Gaming as a hobby

When talking of hobbies, generally one considers collecting various objects, fishing, mountaineering, sky gazing and cooking as hobbies. But recently there has been an increasing trend of playing online games on internet among young people. And I asked myself, “Should gaming be considered as a hobby too?” Well to substantiate my query, I asked my son who is an avid gamer and his straight reply was, “Why not?” He continued further, “Besides providing me and my friend a good pastime, which is why one opt to have a hobby, it also improves social communications and team management skills.”

And I wondered how right he was. Times have changed since the days when I collected stamps because there was no internet in those days. Life was simple and innocent. Now the life of every young man revolves around a laptop both for his professional pursuits and pastime leisure. So obviously online gaming comes handy in free time to pass it leisurely and to one’s satisfaction. That’s what hobbies do.

From playing packman of the earlier gaming days to much more sophisticated, mindboggling games like the World of Warcraft and like, the technology has gone a long way in keeping the pace with the advancements taking place all over the world. It is the same difference between watching Goofy, Mickey Mouse or Tom and Jerry of yesteryears to Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Transformers, He-Man and his Masters, Scooby Doo and may others of present times.

And like watching cartoons, gaming is not only children’s’ domain, as many older people find it a good pastime too. I once read a remark by a 42 years old who while commenting on post about playing on line games and video games wrote, “ I am 42 yrs old and love video games. It is a great stress reliever for me. Most of the people I know my age play video games.” A young man writes about his father, “My dad's 50 and he's a freaking expert on Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube. He beat it in 2 hours and 51 minutes I think. He's unlocked everything. Ha-ha. It's awesome.”

Well unlike video games, the online gaming is free, challenging and involving live participants to play with. This allows stretching capabilities of one’s mid to its limits to win over from an equally enthusiast and determined player or a set of players. It really helps in maturing the thinking abilities of a gamer, besides being an excellent pastime.

We will talk more of gaming, in time.