Help from Gamers

[hammerhead]

I have no idea or interest in online games such as Fort Night. I have an 18year old at home who has no interest in life other than this game. He is like a drug attic with all the symptoms that come along being a drug attic. I need a little help understanding the game and maybe that will help me understand him. I have a few questions maybe you gamers can help me with - Do people actually make money playing this game? - Is being ranked 3000 in the world good? - Should I tolerate this and invest more money for him in order for him to be successful? - My wife and I are at a loss and I'm hesitant to resort to drastic measures against something I don't fully understand. Life has change drastically since I was a young man and maybe this is a viable means for a comfortable living. I would appreciate any constructive thoughts - thanks!

[Laffs]

I suspect he'll move past it eventually. I was an 18 year old who played a tonne of Halo and survived on a diet of Doritos and Dr. Pepper. Eventually interest in the game wanes and you find something else to spend your time on.

As for the other questions, most people who "make money" playing games are streamers (Twitch) or media creators (Youtube). There are professional eSports teams and competitions but even then I think the revenue still is mostly sponsorship related. Also the odds of making a living from it, think professional sports then realize that the pool of applicants is 3x the size. That said is this a case of parents overblowing the issue, many many people treat gaming as their social time and perhaps he doesn't enjoy interacting with peers locally but has find like minded friends in the online community.

If he loves playing and has some form of a plan as to how he plans to transition that in to money (does he want to stream? start a Youtube channel?...etc) go ahead and nurture that aspect. Otherwise if he's abandoned worldly responsibilities and isn't trying to better his life by any means, unplug the router?

[hammerhead]

[QUOTE=Laffs;306957]I suspect he'll move past it eventually. I was an 18 year old who played a tonne of Halo and survived on a diet of Doritos and Dr. Pepper. Eventually interest in the game wanes and you find something else to spend your time on.

As for the other questions, most people who "make money" playing games are streamers (Twitch) or media creators (Youtube). There are professional eSports teams and competitions but even then I think the revenue still is mostly sponsorship related. Also the odds of making a living from it, think professional sports then realize that the pool of applicants is 3x the size. That said is this a case of parents overblowing the issue, many many people treat gaming as their social time and perhaps he doesn't enjoy interacting with peers locally but has find like minded friends in the online community.

If he loves playing and has some form of a plan as to how he plans to transition that in to money (does he want to stream? start a Youtube channel?...etc) go ahead and nurture that aspect. Otherwise if he's abandoned worldly responsibilities and isn't trying to better his life by any means, unplug the router?[/QUOTE

Thanks Laffs - I'm really trying not to be that parent but also have to deal with the High Commander who sometimes adds fuel to the fire but she means well. I'm trying to approach this with an open mind. I can't pummel him cause he's a lot like me and I see huge potential in him. This one has always walked a different path much like myself. I always try to encourage them but not knowing makes this difficult. I will look into this further and found some interesting reading. I need some ammunition so I can sit down and talk to him. He by far been the most difficult and for the longest time the neighbours thought I only had two kids, Nick and Jesus Christ...lol - we are an introverted bunch but his local friends from school are a team online and gather to play.

You teenage diet was much like my bachelor's diet of Molson Ex and microwave popcorn...lol

[RedSN]

...bachelor's diet of Molson Ex and microwave popcorn...lol

Beer and popcorn: it has been dinner in our household more than once ...usually my wife's idea LOL
Except she's a gourmet popcorn maker with a Whirley Pop and everything


edit: and it's "Fortnite", not Fort Night. But that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

[hammerhead]

Beer and popcorn: it has been dinner in our household more than once ...usually my wife's idea LOL
Except she's a gourmet popcorn maker with a Whirley Pop and everything


edit: and it's "Fortnite", not Fort Night. But that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

Hahaha thanks that's a good start "correct spelling"

[newbiestangowner]

What Laffs said.x2

I’m going through this with my 15 yr old. So we have restricted but not totally eliminated his gaming time.
It’s hard since , I myself put heavy hours as well in modern warfare games but I still have to work , cook , etc etc.
One thing I noticed with my son was - everything was taken care of - ie laundry, stuff he needed, money etc so yea he could just play online.
So we assigned chores, and things that he wanted to buy ( well how you going to pay for that) - he ended up getting a part- time job Mr pretzels lol and we got him playing basketball. So other activities keep him busy now. I tell him I’m not gonna be around forever to take care of you lol.

Some Money can be made if actively participating in online tournaments/ team play ( MLG ) major league gaming but otherwise just playing online ps4 then no- my ranking is quite high MW games I’ve never made a cent.


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[RedSN]

Life has change drastically since I was a young man and maybe this is a viable means for a comfortable living.

Some Money can be made if actively participating in online tournaments/ team play ( MLG ) major league gaming but otherwise just playing online ps4 then no- my ranking is quite high MW games I’ve never made a cent.

Not only never MADE a cent, it COST me quarters. That was my motivation to put the game down: out of quarters.

[newbiestangowner]

Not only never MADE a cent, it COST me quarters. That was my motivation to put the game down: out of quarters.

Actually that’s it lol- not costing my Son anything directly to play,
Hardware - I paid
Annual online membership- I paid
Hydro- I pay
Tv- I paid
Game- I paid

Son’s lost potential income playing game ( before Mr Pretzel) - I pay

No wonder I’m not able to trade slo turd to get the car I need ( not want) lol


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[5.4MarkVIII]

there is incentive for gaming to become something that will pay the bills and there are those who make ALOT of money doing it however it’s really not as easy as a lot of young people think. and it really has no reflection on how good you are (though it helps)

YouTube is not a viable source of income for a game. with copyrights and such as they are often times videos end up removed or at the very least demonetized. this is why most gamers have moved to streaming platforms such as twitch. but your success is widely dependent on content and personality. literally thousands upon thousands try and very few make enough to live off of. (uploading is expensive) also the new wave is VR, super expensive to get into that

gaming in tournaments is also not a viable option for most people. lots of us think we are good enough but the reality is we are not.


I have two friends that have made video games into a career. one got into a company as a tester and also is a phenomenal artist (but have not talked to him in probably 15 years so no idea what he is up to now)


the other started with some online game buddies and tried his hand at the YouTube (this was maybe eight to ten years ago) it was a ton of work editing and uploading. and the reality of the internet is, it sucks. people are assholes to the next level and if you don’t have a thick skin you wont last.

what this buddy did do though was network. he formed a group of friends all over north America and started to travel out to visit as well as hit up game cons. he met with some people and ended up starting out writing reviews and now makes tutorials for a gaming mag.


the reality is if all he does is play he wont make a living off of it. though getting him to see this might be difficult. maybe try and play to some other strengths. like art, or writing, and coding if he is interested. get him out to some game cons.
video games are a multi billion dollar industry and there is jobs there he just has to get up and go for it.

not sure his age but there are places that do computer camps during the summer might get him interested. I follow a guy on YouTube called QUILL18, he is an Ontario guy (north bay I think) he does it full time streaming, and YouTube. he also has a programing channel where he does tutorials and stuff for programing games. might be worth checking out

[1quikgt]

And yes, being ranked 3000th in a game with millions of players is good. Probably not tournament money making good though.

I’m 34 and have been playing video games since Sega Genesis came out almost 30 years ago. In fact I’m waiting for The Division 2 to start up on my ps4 right now lol.