Gaming as a life-long hobby - Thoughts from the 25+ crowd

[BoneSnapDeez]

Man my game room looks like poo compared to these. I have run out of space so I have consoles stacked on the bed - still need to get some wall-mounted shelves!

My wife and I are just renters now. I told her that our first house needs a dedicated game room.

[alexis524]

hmph,

interesting topic as i was just thinking how gaming just doesn't do it for me anymore. It was fun and I certainly had lots of good times, but I do feel a bit...old for it. I'll be 37 in a couple weeks and my focus has been shifting for a while now. Gaming has not been my defacto outlet as of late and prefer to spend my time on other things. I don't know if it's interests changing, re-prioritizing, or just being honest with my self and admitting that I really can't/don't/won't see myself gaming at 40+. I've tried not to compare my lot in life to my peers, but I do feel unfulfilled and behind due to my video game habit, which has been excessive. I feel controlled by it in a sense and have come to the realization that I don't want it to control me anymore. I've been holding out and trying to give the hobby another chance really for nostalgic reasons and none other, but it's getting pretty stale now.

[dsheinem]

I feel controlled by it in a sense and have come to the realization that I don't want it to control me anymore.

Hmm, this sounds bad.

Feel free not to respond if you'd like, but I'm curious: What makes you feel this way about it? Are you experiencing typical and telltale "addiction" signs that we more often see with other kinds of substances/activities (e.g. drug use or gambling)?

[alexis524]

nothing drastic,

but enough to signal a problem. I find my daily activities center more around gaming. Not necessarily the act of playing, but the reading about, the hunting down, the buying of, the trading for. It seems like I am devoting more time and energy on a hobby than my families needs. Now, I'm not neglectful, depriving necessities, but feel very guilty over why I can't devote the same time/energy to my family as I do gaming. I really feel imbalanced and it has been eating at me for a while. Maybe that is why the hobby just doesn't do it for me anymore. Maybe it's the guilt that prevents me from enjoying the experience.

I'm not up until 3am gaming, i do not blow the budget with purchases, i do not avoid recreation with family and friends to get a game in. On a good week, maybe i spend maybe an hour gaming, if at all. In one month, i may spend $25 on games, if i buy anything, and i usually choose to game after the family is asleep or is out, so I don't think i'm addicted like a drug- addict, but maybe that is denial talking???

It just doesn't feel like it did in the past. I'm 36 and have been gaming since i was 6 so i definitely have experiences i can draw from to remember how it used to feel, and it.just.doesn't.anymore.

P.S. dsheinem, i appreciate you asking

P.S.S. sorry dsheinem, i never answered your question. What makes me feel that way? After really thinking about it, i guess it's just habit. I get to work, and first thing i do is run down my list of gaming sites i frequent. I daily look on eBay for that game i just have to have. Also, when thinking to myself, wow, i really have alot of games and consoles. So much, that i could never in my lifetime get to play through, maybe i should start to sell off what i know i won't get to, and then CAN'T bring myself to part with no matter how rational the decision is. I just can't, it's almost like they have this kung-fu grip on me, and that i don't like.

[AppleQueso]

^Might it just be old fashioned burn-out? Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to just put everything away for a while. Perhaps in time you'll regain that 'spark' that made you enjoy the hobby to begin with?

[dsheinem]

On a good week, maybe i spend maybe an hour gaming, if at all. In one month, i may spend $25 on games, if i buy anything, and i usually choose to game after the family is asleep or is out

I think this is less time/money than the average person spends per week/month as regards gaming, let alone the average "gamer". I don't see any of that as a problem at all.

It just doesn't feel like it did in the past. I'm 36 and have been gaming since i was 6 so i definitely have experiences i can draw from to remember how it used to feel, and it.just.doesn't.anymore.

I think you are confusing "grappling with disinterest" with "gaming having control". My .02 is that you are just struggling to come to terms with/figure out with what might be lost if you give up your already minimal gaming, and that this process of grappling is occupying a lot of your time, even while gaming.

If I were you I'd just throw everything into storage for a month or two, stop following game-related websites, and then see how it goes. If you still miss it and the interest is rekindled, great - you were already gaming in moderation, and you can continue to do so without the guilt or questions. If you don't miss it, then put your stuff up for sale on the forums and move on to a new interest

[AppleQueso]

If I were you I'd just throw everything into storage for a month or two, stop following game-related websites, and then see how it goes. If you still miss it and the interest is rekindled, great - you were already gaming in moderation, and you can continue to do so without the guilt or questions. If you don't miss it, then put your stuff up for sale on the forums and move on to a new interest

Yeah, you pretty much put what I was trying to say a bit better. It's the best path to take in any case.

[dsheinem]

P.S.S. sorry dsheinem, i never answered your question. What makes me feel that way? After really thinking about it, i guess it's just habit. I get to work, and first thing i do is run down my list of gaming sites i frequent. I daily look on eBay for that game i just have to have. Also, when thinking to myself, wow, i really have alot of games and consoles. So much, that i could never in my lifetime get to play through, maybe i should start to sell off what i know i won't get to, and then CAN'T bring myself to part with no matter how rational the decision is. I just can't, it's almost like they have this kung-fu grip on me, and that i don't like.

Just saw this part. There's nothing wrong with becoming more of a collector than a gamer. Make it a family thing: put together a collection that you'd be happy to pass on to your loved ones if they want to get into gaming or, perhaps, to sell one day for their big life events. That, too, might let you keep doing it without the pangs of guilt

[alexis524]

thanks ds and apple for helping make some sense of things. I'm going to follow your suggestions and store things for a bit and see how i feel in a few months. Thanks for the support, it's greatly appreciated.

[Ack]

thanks ds and apple for helping make some sense of things. I'm going to follow your suggestions and store things for a bit and see how i feel in a few months. Thanks for the support, it's greatly appreciated.

I'd also suggest talking to your family about it. Gaming is a fun hobby, sure, but a lot of the fun I find comes from the interaction I have with others. Maybe you can discover a new means to bond with it. For instance, show games to your children and talk about how games have evolved over the years. Show them what kinds of things came before and invite them to learn about it and share the hobby with you.