Gaming No More

Patriot

Active Member
So I finally did it. . .I've been considering it for years but have taken till now to work up the nerve. I pulled the plug on my video games.

About a year ago, I cleaned out my old library of game CDs. I must have paid close to $500 over the years on these games. That made me stop and consider what I was spending my money on. At that point I determined that I would not purchase any more games. Of course, given the number already in my Steam collection in addition to the vast amount of free games available on the web it wasn't that drastic of a move. That being said, it was an important first step. With the monetary aspect of gaming no longer an issue, the time aspect began to weigh on me (not that it hadn't at this point, but that it became the primary issue).

[Brief Interlude]
I should take a moment to explain that I do not believe that games (well, the majority of them at least) are inherently evil. Nor do I feel that anyone playing them or the act of playing them is wrong. I am merely explaining my own personal experiences and justifications for my actions. Please don't give me 20 pages of dissertations on the merits of gaming. If you feel the overwhelming need to defend gaming, well, I'll leave you to ponder why. . .
[/Brief Interlude]

As I was saying, the time aspect of gaming became the primary issue. My wife, wisely, allowed me to game without giving me much flak for it. It was a stress reliever of sorts for myself, although I do believe it also created a fair amount of its own. We had discussions in the past about the amount of time I spent gaming and had reached a suitable compromise. That being said, it still gnawed on the back of my mind. Gaming took up the vast majority of my free time (i.e. time I could spend doing what interested me, not family time). I have an interest in 3D design using Blender and have multiple ideas for items to create. However, I always needed a considerable amount of motivation because it would have to overcome my desire to play games. Needless to say, I haven't created much in Blender. I have also always had an interest in drawing, but have never been motivated to take the time to get better. Both drawing and 3D graphics as a hobby produce a final product; something to validate the time I spent engaged in the activity. I realized that for all my endless hours of gaming (thank you steam for shaming me by recording my time wasted with each game...) I had nothing to really show for it. Oh sure, I could point and click my mouse slightly faster than some, but there would always be others who were better than me and that doesn't really qualify (in my mind) as enough to justify the time spent in the activity. I can claim to have beat certain games, but does anyone really care? The worst part was when I sat down at the computer and almost always opted for games over 3D graphics because it was quick and easy (bleh, I make it sound like a drug...).

Anyway, it finally reached a point where I kept thinking about how much time I was spending doing something that was fun, but not very productive and how I could be doing something else that was fun but also produced a result. I was up early with my boys before my wife woke last Saturday and uninstalled all of my games from my computer (probably near 40-50GB worth of games). It was oddly freeing in a way, almost like taking the first step away from an addiction. In some ways, it could almost be classified as an addiction with the amount of time I spent playing and thinking about playing. I hope to remain strong and refuse to reinstall the games (since they are still stored in my steam account). It will be easier than not uninstalling and just refusing to play because download times over my connection for most games takes a day or two.

Anyway, just thought I would share why I will not be joining any of you in game any more. Please don't feel as if I was judging any of you for your gaming time, this was a personal conviction and I would not dream to force it on anyone else.

Here's to more productive hobbies for myself!
 
Have fun finding that new balance in your life. Sorry that gaming put it out of balance. Hobbies are fun, too. Enjoy...
 
Respect man, I'd actually been struggling with getting rid of my games for awhile now... This post drove the final nail through the coffin. I have a rather addictive personality (in a bad way) and gaming just abuses that and sucks me in too far.
 
I feel ya Patriot I'd not be playing games if I thought it would make me more productive in my modeling with Blender and drawing, yup I have the same interests. Unfortunately me not playing games only ends up with me wasting time on other, sometimes worse, things. It doesn't result in me actually working on productive things. Basically I'll do anything to avoid important things no matter how boring XD.

Also it'd be difficult for me to give up TF2 (which is 80% of my gaming) since I am modeling things, or attempting to, for it XD.
 
It's good to take long breaks from gaming. Hope this journey brings you closer to Him!
 
Also it'd be difficult for me to give up TF2 (which is 80% of my gaming) since I am modeling things, or attempting to, for it XD.
Heh, Valve killed TF2 for me. Too many updates, too many weapons, too many people trading. I liked it when it was released. I even enjoyed the first round of weapon upgrades. Then it just got absurd.

But, hey, if you can make money off of modeling items for TF2, now that would be worthwhile!
 
Here's to more productive hobbies for myself!
Enjoy your new freedoms! I chose to have a friend lock me out of my Facebook account some time ago for pretty much the same reasons.

Gotta do what you gotta do. Glad you had the ability to do it. ;)
 
Enjoy your new freedoms! I chose to have a friend lock me out of my Facebook account some time ago for pretty much the same reasons.

Gotta do what you gotta do. Glad you had the ability to do it. ;)
Thanks. I actually haven't ever started a Facebook account for those very reasons.
 
Alas, in the interest of full disclosure, I reinstalled Steam and CS:Source on Saturday. Lasted 3 months almost to the day. I doubt that will be my final attempt to rid myself of gaming, but I'm not planning to uninstall at this moment.

Shameful, I know, but that's life. . .
 
I think a good compromise is far better... and healthier than going cold turkey.

There's no shame in playing a little.
 
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