I've been working for close to 3 years now. Been gaming for almost 20 years now.

I would say that working wasn't the real threat to my gaming time... It was and still is my fiance, whom I met in uni.

She's not at all into gaming and she's very sociable (Unlike myself). So, I basically game whenever she's out with friends or if we're together, whenever she's doing work. So, that amounts to maybe 5-6 hours for all working days and another few hours over the weekend.

Funny thing is, my work colleagues are gamers themselves, so after working hours, we sometimes sneak in an hour or two before leaving.

But basically, as I got older, I stopped gaming as much but instead started reading more about gaming (Since this was something I could do at work ). I spend more time going to RPS, here and some other random shit that comes my way than actual gaming these days. I also tend to dabble in quite a bit of flash and web games these days. I did try a Facebook game called Fantasy University (From one of the guys who did Kingdom of Loathing, but with better art) and its splendid!

I don't feel I'm missing out on "game time" since my priorities have shifted dramatically ever since getting a job... But its a lot different for me since I also have a fiance to handle. I'm not complaining, but she's a wonderful girl and gaming will have to play second fiddle to that.

Ok, I'm just jumping in now since it just got interesting. It seems like you're making the claim the video games are addictive?

Let's examine the links:

First of all, using Wikipedia as a source of research, is not a good idea since the information may or may not be right.

But despite that, this article quotes its sources well and ironically, doesn't actually agree with your idea. Yes, there are individuals addicted to video games, but there is inconclusive evidence to suggest whether its video games that are addictive or that people with addicting personalities LIKE playing video games (Meaning to say these people get addicted to stuff easily, and so video games are easy due to the high mental stimulation required).

Its in this paragraph, where its discussing the negatives of video game influences:


This is more of an observation. He doesn't actually conclude whether or not video games are addictive but rather insists that more research should be done on the issue (Last few lines in the last paragraph).

These two links are irrelevant since they're not research based at all and are based on unknown conjecture.


Anyway, there are actually plenty of people that play video games... Are you claiming that each and every one of them is doomed to be single with no friends for the rest of their lives?

Video games (so far) haven't been proven to be addictive or otherwise. But the evidence suggests that its not addictive simply because there are millions of people playing video games and only a small handful exhibit addiction to it. Its kinda like the whole Columbine massacre ("OMG, DOOM makes kids violent and murderous!").

Honestly speaking, and I'm not trying to do character assassination here, but it looks like you yourself seem to be struggling with computer addiction. I'm not saying that what you're experiencing is wrong or bad (I wish you all the best in overcoming it)... But it looks like you're assuming that since it happened to you, it MUST be able to happen to everyone else. There's no evidence or study that suggests that... for now.

"Its not the destination that matters, but the journey that's important"

Not all games have to be about being good at it. I know plenty of gamers who have a blast finishing games on Easy mode or people who play coop games at Easy and still find it entertaining (Like still having fun despite wiping out in a round of L4D). Hell, I know a guy who only played DoW who only used Orkks (Because that's what he used IRL) but still enjoyed himself regardless of whether he wins or not in our little team MP battles among friends (And he wasn't very good with them, so this wasn't often). I used to also play CoH with a guy who would only use peculiar strategies that never worked (So being teamed up with him meant you were going to lose), but we all still had a blast talking about those matches at our teh tarik sessions after (And I'd argue that he had more fun than most of us).

Besides, with most MP games now focusing on playing as a team, being just an average player will be enough to win if your team is good and also being really good doesn't mean you'll always win because it still depends on your team (And I would say, it would probably suck more for you if this were the case, so this is an example of being good at a game and still not have fun with it).

This sort of realization will eventually come with age. It's different for everyone. Some might realize it when they no longer have enough time to game, for some when their reflexes start to deteriorate, and sometimes it just hits them like a sudden epiphany.

You can't be an 1337 gamer forever.