[INFP] INFPs getting lost in RPG's

[Curtis B]

I enjoy the long term aspect of the games; being able to come back to the same character after months of not playing, seeing all of your achievements, etc, is enjoyable for me. I enjoyed Oblivion and developed three characters all to around level 30, the quests, skills, and also just EXPLORING, were all enjoyable for me. The other game I've played is Runescape, since my brother got me into it, I've logged 1000+ hours over a period of 5 years, periodically coming back and quitting for a few months at a time.

I personally never enjoyed other styles of games, shooters, in particular, are boring to me.

I also really enjoy playing DnD, everyone enjoyed me because they said I was good at "becoming the character" in play, talk, and attitude. However, it's harder for me because the typical 6+ hour sessions are incredibly draining for me.

With Playstation Home, I spent more time clothing my avatar than chatting with people or playing games.

haha, oh yes. I did this on Xbox quite a bit.

I loved the whole world, the imagination, I felt like I knew the characters - like they were my friends. That kind of weirded me out to be honest, that I had this secret world that I couldn't wait to get back to. It's sort of like the Avatar effect.

this is definitely true for me, I often found myself talking to my character in Oblivion, telling him how to do things, as if thinking aloud, but in a conversational manner. The world is always important, particularly if it's aesthetically appealing. The prettier an area, the better. As if the game is a work art.

 

[Daenera]

I'm an INFJ, but RPGs are one of my favorite things in the world. I have dreams about them if I'm in the middle of one at the time.

haha this!Though I suspect it might have something to do with the fact that when in gaming mode often the process for me involves getting up, playing, going back to sleep lol

 

[Forever]

I'm an INFJ, but RPGs are one of my favorite things in the world. I have dreams about them if I'm in the middle of one at the time.

Same applies if I play one for hours on end.

 

[Totenkindly]

The title of the thread caught my attention because my boyfriend (INFP) is exactly the same way. He gets attached to a 'series' and loves the character creation, crafting, systems, role-play, etc. It's pretty much the only kind I ever see him play - and he plays a LOT.

It's also curious how his characters are always so colorful and unusual, and for some reason, he always tends to prefer the mages, the magical characters. While I love the RPGs too, I tend to always make mine female, blonde, and well, kind of like me, but much much better and then tend towards two-handed weaponry and in your face fighting.

I told him I do it because to me, THAT me, IS a fantasy.

It's interesting, since when I was younger I enjoyed mages, but as an adult I tend to like more direct-conflict characters as well. My current main character is a barbarian (Pathfinder) w/ a two-hander, which is a lot of fun. But probably my favorite character was my Daeva Zelani vampire in Wod (VtR), who was good with social intrigue, guns, and motorcycles, and even had some parkour skills; I just found it very easy to play her.

I usually like to create lots of different characters, to explore a system, and try to make them unique; but I'm not very good at acting them out during the game-play. I don't have enough time to think and get myself totally in their mindset. Usually to help I try to give a character at least a quality or two I also share (to create some kind of connection I can grasp them through), but sometimes it works better than others.

I was trying to make my barb a much more masculine woman, who didn't even like being seen as a woman and acted much more manly per se... but I'm not very good at playing it. I guess there are just some things that don't actually appeal to me, lol.


......

Maybe this is more relevant. When I was with my INFP guy, we both played Dragon Age: Origins. his favorite NPC was Leliana (I kinda got sick of him raving about her all the time), while I liked most of the NPCs [because they were all unique and very real to me in their own ways] but probably my favorite was Morrigan.

He hated Wynne, I thought she was well-done and made internal sense as a character. Sten, too -- he was unlikeable in some ways but I understood him.

Of course, we both despised Oghren.

 

[chickpea]

I'm not a big video game person, but I've played the Sims since it came out and I always get very sucked into it and don't realize how many hours I've been playing for. I make up little back stories in my head too, about their motivations and how they're feeling. And to explain my cheating (they come from a rich family, I didn't just type the word "motherlode" 20 times.)

 

[SD45T-2]

 

[Curtis B]

View attachment 11306

wut.

 

[SD45T-2]

wut.

It's the most common RPG in the world.

 

[Curtis B]

It's the most common RPG in the world.

funny. -_-

 

[Patrick]

Old-Fogy RPGer

I've had a love-hate relationship with games all my life. And I'm old enough to have been around before there were video games and before there were RPGs (in fact, in about 1973 I responded to a letter from Gary Gygax, telling him I didn't think his idea for Dungeons & Dragons would be of interest to anyone).

I love immersing myself in a make-believe world, and I love that it's a world made of rules too, because then everything is ultimately clear-cut and comprehensible (unlike real life).

However, I suck at competing and pursuing goals, and I don't enjoy dealing with puzzles or riddles much either.

But I do get personally invested in any game I play. I'm the god or demigod or hero of the realm, and therefore success is of paramount importance to me. If the game goes well, I feel elated; and if it goes against me, I feel miserable and discouraged. Usually, of course, it goes well only if I'm playing on Easy level or if I'm very familiar with the game and have practiced a lot. Hence, I keep the difficulty level at Medium or below, and I tend to prefer familiar games to new ones.

Speaking of difficulty level, I almost always play games solo against AI opponents. The last thing I want to do when playing a game is interact with other (real-life) people. The game is my refuge from real life; it's the secret den I escape into. I'm happy to talk with others about my experiences there, but I don't want to share those experiences by playing with others. It's my world, not theirs. Also, it'd be too risky; I might enjoy some cooperation, but then again I might run into competition/conflict. I sure don't want that.

So, games are appealing and yet off-putting in some ways. RPGs are more story than game, and I think we NFs generally love stories. But I've never been entirely comfortable mixing a story with a game. A story is linear; it has a beginning, middle, and ending. A game has only rules and an objective, and the player is free to go any which way at any time. So, there's a clash, in my view. I like the imaginative "character-driven story" experience of RPGs, but I hate the feeling of being trapped in a story line (even a branching one). Often I'd rather play an "overview" game like Civilization.

Games. Wonderful things, but I'm perpetually conflicted over them.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Skyrim has been a second home to me.

I've also heavily enjoyed GTA in the past (not RPG, I realize)

 

[Chrysanthea]

tl;dr ~ If I am feeling mellow and relaxed enough to become immersed within the universe of the game I am playing, then that is usually the time I'll be able to fully enjoy the open-world experience a Western RPG offers. I need to feel in character and understand such character's motives so I can make accurate choices, otherwise I can't enjoy it. I have to spend at least half an hour writing up a background story for my own persona so that I can learn to think like he/she would. I wouldn't want to be an altruistic monk and murder an innocent citizen just as I wouldn't feel the need to save or help such a citizen when I am playing a lone adventurer from a foreign land with more of a Chaotic-Neutral mindset.

Depends on what kind of RPG is being discussed. For example, the idea of playing any JRPG for hours just sounds boring as Hell to me as a result of the scarcity of non-linear and more action-oriented fighting, as well as the fact that there's a level system. Leveling systems rarely ever make any sense and ruin a game for me because it encourages grinding... If I can't have a chance to beat a level 100 monster with a level 1 Magician, then the game is unbalanced. How could one just become 1000x more powerful by merely fighting more? For the aforementioned reasons, I place higher value on the more Western RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Grand Theft Auto. I do realize that some of these have leveling systems, but I can still manage to defeat Alduin with merely my fists given enough time. ^_^

Though even then, I need to be in a certain mood to play open-world RPGs... my mind tends to be so unfocused that roaming for hours can just bore me, in which case I need something more along the lines of a fast paced fighting or racing game (Smash Bros. Melee and F-Zero GX just so happen to be two of my top 10 favourite games).

 

[Butter]

I enjoy them greatly! They are my favorite type of videogame. But then I think the attraction has more to do with my being a 4 than being an INFP. People with enneagram type 4 personalities love to fantasize after all. And from statistics that I've seen somewhere, a lot of INFP's are 4's as well.