

Ask HN: Are you addicted to video games? - septerr


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hacknat
I grew up playing the golden era of N64. I was solidly addicted (Ocarina,
Mario, Golden Eye, and Mario Kart). I played a good deal of Civilization in
late high school and early College, but as I got good at programming I started
to play less and less.

My philosophy has morphed into seeing video games as a waste of _my_ time. I
could be building something, reading a good history book or novel, learning
more about x in computer science, OR getting closer to my friends and family.

I have a friend who tells me that I need at least one trashy addiction in my
life. For a while I thought his argument had some merit, but I just don't
agree with him anymore. I feel most alive and happy when I'm pursuing
activities that increase my understanding of the world, open my eyes to ideas
I hadn't considered, or brings me closer to my friends and family. Maybe video
games can be these things for other people, but not for _me_.

~~~
septerr
I feel like they are a 'waste of time' as well since I could be using that
time to become better at my programming skills. But my BF is addicted and it
seems the only way I would be able to spend time with him is by playing video
games with him and his friends, but my whole being resists it.

~~~
Mz
My oldest son appeared "addicted" to video games at one time. When he got
enough out of it, his behavior changed. So that may not be hopeless.

As a divorcee who spent all my time sitting next to a man who was playing
games, watching tv, etc and ignoring me, I don't really recommend you play
games as a cheap assed substitute for actual attention from him. It
accomplished absolutely nothing in my marriage. If he won't pay attention to
you at all, sitting next to him while he ignores you isn't some kind of
improvement.

Sorry you are dealing with this.

~~~
septerr
All the answers here give me hope that my BF might one day tire of the games.

------
Vaskivo
I was, in my teens. Specially in my "angsty phase", videogames were my escape.

Now, I don't play as much as I would like because of work and personal life.
It also helps that most of my firends aren't gamers.

IMO, it's the finest and most flexible medium that currently exists, taking
cues from a lot of the others. I'm an amateur video and board game designer
and developer. It's hard to play games because of this, as I am always playing
games with a "research" and "critical" perspective. I force myself not to
replay games and try to only play games "that matter" and that "have something
new", whatever that may mean at the moment.

I find it very sad to see so many HN'ers say they are "wasting their time"
with games. There is a lot of crap, but some game are well worth the time. (As
it is with everything -> Sturgeon's Law)

So, to answer the question, I was addicted in the past, I'm not anymore. But I
would gladly be addicted again (in the good way :) ).

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gvickers
Yea, Eve online had me for a while. It also had the strange effect of making
all other games un-enjoyable for me. Eve is a true min/max game, where 2% of
something often makes a huge difference. The desire to maximize the efficiency
of everything I did carried over to other games and even aspects of my life.

Most games stop being fun when you make a spreadsheet for them, Eve is one of
those few exceptions. Right around the time I stopped playing Eve, I started
finding it difficult to play games just for fun without trying to min/max
every aspect to gain an advantage. I guess I was really addicted to the meta-
game rather than the game itself.

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Ramp_
In the past, when I was younger, I was addicted to numerous games including
WoW, FFXII, C&C, Counter-Strike, TFC. But one day whilst playing WoW I thought
"Why am I here grinding levels in a game? I should be grinding levels in
life.".

I uninstalled everything and made a conscious decision to grind by learning
and living. Sure, I still zone out with video games from time to time but I
start to get uncomfortable after an hour and stop, very casual. For me, I
realised I was wasting my life and it was making me unhappy.

[Edit: Typos]

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troymc
No. I did enjoy the King's Quest games back in the 1980s though. Does that
count?

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iends
At various times in my life I have devote entirely too much time to Chess,
COD, SWG, LOL, and SWTOR.

Now I avoid them entirely, run desktop linux, and try to spend my time on
things like violin, writing, reading, and coding.

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nnash
Probably. I have devoted several thousand hours of my life to L4D, L4D2, TF2
and Dota 2. Even more to counter-strike and other hl mods not even bothering
to mention all the MMOs I've played.

------
binaryatrocity
Much as I love computers and programming and learning.... I gotta play some
Dota2 tonight... because reasons.

