Voice 003_Full verbatim

Interviewer: Okay, it’s recording. Um, so I’m going to ask you a few questions, so
answer them briefly or you can add something more if you wish.

Interviewee: Okay.

Interviewer: So, first of all, how old are you?

Interviewee: Um, I’m 26 at the moment.

Interviewer: Okay. Um, what comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘video
games’?

Interviewee: Um, probably a good way to spend my time, enjoyable, probably.

Interviewer: Okay. Um, next question, have you ever played one?

Interviewee: Yeah, yeah, I’ve played several in my life.

Interviewer: Okay. Um, can you remember the first video game you ever played?

Interviewee: Hmm, that’s actually a pretty-pretty difficult one.

Interviewer: [coughs]

Interviewee: I’d probably say, you know, like a basic answer, like Ping-Pong-

Interviewer: Mm-hmm [chuckles].

Interviewee: -or something like that. But, um, I think that the first game that I ever
played was Super Mario Brothers.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm.

Interviewee: The first one. Yeah, um--

Interviewer: Was it the one that came in with the computer when you bought it?
[chuckles]

Interviewee: Not the computer, but with the Super Nintendo, the first one.

Interviewer: Yeah.
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
2

Interviewee: Yeah, I think a lot of people had that. We didn’t have it for a very long time
and-and, you know, the first time that I ever played it was at a friend’s place who was
the first who, who had a gaming console-

Interviewer: Yeah.

Interviewee: -of any kind. Yeah. My-my dad did have a Commodore back in the day,
but he used it mostly for his work and-and not for-- He didn’t have any games on it,
except for Ping-Pong.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm.

Interviewee: But I never played it, so I wou-- I would definitely have to go with Super
Mario Brothers.

Interviewer: Yeah, that’s a classic. Um, okay, so what’s your favourite one?

Interviewee: Favourite one. This is another tough one.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Interviewee: I would probably have to say from the- um, from the Fallout series, I would
probably have to say Fallout 3 because, um, it was the first, like, larger game that I ever
played and-and the experience of playing it was just so-so immersive an-and everything
seemed endless-

Interviewer: [chuckles]

Interviewee: -like endless opportunities so-- I wou-- I would definitely go with that one.

Interviewer: Yeah, okay. Um, so, in your opinion, um, do others besides teens and
children play video games?

Interviewee: [laughs] Well-well, definitely, definitely, yeah. I don’t consider myself

Interviewer: [chuckles]

Interviewee: I would definitely say that yes, yes, they do and, um, I don’t think it should
be classified like that. I-I believe that a lot of people ca-- could, uh, definitely benefit
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
3

from what video games have to offer and-and how they can affect your life, um, as in a
way of-of spending your time and, to a certain extent, I believe that video games can-
can lead to social events. Contrary to-

Interviewer: Mm.

Interviewee: -to how people feel about the people who- other people who play video
games.

Interviewer: You mean social events as in, like, I don’t know like [crosstalk]-

Interviewee: Yeah.

Interviewer: -Lan parties or [crosstalk]-

Interviewee: Yeah.

Interviewer: -tournaments.

Interviewee: Or people that you meet over the Internet-

Interviewer: Um, yeah.

Interviewee: -or-or in-in a video game, definitely.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Interviewee: And to have people-- more people to have things in common, definitely.

Interviewer: Mm, okay. That brings us to another point. So, do you think that gaming is
addictive?

Interviewee: [laughs] That’s--

Interviewer: [chuckles]

Interviewee: That’s, um-- That could be debated, but, to a certain extent, yeah, yeah, I
do, but very mildly- very mildly addictive or not at all. To a person that doesn’t have
much-much input, like much-- not much input, but to a person that doesn’t have much in
their life-

Interviewer: Mm-hmm.
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
4

Interviewee: -definitely a lot of things can be-- very simple things can be addictive.

Interviewer: True.

Interviewee: But, hmm, very mildly addictive. I would have to go with that.

Interviewer: Mm. Okay, so, need some self-control, I guess.

Interviewee: Yeah, as-as anything in life.

Interviewer: Mm. Okay. So- um, so, do you think that, um-- Do you personally change
when you’re gaming?

Interviewee: Hmm, I think that gaming makes me- makes me more focused when I’m
gaming and-and I tend to immerse myself in the video game that I’m playing. That’s why
I like games that-that are not that simple and-- or are not very straightforward, but--
What was the question again?

Interviewer: Um, do you think that you personally change when you’re gaming?

Interviewee: Ah, okay, I’ll just- I’ll just answer that, yeah. Yeah, I do. I might get a tad
bit aggressive when-when-when gaming and, uh, I might get-- Let’s just say that I take I
take my games very seriously sometimes.

Interviewer: Yeah, so you do agree that gaming kinda increases aggression then?
Because you brought that up already.

Interviewee: Um, I don’t know, I didn’t mean it like that, that it brings up aggression.

Interviewer: Okay.

Interviewee: And I don’t think video games make anyone violent in the- in the sense
that people think they do, but--

Interviewer: Yeah, because there’s a big debate goin-going on about that right now.

Interviewee: Yeah, but-but I don’t think that that’s true or, you know [chuckles]. If-if that
would be true, we would be very, very, very different people an-and, you know, I don’t
think-- Other aspects of life take control much-much more than-than what video games
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
5

actually do an-and what they actually do to people. I don’t think it-it’s- it’s very minuscule
in-in what-what other aspects affect life.

Interviewer: Mm, yup. Yeah. Um, do you think that gaming is beneficial and why if it is?

Interviewee: Um, yeah.

Interviewer: Y-you’ve mentioned that you become focused.

Interviewee: Okay, wh-what do you mean? How do you mean beneficial or do you
wanna--

Interviewer: Beneficial that, in the sense that do you get anything out of it? Do you get
any positive experiences or--

Interviewee: Yeah. Definitely, that I-I feel that gaming has given a lot to me and-and it
has given me a lot of, like, peace of mind that-that I’ve gotten it through-through
stressful times and-and it has been a way to-to kinda--

Interviewer: Escape.

Interviewee: Not to let-- To escape. Not to let steam out, but to escape, definitely.

Interviewer: Okay, so then, well do you think that video games contribute to skill
development?

Interviewee: Ah, anything in-in, like, specific skills or-or, like, you know-- Or what do
you mean by that?

Interviewer: Um, I mean that-- Well, there’s been studies about that. That [coughs]
children who play video games, that they are kinda-- they get better sco-scores in tests
[coughs]. And they-they get focused really quickly and, well, they react to situations a lot
faster-

Interviewee: Mm-hmm.

Interviewer: -than those that, you know, they don’t do that.

Interviewee: Well, I believe that, you know, they definitely develop the motor skills a lot
an-and very well and-and I think that they should be used in teaching a lot more and,
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
6

um, I-I feel that my development in languages, for example, has gotten considerable
games—through-through video games, definitely. And that, you know, my motor skills
have definitely developed to a more sensitive side through video games. Because video
games create an environment where you have to- uh, you have-- to succeed, you have
to respond to situations very quickly.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm.

Interviewee: For example, just as an example.

Interviewer: Yeah, okay. Yeah, that’s good. So, few more questions. Um, do you think
that all gamers are lonely and unsocial?

Interviewee: [coughs] Excuse me?

Interviewer: Do you think that all gamers lonely and unsocial? [coughs]

Interviewee: No, no, definitely not. I think that, you know, of course, some are because
they feel that, you know, they might play a video game online or-or they might- they
might socialise through their video game playing, but I don’t think that’s something that-
that should be, you know, “stereotypicised” that, you know-- stereotype, that you
shouldn’t stereotype people through that. And, um, I-I know some very, very social
people who play video games and-and, uh, I-I can’t really-- through my own
experiences-- I can’t say that out of anyone.

Interviewer: Mm, they’re the kind of things that is-- thing of the past.

Interviewee: Definitely, definitely.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Interviewee: And that’s what I meant earlier that it’s-it’s becoming a social event more
than-

Interviewer: Mm.

Interviewee: -than something that you do completely on your own. Although that ha--
that’s happened as well.
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
7

Interviewer: Mm, okay. So, do you like it when Hollywood, um, makes a movie from the
video game?

Interviewee: Excuse me?

Interviewer: So, do you like it when Hollywood makes a movie from the video game?

Interviewee: [laughs] I’ll have yet to see a good one, so I’ll definitely--

Interviewer: Well, Resident Evil is an example [laughs].

Interviewee: Yeah, yeah, I believe that, you know, for-for example, out of that franchise
they made one good one and then it was an incredible slippery slope down-

Interviewer: Mm.

Interviewee: -after that. So, I would definitely have to say no. I think that they should
listen to the people who play the video games more when they make them an-and just
not, when like, you know, a B-quality studio make them. And just, you know put more
focus into it actually being like the game on some levels and-and not being like a
stereotypical action movie, which it very, very often is.

Interviewer: Mm, true. Okay, um, so what do you think the video games will be like in
the future?

Interviewee: Hmm, good question. Um, I think that video games will just be more-more
interactive that-- and-and more immersing, that-- and you will have to do a lot more in
physical and mental senses in all ways. That’s a really diverse topic, but I just-

Interviewer: Mm.

Interviewee: -believe that they will just definitely take you in a lot more than they have
before, which, I believe, is a good thing, uh, as a gamer. Definitely.

Interviewer: Mm. Okay, that-that was my last question for you. Thank you for your time.

Interviewee: Okay, thank you very much. This was- this was a pleasure.

Interviewer: Okay.
 Voice 003_Full verbatim
8

Interviewee: Thank you.

[00:11:38] [END OF AUDIO]