So I quit gaming.

[TheColorUrple]

I’ve bought a lot of games on Steam. Too many to play in one lifetime, even with my copious amounts of free time, and I regret it. After spending 80 hours a month playing video games over the last 5 years, and having completed nowhere near as many as I would have liked, I have decided to quit gaming completely and enrichen my life in other ways. The time commitment has been disproportionately enormous to the level of satisfaction I have gotten, and it has finally gotten to the point where I can’t sustain it anymore.

There are a LOT of things to do in life, guys and gals. Think about all of the things that interest you, and how much time you have spent doing them compared to playing games or farting around on YouTube or watching porn. I want to do so many of those things, and quitting gaming has freed up a tremendous amount of free time to tackle other challenges, even if they don’t offer that immediate tangible sense of progress that gaming, albeit artificially, provides.

The “hours played in the last 2 weeks” statistic on my profile has always been a source of embarrassment for me. 40 or 50 hours played (or more) in the last 2 weeks? No other single activity in life has demanded such dedication besides work and sleep. I’ve even made my profile private at times to hide this stat, since I feel it to be unhealthy. (And this is ignoring the black hole 1000-hour spiral that was Destiny on PS4.)

I miss gaming already, I really do. I want to play Nier: Automata and Doom and Mass Effect 3 and Dark Souls 3 and Breath of the Wild and God of War and Mario Odyssey and Into the Breach and Obra Dinn...... gaming is truly phenomenal - SO MUCH FUN - but I can no longer justify it because I can’t control the hours I put in. I just keep playing and playing until it’s not even fun anymore.

If you can limit your gaming hours in a week, then be proud and keep gaming! But if you’re like me and have difficulty controlling when to stop playing and do other things, then maybe taking a break would be a good thing. Not forever, but just for a month or two - enough time to develop some new life routines so that gaming can become a part of a balanced lifestyle, as opposed to being your entire raison d’être.

If any of you are struggling, please let me know. I have felt alone in this for a long time, and it would feel nice to hear from others fighting the same fight

<3

[Oliver #MAGA]

Hope you can continue to achieve your goals for the future; you're on a good track.

[TheColorUrple]

Ringo eredeti hozzászólása:

Hope you can continue to achieve your goals for the future; you're on a good track.

Thanks, Ringo. I genuinely appreciate that :)

[ハイイロギツネ]

Well done, mate.

Have you started any new hobbies since you stopped playing?

[Tom Braider (666)]

i didn't read all your message because who cares. but i read in the end that you already miss gaming? so why you give up gaming if you miss it? maybe you shouldn't be a plane pilot who knows what damage you're going to do

[TheColorUrple]

CalistriX3D eredeti hozzászólása:

Well done, mate.

Have you started any new hobbies since you stopped playing?

Thanks! I am a (lapsed) drummer and I’ve been practicing a lot again. I’ve also gotten back into producing music....my last track was finished 5 years ago, about the time I built a computer actually. Coincidence....?

[SpaceyMatt]

Gaming is what you make of it. I really only play anymore on the weekends for a few hours with my spouse

I still enjoy the time I spend gaming but it is like 2 hours a week anymore. And that is just fine for me.

I could never see myself quitting 100% though for some reason.

[TheColorUrple]

Mustang Matt eredeti hozzászólása:

Gaming is what you make of it. I really only play anymore on the weekends for a few hours with my spouse

I still enjoy the time I spend gaming but it is like 2 hours a week anymore. And that is just fine for me.

I could never see myself quitting 100% though for some reason.

I’m not advocating anyone quit 100% on a long-term basis. Gaming is awesome. It’s just that I can’t start a game and stop an hour later unless I absolutely need to. Without external motivation, I can easily go 4 or 5 hours before I think, “♥♥♥♥, I need to eat and go to the bank maybe. Ah, ♥♥♥♥ it, one more level.”

[TruebornJester]

I get this. But my argument is also. Why is drumming (in your case) not time wasted when gaming is? In my case the question is. What other wasteful thing will i fill the void with. So in the mean time. Game on.

[AlmightyDunkle]

My hours have dropped considerably, I rarely play on steam anymore and sometimes focus time on the PS4, but I only ever play a lot when I’m with my gf now as we enjoy each other’s company while playing games. It’s nice having somewhere else there to play with.

But getting older has made me think of pursuing better things such as my university. I recently picked up the Violin too, a bit old to start but it’s a nice change of pace.

Good luck pal in your pursuits, games are just games in the end, a temporary high when you’re alone.

[TheColorUrple]

TruebornJester eredeti hozzászólása:

I get this. But my argument is also. Why is drumming (in your case) not time wasted when gaming is? In my case the question is. What other wasteful thing will i fill the void with. So in the mean time. Game on.

That’s a really good question! The answer is subjective, but for me it’s about self-fulfillment. I’m not proud of being good at X game or having 100% completed Y game - they’re all entertainment products, and I don’t game competitively in an esports kind of way.

I often argue that gaming is good for my brain, and it is! My favorite game is The Witness because I felt so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ smart when I mastered it. But when I go past healthy amounts of gaming hours, there are negative aspects of my personality, such as short-term aggression, stress, tension, lethargy - that manifest.

But being skilled at drumming or golfing or rock climbing or water skiing or any other of those disciplines makes me feel better about myself. Physical activities are good for my body; gaming is lethargic. Music is creative; gaming is methodical.

So that’s my reasoning. It isn’t right or wrong; it’s based on emotion.

Simply put..... gaming doesn’t make me feel good as a person.

And that’s a problem for me.

[TheColorUrple]

AlmightyDunkle eredeti hozzászólása:

My hours have dropped considerably, I rarely play on steam anymore and sometimes focus time on the PS4, but I only ever play a lot when I’m with my gf now as we enjoy each other’s company while playing games. It’s nice having somewhere else there to play with.

But getting older has made me think of pursuing better things such as my university. I recently picked up the Violin too, a bit old to start but it’s a nice change of pace.

Good luck pal in your pursuits, games are just games in the end, a temporary high when you’re alone.

Social gaming is great! Even single player games are more fulfilling when more than one person is engaged.

And you’re not too old to pick up the violin. I don’t know how old you are but it doesn’t matter. Age is irrelevant when it comes to learning new skills. But while we’re on the subject.....I’d venture to say you’re 40 or lower, based on having a gf that you game with. You could be a violin expert in 10 years if you put your mind to it :)

[Firven]

do what makes you. i love video games so much becuse honestly i dont like my enviorment and video games has kept me from doing things that would not be the best but with those video games i found a passion for engineering and art, i only know what a fusion generator is because of fallout. but yet altho ive played alot i can still say i will live just fine. and that could be you

[ʙᴜɴ.ᴇ]

TheColorUrple eredeti hozzászólása:

CalistriX3D eredeti hozzászólása:

Well done, mate.

Have you started any new hobbies since you stopped playing?

Thanks! I am a (lapsed) drummer and I’ve been practicing a lot again. I’ve also gotten back into producing music....my last track was finished 5 years ago, about the time I built a computer actually. Coincidence....?

producing music is a great way to spend time, its what I do other than gaming and sleeping

[chiefputsilao✖️ping]

so OP, you are an airline pilot by trade, eh?

what is your take on the missing malaysian airlines flight MH370?
-Dr. Quack
Steam Medical and Surgical Consultant
Also Accepts Plumbing Jobs
Tin Foil Hat Maker

[portable cattleman]

gunwind eredeti hozzászólása:

i didn't read all your message because who cares. but i read in the end that you already miss gaming? so why you give up gaming if you miss it? maybe you shouldn't be a plane pilot who knows what damage you're going to do

You'll understand when you're older.