Realization around Gaming

[alexis524]

I've been fighting with coming to terms with my hobby, but i think today i can finally admit what i couldn't for a long time.

I enjoy reading about, watching videos of, looking at screenshots, listening to OST's, reading reviews of video games, but have very little desire to PLAY THEM. How's that for an oxymoron?

This isn't another thread where i'm swearing off gaming and selling my collection (been there, done that before), but more about just. being. honest. with myself. I will spend all day at work online on anything gaming related, go home, and choose to watch chopped or swamp people over playing games. I used to feel guilty and bad, neglectful that i've taken the time to provide a good home to consoles and games, while taking more into my fold, providing a good , safe home for them, only to be left on the shelf and rarely if ever touched, let alone played.

Not sure if anyone else feels the same way, but i wonder why this is?

[BoneSnapDeez]

It's cool dude. I'm the same way, I get maybe an hour in of actual gaming a day. In fact, I don't think I've even picked up a controller since Tuesday of last week.

I think it's comes with being an adult, as least for me. At work (during my lunch/free periods, of course) I can check up on this site, read HG101, update my rfgeneration profile, look for craigslist deals, etc... But once I get home I'm usually exhausted and/or find myself faced with 100 responsibilities: homework, making dinner, yard work, farm stuff, etc...

I think I'm more of a game collector than a "gamer" at this point.

[fvgazi]

I'm the same way too. It really depends on how free time I have, though. When I have a few days off from work with nothing to do I usually end up doing full day gaming sessions, but for the most part I have so many things to do and I'm exhausted by the time I can actually sit down and play.

I end up browsing the forums much more and reading up on mods I can do rather than play. I've been mostly sticking to shmups or arcade games the past few months because I can pop in a game and play for 30 or 40 min. In April I think I played games twice because I was so damn busy.

In the near future I probably will barely have anytime to play while I'll be traveling for a year, but I'm definitely not giving up gaming. I'll just have an excuse for playing my handhelds.

[o.pwuaioc]

These threads happen so often that it is a shame so many games are neglected. But I can sympathize. It has taken me months to beat ffix (and I'm still only on the third disk) because I dont have the hours required to put into it. I prefer short bursts and playing on my gb on the subway. But between writing hundreds and reading thousands of pages, on top of translating Latin and Greek and grading and girlfriend and conferences, I don't have the time to really progress... Maybe this summer...maybe...

[sabrage]

I think that most people are cyclical in their game-playing, but not in their computer use. For example: I've gone years without buying a single game, due to the people I hang out with or schoolwork or what have you, but I don't think there's been a single month since I was about 8 years old that I haven't used the internet in some capacity. The other thing is that playing a game is an investment. You need to take the time to learn the game's systems, how it works, what's going on in the story, and (at least in my case) those things start to fade away if I switch games for a while, often requiring a restart. I don't need to know anything about a game whatsoever to read an article on my RSS feed about it.

[Ack]

You are only exploring a different area of your hobby. If anything, it just makes you a more well rounded enthusiast or allows you to get delight from a different aspect of your hobby. No shame in it.

[Menegrothx]

I dont study or work so all I have is free time, but I still have the same problem. Back when I focused on one or few games at a time, I did a lot more gaming, although they were usually multiplayer games. So it was between 4 and 16 hours a day into WoW or some FPS game and 1-4 hours of some single player game and I cleared a SNES/PS1/PC game in 2-4 days moved on the next one. Now I spend majority of my waking hours searching info on games, hidden gems, game developers and history, reading reviews, posting messages and reading forums, buying more games etc and some times even less than an hour a day actually playing the games that I have bought. I should cut off my internet access so I could properly focus on playing games

[retrosportsgamer]

It's cool dude. I'm the same way, I get maybe an hour in of actual gaming a day. In fact, I don't think I've even picked up a controller since Tuesday of last week.

I think it's comes with being an adult, as least for me. At work (during my lunch/free periods, of course) I can check up on this site, read HG101, update my rfgeneration profile, look for craigslist deals, etc... But once I get home I'm usually exhausted and/or find myself faced with 100 responsibilities: homework, making dinner, yard work, farm stuff, etc...

I think I'm more of a game collector than a "gamer" at this point.

Co-sign 100% here. Multi-task, read and think about gaming during the day - but in the evening you never have the physical amount of time needed to get through all the games you'd like to.

[o.pwuaioc]

but I don't think there's been a single month since I was about 8 years old that I haven't used the internet in some capacity

How old are you again?

[Hazerd]

choose to watch chopped or swamp people over playing games. I used to feel guilty and bad, neglectful that i've taken the time to provide a good home to consoles and games, while taking more into my fold, providing a good , safe home for them, only to be left on the shelf and rarely if ever touched, let alone played.

Not sure if anyone else feels the same way, but i wonder why this is?

I know exactly how you feel, i think i have more interest in collecting and looking up prices than i do actually playing them, the problem is if you choose to sell your personal collection, 1 of 2 things will happen 1. another collector will buy them up, or 2. a non-collector who will play them but not take care of them, its rare to see a mix of the 2 i think...