Topic

why do we have to eat?

This has always bothered me about Glitch.   I don't eat in secondlife.   I can only assume its because other games (which I don't play) were designed with eating/energy mechanics so they just designed this game with the same "in the box" style of thinking.

I get no pleasure from eating in a game.   Cooking is only mildly interesting, the recipes aren't particularly creative or something I'd want to try at home.    

I do get some real satisfaction/relaxation  from meditating, and I get a weird sort of satisfaction from the mining grind but that is because really swinging a pick at a rock would be backbreaking but doing it on a video screen is easy.   Eating on a video screen is stupid and not at all satisfying like real eating would be.

I suspect that we eat for energy in glitch for no better reason than that other games were designed this way,

Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I like to cook but no longer need to eat now that I have 11 icons.   So I cook for the giants.  Do you want to get rid of the energy bar or just limit refilling it to meditation?  I would hate having to meditate all the time.
    Posted 13 months ago by Knewnan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's no real challenge to being able to do everything all the time with no limits.
    Posted 13 months ago by Effigy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Part of the gameplay is doing what you want to do while maintaining your Glitch's energy at an acceptable level. You can make the choice not to eat in the game in lieu of other energy-gaining mechanics within the game. Or you can choose to be a vegetarian. Up to you!
    Posted 13 months ago by Zu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "Part of the gameplay is doing what you want to do while maintaining your Glitch's energy at an acceptable level."

    Yeah I understand the logistics and the reasoning behind creating challenges (the penalties and limitations are more like irritations than challenges to tell the truth) but what I am on about is the pleasure of playing.  

    I can sit back and look at the meditation ball and take a deep breath and genuinely relax while my glitch is relaxing.  If it was a game that involved killing I could probably feel some satisfaction from that too..(if I played those games) and let us not forget the millions of people driven to the internet to satisfy other...er ...needs.   

    but eating? no.
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • One of my favorite things about Glitch as compared to Second Life is that there *are* some limitations in place as far as energy and mood.  I really love that part of Glitch and enjoy the recipes.  I guess it's a good thing there are so many games to pick from!
    Posted 13 months ago by Wintera Woodswitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't know what other pleasure one can acquire from gaining energy through eating besides recovering lost energy, personally. Maybe I'm missing the point of your post then. Like I said, it's your choice how you choose to maintain your energy level, but that doesn't mean that there is anything inherently wrong with the whole food game. Your glitch can quickly gain energy through eating, which will allow you to  continue doing more activities that expend energy. 
    Posted 13 months ago by Zu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • yes, I suppose that is true, it gives it a structure that secondlife sorely lacks.

    One of the other games I play is an iphone game called bubbletap or bubble.   Its a completely mindless incredibly addicting game of squishing the imaginary bubbles on an imaginary sheet of bubble wrap.    It seems to satisfy some deep seating need I can't quite put my finger on (no pun intended).  Its a little bit like the mining action in its repetitive addictive meaninglessness.  There are, no doubt, other very popular addictive games like that that rely on some sort of obsession.  I really don't find that eating actions fall into that category but maybe some things about glitch appeal to people (nerds) who are constantly making mental calculations?  obsessively adding, subtracting, and doing cost benefit analysis of their actions?  
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sometime those mindless apparently boring activities like mining and bubble tap (and even pacman) are just what you need to relax your mind.   
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "Your glitch can quickly gain energy through eating,"  No, its not that quick.  You have to plan for it, keep on top of how much you've got, get to auction, make something to eat etc.   The eating itself gives none of the pleasure that real eating gives, all it does is remove the mild irritation and fear associated with seeing the little red faces of impending death. Meditation does give some real benefits.

    I'll concede that it does give the glitche's daily life some structure and a semblance of  meaning and purpose.
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I never eat anymore - well, only when I want to.
    Posted 13 months ago by Osprey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Treesa: This game is a little bit more complicated (in a good way) than those mindless activities, and I'm sure you realize that. I really hope you're not arguing that Glitch should be reduced to a more mindless state.

    When I say you quickly gain energy through eating, I mean that all you have to do is eat the food and you gain the energy. How you acquire the food is a completely different conversation (and also part of playing the game) :)  

    "The eating itself gives none of the pleasure that real eating gives, all it does is remove the mild irritation and fear associated with seeing the little red faces of impending death"

    I'm sorry, are you looking to satisfy your real-life hunger with in-game eating?  I'm starting to feel like you're trolling a bit here. You do realize when you break it down, we are just playing an online game, right? 
    Posted 13 months ago by Zu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I rather eat something... or we won't be able to visit Hell One. :)
    Posted 13 months ago by Milolin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • What I want to know is what happens to all the food that Glitches eat. Bats drop guano. Pigs drop plops, what do Glitches drop?
    Posted 13 months ago by BlueZed Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm not trolling I'm just noticing that meditation gives some real life satisfaction, and that other game playing activities draw people to games because it satisfies certain unfullfilled needs and desires that can't be acted out in real life (killing for example).   
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • BluZed:  I've wondered about that too.

    pooping is something people definately do not want to do on video games.   I have a theory that has to do with shit and kitsch but I'm pretty sure I'd be accused of trolling if I tried to explain it.
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love being able to eat in games.

    Though when I think about it, it's more that I love seeing all this yummy food and being able to own it or make it and hoard it as much as I like. It just looks so nice! (I was exactly the same way with food in Ultima 7) 

    I don't really eat it all that much. Although, that's probably because I'm waiting to get all of my cooking skills up, then I will make sure I have at least one of everything. After that I will make lots of things that i like the look of, and devour them all! Mwahahaha! (will have to do a lot of energy draining prior however)

    So I dunno, I know I find the food/eating in glitch pretty satisfying. But then each person and glitch is different.
    Posted 13 months ago by Serilyn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm still pretty new but I enjoy cooking.  I may become bored with it but at this point I like eating to use it up and also give food away to keep my apartment from overflowing.
    Posted 13 months ago by Grania Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Treesa please elaborate re shit and kitsch I'm to dying to go. Know I mean. Thank you.
    Posted 13 months ago by Freddie the Fearful Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Has it maybe occurred to you that other people get satisfaction from things you do not?  I, for example, don't really care about meditation and almost never use it.

    Anyway, my fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators now.
    Posted 13 months ago by Wintera Woodswitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Freddie:  now you're trolling.  

    I'll not elaborate but I recall a quote from a famous author:  kitsch is the absolute denial of shit.
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I really enjoy cooking because

    • I find the process meditative
    • the XP does add up, much faster than with meditation alone
    • the recipes are fun and I look forward to learning new ones
    • the giants love some of the foods and bevs as donations
    • It feels good to share food with friends and strangers

    I possibly enjoyed it less when I was at a lower level and cooking was an absolute necessity, but now it's a pleasant chore I undertake every 2-3 days for an hour or so. I'd be very sad if there were no cooking in Ur.
    Posted 13 months ago by Epilady Subscriber! | Permalink
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch
    I still like the "art" in video games and in Glitch in particular.  I like the art in Glitch because its 2d and feels retro and not taking itself too seriously.    Its not over the top like 3d video games.
    Posted 13 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I get enjoyment from going NOM NOM NOM when I eat something. I make my own enjoyment, filling in the gaps where there may be any. If an activity doesn't entertain me, I find myself doing something ridiculous to make it fun.

    An example, in another game I play there's this rather monotonous minigame where I make a horse jump over fences. With each jump I go BOING! out loud.

    Then again, maybe I'm crazy for finding random noises amusing.
    Posted 13 months ago by Garney Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Since cooking is an integral (and widely enjoyed) part of the game, it would be stupid to not be able to eat. 

    Eating and meditating are both boring to me. In fact, meditating is more boring because it takes longer. That being said, I like having multiple options for restoring energy. 

    Everyone enjoys the game in their own way.
    Posted 13 months ago by Becky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 to Epilady's post.

    Cooking is relaxing and satisfactory (c'mon! cooking without a mess to clean up!) for me in Glitch, much like meditating in Glitch is for you (and I feel the relaxation from that too, when I remember to use it). I also find mining relaxing.

    It doesn't really come down to the eating at all, but the process of making such nourishment to make my Glitch a happy, full, energetic Glitch so it may go about its day when I want to do more energy intensive activities.

    Some of those recipes look demmed good, too, and I believe several people have made RL variations.
    Posted 13 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Honestly, this post seems like nothing more than another "I don't like X, therefore X is stupid" complaint and is just as laughable.

    There are plenty of ways to play this game. You find what is enjoyable for you and do that. You don't need to cook, you don't need to eat. I find cooking and food enjoyable. Just as food and the rituals of sharing it are a central part of real life, the social aspect of making food and sharing it with other glitches is somthing I enjoy. It makes my interaction more than just chat with cute avatars.

    It's a shame that so many people bring the mindset that anything they are not interested in is worthless into a game that is about exploring and interaction and discovering your own play style.
    Posted 13 months ago by Billy McBinky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I adore cooking. I always have a full bag of different cooked food (not only the optimised energy ones ), because I like choosing what to eat according to my mood. 
    I never remember to use my orb because it bores me. To each his own.
    Posted 13 months ago by Zira Subscriber! | Permalink
  • From a design perspective there's several reasons to put something like eating in Glitch.  Have a requirement like that makes you put more thought into inventory and time management. It creates a new skill set and acheivments for people to work towards.  It creates an economy around gathering raw materials and producing the higher level food items that pack a better punch.  It makes that economy easy to control by tweaking the availability of some ingredients. 

    Plus there's an RPG element to it.  In a game where swill and fine wine have equal energy value some people will still only have their character drink wine.

    Glitch is a lot more casual than other MMORPG so you don't notice this sort of thing, but it's there.
    Posted 13 months ago by Baka no Kami Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am filling my house with food.

    Sometimes I donate it, if I need to please the giants.

    I barely eat any of it,  I mainly eat meat as that's not as pretty as the mountains of food adorning my Kajuu home.

    It's not a problem.  I can quit at any time. 
    Posted 13 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Treesa.. pooping.. OMG, right? Only on Sims have I seen potty time be a big part of gameplay. I'm so glad Glitches evolved to not need bathrooms.

    Choices, that's what I love best about the game. Don't like the cooking? Don't do it. Eat raw. So many options. Even if you go on hunger strike and die, it's fun and you can get a badge.
    Posted 13 months ago by Ooola Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have a bag that is mostly full of cooked meals, but my play rate is such that, between mining/grinding buffs and the daily refresh, I don't eat anywhere as often as I cook.

    On a slight tangent, foodies might be interested in reading 'Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human' by Richard Wrangham. The theory is that while cooking reduces the overall nutrient value of food, it renders the remainder more easily digestible/accessible, so that our physical and cognitive development benefitted from 'meals' as opposed to more graze-like behaviors. Also, the communal nature of gathering/cooking/eating would have been our first societal structures.

    More technical aspects of cooking are in Harold McGee's 'On Food & Cooking,' but that's a 1000+ page book, lots of information, and recommended only for the die-hard foodie or professional chef.
    Posted 13 months ago by TK-855 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Coincidentally I just came across this as I was preparing to spend the next couple days playing Skyrim.

    http://killscreendaily.com/articles/things-i-ate-skyrim
    Posted 13 months ago by Baka no Kami Subscriber! | Permalink