Taking a break from games - a confession

Isslander

Isslander

Gordon's alive!
3 August 2003
Iceland
Liverpool
Hey guys,

I have had more free time for myself recently, and as a result I have been playing more video games than for a long time. Unfortunately, it has at the same time reminded me of how much of my time games have taken, in general. Last Thursday I made the decision to take a break from games, going cold turkey on the whole thing. I'm going to see if this increases my productivity in other areas, and perhaps if I go on without games for long enough, I won't get into them again. I still have all my gaming stuff so I can start playing again if I like.

I think I bumped into my first real hurdle just now as I glanced at the SSX thread, I was so stoked for that game, and to play it with you guys, and others, but there was something inside me that just said "Quit, and quit NOW."

I've yet to see if I can hold out. I have done this before, and held out for a few months. It's just at this point I really want to use my free time for something more productive.

I still have an internet addiction ;) so I'm going to let you guys follow my progress. I wish you all the best in your games and please don't feel too relieved just yet, I might come back to crush your SSX scores.

Regards,

Isslander

P.S. I will also have a sort of progress thing going on at my twitter, @Sigurdrifa
 
Here you go mate, take care!

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Seems very harsh, why not poke yourself in the eye with a hot poker whilst your on...

I've always found playing video games very productive, it gives me an escape from stress of everyday life, an alernate reality to temporarily reside.

I never assumed there would be much else to do in Iceland, I guess you could sculpt.. :CONFUSE:
 
Same as Jimmy, I can't ever see myself giving up gaming, even for a short period. It's great escapism and enjoyable therefore not a waste of time in my book.

Good luck though.
 
I must say that my first reaction was a litle bit the same as the two posters above me. But of course it's none of our business why you want to stop. I could understand that you would want to stop if it dominates your life (the kind of stories you read about gamers in main stream media, always negative of course).
To me galing is indeed great escapism. I have a rather busy professional life and in my job i see plenty of misery, which (sometimes) i am supposed to (help) solve...Often i feel helpless against poverty, injustice and other misery. Gaming is the perfect counterweight for me...when i play games i'm Messi, Mourinho or at least i feel that i have an almighty impact on the virtual game world...And i must say i'm a very lousy gamer (i bet i'm among the worst gamers in this community), but i don't give a damn.

I wish you much success and keep us informed.

PS: jimmy, Iceland is one of the most creative regions in art. Right at the moment they have the most creative music scene in Europe with fantastic music from artists as diverse as Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mugison, Mum and other countless good bands. Iceland must also be one of the countries where people read most...IMO it's far from a cultural desert...i've been once to Iceland and i was hugely surprised by Reykjavik. If you ever have the chance you should borrow the double DVD Sigur Ros made about their Icelandic Tour...they play concerts at the most diverse locations. Fantastic music and beautiful images.
 
It's been 8 days now! Of this excruciating experience. Well, it hasn't been that excruciating. But still hard at times. TikTikTikTikTik the tiny violin helps, thanks for that ;)

As a test of my resolve I checked the PSN blog on wednesday, sure there would be some PS2 classic on there which I would find almost impossible to resist. I let out a relieved sigh as I saw there was nothing there. Then I saw the two new PS1 classics: Resident Evil 2 and 3. Putting it mildly I let out a Darth Vader-esque "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" right there and then. Turned out the world really DID want to F*** up my plan.

Apart from that, it's been a good week. I haven't touched anything remotely game-y, apart from the... remote? yeah I use a blu-ray remote to turn on my PS3. To play DVDs, of course.

That's it for now, violin put down until next time, hope you guys have a good weekend, gaming or not.
 
I know, the longer I hold out the more fun starting over will become ;) there are a lot of great games being released on the PSN these days, it will probably end the minute I start again. So I'm going to to everyone else a favour and not start again right away.
 
Well I'm still hangin in there, only a couple of days untill I reach a month without playing any games. I do suspect I will pick upp a few PES-games in the coming Easter since my brother is coming over from a different part of the country and I couldn't break his heart by not grabbing a few matches against him. It will be interesting to see if I can just quit again after that or if I will be hooked once again.
 
gerd said:
I.when i play games i'm Messi, Mourinho .
Click to expand...

Nevermind that Im batman,superman, nathan drake, luke sykwalker, Tony MOntana, commander sheppard, a superhero, a spaceman, an imperial..im in space, back in time, in mountains, in a forest, im the mafia, im a spetnaz, im a marine, im a jet fighter, im a war hero, im a...ok u get point lol
 
Yeah I'm back in the games...


So I was probably a bit over the top with that first post... But it was still a nice break which I needed.
 
Isslander said:
Yeah I'm back in the games...


So I was probably a bit over the top with that first post... But it was still a nice break which I needed.
Click to expand...

The question is though: What did you do with your time that you normally would have used to game?
 
henrys hand said:
The question is though: What did you do with your time that you normally would have used to game?
Click to expand...

Well I don't know how much I can go into it, but it mostly went into finishing this one (voluntary) job I've had hanging over me for 3 years now. I was editing a stage play, taken with two cameras, would have been pretty standard but there were errors on the tapes and a lot of fixing to be done. So I got that out of the way, also had a new PC put together for HD editing, and started using a diary for the first time ever to plan my work ahead.

So it wasn't really that I replaced gaming with something else, I just did the things that had piled up.
 
Well done anyway. Three months is pretty good. The longest I've been without games is more like two weeks when I've been on holiday!
 
Isslander said:
Well I don't know how much I can go into it, but it mostly went into finishing this one (voluntary) job I've had hanging over me for 3 years now. I was editing a stage play, taken with two cameras, would have been pretty standard but there were errors on the tapes and a lot of fixing to be done. So I got that out of the way, also had a new PC put together for HD editing, and started using a diary for the first time ever to plan my work ahead.

So it wasn't really that I replaced gaming with something else, I just did the things that had piled up.
Click to expand...

So you got more productive without gaming. That's good. That doesn't mean that you should do without gaming at all (cause gaming can create creative energy), it just means you have to find a new balance between gaming and productive work, so that productive work isn't suffering too much.

It's good to take a hiatus from the usual routine to gain a new perspective and reflect on what's important, so kudos from me.
 
Thanks guys.

Yeah I think I just went a bit overboard with gaming at that point, and felt I had to go cold turkey on it. I'm keeping myself occupied these days and only dipping into games now and then, the balance seems fine.

Also I'm really to interested in the whole gaming culture to really quit altogether, E3 coming up, it's gonna get wild.
 
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