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Slightly off topic, but on the topic of "deprocrastination" and gaming. How do other people here feel about managing gaming habits and such, among their other

Slightly off topic, but on the topic of "deprocrastination" and gaming. How do other people here feel about managing gaming habits and such, among their other side projects, work, and the day to day chores. I've been off video games for soon 3 months now because I felt I was unable to properly moderate my gaming habits. I was ending up playing late in evenings or during a weekend where I arguably had better things to do. I've found that there really aren't any replacement hobbies for gaming as such. Lots of things to do instead, but nothing really replaces it. Personally, the closest thing I came to the same kind of enjoyment I got out of gaming is meeting other people IRL and being social. Games for me was able to fill a very odd spot in my mind I think, they were challenging to the extent that you felt like you were growing a skill, and at the same time rewarding with various power-trip-gimmicks like "winning" or just plain old fun things like explosions, guns and (fantasy)-violence, stuff that gets your lizard brain going you know. It boiled down to "fun-work", and by that I mean truly fun work, stuff that you completely voluntarily do and which is void of the added boring fluff that comes with normal work. And as said, also something to grow into where a skill is actually being developed and a kind of deeper gratification can be found by continuous progress. (All the previously mentioned aspects were however too fake for me in the end, the lizard brain part doesnt understand that it was fake skills and fake victories though, so it liked them all the same) On the topic of Factorio: I am absolutely certain this game would suck me in for far too many hours. I've heard stories about it and I can imagine how neat the problem-solving to feedback loops are, combined with creativity and you know, explosions. However, if you have employees that are struggling with exactly solving open ended problems, games like this one probably does train that brain function.

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
I’m very careful about the types of games I play. I like one-and-done experiences that lead me through a story. I avoid anything with xp/grinding mechanics, which I consider largely-exploitive. Like movies and books, these games have a beginning and an end and a set duration between the two. Examples include Portal (1&2), Gris, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Journey.
- simion314 5y ago
  What I do is play single player games and cheat the grind over. Say if I am actually interested on exploration and story and not fighting for 5 minutes after each corner same guys over and over I just find a cheat or give up.
  - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
    I’ve tried this with a few games, most notably perhaps Persona 3. The problem is that I’m rarely playing just for the story and I end up feeling like I’m constantly managing the difficulty level. I want the game to lead me on a journey, with the right amount of challenge predetermined for me.
    - simion314 5y ago
      It depends on the person(like I was different in the past), but today I don't get satisfied by what developers think is challenging. For example in Skyrim I make my own challenges - for example the lockpincking mini game after you played the game a few times is just a waste of my time so I mod it out, I gave up on Neverwinter Nights 2 because of the combat grind, I loved the story but I was not into the min-maxing of characters and fighting same spiders over and over again in a cave and I could not find a "killall" cheat at that time. I played a lot of Minecraft(though I stopped 2 years ago) , exploring and mining in that game while listening to a audio book is so relaxing, it does not feel as a grind and if you want to build or decorate you pop into creative and do it. But some frustrating stuff are quests that lock you out from the main story, like in GTA4 was a quest where you had to be super fast on a bike and I was terrible at it, so you have to repeat same shit over and over again or give up (later in GTA V , they let you skip sections if you fail 3 times)
chapium 5y ago
You might enjoy boardgames as a similar hobby. Many varieties focus on set collection and push your luck. All have a social aspect that games cannot replace. The core principles are the same. One difference however, is you have to keep track of the rules yourself, the game isn't going to enforce them for you.
tartoran 5y ago
Games are great and irreplaceable activity that we as humans need and computer games are even more awesome but totally mess up this great thing about games, they make it too easy to fall into the other extreme and get diminished returns while sinking too much time that should be spent on other things such as socialization, phisical activities and work if games eat into it. Not all games are equal though, some of them respect this and force us into sessions or have a journey with a beginning and an ending.
watwut 5y ago
That sweet spot is not learning. Just an illusion of it. I did learned some things as a hobby, but real learning does not feel like gaming. Your progress stops and starts again. In any case, I decided to never pay big games 2 times and the second time sticked. The crawings went down over time, I rarely feel it anymore. And offer time I got used to hobbies that don't cause those emotional ups and downs, I don't expect them anymore, so they don't bore me anymore. But after a year, you look back and you see massive progress. You see yourself doing things you thought are impossible for you a year ago. And all that while you are fully aware you still wasted ton of time by doing nothing. It is not like I would be overworked from useful learning. It just happened, piece by piece. I allow myself free games on cell phone once in a while. But the decision to never pay naturally means I will either reach the end soon or get bored with it.
bmurphy1976 5y ago
I play one hour (maybe two on occasion) most nights just before I go to sleep. It doesn't seem like much but if you relentlessly stick to it like I have the hours add up. I avoid online multiplayer and competitive gaming. I stick to single player games I can "finish". It's a great way to get that fix and have a great sense of accomplishment without gaming overtaking your life. I've finished more humongous games this way than I ever did and I've been a serious gamer my entire life (cutting out multiplayer definitely, no doubt).
AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
For games that I think are going to eat a lot of my time, I put them off until the end of the year where I have a lot of vacation time, it is fucking winter, and the fact that it is the holidays allows me to silence the "you should be doing instead" voice. That goes out the window this year on 5/15 when the new Subnautica is released though. I also enjoy playing old games though, so in order to silence that voice I stream those sessions, which somehow allows me to feel like it is a productive use of my time even though I have never made any money from it and among the least popular regular streamers in an already low-popularity category.
Ancapistani 5y ago
> Games for me was able to fill a very odd spot in my mind I think, they were challenging to the extent that you felt like you were growing a skill, and at the same time rewarding [...] stuff that gets your lizard brain going you know. For me, I see games as a very simple effort/reward process. I can put in some time solving a problem and I get a dopamine hit. It's like junk food for my brain's reward centers :) The "odd spot in your mind" that you mention, for me, is that cycle: solve a small problem, receive dopamine hit, move on to the next problem. Gaming makes that reward cycle very fast. That makes it efficient, but it also seems to acclimate me to a cycle speed that isn't common in real life. I find that some hobbies are an acceptable substitute, at least for a while. Most of those involve physical skills that need to be built over time. Some hobbies that I've tried that fill the same mental niche for me include: * repairing and restoring vintage fountain pens * metalworking/machining * building and flying (but mostly building) FPV drones * shooting sports (always expensive, but much more so right now) * mechanical watch repair/"modding" * playing a musical instrument (ukulele is inexpensive and fun) * photography * 3D printing - both optimizing the printers themselves and designing solutions in CAD

Wowfunhappy 5y ago

I’m very careful about the types of games I play. I like one-and-done experiences that lead me through a story. I avoid anything with xp/grinding mechanics, which I consider largely-exploitive. Like movies and books, these games have a beginning and an end and a set duration between the two. Examples include Portal (1&2), Gris, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Journey.

simion314 5y ago
What I do is play single player games and cheat the grind over. Say if I am actually interested on exploration and story and not fighting for 5 minutes after each corner same guys over and over I just find a cheat or give up.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  I’ve tried this with a few games, most notably perhaps Persona 3. The problem is that I’m rarely playing just for the story and I end up feeling like I’m constantly managing the difficulty level. I want the game to lead me on a journey, with the right amount of challenge predetermined for me.
  - simion314 5y ago
    It depends on the person(like I was different in the past), but today I don't get satisfied by what developers think is challenging. For example in Skyrim I make my own challenges - for example the lockpincking mini game after you played the game a few times is just a waste of my time so I mod it out, I gave up on Neverwinter Nights 2 because of the combat grind, I loved the story but I was not into the min-maxing of characters and fighting same spiders over and over again in a cave and I could not find a "killall" cheat at that time. I played a lot of Minecraft(though I stopped 2 years ago) , exploring and mining in that game while listening to a audio book is so relaxing, it does not feel as a grind and if you want to build or decorate you pop into creative and do it. But some frustrating stuff are quests that lock you out from the main story, like in GTA4 was a quest where you had to be super fast on a bike and I was terrible at it, so you have to repeat same shit over and over again or give up (later in GTA V , they let you skip sections if you fail 3 times)

chapium 5y ago

You might enjoy boardgames as a similar hobby. Many varieties focus on set collection and push your luck. All have a social aspect that games cannot replace. The core principles are the same. One difference however, is you have to keep track of the rules yourself, the game isn't going to enforce them for you.

tartoran 5y ago

Games are great and irreplaceable activity that we as humans need and computer games are even more awesome but totally mess up this great thing about games, they make it too easy to fall into the other extreme and get diminished returns while sinking too much time that should be spent on other things such as socialization, phisical activities and work if games eat into it. Not all games are equal though, some of them respect this and force us into sessions or have a journey with a beginning and an ending.

watwut 5y ago

That sweet spot is not learning. Just an illusion of it. I did learned some things as a hobby, but real learning does not feel like gaming. Your progress stops and starts again. In any case, I decided to never pay big games 2 times and the second time sticked. The crawings went down over time, I rarely feel it anymore. And offer time I got used to hobbies that don't cause those emotional ups and downs, I don't expect them anymore, so they don't bore me anymore. But after a year, you look back and you see massive progress. You see yourself doing things you thought are impossible for you a year ago. And all that while you are fully aware you still wasted ton of time by doing nothing. It is not like I would be overworked from useful learning. It just happened, piece by piece. I allow myself free games on cell phone once in a while. But the decision to never pay naturally means I will either reach the end soon or get bored with it.

bmurphy1976 5y ago

I play one hour (maybe two on occasion) most nights just before I go to sleep. It doesn't seem like much but if you relentlessly stick to it like I have the hours add up. I avoid online multiplayer and competitive gaming. I stick to single player games I can "finish". It's a great way to get that fix and have a great sense of accomplishment without gaming overtaking your life. I've finished more humongous games this way than I ever did and I've been a serious gamer my entire life (cutting out multiplayer definitely, no doubt).

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

For games that I think are going to eat a lot of my time, I put them off until the end of the year where I have a lot of vacation time, it is fucking winter, and the fact that it is the holidays allows me to silence the "you should be doing instead" voice. That goes out the window this year on 5/15 when the new Subnautica is released though. I also enjoy playing old games though, so in order to silence that voice I stream those sessions, which somehow allows me to feel like it is a productive use of my time even though I have never made any money from it and among the least popular regular streamers in an already low-popularity category.

Ancapistani 5y ago

> Games for me was able to fill a very odd spot in my mind I think, they were challenging to the extent that you felt like you were growing a skill, and at the same time rewarding [...] stuff that gets your lizard brain going you know. For me, I see games as a very simple effort/reward process. I can put in some time solving a problem and I get a dopamine hit. It's like junk food for my brain's reward centers :) The "odd spot in your mind" that you mention, for me, is that cycle: solve a small problem, receive dopamine hit, move on to the next problem. Gaming makes that reward cycle very fast. That makes it efficient, but it also seems to acclimate me to a cycle speed that isn't common in real life. I find that some hobbies are an acceptable substitute, at least for a while. Most of those involve physical skills that need to be built over time. Some hobbies that I've tried that fill the same mental niche for me include: * repairing and restoring vintage fountain pens * metalworking/machining * building and flying (but mostly building) FPV drones * shooting sports (always expensive, but much more so right now) * mechanical watch repair/"modding" * playing a musical instrument (ukulele is inexpensive and fun) * photography * 3D printing - both optimizing the printers themselves and designing solutions in CAD