My wife complains when I want to play any game on the computer, saying im addicted to my kiddie obsession. Then she turns on the ipad and plays HayDay for an hour. Whats a guy to do?
Originally posted by eddieg50 Yea , I cringe when I read that someone completed TOR and TSW in 6 weeks
First define "completed". Second, understand its not hard to play efficiently and still "smell the roses". Neither Tsw nor Swtor had particularly hard or even challenging gameplay. Yes, I am not counting the google missions in Tsw as that required some searching around and were nice for what they were.
@thread The average video game player plays ~20 hours a week. That is based on basically every study ever done. Some play more, some play less. That is a fact of life.
I did battle with ignorance today, and ignorance won.
To exercise power costs effort and demands courage. That is why so many fail to assert rights to which they are perfectly entitled - because a right is a kind of power but they are too lazy or too cowardly to exercise it. The virtues which cloak these faults are called patience and forbearance.
This topic hits home for me as I am a married man now. My wife has less issue with me sitting on my butt watching TV for hours on end then she does when I play games for hours on end. Probably because she can sit and watch TV for hours on end.
I hope in the future people start thinking of gaming the same as other hobbies people do in their spare time. For me spending my evenings and weekends playing games I love is more enjoyable and less expensive then my other hobbies that have been deemed acceptable. One day at the golf course costs more than months of MMO subscriptions for what 3 or 4 hours of my time? Fishing can be just as expensive if you like having fancy gear and if you have a boat well that's just became thousands and thousands of dollars for a hobby. Working on cars, camping, hunting, biking, hiking, all those well thought of hobbies men tend to do and are well thought of cost a small fortune. Building a PC every few years and a monthly subscription will save you tons of money in the long run. Plus I find just as much enjoyment out of it as my other hobbies which is mainly golf, fishing, and hiking. Oh not to mention those are all very weather dependent too...
I simply spend the 2-3 hours I would be sitting in front of the TV in front of the PC. As far as excercise it will not be a net loss and there is seldom anything decent on TV anyway.
I can accept when people think it's strange if they like fishing, fixing cars etc. but I can not accept it from people who have the gall to complain while they themselves sit glued to reality shows and similar garbage every day.
Personally I don't even see why it would be an issue between members of any family. It's a hobby like anything else, there is absolutely NO reason to explain it to anyone for the same reasons someone that paints doesn't have any reason to explain to others why he likes painting.
And yes when someone is coming and starts "attacking" you have no obligation to not be defensive nor the attacking side is justified into anything.
I know some moan, but I only play on average about one hour per day, ten days a week.
Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security. I don't Forum PVP. If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident. When I don't understand, I ask. Such is not intended as criticism.
Everyone has a hobby, and we engage our hobbies with great passion. I have had to deal with many of the topics Lisa took the time to write about. No answer is the right answer most of the time. I agree that getting angry and/or defensive when someone says something about gaming is rather childish.
I'm proud to be a gamer, and for many reasons. Think about all of the positive things that gaming has brought into society.
Jobs, how many jobs and technologies has the demand for gaming created?
Gamers are the driving force of the computer age. Think about what computers would be like if gaming would have never existed.
Non-gamers dont and will likely never understand why we enjoy gaming, just like i will never understand why someone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Fact is people who do what they are passionate about are living life and are happy.
Excellent article, thank you. It reminds me of the ign article about getting rid of the term gamer.
I actually enjoy telling people I am a gamer, and seeing the look of disgust on their face. Quite honestly, I have gotten face book requests to play games I have never heard of from family members from my elder generation. I am 40, this is a strange new form of social behavior.
I would fall in the category of the asocial gamer, I am tired of get/give relationships and prefer the anonymity of the internet while dealing with other people. Like the thought of sharing ideas, unfortunately my peers would rather sit around drink beer and pretend they are sports announcers.
When I was a kid I could, and did play chess for 8 hours straight when allowed. It was fun, a right of passage it taught me that to win I had to accept that I would lose a lot of the time.
I think being proactive is probably the best way to approach this issue. Do your work/ Socialize with your friends outside of any gaming. Make sure your spouse or partner feels that they are getting what they need and want from you. Make it clear your gaming time is your de-stress time and DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. Have a conversation about current events. Be interested in other people. Don't break promises or miss important events in favor of gaming. If its more than casual, let people know its a passion but take extra care to surface for air on a regular basis.
And make boundaries, like an adult. If you are not yet on your own or of a proper age, okay I can see where they have a right to know what you are doing. Otherwise, as an adult, enforce your boundaries and let them know, if necessary, your gaming is your business. Period.
This works for casual gamers at best. For hardcore gamers, its like a job or passion that you are dedicated to. And in anything that one dedicates themselves to (be it school, career, family etc), sacrifices need to made and the "outsiders" worst belief actually comes true.
Most memorable games: AoC(Tryanny PvP), RIFT, GW, GW2, Ragnarok Online, Aion, FFXI, FFXIV, Secret World, League of Legends (Silver II rank)
Think game companies are guilty on this part. Gaming is assumed as a child-only thing because it is constantly sold as a child-only past-time. The title 18+ games are never heard of and are often dismissed from public view if they do happen to be published or are non-mainstream. Yet the average gamer is well above 25 years old. Gaming is an entertainment and past-time for anyone willing to play video-games, not the assumed stereotype of being only a "child's thing".
Many times games lack the development and pull that would separate them from the child-like games(Insert Disney here, random PG-13 like game here too) to the more mature and adult-like games(ones that actually talk about mature-like situations, for instance! Like voodoo sex or nudity).
As far as I am concern whatever family or friends would think of gaming past-time does not matter. What matters is that the game is being enjoyed, and enjoyed with like-minded players as well too
Comments
First define "completed". Second, understand its not hard to play efficiently and still "smell the roses". Neither Tsw nor Swtor had particularly hard or even challenging gameplay. Yes, I am not counting the google missions in Tsw as that required some searching around and were nice for what they were.
@thread The average video game player plays ~20 hours a week. That is based on basically every study ever done. Some play more, some play less. That is a fact of life.
I did battle with ignorance today, and ignorance won.
To exercise power costs effort and demands courage. That is why so many fail to assert rights to which they are perfectly entitled - because a right is a kind of power but they are too lazy or too cowardly to exercise it. The virtues which cloak these faults are called patience and forbearance.
This topic hits home for me as I am a married man now. My wife has less issue with me sitting on my butt watching TV for hours on end then she does when I play games for hours on end. Probably because she can sit and watch TV for hours on end.
I hope in the future people start thinking of gaming the same as other hobbies people do in their spare time. For me spending my evenings and weekends playing games I love is more enjoyable and less expensive then my other hobbies that have been deemed acceptable. One day at the golf course costs more than months of MMO subscriptions for what 3 or 4 hours of my time? Fishing can be just as expensive if you like having fancy gear and if you have a boat well that's just became thousands and thousands of dollars for a hobby. Working on cars, camping, hunting, biking, hiking, all those well thought of hobbies men tend to do and are well thought of cost a small fortune. Building a PC every few years and a monthly subscription will save you tons of money in the long run. Plus I find just as much enjoyment out of it as my other hobbies which is mainly golf, fishing, and hiking. Oh not to mention those are all very weather dependent too...
I simply spend the 2-3 hours I would be sitting in front of the TV in front of the PC. As far as excercise it will not be a net loss and there is seldom anything decent on TV anyway.
I can accept when people think it's strange if they like fishing, fixing cars etc. but I can not accept it from people who have the gall to complain while they themselves sit glued to reality shows and similar garbage every day.
Personally I don't even see why it would be an issue between members of any family. It's a hobby like anything else, there is absolutely NO reason to explain it to anyone for the same reasons someone that paints doesn't have any reason to explain to others why he likes painting.
And yes when someone is coming and starts "attacking" you have no obligation to not be defensive nor the attacking side is justified into anything.
I know some moan, but I only play on average about one hour per day, ten days a week.
Everyone has a hobby, and we engage our hobbies with great passion. I have had to deal with many of the topics Lisa took the time to write about. No answer is the right answer most of the time. I agree that getting angry and/or defensive when someone says something about gaming is rather childish.
I'm proud to be a gamer, and for many reasons. Think about all of the positive things that gaming has brought into society.
Jobs, how many jobs and technologies has the demand for gaming created?
Gamers are the driving force of the computer age. Think about what computers would be like if gaming would have never existed.
Non-gamers dont and will likely never understand why we enjoy gaming, just like i will never understand why someone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Fact is people who do what they are passionate about are living life and are happy.
Excellent article, thank you. It reminds me of the ign article about getting rid of the term gamer.
I actually enjoy telling people I am a gamer, and seeing the look of disgust on their face. Quite honestly, I have gotten face book requests to play games I have never heard of from family members from my elder generation. I am 40, this is a strange new form of social behavior.
I would fall in the category of the asocial gamer, I am tired of get/give relationships and prefer the anonymity of the internet while dealing with other people. Like the thought of sharing ideas, unfortunately my peers would rather sit around drink beer and pretend they are sports announcers.
When I was a kid I could, and did play chess for 8 hours straight when allowed. It was fun, a right of passage it taught me that to win I had to accept that I would lose a lot of the time.
I think being proactive is probably the best way to approach this issue. Do your work/ Socialize with your friends outside of any gaming. Make sure your spouse or partner feels that they are getting what they need and want from you. Make it clear your gaming time is your de-stress time and DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. Have a conversation about current events. Be interested in other people. Don't break promises or miss important events in favor of gaming. If its more than casual, let people know its a passion but take extra care to surface for air on a regular basis.
And make boundaries, like an adult. If you are not yet on your own or of a proper age, okay I can see where they have a right to know what you are doing. Otherwise, as an adult, enforce your boundaries and let them know, if necessary, your gaming is your business. Period.
Just My 2 Lunars
Most memorable games: AoC(Tryanny PvP), RIFT, GW, GW2, Ragnarok Online, Aion, FFXI, FFXIV, Secret World, League of Legends (Silver II rank)
There's two sides to this coin:
Think game companies are guilty on this part. Gaming is assumed as a child-only thing because it is constantly sold as a child-only past-time. The title 18+ games are never heard of and are often dismissed from public view if they do happen to be published or are non-mainstream. Yet the average gamer is well above 25 years old. Gaming is an entertainment and past-time for anyone willing to play video-games, not the assumed stereotype of being only a "child's thing".
Many times games lack the development and pull that would separate them from the child-like games(Insert Disney here, random PG-13 like game here too) to the more mature and adult-like games(ones that actually talk about mature-like situations, for instance! Like voodoo sex or nudity).
As far as I am concern whatever family or friends would think of gaming past-time does not matter. What matters is that the game is being enjoyed, and enjoyed with like-minded players as well too