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jasonwisdom · 07-01-2009, 05:40 PM

I read this post with interest... I spent most of my teenage years, and pockets of my 20s & 30s, playing different strategy computer games.

Some were MMORPG (Diablo II), some were RTS (Command & Conquer Red Alert), but most were turn-based strategy (Master of Orion, Civilization, etc).

I like the idea of building oneself to become far more powerful than one began. I also like the idea of harnessing resources early (money, research, etc), to create the most effective growth spurt possible.

In fact, I have often thought that managing an empire's resources in the beginning, is much like managing an early-stage company's resources, or managing a person's resources... and that early, smart choices would lead to later, great results.

My problems with this analogy have been two:
1) Playing computer games in general is unhealthy for me... I find the time has been wasted, when I could have been doing something that would benefit me far more (socializing, exercising, etc). After playing them for 2, 4, or 12 hours, I feel extremely spaced out & ungrounded. So I've quit altogether.
2) "Personal Health" does not ever seem to be an issue in computer games. There is no financial co-efficient to factor in organic food, personal trainers, bodywork, health insurance, etc. The combined costs of taking care of oneself are huge!

07-01-2009, 05:40 PM	#27 (permalink)
jasonwisdom Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York, NY Posts: 84	My thoughts - the challenge with doing this I read this post with interest... I spent most of my teenage years, and pockets of my 20s & 30s, playing different strategy computer games. Some were MMORPG (Diablo II), some were RTS (Command & Conquer Red Alert), but most were turn-based strategy (Master of Orion, Civilization, etc). I like the idea of building oneself to become far more powerful than one began. I also like the idea of harnessing resources early (money, research, etc), to create the most effective growth spurt possible. In fact, I have often thought that managing an empire's resources in the beginning, is much like managing an early-stage company's resources, or managing a person's resources... and that early, smart choices would lead to later, great results. My problems with this analogy have been two: 1) Playing computer games in general is unhealthy for me... I find the time has been wasted, when I could have been doing something that would benefit me far more (socializing, exercising, etc). After playing them for 2, 4, or 12 hours, I feel extremely spaced out & ungrounded. So I've quit altogether. 2) "Personal Health" does not ever seem to be an issue in computer games. There is no financial co-efficient to factor in organic food, personal trainers, bodywork, health insurance, etc. The combined costs of taking care of oneself are huge!