where does my time go

[Glitch]

So i have this battle over my free time. As life goes now, I rarely have any free time. My life is filled either with hanging out with friends, doing school stuff, and / or doing church stuff. Now I am not complaining about that, I really do like my life... But my inner gamer is getting mad that I am not giving him his time (does that sound weird).
On top of not having time to game, I am split between which games to play. I really want to finally finish a campaign on expert mode in LFD. and, I really wanna finish (well.... start, and then finish) all the heavy achievements so i can get the special heavy weapons in TF2.
Although, my inner gamer is also getting mad at me cause I am not honing my skills for competitive gaming. I tried playing some CS:S the other day and I felt like a n00b (I got a 10-12 on d_dust2).
And... I have a lot of console games in which I would like to play and beat, as well as the few console games in which I need to hone my skills at just to make sure I don't loose when my friends come over to play on that...

Anyways. This seems like a lot of talk for nothing but my question to you guys is thus...

1. Have you ever faced this kind of issue?
2. If so, what do you do when you hit these types of scenarios?

 

[vibrokatana]

So i have this battle over my free time. As life goes now, I rarely have any free time. My life is filled either with hanging out with friends, doing school stuff, and / or doing church stuff. Now I am not complaining about that, I really do like my life... But my inner gamer is getting mad that I am not giving him his time (does that sound weird).
On top of not having time to game, I am split between which games to play. I really want to finally finish a campaign on expert mode in LFD. and, I really wanna finish (well.... start, and then finish) all the heavy achievements so i can get the special heavy weapons in TF2.
Although, my inner gamer is also getting mad at me cause I am not honing my skills for competitive gaming. I tried playing some CS:S the other day and I felt like a n00b (I got a 10-12 on d_dust2).
And... I have a lot of console games in which I would like to play and beat, as well as the few console games in which I need to hone my skills at just to make sure I don't loose when my friends come over to play on that...

Anyways. This seems like a lot of talk for nothing but my question to you guys is thus...

1. Have you ever faced this kind of issue?
2. If so, what do you do when you hit these types of scenarios?

Rule #1, games should be fun. If you feel like you are being pushed to play more to "keep up" then it is not going to be something you enjoy.

I used to play 20+ hours a week of games, but I decided that for college I would only bring just my laptop (which has an intel GMA950, which is barely useful for games). Aside from world of goo and doing a few updates in sl I spend most of my day sans games. Recently I have started on a rather large programming project which IMO is more fun then most games. I have spent hours entertained with testing and reading up nifty stuff.

Sorry for the side track, but gaming should be for entertainment. Do what YOU feel like doing. Maybe you should try picking up a useful hobby as something that is just different. Your brain loves changes in experiences and scenery. Try going out for a walk or driving around without purpose. Maybe pick up drawing, programming, design, etc. All of those are especially useful as they don't cost that much money. Once you get bored with said hobby you will probably want to spend some mindless hours in a game or a good book.

 

[Glitch]

I guess i put it badly when i said i need to hone my skills.
When i say I need to hone my skills, that is fun for me. When i play competitive gaming, that is really fun for me (whether i win or lose).
All these things (like finishing an expert campaign on LFD) that is all fun for me, I enjoy doing those things.
Trust me gaming is not a chore for me
( well... i think when i have to grind out time in order to get all the achievements for the medic and heavy may be considered chores for me ... but besides that...)

EDIT: trust me, if gaming wasn't something i enjoyed, I would not do it. plain and simple...

 

[Corpfox]

I am 91% addicted to Counterstrike. What about you?

The thing you have to remember is, don't be a game addict.

Even the professionals in tournaments are not always happy, you know, they have to make up exceptions and requirements. (Streak wins, sponsors, etc)

While, a few addicts unfortunately, died from gaming.

I do not want to be one of them, but I'm pretty close.

Yes, play games you like and have fun with. Playing with your friends are even better. Just don't do it too extreme like these "Achievements". You don't need to unlock all of your "Achievements" in a certain time. Your games will last until your PC/Mac is dead or you've stopped playing for good.

Before, on Brood War, I would constantly playing games like Mind Control, Individual Random Defense and various Random setting games.

Now, I just make a game called, The Quiz, where I ask people questions about Starcraft/Brood war and see if they know the answers to achieve points and win the rounds.

Its funny how only 2 people knew the answer of; How much damage does a Battlecruiser's Yamato gun do.

And the silliest of all; Who killed Raynor in Brood war? 75% answers were Zerg and Kerrigan, LOL!

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

If you are having problems earning the heavy achievements just log on during Tuesday's scout update or shortly thereafter and go to town with the minigun. So many scouts so little ammo bwahahahah! .

 

[Bowser]

Glitch, I totally understand where you're coming from, man. I'm studying at a really intensive school at the moment and have very little time for gaming. I've reached my final semester, so I can relax studying a bit and pick up gaming again. So, in a way, I'm kind of going through the same thing you are.

I'd recommend picking 2-3 or whatever games you can afford, if you need to buy them, and play those. Pick games that have long shelf-lives and are also competitive, but aren't dated (unless you don't mind playing old-school). Consider looking at games that a lot of your friends play, like here at ToJ. Also, choose something that you can easily put down at a moments notice. A game you can save or the quick matches that CS, AA, BF, or CoD provide. Games that are very versatile are great, too. Games that have map or character editors and have player/fan-made missions, like CS or WC3. This is so that if you become bored with one aspect of the game you can easily move on to another.

I play WarCraft 3, CoD Modern Warfare, and Crysis. I would recommend those to you.

 

[cc.slim]

A Noob at 10 over 12 ah like with that score I guess my noob status has been demoted to a I dunno wuts next, lol, none the less its a game and its fun and its a great place to listen to others!

 

[Corpfox]

A Noob at 10 over 12 ah like with that score I guess my noob status has been demoted to a I dunno wuts next, lol, none the less its a game and its fun and its a great place to listen to others!

Yeah, you should watch, cc.slim, play, an odd individual...especially with his strong accent.

 

[Glitch]

A Noob at 10 over 12 ah like with that score I guess my noob status has been demoted to a I dunno wuts next, lol, none the less its a game and its fun and its a great place to listen to others!

I was playing very bad players... They really did not know how to pay well. and that was evident in how they played. all the other players were really bad so a 10 12 isn't that good if you are playing bad players. Cause these bad players were really bad.
did i mention they were bad players?

 

[cc.slim]

Eeek lol you musta been playing with me hehehe! I find it hard to want to excel at any game maybe because of all the poundings I have taken in about every game I've played and it has mellowed me out. I listen alot and smile always, tho the only way to see my smile is in my voice, even if it is lol odd hehehe! The hard part to a game is when you hear someone who needs to be reached and inhibited to do so. That is when my game goes way away for my mind is no longer is in the game but in thought of ways to share.