Warframe Saved Me From Myself.

[RabidScholar]

I won't dwell but with winter I guess and the already pre-existing mental disorders of depression, anxiety, and the all too famous ADHD I had a lot of things going bad. At first I played to keep my mind off everything else which really didn't work I was pretty much just zombied out and would solo the game for the most part. I could feel it getting worse everyday. Then for someone reason (most likely an argument that ended up with the other party saying nuh-uh) I found myself in regional chat for ideas and opinions on different weapons and frames, started doing the math on different builds and my brain was constantly going tweak this or that discussing on reddit and region not to argue but actual discussions and getting people to think outside the box. I now find myself smiling a lot talking more to people in game and out but I feel good lately and that alone I cannot express in any words because of how much of a struggle it is. Thank You,  Digital Extremes for a game I can constantly think on ways to change different builds, and the forums here for all the great ideas, anyone on reddit for well being on reddit, and last but never least Regional chat for showing me that people are very wierd.

 

I hope this is ok to leave in the forums, I just really wanted to let people know how awesome this community really is.

[Yazeth]

Haha. First it was getting two love birds together in real life. Now this. Warframe is definitely an amazing game, and I hope it continuously gets better.

[Snydrex]

Glad it all worked out for you, friend.

 

I can't find the thread, but Warframe's also responsible for getting two apparent soul mates together.

 

EDIT: Ninja'd. And by a Aristeas, no less. Well played.

 

Edited January 7, 2015 by Snydrex

[Yazeth]

Haha. First it was getting two love birds together in real life. Now this. Warframe is definitely an amazing game, and I hope it continuously gets better.

 

^What I was talking about, lol.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Yazeth

[Morec0]

I am reminded of a story I read on a League of Legends forum about how the original (now sadly revised) backstory and characterization of the character Maokai helped one player there cope with their suicidal depression.

 

This isn't anything as severe as that (arguably, at the least), but it still good and, honestly, damn beautiful in my eyes every time I see a story about how a video game has helped someone cope with some abnormality in their life. It just goes to show how WRONG all those fool who condemn the medium as nothing but "Pong with better graphics" are over and over again.

[WingedCrusade]

I am reminded of a story I read on a League of Legends forum about how the original (now sadly revised) backstory and characterization of the character Maokai helped one player there cope with their suicidal depression.

 

This isn't anything as severe as that (arguably, at the least), but it still good and, honestly, damn beautiful in my eyes every time I see a story about how a video game has helped someone cope with some abnormality in their life. It just goes to show how WRONG all those fool who condemn the medium as nothing but "Pong with better graphics" are over and over again.

People tend to see it as a distraction and a rot, a waste of precious time, whereas I see it as an art of freedom, and the ability to escape the drama of your life for the amazing life of another, or even put yourself in a community of like-minded people that don't care about all the bullsh*t outside.

To them, it's a bunch of lights and pixels, to me, I'm in f*cking Narnia.

[420degreequicksopeswag]

To them, it's a bunch of lights and pixels, to me, I'm in f*cking Narnia.

You mean the origin system?

[Morec0]

People tend to see it as a distraction and a rot, a waste of precious time, whereas I see it as an art of freedom, and the ability to escape the drama of your life for the amazing life of another, or even put yourself in a community of like-minded people that don't care about all the bullsh*t outside.

To them, it's a bunch of lights and pixels, to me, I'm in f*cking Narnia.

 

The most hilarious thing is that everything from movies to TV to plays to books - yeah, BOOKS! At one point in history they were scoffed at because people thought that people would be too busy reading to work - have gone through this EXACT SAME sh*tstorm. It's really just a trial by fire that we'll have to whether out, either until people get tired of it or something newer comes along for them to demonize.

 

I'm not sure there was ever a time I simply saw games as games. From my earliest memories I have always been involved in video games - whether it be hunting down Dracula in Castlevania 2 (which is BETTER than the first) or commanding the Orcish Hordes against the Alliance in the original Warcraft games - I have been enthralled by them. Cut to my highschool years and my first M-rated game: Bioshock 2.

 

Now, up to this point it was just my thing to, when presented with moral choices, always pick the evil route first. I knew enough about Bioshock to know that "evil = harvesting the sisters". So, when the time came, I harvested one...

 

That scene, that f*cking scene, is the FIRST TIME a video game EVER got an emotional response from me. And it was fuckin' BRUTAL! I mean, I loved playing the villain, I still do, but after that first harvest I literally couldn't bring myself to harvest another little sister for the entirety of that playthrough. It took me to my final playthrough to do the all-evil route.

 

Cut to my college years, and one of my Steamfriends bought me Bastion. Hey, you know, I'm back into the full swing of playing the villain again - hey, my brother bought me the Overlord franchise as a Halloween gift - I'm sure that I'll be able to get through this playthrough fine.

 

Since then I have come to know there are two people in the world: those that saved Zulf, and liars.

 

Gaming, like movies, like plays, like books, like pictures, is an ARTFORM - or, at least, they have the potential to be an artform (same with all those listed bits). In the hands of the proper mind it can produce something beautiful - be it visual, logical, or even emotional - and it does so in a way that has never been done until now: interactivity. As gaming progresses, as gaming culture grows and begins to self reflect and absorb new ideas from all around it, I see this artform only becoming all the more wondrous.

[Yazeth]

People tend to see it as a distraction and a rot, a waste of precious time, whereas I see it as an art of freedom, and the ability to escape the drama of your life for the amazing life of another, or even put yourself in a community of like-minded people that don't care about all the bullsh*t outside.

To them, it's a bunch of lights and pixels, to me, I'm in f*cking Narnia.

 

I know that feel, bro. (Am I using this correctly? Lol.)

 

Have you heard of Extra Credits? They've done a lot of cool videos about videogames.

 

Games & Education: 

[MisterUltimate]

Having to cope with anxiety and depression myself, I can't upvote this enough. Thanks for sharing, RabidScholar.

[TheErebus.]

Though not directly, WF led me to meeting my girlfriend. If I had skipped out on it, I'd have never met the girl who makes me smile everyday.

 

It made my life better in so many ways.

[Vyrn]

Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better :)

It's always nice reading stuff like this, and it certainly is a good way to start the morning.

[Pandoran_Stallion]

This game is a wonderful escape from the everyday. I know exactly what you mean by the escape it provides.

There was a time when my grades took a sharp drop for no apparent reason. My parents looked down on me for something I couldn't help and I got pretty deep into depression because of that (along with a couple other issues). At one point I was also prone to explosive fits of anger. With parents not seeing my problem and assuming I was just some lazy bum, our relationship was strained at the best of times.

At one point I became so angry with myself for my lack of self-control that I refused to leave my room or speak except when at the table with the family. A couple months before my friend had shown me this game called Warframe. Tired, bored, and desperate for something new, I clicked 'Download', and I got more than just a game.

I found a game where I was finally not just good, but great. I would do whatever I wanted and nothing could stand in my way. I loved it. I was never in my shell online. The community here is more down-to-earth than most. I know for a fact that these forums and the chats helped me get out of that shell I made for myself outside the game. By the time I had gotten to the root of the problem, I had already come to love not just the escape, but the friends I find here. I may never see their faces, they may be 50 years older than I am or 10 years younger.

This is more than a game. It's a community, or a family. You'll have the cool dad, that mother-henning parent, the weird sister and the strange uncle. Some you know begrudgingly, others are a delight to talk to. These are people who do the same thing you do. They may not do it for the same reason, but in the end, we're all Tenno. And Tenno have each other.

[Armouredhunter]

While I haven't had anything drastic, yet, happen because of Warframe, being of the forums has brought me friends who I still talk to from time to time and has mad my first year in college a lot easier due to being able to make friends in my class and allowed us to work together from there. Video games are more than just lights and sounds. They are common ground that can be used to build anything from a rivalry to a friendship and even beyond that. you hear these stories about this and that when it comes to video games but they can bring forth something that other forms of media might not be able to as easily. The fact that we can work together as space ninjas and find things to relate to from each other, is something more than just reading a book or watching a movie can do with so little effort.

 

From our clans, to our alliances, we end up finding those people that we are always happy to talk to and it's all because of this game and the people who make it and there is nothing that can change that fact.

[Chaosyn]

I have PTSD,Severe Chronic Depression,Social Phobia, an Impulse Control disorder,anxiety,and an as of yet unidentified personality disorder..I totally understand how you feel. I am considered disabled so I spend a LOT of time here and in game. I miss my friends that have left the game but I have made more so it evens out....I also am a 3D artist (10 years),and paint miniatures,and write...it's all fun but it's also personal therapy.

IRL I am a shut in, I seldom leave the house...But here I am a traveller of the entire solar system...

 I wouldn't say the game saved me but it DOES keep me from thinking about things that make my condition worse....

Though sadly, my IRL friends have all but abandoned me....Oh well....I just await the day when people stop looking down on me for things I couldn't have avoided and can't cure...

Edited January 7, 2015 by Chaosyn

[AngelGuardcc]

where is the 9000+ upvote button????

 

i need it for this human >:o

[Nalinaa]

Know that state of mind all too well, stuff is falling appart in my life and people keep disappointing me. I understand you well. I'm so happy that this game as well as for myself has helped so many people. And in my case not only this game.. I wish that sometimes more people would understand it and wouldn't look at it like you're the worst person to play video games and waist that 'precious' time of yours when you could be working or studying.. all that blah blah.

The sad part is if it wasn't for WF and maybe other games I'm afraid some of us wouldn't even be here. So I'm really happy we found this little media to express ourselves with. You're not alone and I whole heartedly wish you strength and happy gameplay~ 

[Vayde_Knyght]

That is awesome! Glad Warframe (and its community) helped you!

 

 

Haha. First it was getting two love birds together in real life. Now this. Warframe is definitely an amazing game, and I hope it continuously gets better.

Oh wow. Do you happen to have a link? :O

Edited January 7, 2015 by Knight3169

[Wiegraf]

There's a few very interesting things about video games as a whole which those who never played them and had "that special moment" experience happen to them are unable to get.

 

For one, video games are an interactive media. Sure, you can read a book or watch a movie... but no matter how many times you start over, it's the same experience each time (perhaps with the added boon of noticing or making connections you didn't before). Go to an art exposition, things will change around but you can't directly interact with them. You can play a board game but most are governed by dice and rules that holds up only as much as the players will uphold them.

 

You have video games where, even if you start a level 10 times, you can always do something different. Play Super Mario Bros. : those ? blocks at the start? How about skipping them this time around? Sure, it doesn't immediately change anything... but what if you play the game without ever picking any powerups? Likewise in Warframe, run a survival or even an extermination and not only will the level never be the same but neither will be the things actively happening in the background. It's something you don't just experience, it's something you're made to be a part of.

 

Then, there's also how, despite the world being so very full of different people, of different origins and beliefs, of skin color, of tone of voice and habits, in a video game like Warframe, we're not North Americans, Europeans, Japanese, African or whoever else; we're Tenno. We're a united community of warriors fighting for various reasons, yes, but all looking in the same direction without the usual ire. In fact, since the Tenno are only seen in Warframes and each Warframe doesn't reveal any form or shape of what a Tenno is, we're all left with this weird but satisfying feeling that our brothers and sisters in arms are like us. We're united, as a community.

 

Just remember what happened during that contest, months ago, for the most popular Free to Play game. We all stood together as players for Warframe as players backing our own game of choice,of course... but you have to admit, most of us also treated our opponents with respect in the end, no matter if they returned the feeling or not. Something that, as Tenno, some of us learned through the mystical setting and traditions we've come to embody being immersed as masters of the blade and gun. And of our opponents, some became good friends on a meta levels, with communities then socializing between them with jests and good laughs. Hell, what should have been an insult in having Excalibur's head put on a ship in AirMech was then turned around as a sign of goodwill between the two of us.

 

Finally, like the OP said, sometime small gestures in game make it so you can pull yourself out of a deep chasm. Things like depression and disorders are serious matters and if Warframe and its community helped Rabid in his healing process, then for the better. Feeling involved and motivated to do more or even to consider new options, meeting people who hold out a helping hand for one matter but unknowingly helping you in another way as well. There's often threads about people being $&*^ish and that's fine; there's people like that. But more often than not, it's because we're mostly vocal about the negative aspects of something we come to like and liken to.

 

Then there's threads like the one the OP made which reminds you that there's good in there too; they're the silent heroes often going without recognition that helps climb up everyday's obstacle one at a time. Decent people you help and are helped by at various different degrees. People who just like to have a good time playing a game they like and perhaps impart some of that enjoyment to you too.

 

It's that kind of unity, even if its ever so passive, that keeps some people going through the rough times. And despite life having its high and lows, it's sometime in what you expect less you find your mean of escape or, at least, a short respite to come back to your real life much more focused, ready and stronger to take on whatever it can throw your way.