Ask HN: What's your philosophy towards entertainment and productivity
I'm having trouble justifying gaming when there is always a potential for personal growth. How do you rationalize playing video games instead of reading a book, programming or simply learning a new skill in general. I believe that entertainment is necessary to some extent, but how do you balance work and time off in your schedules?
1 comments
As an adult Ive gotten back into games as a way to augment my attention.
A few games I’ve gotten back into…
- Warzone 2100; I played Total Annihilation when I was younger, and this is a superior open source clone. Real Time Strategy with management and delegation components.
- OpenTTD; Simulate running the business end of a transportation empire.
- Remnants of the Precursors; No nonsense galactic conquest
One note, I don’t just “play” these games, I “train” on these games. Sometimes I will play only until my strategy fails, and then restart from scratch to try to build faster, better, with fewer mistakes. I like to pause and think about things if necessary, I like to have a plan and make progress in phases. Sometimes I try to make myself do things I don’t like, such as rely more on trade or negotiation (when available), or play against my “strong strategies”.
I think there are things relatable to valuable life skills, especially the parts that feel like running a virtual business.
Other benefits I have rationalized about …
- time pass. We need them. Disconnected in between time, down time, introversion revisioning.
- Keep the analytical free form alive. Imposed structure is both our ally and inhibitor; rotating the mind through various contexts discourages complicity and atrophy
- Some games are as good as (old school low res) interactive movies. Check out Scummvm!
All of the games I’ve mentioned are free or open source.
https://wz2100.net/
https://www.scummvm.org/
https://www.openttd.org/
https://www.remnantsoftheprecursors.com/
My insights on the topic are …
- switching over to a quick game when your feeling burned out or attention stalling is good
- playing short sessions of ~15-30 minutes are more fulfilling. Break away while “into it” and get back to work.
- playing long sessions beyond an hour becomes counter productive escapism, unless it’s a “down day” where you plan to recharge and not get anything else done.
- Spending a rainy Sunday playing any of these can be as fulfilling as a mini life vacation.
A few games I’ve gotten back into…
- Warzone 2100; I played Total Annihilation when I was younger, and this is a superior open source clone. Real Time Strategy with management and delegation components.
- OpenTTD; Simulate running the business end of a transportation empire.
- Remnants of the Precursors; No nonsense galactic conquest
One note, I don’t just “play” these games, I “train” on these games. Sometimes I will play only until my strategy fails, and then restart from scratch to try to build faster, better, with fewer mistakes. I like to pause and think about things if necessary, I like to have a plan and make progress in phases. Sometimes I try to make myself do things I don’t like, such as rely more on trade or negotiation (when available), or play against my “strong strategies”.
I think there are things relatable to valuable life skills, especially the parts that feel like running a virtual business.
Other benefits I have rationalized about …
- time pass. We need them. Disconnected in between time, down time, introversion revisioning.
- Keep the analytical free form alive. Imposed structure is both our ally and inhibitor; rotating the mind through various contexts discourages complicity and atrophy
- Some games are as good as (old school low res) interactive movies. Check out Scummvm!
All of the games I’ve mentioned are free or open source.
https://wz2100.net/
https://www.scummvm.org/
https://www.openttd.org/
https://www.remnantsoftheprecursors.com/
My insights on the topic are …
- switching over to a quick game when your feeling burned out or attention stalling is good
- playing short sessions of ~15-30 minutes are more fulfilling. Break away while “into it” and get back to work.
- playing long sessions beyond an hour becomes counter productive escapism, unless it’s a “down day” where you plan to recharge and not get anything else done.
- Spending a rainy Sunday playing any of these can be as fulfilling as a mini life vacation.