Right now, I think I get more out of the after game arguments than the game itself. They are generally more challenging and mentally stimulating, though sometimes aggravating, and often silly. I still find it fun to go to war and to plan strategy and tactics, but it's become rote. It's like a lite version of chess, with fancy graphics and sound effects. One thing I get out of it, or at least have gotten in the past, besides a headache from staring at the screen for four hours, is a minor feeling of accomplishment, as I usually do a good job; I've been playing it so long that I know all the in's and out's. After a good war, my brain releases dopamine which makes me feel good, and that can become manic after a spectacular war, where I fight off a few countries at once, or win a grand victory against a long, bitter opponent(I have to admit neither of these have happened in a long time)....But the opposite can be true after a bad session. I guess it is kind of like gambling. It can mean a quick gain or a quick loss.
There's also a sense of story to it, like I'm performing an act by going to war. Conflict, that is what makes stories worth reading, so when it boils into the game, I feel like I've livened things up, given it another plot twist, another fight scene. I suppose the reason I've traditionally gone to war often is, besides holding up a reputation, just an urge to appeal to my sense of drama. And I love being the protagonist.
I enjoy the role playing aspect of the game, and the in session dialogs. Another thing I really like is the psychological aspect, trying to figure out the mind's of the people I'm playing with, and then see if I can influence them. I don't tackle this one enough, and especially in the past I've been very impatient and lazy about this, preferring the glories of war, but I learn the most from it (along with the arguing, said above). And it's stuff that can easily come in handy in real life.
The most useless and uninteresting part of Eu2 to me is the economic aspect. Staring at the screen for four hours, just sending merchants, explorers and colonists around, those are the sessions I feel the worst after. My mind just shuts down. It is fun to see your country growing, the same way certain people enjoy nurturing plants, or children, or any number of other things, but besides the planning aspect of it, i.e. deciding how you're to run your economy- not the actual grunge work, I see it as a waste of time if not complemented by other actions. It's a necessary evil to achieve other goals. They are just numbers on a screen that I click over and over. The only real things in Eu2 are the people you play with, so interactions with those, either by war or by diplomacy are to me the only things that make the game worth the time.
Winning is not truly important to me either, just a temporary perk. If I'm winning a game, I'll typically sabotage my diplomatic position in order to get myself gangbanged. Some of you are thinking that I'm just saying that to justify bad diplomacy
. Well, it's true! Unless, of course, I'm already in the process of being ganged, or I'm playing in a game like "Test of Skill", where reputation is on the line and it really is about winning. Other than that, the game is just a way to have fun while working a mental sweat.
What does everyone else get out of this game? What do you play it for? Love to hear viewpoints.
There's also a sense of story to it, like I'm performing an act by going to war. Conflict, that is what makes stories worth reading, so when it boils into the game, I feel like I've livened things up, given it another plot twist, another fight scene. I suppose the reason I've traditionally gone to war often is, besides holding up a reputation, just an urge to appeal to my sense of drama. And I love being the protagonist.
I enjoy the role playing aspect of the game, and the in session dialogs. Another thing I really like is the psychological aspect, trying to figure out the mind's of the people I'm playing with, and then see if I can influence them. I don't tackle this one enough, and especially in the past I've been very impatient and lazy about this, preferring the glories of war, but I learn the most from it (along with the arguing, said above). And it's stuff that can easily come in handy in real life.
The most useless and uninteresting part of Eu2 to me is the economic aspect. Staring at the screen for four hours, just sending merchants, explorers and colonists around, those are the sessions I feel the worst after. My mind just shuts down. It is fun to see your country growing, the same way certain people enjoy nurturing plants, or children, or any number of other things, but besides the planning aspect of it, i.e. deciding how you're to run your economy- not the actual grunge work, I see it as a waste of time if not complemented by other actions. It's a necessary evil to achieve other goals. They are just numbers on a screen that I click over and over. The only real things in Eu2 are the people you play with, so interactions with those, either by war or by diplomacy are to me the only things that make the game worth the time.
Winning is not truly important to me either, just a temporary perk. If I'm winning a game, I'll typically sabotage my diplomatic position in order to get myself gangbanged. Some of you are thinking that I'm just saying that to justify bad diplomacy
. Well, it's true! Unless, of course, I'm already in the process of being ganged, or I'm playing in a game like "Test of Skill", where reputation is on the line and it really is about winning. Other than that, the game is just a way to have fun while working a mental sweat. What does everyone else get out of this game? What do you play it for? Love to hear viewpoints.
