Moving this video to jcf79's personal queue. It failed to receive enough votes to get sifted up to the front page within 2 days.

Never heard a song that conveys what gaming is about for me so well. Awesome sift.

*beg

Sending this video to Beggar's Canyon to plea for a little attention - beg requested by original submitter jcf79.

*promote can I do that?

Post cannot be self promoted by original submitter jcf79 because jcf79 does not have enough Power Points. (You can always purchase more Power Points.)

nope...

Upvoted, this video should be getting more attention, it's too good for "Beggars Canyon"

*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued - promote requested by Hive13.

Fuck yeah.

Fantastic

FUCK YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sure Rotten, you just had to one-up me!!!

Weird Al? No, and yet..

That's one *quality saved world.

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by notarobot.

Maybe if I upvote enough comments, people will flock here, that is how I arived. Operation upvote comments begin!

Video Game: the musical

That was great, and very much what gaming is for me.

Is it fair to say we gamers have at least a bit of a messiah complex?

*doublepromote

Double-Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 9:34pm PDT - doublepromote requested by NicoleBee.

>> ^ponceleon:

Oh sure Rotten, you just had to one-up me!!!


That's funny, I didn't even see your comment...we came to the same conclusion independently.

Oh you guys!>> ^rottenseed:

>> ^ponceleon:
Oh sure Rotten, you just had to one-up me!!!

That's funny, I didn't even see your comment...we came to the same conclusion independently.

And you're left by yourself.
The fanfare is gone.
There is no Player 2 there by your side
to share victories won.

But as you slowly progress
down the hall to your bed

As a used to be hardcore gamer, who spent countless hours beating hundreds upon hundreds of games, from atari 2600 on, who worked for video game companies and contributed to some of the best games ever made, I can safely say that I wish I had used all that time to do something productive. I could be a piano playing, juggling, multi-lingual artistic black belt by now. I have great reflexes, sure..I can hit a guy two miles away with a railgun without crosshairs, that's true..but I really don't think thats adequate compension for all my wonderful memories of sitting in front of a screen for a good portion of my life. When you count the time I've spent on the internet I barely register as a human being. Nostalgia is great until you process it into reality.

@shinyblurry

Well, if you didn't get any enjoyment out of your time, then it clearly wasn't productive... but I find it hard to believe you would continue at something that long if it wasn't enjoyable to you. If you're anything like me as a gamer, it probably helped you relieve stress, gave you a sense of accomplishment at overcoming increasingly difficult obstacles, and helped you make a bunch of friends who shared similar interests. I too worked in the games industry for several years, so I can say that gaming paid the rent and put food on the table for me during that time.

Somehow I doubt you--personally--would have gotten the same benefits and enjoyment out of juggling. I know I certainly wouldn't have. But I have a friend who was a former professional juggler and he clearly did enjoy all the time he spent practicing. In fact he teaches kids how to juggle now--that's where he gets his enjoyment from these days, rather than performing. My point is, what's "productive" to one person seems like a complete waste of time for another. It's totally arbitrary. You get from an activity what you take from it, and I personally got a lot out of games.

That doesn't mean you have to keep playing games though--our likes and dislikes change over time. I play far, far less than I used to and there have been stretches of months where I didn't play a single game at all. Being married with children, I have other priorities now, and it's not inconceivable that a day will come when I wake up and realize I haven't touched a game in several years.

Well wishing doesn't do much good does it. Why don't you start playing piano now? How about that kung fu? Yea if I saved every dollar from the day I started working I'd have loads of money by now. And if I started working out this time last year, I'd have a six pack. Who doesn't think like that? It's just the way it is...you spent the time they way you felt like spending it, there's no use in crying about it now.

edit: (but yea videogames are kind of just a time killer)>> ^shinyblurry:

As a used to be hardcore gamer, who spent countless hours beating hundreds upon hundreds of games, from atari 2600 on, who worked for video game companies and contributed to some of the best games ever made, I can safely say that I wish I had used all that time to do something productive. I could be a piano playing, juggling, multi-lingual artistic black belt by now. I have great reflexes, sure..I can hit a guy two miles away with a railgun without crosshairs, that's true..but I really don't think thats adequate compension for all my wonderful memories of sitting in front of a screen for a good portion of my life. When you count the time I've spent on the internet I barely register as a human being. Nostalgia is great until you process it into reality.

Love it, went from begging to top 15.

As for Shiny, meh.

I've led a very balanced life and really appreciate both the time I spent doing all the other hobbies I have as well as the time exploring the wonderful worlds that were created by amazingly talented people. The experience of playing Portal 2, Half-life 2, Planescape: Torment, the Ultima Series back on the Apple II and countless others are ones that I see as "productive" as reading a book or watching a movie. This doesn't even take into accounts social games which allow you to share the experience with others. Your dismissal of the genre is just shallow.

I did enjoy them, at the time..getting paid to play them was a dream..but, I definitely overdid it. Productive is relative, sure..but there is a line between hobby and addiction and it is easy to cross it. I'm happy with my life as it is now, it's not like I am pining away for something. It's just that after watching this video I can't look back on it sentimentally..I don't hate video games, it just seems like a gigantic waste of time at this point. It's because of those changed priorities you were talking about. Even still I do play a game of team fortress 2 every now and again.

>> ^SDGundamX:
@shinyblurry
Well, if you didn't get any enjoyment out of your time, then it clearly wasn't productive... but I find it hard to believe you would continue at something that long if it wasn't enjoyable to you. If you're anything like me as a gamer, it probably helped you relieve stress, gave you a sense of accomplishment at overcoming increasingly difficult obstacles, and helped you make a bunch of friends who shared similar interests. I too worked in the games industry for several years, so I can say that gaming paid the rent and put food on the table for me during that time.
Somehow I doubt you--personally--would have gotten the same benefits and enjoyment out of juggling. I know I certainly wouldn't have. But I have a friend who was a former professional juggler and he clearly did enjoy all the time he spent practicing. In fact he teaches kids how to juggle now--that's where he gets his enjoyment from these days, rather than performing. My point is, what's "productive" to one person seems like a complete waste of time for another. It's totally arbitrary. You get from an activity what you take from it, and I personally got a lot out of games.
That doesn't mean you have to keep playing games though--our likes and dislikes change over time. I play far, far less than I used to and there have been stretches of months where I didn't play a single game at all. Being married with children, I have other priorities now, and it's not inconceivable that a day will come when I wake up and realize I haven't touched a game in several years.

Yeah hindsight is 20/20..and I probably won't start playing the piano or doing any of that..my one regret was never learning japanese, which ironically I originally wanted to do so I could play unreleased games from Japan..but also because I wanted to travel there and be an English teacher..I may still go as a missionary, but if I go anywhere it would probably be to the middle east. Wasting time, I've just done too much of that..so I've quit nearly cold turkey..life has a habit of passing you by you know..

>> ^rottenseed:
Well wishing doesn't do much good does it. Why don't you start playing piano now? How about that kung fu? Yea if I saved every dollar from the day I started working I'd have loads of money by now. And if I started working out this time last year, I'd have a six pack. Who doesn't think like that? It's just the way it is...you spent the time they way you felt like spending it, there's no use in crying about it now.
edit: (but yea videogames are kind of just a time killer)>> ^shinyblurry:
As a used to be hardcore gamer, who spent countless hours beating hundreds upon hundreds of games, from atari 2600 on, who worked for video game companies and contributed to some of the best games ever made, I can safely say that I wish I had used all that time to do something productive. I could be a piano playing, juggling, multi-lingual artistic black belt by now. I have great reflexes, sure..I can hit a guy two miles away with a railgun without crosshairs, that's true..but I really don't think thats adequate compension for all my wonderful memories of sitting in front of a screen for a good portion of my life. When you count the time I've spent on the internet I barely register as a human being. Nostalgia is great until you process it into reality.

Well I'm glad it all worked out for you..I overdid it and spent a shameful amount of time in front of a screen either on the internet or playing video games. I had a life, mind you, but it was definitely an obsession which didn't bear much fruit.

>> ^ponceleon:
Love it, went from begging to top 15.
As for Shiny, meh.
I've led a very balanced life and really appreciate both the time I spent doing all the other hobbies I have as well as the time exploring the wonderful worlds that were created by amazingly talented people. The experience of playing Portal 2, Half-life 2, Planescape: Torment, the Ultima Series back on the Apple II and countless others are ones that I see as "productive" as reading a book or watching a movie. This doesn't even take into accounts social games which allow you to share the experience with others. Your dismissal of the genre is just shallow.

Man, seeing SB's ignored comments is like that zit you ABSOLUTELY KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T POP...

There should be a SUPER ignore, where they basically disappear. I'd hit that harder than Rhianna.

>> ^Payback:

Man, seeing SB's ignored comments is like that zit you ABSOLUTELY KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T POP...
There should be a SUPER ignore, where they basically disappear. I'd hit that harder than Rhianna.


QFT. Not for Shiny--aside from some of the hyper-Christian-trolling you don't bother me--but for some other people.

Dammit Shiny, why do you always have to miss the point? This video is awesome, and gaming is awesome, for the reasons the song says and more. Gone are the days when gaming was 'solitary'. Gaming is a shared experience now: you're losing out if you've never played Mario, or Portal, or GTA, or Angry Birds, or Call of Duty, or Sonic, or Monkey Island, or LittleBigPlanet, or Guitar Hero, or Left4Dead, or MineCraft, or even BeJeweled, dammit. And not just because of the multiplayer games on that list that are a literal shared experience, but because these are cultural touchstones, even if you play them by yourself. Everyone knows the Mario theme, and everyone knows the cake is a lie (or is it?). There are games out there that are so good that not playing them is like never seeing a production of Hamlet, reading To Kill a Mockingbird or hearing the White Album.

How can I miss the point by expressing my opinion? I've played most of those games, and multiplayer gaming is basically all I did for many years. The point isn't that gaming isn't fun, it's that spending all of your time immersed in gaming is missing the point. The Earth is the world that is in trouble, and plenty of things need our help and attention. The real adventure is getting out there and doing something about it. If you want to talk about gamer cred, I have it..I personally contributed to games universally held to be some of the best of all time. I was in the arcade playing pac-man when I was four years old. So, it isn't a lack of experience that I say this. Like anything gaming is great in moderation, but it shouldn't be a lifestyle as this video suggests.


>> ^FlowersInHisHair:
Dammit Shiny, why do you always have to miss the point? This video is awesome, and gaming is awesome, for the reasons the song says and more. Gone are the days when gaming was 'solitary'. Gaming is a shared experience now: you're losing out if you've never played Mario, or Portal, or GTA, or Angry Birds, or Call of Duty, or Sonic, or Monkey Island, or LittleBigPlanet, or Guitar Hero, or Left4Dead, or MineCraft, or even BeJeweled, dammit. And not just because of the multiplayer games on that list that are a literal shared experience, but because these are cultural touchstones, even if you play them by yourself. Everyone knows the Mario theme, and everyone knows the cake is a lie (or is it?). There are games out there that are so good that not playing them is like never seeing a production of Hamlet, reading To Kill a Mockingbird or hearing the White Album.

>> ^Payback:

Man, seeing SB's ignored comments is like that zit you ABSOLUTELY KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T POP...
There should be a SUPER ignore, where they basically disappear. I'd hit that harder than Rhianna.

There is an ignore function. I did not know that. Thank you very much.

I absolutely love it when people say something is unproductive. I'm sorry, if you weren't playing video games were you going to be curing cancer or coming up with some mind-blowing world changing event? Probably not. Like he said productive is relative. You can look at being productive as are you changing the world. With that definition there is 7 billion unproductive people. What would playing the piano have done more for you than video games? I played piano for countless years and I play video games. You know what I found more "productive"? Video games. Time with friends and enjoyment. Sure I can play Bach and Chopan with my eyes closed, but what production is that making? Ahh...that's right, nothing.

There you go again - the point wasn't that you expressed your opinion, it's that you think that games are a waste of time. Is reading a great novel or going to see a play a waste of time, too? And what makes you think that people who play games don't participate in the world in other ways? You miss the point too in that I wasn't claiming gamer cred, I was suggesting a list of games that are culturally significant to a greater or lesser extent. And, most importantly, you miss the point in that you believe this video endorses gaming "as a lifestyle", rather than being the fun celebration of games that it is.
>> ^shinyblurry:

How can I miss the point by expressing my opinion? I've played most of those games, and multiplayer gaming is basically all I did for many years. The point isn't that gaming isn't fun, it's that spending all of your time immersed in gaming is missing the point. The Earth is the world that is in trouble, and plenty of things need our help and attention. The real adventure is getting out there and doing something about it. If you want to talk about gamer cred, I have it..I personally contributed to games universally held to be some of the best of all time. I was in the arcade playing pac-man when I was four years old. So, it isn't a lack of experience that I say this. Like anything gaming is great in moderation, but it shouldn't be a lifestyle as this video suggests.

>> ^FlowersInHisHair:
Dammit Shiny, why do you always have to miss the point? This video is awesome, and gaming is awesome, for the reasons the song says and more. Gone are the days when gaming was 'solitary'. Gaming is a shared experience now: you're losing out if you've never played Mario, or Portal, or GTA, or Angry Birds, or Call of Duty, or Sonic, or Monkey Island, or LittleBigPlanet, or Guitar Hero, or Left4Dead, or MineCraft, or even BeJeweled, dammit. And not just because of the multiplayer games on that list that are a literal shared experience, but because these are cultural touchstones, even if you play them by yourself. Everyone knows the Mario theme, and everyone knows the cake is a lie (or is it?). There are games out there that are so good that not playing them is like never seeing a production of Hamlet, reading To Kill a Mockingbird or hearing the White Album.

Actually, my belief that gaming in general is a waste of time is an opinion. That you don't agree with that is your opinion. I gave my reasons, mainly being my own obsession with games and spending a good deal of my life playing them. Most of the gamers I have ever known also spend most of their life playing video games. The only gamers I know that don't are people like fuantum who are married and their wives won't tolerate it. Gaming addiction is a real problem..a huge problem..people die from it, relationships break down from it..I have a sister who hasn't left her room since world of warcraft came out. A gamers life shouldn't be glorified..it's actually rather pathetic. Just because you can simulate having other people around with multiplayer doesn't make it any better. Yes, gaming has had some cultural impact, but that doesn't prove anything to me. I think 99 percent of what culture produces is a gigantic waste of time..bread and circuses if you will. Matters of significance are never really spoken about because we are all too busy getting our entertainment fix.

>> ^FlowersInHisHair:
There you go again - the point wasn't that you expressed your opinion, it's that you think that games are a waste of time. Is reading a great novel or going to see a play a waste of time, too? And what makes you think that people who play games don't participate in the world in other ways? You miss the point too in that I wasn't claiming gamer cred, I was suggesting a list of games that are culturally significant to a greater or lesser extent. And, most importantly, you miss the point in that you believe this video endorses gaming "as a lifestyle", rather than being the fun celebration of games that it is.
>> ^shinyblurry:
How can I miss the point by expressing my opinion? I've played most of those games, and multiplayer gaming is basically all I did for many years. The point isn't that gaming isn't fun, it's that spending all of your time immersed in gaming is missing the point. The Earth is the world that is in trouble, and plenty of things need our help and attention. The real adventure is getting out there and doing something about it. If you want to talk about gamer cred, I have it..I personally contributed to games universally held to be some of the best of all time. I was in the arcade playing pac-man when I was four years old. So, it isn't a lack of experience that I say this. Like anything gaming is great in moderation, but it shouldn't be a lifestyle as this video suggests.
>> ^FlowersInHisHair:
Dammit Shiny, why do you always have to miss the point? This video is awesome, and gaming is awesome, for the reasons the song says and more. Gone are the days when gaming was 'solitary'. Gaming is a shared experience now: you're losing out if you've never played Mario, or Portal, or GTA, or Angry Birds, or Call of Duty, or Sonic, or Monkey Island, or LittleBigPlanet, or Guitar Hero, or Left4Dead, or MineCraft, or even BeJeweled, dammit. And not just because of the multiplayer games on that list that are a literal shared experience, but because these are cultural touchstones, even if you play them by yourself. Everyone knows the Mario theme, and everyone knows the cake is a lie (or is it?). There are games out there that are so good that not playing them is like never seeing a production of Hamlet, reading To Kill a Mockingbird or hearing the White Album.

Gosh, you do have a lot of curiously specific life experience on this topic, don't you? I won't repeat myself, I've answered your points already.
>> ^shinyblurry:

Actually, my belief that gaming in general is a waste of time is an opinion. That you don't agree with that is your opinion. I gave my reasons, mainly being my own obsession with games and spending a good deal of my life playing them. Most of the gamers I have ever known also spend most of their life playing video games. The only gamers I know that don't are people like fuantum who are married and their wives won't tolerate it. Gaming addiction is a real problem..a huge problem..people die from it, relationships break down from it..I have a sister who hasn't left her room since world of warcraft came out. A gamers life shouldn't be glorified..it's actually rather pathetic. Just because you can simulate having other people around with multiplayer doesn't make it any better. Yes, gaming has had some cultural impact, but that doesn't prove anything to me. I think 99 percent of what culture produces is a gigantic waste of time..bread and circuses if you will. Matters of significance are never really spoken about because we are all too busy getting our entertainment fix.