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Episode 129 - ADHD & Video Games: Hyperfocus, High Scores, and How We Got Addicted to Pong
45 Plays20 days ago
Welcome back to ADHDville, where the distractions are plenty and the dopamine is always just one more level away.
In this episode, ex-mayors Martin and Paul take a seat in the back of the King’s Agitated Head pub—right next to the retro arcade machines—to talk about something close to many of our hearts (and thumbs): video games.
From Pong to Pac-Man, sniper strategies to forklift obsessions, they explore why ADHD and autistic brains are so drawn to gaming. Is it the clear goals? The instant rewards? The fact that the game handles the executive function for you? Yes. All of that.
Martin reveals how he built a kebabs-themed version of Pong for a client (and won awards), while Paul confesses he kept games at arm’s length for years… until one handheld game stole his batteries and his soul.
They also chat about:
- Why open-world games and simulators (tractors, jet washes, coconuts on a beach) can be surprisingly neurodivergent-friendly
- The fine line between healthy escapism and "I've been moving boxes in a forklift game for three hours"
- And whether video games actually cause ADHD (spoiler: they don’t)
Plus, Paul gets quizzed on classic games in “Two Truths and a Lie”—and let’s just say his scoreboard is looking a little retro.
So pull up a pew, grab your controller (or just watch us fumble through the quiz), and settle in for a laugh, a bit of nostalgia, and a deeply relatable dive into why we keep coming back to the screen.
👉 New episodes drop every Tuesday. Subscribe for more ADHD chaos, camaraderie, and questionable gaming opinions.
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ADHDville, the podcast where hosts Paul and Martin bring 40 years of friendship to your ears. As late-diagnosed adults, they explore the ADHD world with fun, games, and the occasional guest—no boring lectures, just a comfortable and hilarious conversation you’d have with old friends. A new episode drops every Tuesday to make your week brighter!
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Theme music was written by Freddie Philips and played by Martin West. All other music by Martin West.
Please remember: This is an entertainment podcast about ADHD and does not substitute for individualized advice from qualified health professionals.
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Transcript
Introduction to ADHDville and Hosts
00:00:00
Speaker
back in the room back in the room well half back in the room because yeah one of the one of the uh code the co uh mayor town one of the co-mayors it's a little bit i don't know it's not quite you know there it's not quite there i think i could tell yeah from that little intro bit there Oh, yeah. I don't know but it's just my mojo isn't quite there, but I'll i'll get there.
00:00:37
Speaker
I will. I can, I can, I can carry us both. Oh, what a mate. Right. Okay. Well, ah let's go to the place where the distractions are landmarks and the details are the main roads. Welcome to ADHDville.
00:00:55
Speaker
Ah yes. A-D-H-D, A-D-H-D, A-D-H, A-D-H, A-D-H, and about the D on the end. And also A-U-D-H-D. A-U-D-H-D. We're thinking about changing the name, aren't we, to A-D-H-D, Bill?
Arcade Memories and Video Game History
00:01:13
Speaker
a u g h t we're we're thinking about changing the name of relate to or d h tville Anyway, hello, I'm Paul Thompson. I was diagnosed with the combined ADHD and the D again two years ago, and a bit like Martin, I think, self-diagnosed autistic.
00:01:31
Speaker
Ah, putting it in there. and i'm a And I'm Martin West, and i'm officially I was officially diagnosed with the combined ADHD poo-poo platter in 2013, and also self-diagnosed autistic.
00:01:44
Speaker
and we are the ah the And we start off every episode as we do, the ex-mayors of ADHDville in the King's Agitated Head pub, where we currently are, sitting at the back, enjoying a little drink and having a chat. And we're glad you're here with us So pull up a pew.
00:02:06
Speaker
We are glad you're with us because we haven't played the tab at the bar for about four years. So you might able help us. Right. So, yeah. So I think that the next round is on you, dear listener.
00:02:18
Speaker
have me And we're going to be talking about ADHD and something that is close to my heart and my past is video games. And I rather suspect that a lot of ADHD and um or a lot of neurodivergent people, shall I say, that the video games are are definitely one of those things that we all, not all do, but a lot of us do.
00:02:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think... Well, because you know my little bit my history on this, Martin, but I think one of the reasons why I didn't really get into it was because I knew that I could become really obsessed about it.
00:03:04
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So I kept it at arm's length. Right. Wise boys man. Yeah. Well, let's let's jump into the tractor, and we're just going to go to... Actually, you know what?
00:03:15
Speaker
We aren't. We're going to stay here because at the back of the pub, I've just realized, as ah as a lot of British pubs, there are some arc arcade machines. Right.
00:03:26
Speaker
So we can just stay right here. They're bringing them back, aren't they, these old machines? Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. More than ever. Yeah, I mean, for at least for the last 10, 15 years, you've been able to buy. So up at my old ad agency, we bought a big stand-up arcade and machine, and it had all of the games in it.
00:03:53
Speaker
It had, like, hundreds of games. Really? Yeah, had, like, all of the classics, you know, all of those classic 8-bit games. retro arcade games and I used to play Ms. Pac-Man on it a lot.
00:04:09
Speaker
Ms. Pac-Man? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, because Ms. Pac-Man was better, arguably the better version of all the Pac-Man variations.
00:04:21
Speaker
This is the man that says that the the second ah a Blade Runner is better than the first. Just saying! I'm just saying! Right. Right, that that I am i'm all about the number twos and not the number ones. My eyes are still bleeding from that statement from but two weeks ago. Oh, I do like that.
00:04:46
Speaker
um Yeah, I do like number number number twos of things. Right, not Jaws 2. No, but I'm just thinking that actually ah kung Kung Fu Panda 2 was better than Kung Fu Panda 2. Dragon Trainer 2 that this is it's very good. I watched that last last night, mate. Did you? Yeah.
Video Games, ADHD, and Autism
00:05:10
Speaker
I wanted a nice little comfort and a nice little comfort film, and I put on How to Train Your Dragon 2 and sat back and enjoyed it. o Okay. Very good.
00:05:22
Speaker
All right. Because in Europe it's just called Dragon Trainer. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's, ah yeah. Why did they do that? I don't know. I don't know.
00:05:34
Speaker
But anyway, let's get on onto video games. so you're saying that that you that you kept them at arm's length because you felt they're sort of, they have a little bit of an addictive quality.
00:05:50
Speaker
I would guess that you would burn up all your time playing them. Yeah, that and there were two things, that and any really intense game makes me really nauseous.
00:06:03
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So, for instance, when I had ah an agency in um for about six years, um we used to have war and pizza night, and we'd play a Tour of Duty,
00:06:20
Speaker
so we got Oh, yes. We'd order pizzas, get our bellies full, and then li it got quite popular. People would come and we'd have like in our studio would turn into like a tour of duty kind of.
00:06:37
Speaker
hub for people which would rock up ah but I couldn't do it I could only like ah can't run around you know just like killing people see everyone got really annoyed with me because i would I would just play the sniper and just pick everyone off and it used to really irritate people Oh, God, Paul, come on.
00:07:01
Speaker
I think that that's something because i don't know whether this is a bit of ah a neurodivergent thing, but I also like to play a sniper role. And I think there is something bit more a little bit more calming about just getting yourself... sub situated up up on a high point and you just like look out and and and and it yeah and it's not as overwhelming as running around oh god yeah into into into rooms and and having strategic battles deeply satisfying about being a sniper
00:07:40
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, I am with you on that one. um So, oh, we all right, so everyone got pissed up pissed off we with you. Yeah, oh, Paul, and I said, i can't, and literally I literally can't. I'd be vomiting if I did anything more than I actually do.
00:08:03
Speaker
Right. There are there are certain video parts in video games that really make me panic. There is a section in Sonic the Hedgehog ah where and where he goes under but undo poppa water.
00:08:22
Speaker
and there's a and he can only hold his breath for a certain amount of time, and you have to get through the maze before he runs out of air. and any any time ah a video game has that under water, hold your breath, you've got to get through in a certain amount of time. i ah i am panicking, mate, panicking. Right. wait We used to play a game together our college.
00:08:52
Speaker
What was it called? Tutankhamun? Something like that. Tutankhamun came out in 1982. Bloody hell, did it? Yes. Well, we were playing it in 1985.
00:09:05
Speaker
five No, later. We were playing it in 1987. All right. Yeah, because we'd already started the graphic design course.
00:09:16
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yes. Right? Yeah. But ah that's ah that's a case where it got into my head.
Personal Video Game Anecdotes
00:09:23
Speaker
right It got too much in my head and I'd be i'd be like i'd be like repeating it in my head even if I wasn't playing it.
00:09:31
Speaker
Right, so just to set set the scene, at at the art college where we went, there was a hut that was like the cafeteria. The cafeteria, yeah. Right, just ah a wooden hut.
00:09:43
Speaker
Feels like it came out of World War II. Probably did. And for some unknown reason, maybe money, but they but the college professors thought it would be a great idea to put a... v a video game in there toot and car moon it was it was it was such a hard game um and we would probably be playing it at the break times and then yeah our and then uh sometimes our professor professor would be like where the hell are those bloody kids yeah and then he would find us yeah and he would find us aren
00:10:21
Speaker
He came found us. Oh, yeah. Talk about rabbit in the headlights moment. and Right. I know. and and then we have Because we had we found out a way of not paying as well. Right. I found a lot. i am i am I am going to say that I am the one who found out how to not pay. I say we. I mean you.
00:10:43
Speaker
I mean, me, because I'm a sneaky bugger. What a what what I realized was that that if you turn the on-off switch, you know, where it's plugged in into the wall, so... um yeah there was a if you turn the on off switch like really quickly but on a hard roll of like it would suddenly boot up and then it would be like it would give you loads of of credits yeah um so we didn't after after we worked that out yeah yeah they weren't they weren't making any money whatsoever and i guess they took the games away eventually
00:11:24
Speaker
Yeah. We've probably got wheeled out, you know, just to save us from ourselves. Yeah, exactly. But, um no, because, like, I think, you know, from, like, an ADHD perper perspective, right, it's... Video games are weird in that you would think that because we're, like, a you know, we we can't focus very well, that you would think that video games are not...
00:11:54
Speaker
going to be good for us, but yet they are. Yeah. There's probably something about it, you know, the their repetitive repetitive nature of the games probably has something to do with it.
00:12:09
Speaker
Right, you know because yeah like there's a lot of there's a lot of there's a lot of but ah a lot of ah dopamine to be had, obviously, straight off off the bat. you You get all these instant ah ray re rewards. Also, you know from a sort of an autism or just from a general neurodivergent point of view, there are clear goals and there are rules that yeah and Yeah. And also in my my research, I kind of realized that you don't need to have any eat any executive function to play the game because... Right. because It's a bit like having a pot noodle for lunch.
00:12:58
Speaker
You just got to pour water into it. That's it. Right. Because it will eight it will ah it will have a map for you or create a map for you. It will give you time challenges or or their time secrets, so it kind of keeps the time for you. and it it it lets you know where you are in the in in the game. So it does all the things.
00:13:27
Speaker
Right. um that you think, you know, that the that kind of help us as a, you know, all all all those things that we don't have yeah in our everyday lives.
00:13:39
Speaker
But also escapism as well. Yes, it's it's just like... My brain doesn't work in the real world, so may as well just throw my brain into this game.
00:13:51
Speaker
Right, so you know when you said, okay, that you like playing cards because all of a sudden the real world goes away now you're in the world where you just need, you know, couple of places. Regulating.
00:14:05
Speaker
Right, well, yeah, because it is because the the rules are simple. Yeah. And here's a little world that that that you can kind regulate. It's way more predictable.
00:14:17
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Okay. um And that's... It all depends on you, doesn't it, really? It's like you're in total control of of how well it goes.
00:14:29
Speaker
Which is the opposite of our world, you know, growing up being not autistic. Right, because because you know because we also like predictability and structure.
00:14:43
Speaker
And ADHD brains also like... ah adhd brains also like sort like novelty and hand and and new things. And that was always the thing that I used to really like when I used play video games was you would get through that level of the game and then you'd go, well, what's next?
00:15:07
Speaker
What's next? what What happens when I go through that door? What happens when I finish this level? What is the next level like? yeah That was always like... Did you ever try playing the, like, the, especially at the, like, if you went to, like, the game centers, you you go to, like, the driving video games as well. so you could be rally driver or something.
00:15:29
Speaker
that was slide That was, like, a guarantee for vomit for me. All right. yeah The draw was strong, but if i've after about three minutes, I just wanted to gag.
00:15:43
Speaker
Right. Those fast motion games. Yes, exactly. Not your thing. Whereas, because I didn't like the pure linear, um linear, so like Pac-Man or Mario, you know, Super Mario, where just linear and you just go and go and go and you go up and down and jump and right and whatever.
00:16:08
Speaker
But I did like it's Phoenix. What was that? The classic mothership kind of thing came in 1980. Like the classic where you just like slide at the bottom from left to right.
00:16:23
Speaker
All right. um Or asteroids. I loved. Probably my favorite was asteroids. Yeah. astro it I loved asteroids. Yeah. I wasn't good at it, but really liked it.
00:16:37
Speaker
Right, right, right. Yeah, no, I think there's, mean, there are certain, I mean, like games that that I think work for us as as well are like open world games. So where you don't feel, as you're saying, you you you don't necessarily feel like there is a ah one path. It's just like you can go anywhere.
00:16:59
Speaker
yeah So I'm thinking like sort of, um so red so one of my favorites, which is Red Dead redde Redemption, which is a cowboy game. my and And it's come completely open world. you just yeah get You just get on your horse and you just... yeah you knew just trot off into these towns and go and have little adventures and there's i mean there is progress in these games so which is good so there is structure but you don't have to do that you can literally just buy go off and do what the hell you want have you ever I mean does Minecraft fall into the video games yes it does okay have you ever done that
00:17:47
Speaker
um no my son was was into mine craft and again that's a that's a kind of ah a good you know that that satisfies the autism side you know because it has that kind of logic there's rules there are deep systems that that that you can mom yeah that that you can master um those those games uh are ah ah like yeah they are there's a great
Evolution of Video Gaming
00:18:21
Speaker
documentary about a Norwegian boy who was into Minecraft and he had a had um a disease and he died very young and actually the start of the documentaries
00:18:38
Speaker
point of him dying and then the discovery they discovered he had a ah whole new and separate life on Minecraft and there was a whole massive community that really missed him and didn't know because he kept it secret, he didn't tell anyone that he had a yeah life-threatening disease.
00:18:58
Speaker
right So in that environment he he wasn't just a boy with the with a life-threatening disease, it was just him, right? yeah And his parents discovered this whole world. And it's a great documentary on Netflix. i really recommend you watch it. It's brilliant.
00:19:16
Speaker
All right. Yeah, because yeah like cool i can remember I can remember when video games certainly became big and certainly became like online games. and And there was this thing of like, you could be whatever you wanted to be. so yeah so And you could create a whole new persona for yourself. right And was extremely freeing.
00:19:40
Speaker
and ah that was extremely freeing Yeah. Well, this thing I've read recently, Metaverse has completely collapsed. Yes. On the verge of, and that Meta have lost bit hundreds of billions of dollars on it.
00:20:00
Speaker
Millions, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they have. Yeah. What went wrong? Do you know more about that? Because they were saying, oh, like the next big thing, it turns out it wasn't. there there There will be a version of it at some point that will probably succeed, i'm so isis I suspect. But, you know, like when you try and build.
00:20:25
Speaker
They were selling even um effectively, they were selling space on it to to companies. think could go shopping. You know, you could you could make your shopping experience a virtual world and go shopping. You could go to Ikea.
00:20:41
Speaker
And they were selling space on Metaverse to Ikea and all of these brands. Right. No, I mean, like, i ah there i'm I'm struggling to remember, but but there are...
00:20:52
Speaker
there were or are online games where you could, as an individual, create assets like, like I know, sort of decorations and suits and bits of yeah clothing and stuff. And then you could set up a store in the game is to have a storefront and sell stuff and make money. yeah Yeah. Basically, they were selling real estate, virtual real estate.
00:21:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I'm um i'm just, yes, that but that i that idea goes back along goes back way earlier than Mark Zuckerberg. I'm just trying to, I can't think of the game that was, but ah anyway, um yeah, no, there's, some might um just to kind of go go back a bit. The first video, what was the first video game that you remember or that you played? I think it was on the spectrum and it would have been the tennis thing with the paddles.
00:21:59
Speaker
Alright. Beep. Beep. what? The pong? Beep, beep. was it called pong pong yeah we have two two two sliders that blew our minds away you know when it came out yeah yeah no i mean like i i remember my dad taking me to a pub and i must have been eight years old 1972 ninety seventy two And it the there was a Pong game in the pub and it was the first successfully commercial game.
00:22:35
Speaker
And um and ah my my dad put in 10 English pence into the into the thing. and And I was just like playing this Pong game. And I was like, oh, my God, I don't love this.
00:22:47
Speaker
This is amazing. ah This is fantastic. I love that. See, this is where my mates really got into it. They had the Commodore.
00:23:03
Speaker
You were one out. I was getting ahead of myself. That was the next one. Quite literally. Then the Spectrum. I think the BBC had a computer.
00:23:14
Speaker
Yes. yeah And then there was an Amstrad. Everyone was trying to get into it. i was never into that. Oh, I loved all that. Yeah. I had to i had ah ah had to and it and my first one wasn't was an Atari 400, then it was a Spectrum 48, then it was a Commodore. Oh, an Atari, My mate had an Atari.
00:23:36
Speaker
That was quite cool, the Atari. Yeah. Right, and then I had a Commodore Amiga, and then I had basically the the Sony play PlayStations after that. And thought I think I had had an Xbox in there at one point. but But yeah, I have i have always had ah had a console, for sure.
00:23:58
Speaker
um but it was But for me, it was basically my my friends had video games, especially Atari games. And had the cassettes, you know, and you'd play football. And then you'd get bored with that. And you'd say, oh, let's play something else.
00:24:13
Speaker
But would never, I'd much rather be outside kicking a football, you know, like a real football.
Open-World Games and ADHD
00:24:19
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Or kicking my sister or something.
00:24:23
Speaker
Kicking your sister? How's the football? um No, I was, ah I think, that you know, like, there's this is this is interesting relationship that we have as well with with the video games if you if you play them. it's It's like you can literally just, um you know, you can spend like,
00:24:48
Speaker
200 hours playing one game, right? And you just go and and it and it really clicks and you play it all the way through. And some people will kind of go back and play games um and they make sure they get all of the little special collectible things that you can get along the way.
00:25:08
Speaker
You know, like like it's a, it's you know, just finishing the the the game is like, well, that's just stage one. And then, okay, well, let's let let let's do it on hard mode. Let's do it on the the mode where i have to pick up all of the collectible objects. Yeah.
00:25:28
Speaker
But that was two to come almost like that. And I think I got through to the end once. I think I finished the game once, maybe twice.
00:25:40
Speaker
I think we we we we may have got through level one and then may have got through level two. it was It was ridiculously hard.
00:25:52
Speaker
It was hard. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know what? I i i just reallym remembered when we talked about Pong. i did um I did a website.
00:26:05
Speaker
This is years ago now. um I built this website for this for, oh, ah yeah ah you know Swan Matches? Yeah.
00:26:17
Speaker
so i do remember this. i remember you doing this. Right. So i yeah I had this fucking crazy website that I did for them, which still blows my mind about how crazy it it was. But in it...
00:26:33
Speaker
in it um I created Pong, right? So I found the code for Pong, <unk> and then I just copy and pasted the the code for Pong into the game, and then I found where all the objects were. So, oh, this is the object for the paddle. This is the object for the ball. And then I swapped out the the background. And what I did was I did... i did I did kebab pong, right?
00:27:07
Speaker
Right, of course. Of course you did. So the the background was a classic British... kebab joint right and then the two paddles were right were kebabs and then i had it and then i had a then then i had a chili that was like in in a in a in a thing and then you would play pong but but but so my question is do you remember selling that idea to the client
00:27:38
Speaker
No, this is like, this this is this is a dream, right? This is ah ah a dream client that you rarely get where they said, um well, they they gave it to one agency who fucked it up and couldn't do it, right? And then they came to us.
00:27:58
Speaker
And I went, oh, yeah, yeah, I can i can do this. and and And I basically created a pub and people over the pub. And then every month you you clicked on rooms in the pub and there was like little stories that went on and characters. It was like this whole thing. And the client didn't care.
00:28:16
Speaker
You could whatever you wanted. and wow And they approved everything Wow. right Right? I did this for about, don't know, maybe, don't know, eight months, maybe a year, I don't know. and But yeah, then they just went, yeah, fine.
00:28:35
Speaker
Whatever you wanted want to do. so So I just went nuts. I just went nuts. and And actually, weirdly, i i won a load of of of industry awards off of that.
00:28:55
Speaker
because And I think it was just purely because i could do whatever I what wanted. Yeah, yeah. Wowzers. Cool. Anyway.
00:29:07
Speaker
Crazy, crazy. ah Yeah, so, yeah. um You know what? i um ah I started to realize that my eldest son was or was a autistic when when he started playing a certain a certain game. Right.
00:29:27
Speaker
that ah i I forget what the game was, but basically it was like one of these open world games. You're... you're You're a character and you're moving through this this world.
00:29:41
Speaker
um And yeah I think it took place in like a Japan. Right. And he came across this part of the game where you are a forklift truck um it it ah sort of person and your driver, thank you. And the point of of this little mini game was that you went into work and you had to move boxes from this warehouse, pick them up, move them somewhere else.
00:30:12
Speaker
And he loved that. He loved it. He would just spend all his time just playing the little forklift truck game. it Is this before you were diagnosed? Yes. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. this is okay This is so long ago. This is like when when when he was a kid And last slide i was like, he really
Gaming Addiction and Social Aspects
00:30:33
Speaker
likes that. that that fuck And then he would just come, cu he would just pick up the game and he would just go and move boxes for hours. And was like, hmm, that's a bit suspicious. Nice.
00:30:48
Speaker
about ah eyes
00:30:54
Speaker
yeah well You know what? there's um I was just like looking at at games that um that might, you know, like ADHD people might like and autistic people might like. and And in the more autism side,
00:31:15
Speaker
though There is a game that I thought, oh, ah but I mean, ah Paul won't know of this and you you might find it amusing. But there is a...
00:31:26
Speaker
there is a There is a jet washing simulator. So you so you you know those machines that have that jet wash. that you might Yeah. that There is a jet wash simulator.
00:31:42
Speaker
Right. So in the game, you have your jet wash, and then you just jet wash paths or your car. Oh, my God. You just go around and jet wash things.
00:31:58
Speaker
but That's bizarre, isn't it? Yeah, that's niche. Right. That's definitely niche. Right. you know and I mean, there's also some more normal ones like truck-to-truck driving simulators where you go around, you pick up loads, you just transform, or flight simulators, those kind of things, and which do feel very sort of neurodivergent friendly. But I saw one the other day that...
00:32:31
Speaker
It was a coconut it was a coconut on ah on a beach simulator, right? Wow. i know And all it was was a beach scene and then a coconut in it, and that was it.
00:32:47
Speaker
you could like You could view around the coconut, but that was it. That was an entire simulation.
00:32:59
Speaker
I suppose if someone's, if, all right, well, let's do a thing then. If someone was to, is to, was to code the perfect simulator for you, what would it be?
00:33:11
Speaker
Right. I'm, I'm, I'm just trying to try and think, um, so the mowing the lawn okay would be quite a good, a good one.
00:33:24
Speaker
Yeah. Um, Especially if it was on, like, one of those more, one of those attractor ones, you know, that you could drive a around in. Yeah. I could be up for, like, all you know, because yeah because you've got different shapes and you have to, like, get your yeah yeah get your little mower.
00:33:45
Speaker
but you just you've just You just hit on a soft spot for me. All right. ah the soft spot, the sweet spot, or the sweet spot.
00:33:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's a bit different to the soft spot. Right. ah but la I know you pretty well, and and you know, you're a important person in my life, but i'm not not need I'm not going to let you anywhere near my soft spot.
00:34:10
Speaker
That was the sweet spot party. When you talk about the tractor, I, girlfriend's girlfriends ah sister is married to a man who has a dairy farm. Okay.
00:34:28
Speaker
I went along and to visit him and he let me play on his tractor. o And I swear to God, at that moment, I felt like a 12 year old.
00:34:43
Speaker
and Super, super technological traator It had a steering wheel, but that didn't do very much. The main part of it was a joystick.
00:34:55
Speaker
So it was it was ah it was like a living and breathing. The modern tractors, they're more like a video game. Right. You have like two or three different joysticks to play with.
00:35:08
Speaker
Yeah. And he said, well, do you want to put it it into reverse and reverse it out of the barn? i said, what? said, go on. And I had a grin so wide, I thought that my face was going to split.
00:35:23
Speaker
It was the best thing ever. My God. it was ah I was kind of embarrassed about how infantile I felt, but it was great.
00:35:35
Speaker
Right. Yeah. So that I think that would be the best, just a great simulator. Right. Right. Just do tracks and stuff.
00:35:47
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Cool. All right. um I will just end end on, like, there's there is a difference between, like, going to an arcade and putting in your quarter or your 10 pence or whatever and playing games. And then there's a difference between that and like having a play PlayStation at home and playing that. Or my neighbor had a couple of things that you hear just, it's just like a little tiny screen with them with the joystick and whatever.
00:36:20
Speaker
it was just a self-contained thing that you hold in your hands. It was like shoot them up kind of thing. Right. And I didn't think I was into it until I think I basically borrowed it from him and never gave it back to him.
00:36:38
Speaker
i dons I became obsessed with it. And those were the days when you had to put the du the but batteries in. Right. And it was expensive.
00:36:49
Speaker
It was an expensive habit. And from that day onwards, you were like, nope, video games are arm's length. It's too dangerous for me. Totally. I got to the point where convinced myself, if I put the batteries when they ran out, if I put the batteries on the radiators when they hot, I'd get like 1% extra energy out. I remember that.
00:37:13
Speaker
yeah It was a rumour. No, no. Right. But I will say that that there is a difference between there even those games, those handheld games, and then games on your mobile phone, yeah which which ah I like.
00:37:34
Speaker
which i don't like form that For the same reason, which which is okay, I can sit down at a PlayStation and then play a game for a couple of hours, right?
00:37:45
Speaker
But if it's on your phone, because I've got my phone on me all the time, when I have had games on my phone, it just takes up my entire day. like I'll just be playing it all the time because it's just there.
00:37:58
Speaker
so Yeah, totally. I had that. There was a golf a golf game that i had on my phone. And I had to get rid of it. Not the phone. but i had to drive i It became very addictive.
00:38:15
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. nope No, no. So, all right. No, no, no, no, no. I'll just close us out, I guess.
00:38:27
Speaker
Okay. I think on on this on this particular ah subject, you know, we which wit is, you know, just to remind everyone, video games... they get a bad rap, right? Yeah. And yeah and people think that ADHD, that's what causes ADHD. Like there are people out there that think, oh, yeah, you know, the the the attention span of of little Timmy is terrible because he played video games. And that's not,
00:39:00
Speaker
there is no actual link. But if you do have ADHD, then playing video games can make, well, there's a kind of a good side and a but bad side. and the and the ah and And the bad side is, you know, that, that yeah, that it it it won't really in in in improve your your ADHD much. No.
00:39:27
Speaker
and Some people said, oh, it's really good for your hand-eye coordination. I'm not convinced about that, you know.
Video Game Ratings and Listener Feedback
00:39:35
Speaker
Well, is he in the military...
00:39:40
Speaker
yeah Quite often, all the things that you that you control, like a remote things, yeah they use um ah video games because most people in the army or or in the services and actually played play the video games and they're really good at the control of Okay, i they've got they' got the muscle memory. Yeah, so they're kind of good.
00:40:13
Speaker
so Okay, fair enough. But also, also you know it is worth, I mean, like the the important things for me about video games is that it it is an escape, as you say, from like you know and you can sort and you can help And you can help with regulate yourself by kind of going into a world, you know, into your into your into your tractor simulator and just kind of plowing a field.
00:40:48
Speaker
Yeah. I guess as long as it doesn't become a substitute, you know. yes you know think big can be a bit It can go kega bit too far, but yeah Yeah, because you kids you can use it to s to um escape too much.
00:41:06
Speaker
so Oh, yeah. I mean, there there are there's like porn stuff out there. that like was virtual reality porn that is really dangerous you know the people that you know aren't capable of you know having normal relationships and they're living their you know the sexual side of their of their personalities through a video game for virtual like poor virtual realities like okay right you know mean that That is a whole subject which I've i've definitely not gone down. Neither have I. in the i yeah I mean, just in terms of actually thinking about it.
00:41:48
Speaker
But, um yeah, that's something to a ah think about. a a Or not. Or not. well I can just move past that.
00:42:01
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. That'd be another episode. Right. Or not. But yeah. All right. Okay. All right. Well, let's, ah I think we should now rate video games. So let me let me find my little rub ratings button.
00:42:17
Speaker
Video games.
00:42:22
Speaker
video games Are they a are they a dopamine hit or are they well you du the oh out think that for For me, it's a very, oh, even that it's high, it was never a big thing for me. It's low for me. It's like a a four for dope for me.
00:42:40
Speaker
oh It's just something I was never really into. Right. I'm i'm i'm surprised it's as high as a four, to be honest. i'm Well, I mean, being generous because there were times when it was, you know, when I was obsessed with,
00:42:57
Speaker
And if it's like a shoot-em-up game, there were times where I could really enjoy it and it was, you know, I could just, it was kind of meditation in a way, you know, detachment, disassociation. Disassociate, that's the word we're looking for? Disassociate.
00:43:13
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will give it like ah ah ah an that's high. Yeah.
00:43:22
Speaker
ah wo that's high Oh, yeah. No, i'd i buy i'd love I love video games. Like, they are just... Okay. Burnout. I mean, it's difficult for me to score burnout because it's it's not really... i mean i mean, you felt ill. Also, you were burning up to my time.
00:43:44
Speaker
of course, yes. You were buying batteries. If it's like a vomit score, yeah it would be... Burnout is quite high. So, yeah, because I could i could be nauseous within two minutes of playing Tour of Duty.
00:44:00
Speaker
So burnout would be a and a nine. Right, there we go. All i i would I think i I tend to use it, I used to use it too much to disass disassociate, um which, you know, on the on the one hand is kind of good if you're feeling overwhelmed, but I think I kind of, at some points in my life, I just i just spent way too much time online. So um I would say a burnout of about 40%,
00:44:35
Speaker
Five. So, you know. Okay. Five. Okay. Well, what do you guys think at home? You know, does it, does it? Let us know. I'm sure. Yeah, right. Okay. Well, let's jump into the tractor, which is a real tractor and not a simulated tractor. No, it's very much a real tractor. Right. And we'll um we'll and we'll get in and way over to Alexander's ported.
00:45:04
Speaker
Which is also very real. think of Resident Evil game.
00:45:16
Speaker
um Oh, we did talk about the music. Oh, in games? Yeah. I mean, it's like a ah massive thing, isn't it, for some people? Yes. Especially like Pac-Man.
00:45:28
Speaker
You know, it's got a real... kind of ah very much a distinct sound to pac-man yeah yeah no i mean like all the mario oh uh zeldas um yeah there's a oh i mean like okay let's just stay on video games right video games make way more money than films do like buy yeah buy a lot so you know even a blockbuster film will will will make x amount but but a good video game will make way more money than than than uh than films do and so they spend money on yeah good music
00:46:12
Speaker
Yeah, but also, like, if you' if you're playing the sniper like I did on Total Duty, you get that very, very satisfactory kind of feedback back when you actually kill someone.
00:46:27
Speaker
And it feels like you're there at that moment when the bullet hits them. Right. And what you call it? It's got us it's got to nor it's got a name isn't it? i it's got You really have a sense that it's like a physical sound, a physical sense of of actually the bullet hitting someone and killing them.
00:46:48
Speaker
All right. It's like a feedback. It's visceral? Yeah. something like that right yeah you kind of feel it you're you're in it anyway uh alexander left a note from last week's episode which was about meditation um she says uh she does point out that uh meditation actually is everything you can you can make that makes you feel the presence in touch with your body and observe your own thoughts without getting lost in the past or the future. So, you know, ah you were saying, did were you doing meditation right? Right.
00:47:34
Speaker
Yeah. And, and, and, and she's just basically saying that, that anything that kind of that anything that makes you feel present. So you were saying that, uh, that to you were just listening to your, or you could feel your heart heartbeat. Right.
00:47:49
Speaker
um, you know, that, that is very much about you. Yeah. So that was a good thing. ah She also says also because many people find relief in meditation doesn't mean it works for everyone and there's nothing wrong with you if you can't do it.
00:48:10
Speaker
um Yeah. So there you go. and Another thing she said here is laughter is the best medicine. I know someone that does laughter yoga.
00:48:21
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. And I've actually been on one of his courses. All right. He does laughter yoga. Was it a laugh? It was a good laugh. It was a laugh.
00:48:34
Speaker
He literally literally gets, after about an hour and a half, everyone is in ah is in a state of euphoria because you it just teaches you to laugh, basically. Right. But really profoundly laughed, not like a snigger. Right. Right.
00:48:49
Speaker
Yeah, life yeah. I've seen it. you're You're basically crying. Yeah. but My eardrums just... Oh, sorry. Well, I have to note this down at 48 seconds. I have to drop that volume right down.
00:49:07
Speaker
um okay uh yeah and so i i did ask ah some of her favorite video games which include the pac-man pong mortal kombat donkey kong sonic worms i loved worms resident evil tomb raider ah just to name a name a few classics classic games um in In English, I found this interesting. You said to name but a few.
00:49:36
Speaker
But why but a few? Why but? To name but a few. ah because the actual list was a lot longer than that. I just... Oh, okay.
00:49:49
Speaker
But yes. up of literally But what is the word but? Is that necessary? in the Yeah, it isn't. Right. I apologize for my No, you didn't say it.
00:50:00
Speaker
You didn't say but, but normally they do. Yeah, you left the but out. Oh, right. Yeah. Congratulations. All right. ah all right So this is the point where where where you just finish off this bit by saying. Yes, your feedback is vital to us. And we read all of your comments. Yes, we do.
00:50:20
Speaker
And we might, if if we like your comments, or if if we don't, we we could read them out in a future episode.
Classic Video Games Quiz and Conclusion
00:50:27
Speaker
ah Exactly. What? what All right. In that case, so now let's just ah that just means that we can get to the quiz point of the game.
00:50:43
Speaker
It's a quiz! Right. So this is the... So ah this year, Paul and I are of quizzing each each other in turn, and we and with and west we're stacking up points. I'm currently on nine points. Paul's on three points.
00:51:08
Speaker
I chose this week's theme, so that means I get two points. um ah do the quiz so I get to quiz you alright there we go it's just pull up my quiz right and then this quiz is so ah it's it's it's it's on it's on video games But yeah I thought I'd keep it to the classic video games. I'm i'm not being bright weird. and and it so These are games that that you would have heard of.
00:51:40
Speaker
So hopefully...
00:51:44
Speaker
All right, so it's ah two truths and and and a lie. you you you have to You have to find which one of these is the lie. So the first one is that is about Super Mario Brothers.
00:52:00
Speaker
Remember them with a little little guy? Yeah, never played it. With a little moustache. Yeah, I've never played it. All right, so we're off to a strong start then. here we go.
00:52:13
Speaker
Two Twos and Life. First one, super Super Mario Brothers was originally going to feature a gun. Pew, pew, pew. um Two, ah Mario was first introduced in a game where he was called Jumpman.
00:52:33
Speaker
Point number three, Mario was originally designed as a plumber because the game took place in sewers. The second one is false. so So was it a game called Jumpman?
00:52:48
Speaker
um ah yes Are you sticking with that? Yes, I am. All right. ah It was actually number one that the but the that that that he was not going to have a a gun. Okay.
00:53:04
Speaker
ah I'm as good at quizzes as I am video games, turns out.
00:53:10
Speaker
Number two. This is about Pac-Man. Oh. Right. You know what? i should have I should have done the sound effect for your for your for you getting it wrong. Here we go. Okay.
00:53:24
Speaker
There you go. like it. i like that. Yeah. All right. Here we go. Right. Pac-Man. Pac-Man. So number one, Pac-Man was inspired by a pizza missing a slice.
00:53:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Or number two, Pac-Man was originally called Puck-Man. ah number three, Pac-Man was designed to appeal mainly to female players.
00:53:51
Speaker
So which one of those lie? Yeah. I think second one is a lie. Second one is a lie. How do you feel about number three, about mainly to female players?
00:54:05
Speaker
so Is that some kind of clue? nineteen eighty nineteen eighty s It seems unlikely, it? to two.
00:54:15
Speaker
bar to stick to two All right. So you used do you you think that the lie Pac-Man was originally called Pac-Man. Yeah.
00:54:25
Speaker
No, it was that Pac-Man was designed to appeal mainly to female players. That was not their main concern that point. It was a stinking lie. Right. Although, as I said earlier, Miss Pac-Man was the better of Right.
00:54:46
Speaker
So, number three, Space Invaders. Yeah. 1978. That's more my territory. but I like space invaders. Right. So yeah so um ah this is a question but about, you know, how how the game speeded up so it would start slow and then you would shoot them and then it would kind of, yeah as the game went on, it kind of got faster and faster.
00:55:14
Speaker
Yeah. So i it it's it's it's about that. Right. So number one, Space Invaders speeds up as enemies are di defeated. Or is it number two? Speeds up as enemies are defeated. Right. Okay.
00:55:32
Speaker
Number two, the game was originally too fast and had to be slowed down. Yeah. Or three, the increasing speed was actually a hardware limitation where because there's less objects on the screen, the processor can run faster.
00:55:55
Speaker
So that's why it got faster. so Oh, that sounds true. The last one.
00:56:03
Speaker
It sounds like a key. Yeah. Okay. And you'd be right. Okay. Okay. that It kind of made sense. Oh, that's interesting.
00:56:15
Speaker
That's interesting. ah thought that was I thought that was an an interesting thing. That's a good one. I like that. So that puts, ah I'm 10. at 3.
00:56:27
Speaker
Right. Okay. and All right. Okay. All right. I tried to help you. um Okay, well, I think now that we've got to 10, it goes back to get zeroed, a bit like you know a video game.
00:56:44
Speaker
I love that. bit like a video game. It goes back to zero now, but you're one up in terms of kind of... kind of yeah in terms of you know a league system, if you like. Yeah, yeah. All right.
00:57:01
Speaker
Okay, there we go. All right, so whole new sheet whole new sheet for next week. Wow, no expense spared. listen Exactly. It's just the the back of the other one. Right.
00:57:14
Speaker
All right, so that just leads us to talk about what are we going to talk about and next week? Mr. Tomp. we are We haven't had one of these for while. We're going to have a good, a bad, and the uglies. So it's a chance for us to catch up what's going well, what's going not so well, what stinks in our lives at the moment.
00:57:33
Speaker
In our 80 lives. Yeah. Hang on, I have a cough.
00:57:39
Speaker
Oh, there we go. He's thankfully turned off the mic. Yeah. Saved us all. Yes. Great. So, well yeah, we'll have a bit of catch-up next week.
00:57:50
Speaker
nice what's going on in the world. I like the sound of that. All right. Well, that just leaves me to say that... No, no I'm coughing. That the ADHD bill is delivered fresh every Tuesday to all providers of fine podcasts. Please subscribe to the pod and rate us most boss shooting Masters.
00:58:15
Speaker
Most bit mapped. Sort of leveled up. Leveled up. That'll And feel free to correspond at will in the comments. But wait, there's more if you wish to see our beautiful, beautiful faces. Head off over to the YouTubes and the TikToks.
00:58:36
Speaker
yeah And you can also pick up a quill and email us at adhdvl at gmail.com. But in the meantime... Be fucking kind yourself. And I've received you fellow ADHDers fairly well with gladness of heart.
00:58:51
Speaker
Yeah, especially in springtime. There. that If your heart isn't glad now, where can it be? Springtime.
00:59:03
Speaker
Yeah. I can see, like, I was out in the back garden and there was, like, buds. There were buds coming up. Yeah, we've got buds. We've got buds.
00:59:15
Speaker
All right, bud. This is it. kind so sort ba on and Almost bang on an hour. I know, I know, mate. We're just we just kept carrying on and it's the the music's running out and everything. All right. oh