed out and stuff. Like right now, I'm waiting outside the Lecture Hall waiting for a History Quiz (No idea what it will be on, teacher wouldn't even tell me how it was structured) and I wish I was home playing Dead Island Lol.

@david3cm said:

I play video games for multiple reasons, one of which is to forget about whatever is happening in my life, good or bad. When I play a game I like to get wrapped up in the story and enjoy what is happening with the character, or play a game with addictive gameplay for hours while listening to the bombcast, both situations blocking out the outside world. So I guess I would fit into option 3.

What he said. Although I will say, when my life was going to shit I got far more enjoyment out of Saint's Row 2 than I probably would have other wise. Good times with that chainsaw.. good times