Goodbye Gaming

[darthzew]

I have been a gamer since I was two or three years old. In other words, gaming has been a part of my life since before I can even remember. I remember... I had NES, then a Sega Genesis, then a PS1, an Xbox, and finally an Xbox 360.

I love games. I've had fun engrossing myself in games for hours on end. I've bonded with all kinds of people thanks to gaming. It's been a blessing and a lot of fun.

A few months ago, I started getting this feeling that it was time to move on. I started realizing just how much time that I was wasting. I looked at my grades. I didn't like what I saw. I brushed it all off for a while, but it nagged and tugged and pulled. I couldn't shake the feeling that I just... need to move on.

And I'm finally doing it.

I just deleted everything off of my Xbox 360 hard drive. I saved a few things and put them on a memory card. For instance, one day I hope to finish Mass Effect 3 with the Shepard I've held onto for so long.

So, what am I moving on to?

Music. I put up an add on Craigslist and knew that I wanted to spend whatever money I got on a guitar. It's something I've always wanted to do. You'll never believe my luck when someone e-mailed me offering to trade the Xbox for a very nice guitar setup.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to follow suit. This was a personal choice of mine. Enjoy what you have. Games are awesome. I'm not giving them up completely, but I'm definitely cutting it down.

Anyway, I'll still be on the Escapist. I can still talk about games, right?

I'm pretty much just telling you all this because I just need to get it off my chest. It feels good to move on; to change. What was a bigger chunk of my life than it ever should have been is now gone. I hope to grow from it.

Since we're supposed to have discussion... feel free to judge me. Also, share whatever experiences you've had in this sort of moving on or giving something up.

 

[tombman888]

Well, good for you. It's nice to see that you are following something that you really wanting to do and not letting anything distract you from that.

 

[Kermi]

Meh. Gaming is what I want to do in my free time - I guess since I have a job and therefore don't get assigned "homework" (I'd need to go up a few pay grades before my employer started expecting that kind of commitment!) I can allocate as much my free time to Halo as my wife permits.
My gaming can't really affect my work life unless I stay up till 4am playing Civ 5... again.
>.>
.>

I could alternatively use that free time to study music, art, or what have you.
If you need to cut back on a hobby to keep it from affecting you negatively such as in your grades then you've made a commendable decision and I hope that works out for you.

I gave up anime when I started dating... yes, I spotted the correlation too.

It's not so much that I gave it up, I guess I started seeing the girl who'd later become my wife at a time when Anime was becoming more popular yet growing steadily worse, and I quit working full time to go back to university and didn't have the moeny to spend on DVDs anymore. As someone who tries to support the local distributors in Australia like Madman Entertainment, I never resorted to anime piracy.
Eventually I just stopped watching it. I do have some of my older series on DVD - some classic movies, a few series like FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain. I used to have a couple of archive boxes worth of DVDs which is now down to about half a box since I've been giving it away over the last few years. The only stuff I have left are the specifics mentioned above and the series my friends already own themselves. I even gave away Great Teacher Onizuka because while I held it very dear, I knew I would never, ever sit down and watch it again.

There may even come a day when I admit to myself I'll never watch Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Lain, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll or Perfect Blue either... but not yet.

 

[Wachiputau3]

I had the same problem. It seemed at school all I could think about is video games. But for about 3 months I unplugged my Xbox put it in a closet and forgot about. After a while I learned to stop playing video games as much as I did and do the important things first.

 

[Irridium]

Honestly, I can't see myself ever giving up games. Good for you and all, but I just love them too much. I still have a life though, I just play lots of games as well I won't completely give up games for anything. Unless my life depended on it, I'll gladly die with a controller in my hand. I'll probably die at an old age after finally getting Episode 3(SNAP!)

Good luck with your music though.

As for experiences... I had to give up quite a bit when I moved to Vermont... good friends, familiar area, future plans... it was tough. I still talk to my friends and still visit. But I had things I really wanted to do there when I got older. There were lots of places to work full of good, fun people. It was just sad to move.

Of course there's always a chance I'll move back, but by the time I get enough money for that I'll be really settled in here, so yeah.

 

[Bon_Clay]

I like that you said you're not giving it up completely, just cutting down. If its interfering with grades or time to look into new hobbies that's good. Don't need to quit it forever cold turkey, moderation is the key.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

I think that totally giving up gaming for a while is a bit drastic but if it's what you feel is right, then I say go ahead and do it. I'm glad to hear that you are taking up something creative instead of just giving up gaming because you feel its a time waster. Although gaming is a big part of my life, I can understand it isn't as important to some people. To each their own. I hope you have many fun hours learning to play guitar, I hear its a really rewarding experience.

And remember if you ever want to come back to video games, they'll be waiting.

 

[Something Amyss]

I love both music and gaming as hobbies. I hope I always have time for both.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Seems sensible if you were unable to block gaming from letting your grades slip.

I would have issues here too, but I'm unusually bright so I don't have to put any effort into college work.

 

[PHOENIXRIDER57]

I've been cutting back more and more as well. I still have my 360, but I'm down to maybe 2 hours a week, if I get on at all that week.

You'll like playing guitar. I suggest Ultimate-Guitar.com tons of tabs and music news to follow on there.

 

[Kortney]

You'll be back.


edit: To add more content, you are the reason you were wasting time. Not video games. It's completely possible to live a productive life and continue to play video games. Just be smart about it.

 

[SimuLord]

I'd take up model railroading and model building if I had the room for it, but since I don't have a basement the size of a football stadium I have to make do with simulation gaming.

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

I keep telling myself, I'll cut back after I get this one game. First it was COD4, then Mass Effect, then COD6, then Mass Effect 2... You get my point. It's just something that's important to me, I do realize it's somewhat taken over my life, but I manage to balance between homework and video games. Trust me, if I can do it, you can too. You don't need to just completely stop playing. Also, Mass Effect 3 is going to be amazing.

 

[midknightfox]

Awesome to hear that you are really going after something that calls to you.

Games are great, I love games, but honestly. . . I think some people take it way further than it should be taken. If a really awesome game comes out, I get into it, but really I have gotten out of solo gaming and into multiplayer games. I like having friends over and being able to laugh over things like games with them. And if they are too far away, the occasional online game can be fun too.

But that's just it. . . OCCASIONAL. I know a few people who funnel every penny they earn into every game they set their eyes on. . . it can be a little sad when I know how smart they are and see that they could be a lot further ahead in life if they weren't playing games every waking moment of their lives.

At the same time, I guess if someone really is into games and doesn't feel that they want to get into anything else. . . what if they end up MAKING a really great game, and all that money they spent on games only helped them to make their ideas better because they knew what worked and what didn't for different types of games? I could get behind that I suppose.

Its all up to the individual. If you have a passion for gaming, try to find a place to fit it in your life and live off it if you can. But if you just like playing games. . . it may be time to accept that its just a hobby and cut back. This isn't just applicable to games, its true about everything. You have to find out which the interest is for you, hobby or passion, and then act on that.

To the original poster: It really is good to hear that you are moving toward something you enjoy that isn't games, and by all means go for it. But remember that playing games doesn't have to be the only way you enjoy them. You may realize down the road that games isn't just a waste of time, that you really do like them. In that case. . . games need music too. You may find that making music for games is something that you enjoy, or maybe not. I don't know what kind of music you like or games you play. . . just thought I would throw that out there. . . that it doesn't really have to be one or the other. You can enjoy both, and maybe even find a way to make a bit of cash off it!

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

You'll be back.


edit: To add more content, you are the reason you were wasting time. Not video games. It's completely possible to live a productive life and continue to play video games. Just be smart about it.

I have to agree with you. Playing games has never cause me any problems. You just need to manage your time, like with everything else.

 

[Lullabye]

You'll be back.


edit: To add more content, you are the reason you were wasting time. Not video games. It's completely possible to live a productive life and continue to play video games. Just be smart about it.

I have to agree with you. Playing games has never cause me any problems. You just need to manage your time, like with everything else.

I think the thing is, he now sees it as a waste of time, when he could be doing other more productive things. Like learning music.

Well, good luck with teh guitar. If you thought gaming was hard on your fingers , then just you wait.

 

[Remissus]

Glad you've got the guts to go through with something like that. XD I've failed many a time to wean myself from my own gaming addictions.

 

[Semudara]

It's been months since I played video games for hours at a time. Not because I haven't felt like it, but rather because I've been distracted with all the complicated things that are going on in my life. I recently realized that there's a hole inside me, and I became aware of just how important video games continue to be in my life. I'm hoping to get a better handle on my work so that I can start playing again, be happier, and thus break the vicious cycle that caused me to fall so far behind in my work in the first place.

In other words, we all have to feel inside ourselves and realize what is best for each. For me, it's getting back to video games. For you, it might be taking an extended break from them. It's all part of discovering what's important to us and growing as a result.

 

[instantbenz]

No beef with you, but time management dealing with career+hobby= crucial.

I've been a full time art student since 2006 with 3-4 studio classes each sem and at least 1 studio class per summer sem with work on the side and a girlfriend to keep happy. I'm no four-point-oh student, but I know my art and games... and girlfriend ... I think?

It's an admirable decision and friends have made the same one. I've often thought of it myself. I just can't hold a conversation with my current peer base if I didn't know what was going down in the game world. If you break it down, vijah games is drugs. It's when they take over that you're fucked.

So, again, admirable, but gaming is my life and I'll play until I'm dead.