Yep, couldnât agree more but it seems the fanbois nature of computing / gaming and it wonât ever change.
Atari ST vs Commodore Amiga was the first I was aware of it and itâs only gotten worse since then. Like what you enjoy, enjoy what you like and accept that others might have different opinions and that itâs ok if they do!
Peace to all 
Aah⌠those were the days! Perhaps youâre too âyoungâ to remember the ZX Spectrum vs Commadore 64? So yeah, it seems youâre bang on⌠nothing will ever change! 
Well the Vic 20 was our first computer at home so no Iâm unfortunately not too young 
Depends how you look at it. While technology is always advancing and getting better, I think the âgolden ageâ of gaming has been and gone. At least for me. I lived through it and it was great, so no regrets on my age⌠at least in this regard. 
In general, the whole game doesnât have much to do with the books. They only share characters and the world. But CD Projekt Red had done a very huge work in creating monsters, giving them a background, weak points, etc. Actually, The Witcher books have more politics, spying, and treasons than magic.
I spent my childhood playing games on C64 and Amiga. I still do play retro games from time to time. I have fun playing Lode Runner and latest Assassinâs Creed games. Good game is always a good game regardless of platform and release date.
I was the opposite initially, going ZX Spectrum and Atari ST. I did get an Amiga as well later on though, and owned nearly every console made between the mid 1980âs and early 2000âs at some point. I have both ST and Amiga emulators on my PC so that I can go back and play the classics whenever I feel nostalgic.
My gaming history:
Pong on the TV in the 70s
Dark Castle on my younger brotherâs tiny apple mac in the mid-80s
Riven on my older brotherâs PlayStation in the late 90s
The odd phases of SpiderSolitaire or 2486 on my pc since.
Sad, innit? 
(I had to google what all those acronyms stood for)
I really like playing but have a fear of becoming a bit too absorbed and it interfering with my everyday functioning. Iâm often left with very little sense of satisfaction after playing (except maybe Riven).
I donât understand why reading, which I also enjoy but infrequently do, leaves my with a much greater sense of fulfilment.
Maybe I should immerse myself in an RPG⌠
Perhaps because it takes more effort and imagination to create the world you are reading about in your own head? Youâre given the main details, but everything else is your own creation. Also, most decent books will have a story far and away better than youâll find in the average computer game.
I think an RPG probably is your best bet for an involved experience with a great story. Iâve played some RPGs on easy difficulty so that I can breeze through the combat and just enjoy the story and character interaction. Some RPGs even offer a specific âstory modeâ these days.
Are all the good ones shoot 'em ups, or do they just have good adventure/problem solving ones too?
Well, most RPGs use a high fantasy setting, so are more about slashing-em-up or smiting your foes with fireballs, but I know what you mean.
So yes, most RPGs have a fair amount of combat-orientated gameplay in them. ARPGs (Action Role Playing Games) tend to be almost entirely action (combat) orientated, whereas regular RPGs (or cRPGs - computer Role Playing Games) tend to also have deep stories, character development, alignment (good/evil) systems and often offer the player a choice in how they solve quests.
A great example of a cRPG would be the Baldurâs Gate games, at least the first two. Although old, they are literally among the best RPGs of all time, and are available in âEnhanced Editionsâ which update the games to more modern standards. These editions have the âstory modeâ I mentioned above, which makes combat a formality so that you can concentrate almost entirely on the story and adventure elements instead.
Itâs been a crazy ride growing up with computer games, from my binatone game station, zx81, c64, amiga, various pcs and a few consoles. ~40 years of progress
Itâs mind boggling how far things have come, isnât it? Itâs like growing up in the first half of the 1900âs and seeing vehicles go from open horseless carriages to streamlined machines that can fly along at well over 100mph.
It makes me laugh when kids complain about such arbitrary things in modern games, such as slightly-less-than-perfect textures, the lack of God rays, or poor anti-aliasing. They say things like âIt looks like a game from 30 years ago!â
Umm⌠no. It really doesnât. Back then an imagination was required to get fully immersed in a game!
Oof. This can be a real thing. I didnât think Iâd be susceptible to it, but when I bought a PS4 in 2014 it came in a bundle with a game called Destiny. Had never heard of it before, it had just been released. An online shooter/RPG game, the first MMOFPS. I got addicted. Couldnât admit it at the time.
Actually impacted my life quite a bit that year. So yes they can cause issues. MMOs are particularly engineered to be addicting. They have psychologists working on the game creating what are called âskinner boxâ mechanics to reinforce addictive behaviour. Was not really easy to quit either (psychologically).
Havenât had anywhere near that level of problem before or since, even though Iâve played plenty of other games. Games should just be a form of entertainment, not life consuming.
Role Playing Game stands for something completely different in my dictionary and I honestly thought you were joking Brian⌠
And I have to correct myself because Pong is also my first video game âŚborrowed from a relative for a few days âŚI was done with it quickly⌠
I agree brian ive been playing video games my whole life. And well I look back on it and am like damn i wasted all that time lol. Even though i enjoyed it. Gets boring after a while though.
People lived through the right brothers and landing on the moon, crazy times.
Recently started playing Warhammer 40000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters, pretty good game for anyone who like WH40k universe.
Certain games are designed to be addictive, I recently stopped playing Overwatch, it was just too much anxiety. Iâd rather sit with some strategy now or prepare for real RPG session with friends.
Games do get boring if overdosed but this comes with age. When I was a kid there was not such thing as overdosing video games, it was just too fun to stop. And I bet it would have been the same with the guitar if I had an access to such online material as I have today.
I do, but I have yet to find a game that really does it justice. I wish someone would go all out and create a proper, faithful computer version of the basic 40k tabletop game. Of course, thatâs a licence GW probably refuse to sell. If people⌠especially the younger generation⌠were to play a computerised version instead of the real version, their profits from the not-inexpensive models and paints would crash.
At least now weâll be getting a proper CRPG by owl cat (developers of pathfinder kingmaker and wrath of the righteous) in the form of Warhammer 40k Rogue trader:
