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I regret spending so much of my life on gaming
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KyanMehwulfe
Member
Strategy games and other tactical, management, or simulation games were a major reason economics and finance became a passion for me. I think in particular, my interesting in mining and finance was born that first time I built an orc base and patrolled the snowy mountain forests of Warcraft 2.
Macroeconomics was a seed planted by managing my farms and wheat stocks of my cities in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. And, maybe microeconomics by watching my peasants carrying foods and goods between wineries, smelters, tanneries, and smiths in Knights & Merchants and The Settlers. Games like Star Wars Galaxies, EVE Online, and No Man's Sky have continued to sort of fuel those business, trading, mining, farming interests.
I grew up reading Shadowrun manuals, but also then playing cyberpunk games. A lot of my investing and even hobbying programming is entirely fueled my being a futurist geek thanks to games like Snatcher, Syndicate, and Shadowrun. Games like Syndicate also helped fuel my interest in finance and especially corporate finance or investing, and that's continued because of everything the original MS DOS version of Duck Tales and its stock market, the 'corporate' elements of Syndicate Wars on SNES or 'mega-corps' in Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis, through to something as seemingly insignificant as 'Trevor Philips Enterprise' in GTA5.
Final Fantasy, Ultima, and also Dungeons & Dragons are probably where any imagination or creativity I have was fostered... without those things, growing up in a small northern Canadian logging town, we mostly just rode dirt bikes and shot guns. Much of that was pre-internet, with a few local TV channels. Fantasy RPGs transformed the sort of 'borders' of my world as a kid and young teen.
I would also say that... I power gamed a lot in my early 20s. And TBH... After doing the original HWL grind in WoW, I never made excuses for not working overtime in my life again. It's ironic but 'wasting' 5 months 24/7 on a game, best lesson I ever had about working hard.
And, lastly and probably equally important to all the above, a lot of my interest in geo-politics probably started with playing Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics as a teenager. Combined with what I said above, I could probably attribute much of my education, career, and life passions to specific games that planted those seeds.
Could I nitpick and say, perhaps certain months or specific games, I could have skipped? Sure. But in general, gaming being a big part of my life has shaped a lot of who I am, so I can't say I'd ever regret it.
Macroeconomics was a seed planted by managing my farms and wheat stocks of my cities in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. And, maybe microeconomics by watching my peasants carrying foods and goods between wineries, smelters, tanneries, and smiths in Knights & Merchants and The Settlers. Games like Star Wars Galaxies, EVE Online, and No Man's Sky have continued to sort of fuel those business, trading, mining, farming interests.
I grew up reading Shadowrun manuals, but also then playing cyberpunk games. A lot of my investing and even hobbying programming is entirely fueled my being a futurist geek thanks to games like Snatcher, Syndicate, and Shadowrun. Games like Syndicate also helped fuel my interest in finance and especially corporate finance or investing, and that's continued because of everything the original MS DOS version of Duck Tales and its stock market, the 'corporate' elements of Syndicate Wars on SNES or 'mega-corps' in Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis, through to something as seemingly insignificant as 'Trevor Philips Enterprise' in GTA5.
Final Fantasy, Ultima, and also Dungeons & Dragons are probably where any imagination or creativity I have was fostered... without those things, growing up in a small northern Canadian logging town, we mostly just rode dirt bikes and shot guns. Much of that was pre-internet, with a few local TV channels. Fantasy RPGs transformed the sort of 'borders' of my world as a kid and young teen.
I would also say that... I power gamed a lot in my early 20s. And TBH... After doing the original HWL grind in WoW, I never made excuses for not working overtime in my life again. It's ironic but 'wasting' 5 months 24/7 on a game, best lesson I ever had about working hard.
And, lastly and probably equally important to all the above, a lot of my interest in geo-politics probably started with playing Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics as a teenager. Combined with what I said above, I could probably attribute much of my education, career, and life passions to specific games that planted those seeds.
Could I nitpick and say, perhaps certain months or specific games, I could have skipped? Sure. But in general, gaming being a big part of my life has shaped a lot of who I am, so I can't say I'd ever regret it.
nintendork666
Member
I learned how to read playing Chrono Trigger with my cousin. I may no longer wear it on my sleeve, but gaming will always be a defining characteristic of who I am. For better or for worse, I regret nothing.
WilsonX100
Member
Couldnt imagine regretting the joy and memories games have given me
Same, with multiple RPGs. Came to the U.S. when I was 9 y/o barely speaking any English, and got into RPGs pretty quickly. Within 1.5 years my vocabulary was massive compared to my peers, though it was mostly made up of unused RPG words that I didn't know how to properly pronounce due to lack of voice acting
Learned how to program so I can make small games for fun. Even recently, learned a lot of C# (new to me) so I can mess around in Unity.
Dabbled in digital art trying to emulate some talented fan artists who drew some of my favorite video game characters, learning a decent amount of photoshop and 3d modeling in the process (still quite amateur hour though).
Learned to play some of my favorite RPG songs on a keyboard.
I can go on and on about the things I learned due to my passion for gaming.
This is why i'm such a proponent of doing things you enjoy. It's much easier to get through tedious useful stuff like reading and learning things if it's in a context you are passionate about.
KonradLaw
Member
Seems to me like OP isn;t happy with the rest of his life. Gaming is just an entertainment. If you are content with your life there's really no reason to feel negativelly about leisure time, be it gaming, reading comics/books, watching movies or listening to music. It's only when you're unhappy with your life that you start to wonder if those hours spent on pleasure couldn't be spent better,.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I don't understand this at all.
I did the whole vacation-cruise thing and I realized the fun in life for that luxuary getaway was drinking yourself stupid and eating tons and tons of food.
I have been in an airplane looking down upon the earth sitting with families across the United States and realizing how alone I truly am.
Now you're saying I shouldn't enjoy spending so much time with video games? Hell no. I may feel uncomfortable talking to random people who talk over the mic in a multiplayer game, but I feel comfortable by myself playing a single player game.
I feel comfortable having a gaming wallpaper that I enjoy on my desktop or watching a trailer.
There may be a lot to life, but life isn't always the adventure it appears to be. It's a lot of hangovers and having your ears ring you to sleep after a loud music concert.
I wouldn't bash all your game time until you've felt like a lonely soul in a town that isn't your own. life gets very lonely at times and sometimes the game you enjoy is the only thing reminding you of your hobbies.
I don't regret sh!t.
Whenever I go on a long trip or I get down because I'm stuck working 8-9 hours a day, I think about games and how I wish I could just go home and play. Sure, I could spend time talking to people, making sure my last hour of the day is doing work around the house, or worry about other issues in life.
The thing is, life is a lot of work, and if you don't make time for yourself then you'll always be miserable.
I think back and wish I would have started a gaming news website, started making a video game, or had started a YouTube channel. I see all these early streams of games or gaming channels reviewing the next big game to come out.
Angry Joe releases another major release of a review or someone receives a copy of the latest big release. It all blends together. It's like no one cares that we play, but these people continue to do what they do because of their status or enjoyment.
We should feel good about the games we play and we shouldn't regret playing so much or just quit for silly reasons. After a couple years go by and you remind yourself of the midnight launches and games you were so fascinated about go into the $2-$5 price bucket... everything seems like it flew by. It's good to have a good head on your shoulders and a positive attitude.
I did the whole vacation-cruise thing and I realized the fun in life for that luxuary getaway was drinking yourself stupid and eating tons and tons of food.
I have been in an airplane looking down upon the earth sitting with families across the United States and realizing how alone I truly am.
Now you're saying I shouldn't enjoy spending so much time with video games? Hell no. I may feel uncomfortable talking to random people who talk over the mic in a multiplayer game, but I feel comfortable by myself playing a single player game.
I feel comfortable having a gaming wallpaper that I enjoy on my desktop or watching a trailer.
There may be a lot to life, but life isn't always the adventure it appears to be. It's a lot of hangovers and having your ears ring you to sleep after a loud music concert.
I wouldn't bash all your game time until you've felt like a lonely soul in a town that isn't your own.
life gets very lonely at times and sometimes the game you enjoy is the only thing reminding you of your hobbies.I don't regret sh!t.
Whenever I go on a long trip or I get down because I'm stuck working 8-9 hours a day, I think about games and how I wish I could just go home and play. Sure, I could spend time talking to people, making sure my last hour of the day is doing work around the house, or worry about other issues in life.
The thing is, life is a lot of work, and if you don't make time for yourself then you'll always be miserable.
I think back and wish I would have started a gaming news website, started making a video game, or had started a YouTube channel. I see all these early streams of games or gaming channels reviewing the next big game to come out.
Angry Joe releases another major release of a review or someone receives a copy of the latest big release. It all blends together. It's like no one cares that we play, but these people continue to do what they do because of their status or enjoyment.
We should feel good about the games we play and we shouldn't regret playing so much or just quit for silly reasons. After a couple years go by and you remind yourself of the midnight launches and games you were so fascinated about go into the $2-$5 price bucket... everything seems like it flew by. It's good to have a good head on your shoulders and a positive attitude.
MidgarBlowedUp
Member
There are far worse things you could be doing in your spare time than gaming.
johannesbergcrantz
Member
You cant blame yourself for spending too much time gaming. Maybe thats exactly what you needed to do in order to realise whats really important. And now you can move on with better balance in your life if thats what you wanna do.
ehead
Member
Growing up in the 90s, we only had a Famicom (The Legend of Kage, SMB, Excitebike), a Gameboy (OG with 4 carts), and an old PC that plays MSDOS games (Pre-historic, Commander Keen, etc.). Then we had an N64 with like 4 cartridges up to early 2000s. By 2006 to 2008, I was mostly playing one game only, DoTA. It was only in 2009 when I bought my own console (a Wii). After that, it felt like a continuous string of purchases, and a wide variety of experiences with games. Currently, I have a Wii U (rip), a gaming PC, a PS4 (OG), and a Switch (just got it last month). My Steam/Origin/GOG library is full of games I haven't opened/played yet. The PS4 has been off since I finished HZD in July. I'm mostly playing Switch games now, and that is slowly being filled up by repeat purchases of indie games. I have some of them on PC but haven't really played because of time constraints but thought having it on the go would help. It didn't.
It looks pretty miserable if you think about it; all these unnecessary purchases without actually putting enough effort to try them out. I am aware that I seem to be playing catch up due to lack of gaming experience growing up, but I am also concerned that I've become your typical hoarder. However, there are still instances that prove all of the spending (money/time) is worth it. The moment I completed the first boss in Dark Souls, solving some simple puzzle in Zelda, hell even the very intro of Odyssey, these are all good examples that actually gave me a genuine smile.
As others have mentioned, balance/moderation would be the ideal solution. I am currently at a place where there really is not much of an option for entertainment besides gaming, and the rare movie nights at home, but I still do try to get some balance out of everything.
It looks pretty miserable if you think about it; all these unnecessary purchases without actually putting enough effort to try them out. I am aware that I seem to be playing catch up due to lack of gaming experience growing up, but I am also concerned that I've become your typical hoarder. However, there are still instances that prove all of the spending (money/time) is worth it. The moment I completed the first boss in Dark Souls, solving some simple puzzle in Zelda, hell even the very intro of Odyssey, these are all good examples that actually gave me a genuine smile.
As others have mentioned, balance/moderation would be the ideal solution. I am currently at a place where there really is not much of an option for entertainment besides gaming, and the rare movie nights at home, but I still do try to get some balance out of everything.
yansolo
Member
Agree with this 100%
I see your point here to some extend.
For the rest of the post it seems your only 'fault' was to taken games too seriously. Games can also improve your social life when you have something to talk about with someone you could never talk to because of the ever so different hobbies. Games can widen your horizon like a good book, for instance words of wisdom, virtual experiences you can reflect on real life experiences.
Damn, I basically learned English through gaming.
I can't deny that I find less joy and excitement in gaming then I did back in 1999, being 9 years old. But the thing is: It's okay! It's still something that makes me happy. If it doesn't do that for you anymore, it's time to move on.
I quoted this part because I avoid such games these days, as I have shifted my focus on storytelling experiences. That, it fulfills me like a good movie, book or graphic novel. Of course that too doesn't make me feel like having accomplished something (like actually building something handcrafted).
For the rest of the post it seems your only 'fault' was to taken games too seriously. Games can also improve your social life when you have something to talk about with someone you could never talk to because of the ever so different hobbies. Games can widen your horizon like a good book, for instance words of wisdom, virtual experiences you can reflect on real life experiences.
Damn, I basically learned English through gaming.
I can't deny that I find less joy and excitement in gaming then I did back in 1999, being 9 years old. But the thing is: It's okay! It's still something that makes me happy. If it doesn't do that for you anymore, it's time to move on.
MistBreeze
Member
Man, that is sad...
When u regret gaming u remember games like bloodborne, breath of the wild, re4 mgs3, ff, half life, bioshock.... etc then u wont regret one minute
When u regret gaming u remember games like bloodborne, breath of the wild, re4 mgs3, ff, half life, bioshock.... etc then u wont regret one minute
crazy monkey
Banned
If you play game out of pressure or to say i played latest game than it is not fun. I play 2 or 3 games a year all single player. I play once or twice a month. It is fun.
In Service
Member
The Zen Master speaks the truth.
I sometimes sit down at the TV and have an hour or two before bed. Family are all tucked up already. I use that time to watch TV series, sport or play on my XBox.
Since getting older I find that I have much more appreciation for single player stories (action or RPG) than for shooters. However, I sometimes unwind with shooters because variety is the spice of life.
The thing about MP shooters is that I don't feel I have achieved anything by the end of the session, unlike story based games, and that makes me feel a little bad - like I wasted my spare time a little.
Sometimes, I sit there in front of the console for a while. Browse my 100 installed games and then switch it off. Life is more important.
Green Yoshi
Member
If I was not interested into gaming, I would probably have spent my time on watching soccer, TV series or just relaxing.
Working five times per week for a living feels more like wasted time than gaming. Of course you should not spend your entire spare time on gaming but still do sports and read a good book.
Working five times per week for a living feels more like wasted time than gaming. Of course you should not spend your entire spare time on gaming but still do sports and read a good book.
The Scrivener
Member
John Lennon "The time you enjoy wasting is not a waste of time."
ScreenSplitter
Member
If I was doing nothing with my life but videogames Id feel similarly. Hell I have, in the past.
But I have a full time job. I spend sometimes 12 hours a day solidly working, and what else am I going to do when I get back? Film? Book? I see them as entertainment as well.
But I have a full time job. I spend sometimes 12 hours a day solidly working, and what else am I going to do when I get back? Film? Book? I see them as entertainment as well.
Because
(1) your comparison of video games to exercise stinks when it comes to proving the pointlessness of actvities. You chose one activity with very clear benefits.
(2) Your argument seems to make the point of all things are pointless in the long run in a stupid fashion. You take the end of the long run to be the end of life, which is fine, but don't take into consideration how you got there or how long that run was. Doing so means that you may as well not look both ways before crossing a busy street because, at the end of the day, you are going to die anyway. Your argument is a plainly reductive way of evaluating human activity.
mdsfx
Member
No one here is going to want to admit this even if it's how they actually feel. No one wants to believe they 'wasted' any of the time in their life.
My answer is a resounding 'yes' and as someone who missed out on a lot of social experiences when I was younger due to my focus on games, I've made a lot of changes to make my free time more impactful when possible. Games do provide experiences, but they hardly compare experiences in the real world. I'm sure people will argue that.
Of course, at some point, everyone has some down time when they don't have much to do or don't have any opportunities for other 'real' experiences. That, in my opinion, is a great time for games.
My answer is a resounding 'yes' and as someone who missed out on a lot of social experiences when I was younger due to my focus on games, I've made a lot of changes to make my free time more impactful when possible. Games do provide experiences, but they hardly compare experiences in the real world. I'm sure people will argue that.
Of course, at some point, everyone has some down time when they don't have much to do or don't have any opportunities for other 'real' experiences. That, in my opinion, is a great time for games.
Northernlights
Member
For the past year or so, I've reduced my gaming to about an hour only on weekends. I'm about to graduate college and gaming just doesn't have the lure it used to for me. I too regret spending so much of my life on gaming and wonder where I would be know if I had spent my time more productively🙁
Rising_Hei
Member
Well i know many of them too, they are the most unhappy people i've ever meet, they simply can't enjoy the moment and don't do stuff "for the sake of it", which is where magic happens.
It's up to them to live like that, tho.
Sweet Bellic
Member
Video games also have clear benefits: entertainment value being the most obvious. And you're missing the forest for the trees again. I've already explained that my point isn't to prove that all human activities are pointless, but to illustrate how easy it is to dismiss any human activity, even one with obvious benefits, as pointless, or "hype," as the OP does. Sure, you could argue that trivializes what you seem to perceive as a categorical difference between gaming and exercise as human activities. You've clearly been on a crusade to defend exercise (ironically to someone who exercises!) as if its value, and not gaming's, is what is being questioned ITT. But, you're being myopic if you think everyone should recognize exercise as an inherently better use of one's time than gaming, as if other people don't have other values or priorities when it comes to the quality and duration of their lives.
Bioshocker
Member
I wish I played more.
JimmyRustler
Gold Member
Well said.
In fact, I barely know people that are productive all the time who'd I consider being happy. I mean, how can they be with the constant pressure to achieve something it life?
On the other side, here I am, coasting through life. All I do is basically work in the office, hit the gym and then play video games. Sounds boring? Well, I know, but I can't help but loving my life. I sleep very little, never need vacation to "charge up my batteries", am never sick, always relaxed and look and feel better than ever. Meanwhile my productive buddies are getting grey hair or loosing it all together, are constantly stressed and have to plan 2-3 weeks in advance so we can go check out a movie in the cinema because they never have time for anything. I never care to ask but I hope that's worth the extra cash to them. I sure as hell don't envy em for it.
Ask yourself OP, do you really want this?
I game a lot (well a lot less by when I live with my future wife), and in the last years even less because of Gym, work, and other stuff... I like my new commitmens, but I also like that I spent my past time to game so much... and I will continue to do it as much as I can.
The point is: never forget what is really important in "real" life besides our beloved hobbies. Not the time we spend with them... just remember that are "just" our passions, but are not the most important things.
The point is: never forget what is really important in "real" life besides our beloved hobbies. Not the time we spend with them... just remember that are "just" our passions, but are not the most important things.
Gun Animal
Member
OP you're right, games are cool for kids and teens because modern society has hemmed them into a box where they basically can't do anything useful. but once you hit your stride as an adult they lose a lot of appeal.
edit: basically the dilemma of this thread is whether to be a hedonist or an ascetic, but listen to buddha and walk the middle path instead.
edit: basically the dilemma of this thread is whether to be a hedonist or an ascetic, but listen to buddha and walk the middle path instead.
Indeed. Mundane tasks like waiting (for a train, bus etc.) have to be filled with other activities to be more "effective". However, studies show that we sometimes need "boredom" even if it is to be more and better focused on our next tasks.
Do anyone remember when you were just lying on a couch or sitting in nature literally doing nothing? If you can't, just try it out. Let go of all this modern-technology age bullshit just for a brief moment at least. People should stop counting quality and quantity at the day's evening but enjoy the very moment they're living in.
Nevertheless, whatever works best for anyone, I reckon.
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