How much time do you get to play video games?

[TelHybrid]

I'd imagine there's a somewhat varied array of people with different backgrounds on escapist. I just wonder how many people regularly will have 16 hour gaming sessions, while also wondering how many will only have time for about an hour a week due to other commitments? and why?

I'm currently a University student in my final year. While I don't have many timetabled lectures and seminars due to having chose mostly independent modules, I tend to spend around 7 hours per day working on assignments. I sometimes spend about a couple of hours here and there playing games, like a bit of Deus Ex Human Revolution recently, but I find if I play games too long, I feel guilty about not doing work.

How about you all?

 

[Barbas]

I feel the same way, but it doesn't stop me. I just settle for being a self-hating idle git. Give in and join us, we have regular snack breaks. Realistically, I have maybe 2-3 hours to game at a time before I have to go just down the road to help maintain the house, sweep steps, paint or just get some more logs for the stove. Were I studying for a course, that definitely wouldn't be the case. I'd leave my PC and games behind at home, and be restricted to e-mails and possibly the odd indie game. I'd let films and music take up more time, I think - they tend to suck me in less.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Final year of university myself, "working on my thesis" and holding two jobs which require me to work from home most of the time. I think I game as much as I want to, whenever I want to - which is a few hours every night, give or take a couple of nights a week (or the next ten days, for that matter, since I'm on leave).

 

[TelHybrid]

I feel the same way, but it doesn't stop me. I just settle for being a self-hating idle git. Give in and join us, we have regular snack breaks. Realistically, I have maybe 2-3 hours to game at a time before I have to go just down the road to help maintain the house, sweep steps, paint or just get some more logs for the stove. Were I studying for a course, that definitely wouldn't be the case. I'd leave my PC and games behind at home, and be restricted to e-mails and possibly the odd indie game. I'd let films and music take up more time, I think - they tend to suck me in less.

Haha oh on some days I do join the dark side. Logs for the stove? People still do that? =P

In regard to leaving my games at home, when my only computer is a laptop capable of running Crysis at medium-high settings, and I need a decent computer for my coursework (apart from essays, I also have a lot of media production work), it's a bit hard to leave my games at home. Especially with 203 Steam games (damn humble bundles and steam sales).

 

[Catfood220]

I miss the days where I could game for most of the day and most of the night too. But these days, outside of the weekend, I am lucky to get about 3 hours a night to game. That has pretty much ruined the time I can spend grinding in a JRPG. I used to be able to clear Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past in a weekend. Not these days.

Damn getting old and having responsibilities.

 

[Heronblade]

It varies considerably for me. The week before last I spent zero hours on gaming, no time for it at all. More commonly, it ranges between 1-4 hours a day. On the rare occasion when there is effectively nothing to do, I have gone on 12+ hour gaming marathons.

 

[OneCatch]

Have a 9-5 job, so I usually fit in few hours a night, assuming I'm not doing anything else.
I used to be able to pull overnight gaming sessions and stuff, but I don't enjoy doing that much any more. I usually find myself wanting to watch a film or read or something after a while now.
Course, I'll still find myself playing something until 3AM after losing track of time every now and again...

 

[Cazza]

In the last 2 weeks I've only found 6 hours for gaming. Work has really cut into what used to be more like 3-4 hours a day. It's also dropped due to the lack of releases I wish to play. Most days (week days) I don't get around to turning my computer on until 8ish and then I don't get around to paying anything. then It's bed at 11.

 

[FalloutJack]

I get however long I don't have to do anything else. There's no pattern or trackable hour for this. Sorry.

 

[FPLOON]

Wait... I have TIME to game? I'm too busy lurking the forums and temping myself not to say anything that would cause someone to quote me out of context!

But seriously, I don't even plan my gaming sessions (anymore) when I'm not busy writing essays or doing DE SCIENCE! Sure, I'm focusing on transferring to my "dream" college to continue my goal of becoming a published writer, but that doesn't mean I won't pass out at 4 in the morning because I told myself I would stop playing that particular JRPG once I reach level XX and/or have gotten XXXX amount of munny to spend on "crap" for my team... (I tend to oversleep, anyway... So, that's why I take classes during lunch and/or in the afternoon... so that I'm never late...)

I literally have no time management skills to give to myself... so, I can't fully answer your question regarding how long I do play video games or when I'm actually doing school work... (I got to manage my time better... In actually, I'm a bit hard on myself if I don't give it my all on anything I put my mind to... Thus, making time both an issue to deal with as well as something to not think about at the given point in time...)

Actually, now that I think about it, I REALLY should not be playing JRPGs or the like during school semesters... (unless they're Pokemon...) I should play more pick-up-and-play games during the semesters... Like DDR or Child of Eden or (speedrun) Rayman... Something that can give me a quick fix that can last an entire study session without thinking about video games...

 

[ChorltontheDragon]

I work full time, so don't really get home until 7 at night, so I'm lucky if I am able to play it for an hour or two in the evening (sometimes I don't even get the chance to play). And at weekends, I am lucky to fit in about three hours over the day, in between doing other things.

So on average a game can take me up to a month to complete (if it's something like Mass Effect 3 for example). I love gaming though, it is complete escapism for me. If had the time to play more, I would, but hey that's life for you!

 

[SckizoBoy]

It varies considerably for me. The week before last I spent zero hours on gaming, no time for it at all. More commonly, it ranges between 1-4 hours a day. On the rare occasion when there is effectively nothing to do, I have gone on 12+ hour gaming marathons.

Likewise... depends on how busy work is, how much my other hobbies are taking up my time, how many hours I need for studying and research... :/

Usually, however, I manage to fit in about an hour to ninety minutes at least once or twice during the week and about ten hours ish over the weekend. It's usually at about nine or ten at night that I can start gaming, but then after an hour or two I feel guilty about leaving more 'productive' stuff behind, which need to be done or I don't get my pieces of paper... >_> ...

When I'm on leave, however, fuck knows! Oddly, though, when I am on leave, the amount of gaming doesn't actually go up that much. I'll do crap during the day then start up something at about eleven, then game until I fall asleep, which, in my old age, comes at barely three in the morning...(!)

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Less time than before, because Sixth form requires extra work.

And also because there aren't any really interesting games out right now, that would warrant me playing up to 5 hours(non-stop) every day.

But then again, Black Flag is released on PC in 2 days, so perhaps my time will fall down the abyss and never get out.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Being a college student, I have more time to play games as long as I don't have too many assignments to do. However, I will be starting an internship soon, so I will have less time to play games. If I had to give an average, maybe two hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

[Drummodino]

I'm just about to finish my third and final year of undergraduate studies, so I am quite busy with those these days. That being said I spend far too much time either gaming, watching YouTube or frequenting this site.

I generally get at least a couple of hours of gaming a day provided I don't have any immediate assignments or exams warranting my attention.

I do occasionally play games like Persona 3 & 4, Minecraft, Civilization V and XCOM:EU for anywhere from 6-12 hours at a time. Haven't been able to do that for a while now (stupid exams), so I'm looking forward to devouring Kingdom Hearts 1.5, XCOM: Enemy Within and Valkyria Chronicles once my exams are over.

Need to finish my FemMC playthrough of Persona 3 too...

 

[Artina89]

Unfortunately I don't have the time to play games that I used to. I have to wake up at 5 O'Clock most mornings to get to work, and I usually don't get back until around 7O'Clock in the evening, where I barely have the energy to make myself something to eat before going to bed. I try and get some gaming time at the weekend, but it has been fairly busy so I have had to come in on Saturday. At the moment, I would say I am lucky if I get 4 hours a week at the moment, but I hope to rectify that sometime soon.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Depend on my work hours and the days I'm off from work.
When I'm working it is around 4-5 hours while on my days of it's more than that (I tend to work 4 to 7 hours in a work day).

 

[JasonKaotic]

Well, right now I only work weekends and I don't do anything during the week, so I pretty much have 5 whole days and 2 evenings a week for it.
Life's good, man.

 

[DugMachine]

1-2 hours a day during the week because of school/work. 3-5 hours a day on the weekend, unless I have plans