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Part joke part truth: become a game developer. Since I started to make games I spend much less time playing them. Also sometimes I just have to play more divers

by SXX 5y ago

Part joke part truth: become a game developer. Since I started to make games I spend much less time playing them. Also sometimes I just have to play more diverse set of games to use them reference for my game design job. Okay now here is serious note. > Is it possible to have a "healthy" amount of playing? Talking from experience - even without taking real drugs into account it's certainly possible to get "unhealthy" amount of anything: reading or listening books / podcasts, or digging into Linux, or even swimming. Instead of "fighting" some "gaming addiction" you need to try find other interests be it front of PC and in real life. Make it a goal to find something else that also make you happy be it books, DIY, sport or social danding. Once you have healthy number of interests other than games then not wasting all your life on single thing become so much easier. My personal take on issue of addiction is super simple: 1 - First of all I have a queue of all interesting things I wish to do: films, series, anime, books, podcasts and games. And I add things to this queue once I find something that make me curious. 2 - Also I have a rule to go and check some new things from said queue so I don't stick to one single thing for way too long. 3 - And when it's come to games I also try to honestly ask myself "Am I really enjoying every second of it?" Because some games specifically design to take you into grinding and enjoyment-frustration loop. So why continue to play if game no longer make you feel good? I understand that some people might have worse problems with self-control than I, but I hope this small piece of my own experience will help someone!

ryandrake 5y ago
> Part joke part truth: become a game developer. Since I started to make games I spend much less time playing them. Also sometimes I just have to play more diverse set of games to use them reference for my game design job. I played an unhealthy amount of video games through college, to the point where it affected my grades, and for a few years after graduation. My first job was not in game development, but was extremely gaming-adjacent (3D graphics drivers), where end-of-day QA-testing our latest software improvements would often turn into office-wide Quake deathmatches. I tried the "queue of interesting things" you mentioned, but sadly realized the other things on the list were also problematic: films, tv series, anime, etc. are just another form of "media consumption" which was the root addiction. At some point, I staged a self-intervention and admitted that media consumption, including video games, would not improve me and would not make me an interesting person. Coming to this realization helped me to set all that aside and start doing more meaningful things like dating a girlfriend (later marrying), going back to school for a graduate degree, switching to less passive hobbies, and so on. It also enabled me 20 years later to not get involved with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all those other pointless media-consumption time-sucks that we have today. These days, I have so many worthwhile things going on that I literally have no time for a gaming or media addiction.
- Volrath89 5y ago
  Which worthwhile things?
- SXX 5y ago
  It's great that you found your own happiness elsewhere in life, but for me games are essential part of my personality. They're as important as traveling and my family. Even if I only actually play something once a month. Also I'm not offering to replace gaming with just media consumption. Of course it's better to have diverse interests in life like side-projects, education, sport, social dancing, hiking, social or political activism, etc. But if for some reason person is addicted to media consumption and okay with it then they can at least consume some high quality content instead of "junk food". For several years I've been literally addicted to fantasy books and listened for like 100+ of them. I have no regrets about it.

by SXX 5y ago

ryandrake 5y ago

> Part joke part truth: become a game developer. Since I started to make games I spend much less time playing them. Also sometimes I just have to play more diverse set of games to use them reference for my game design job. I played an unhealthy amount of video games through college, to the point where it affected my grades, and for a few years after graduation. My first job was not in game development, but was extremely gaming-adjacent (3D graphics drivers), where end-of-day QA-testing our latest software improvements would often turn into office-wide Quake deathmatches. I tried the "queue of interesting things" you mentioned, but sadly realized the other things on the list were also problematic: films, tv series, anime, etc. are just another form of "media consumption" which was the root addiction. At some point, I staged a self-intervention and admitted that media consumption, including video games, would not improve me and would not make me an interesting person. Coming to this realization helped me to set all that aside and start doing more meaningful things like dating a girlfriend (later marrying), going back to school for a graduate degree, switching to less passive hobbies, and so on. It also enabled me 20 years later to not get involved with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all those other pointless media-consumption time-sucks that we have today. These days, I have so many worthwhile things going on that I literally have no time for a gaming or media addiction.

Volrath89 5y ago
Which worthwhile things?
SXX 5y ago
It's great that you found your own happiness elsewhere in life, but for me games are essential part of my personality. They're as important as traveling and my family. Even if I only actually play something once a month. Also I'm not offering to replace gaming with just media consumption. Of course it's better to have diverse interests in life like side-projects, education, sport, social dancing, hiking, social or political activism, etc. But if for some reason person is addicted to media consumption and okay with it then they can at least consume some high quality content instead of "junk food". For several years I've been literally addicted to fantasy books and listened for like 100+ of them. I have no regrets about it.