Vincent Vega
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2002
- Messages
- 288
I've been a PC gamer my entire life for close to 3 decades. It all started for me in the early 90s when my dad brought home a DOS Pentium 75 Gateway 2000 in the legendary cow-themed box. As an only child, the PC became the center of my teenage entertainment. All throughout college, mid-to-late 20s and 30s, gaming remained a staple and cornerstone of entertainment, part of my identity.
I am in my early 40s now and perhaps since the birth of my son 3 years ago, I've been feeling this unshakable guilt whenever I would queue up a casual round of whatever online shooter. Thankfully, I am my own boss and make my own hours, which should afford me the flexibility to engage with an activity I have always loved, but instead of being able to immerse myself into the title and enjoy the escapism, I get the feeling that I should be doing something else meaningful, productive, or constructive with my time. Yes, having two toddlers at home limits the amount of free time by default, but there's something about gaming in particular that conjures up this bizarre guilt that I don't get if I was to just sit down and watch an episode of The Expanse. I also noticed that competitive, stressful titles lost their luster years ago, any gaming I did in recent years was limited to easy mode "story play" instead of nightmare modes.
Maybe I've outgrown it? The thought of it saddens me. Perhaps it's just not the right time right now and I'll return to it at a later point? Anyway, I am interested to hear from other folks in the 40+ bracket, if they felt the same way and how they've dealt with it. Cheers!
P.S. 2 weeks away from my 20-year [H]F anniversary. Fuuuuck me time flies.
I am in my early 40s now and perhaps since the birth of my son 3 years ago, I've been feeling this unshakable guilt whenever I would queue up a casual round of whatever online shooter. Thankfully, I am my own boss and make my own hours, which should afford me the flexibility to engage with an activity I have always loved, but instead of being able to immerse myself into the title and enjoy the escapism, I get the feeling that I should be doing something else meaningful, productive, or constructive with my time. Yes, having two toddlers at home limits the amount of free time by default, but there's something about gaming in particular that conjures up this bizarre guilt that I don't get if I was to just sit down and watch an episode of The Expanse. I also noticed that competitive, stressful titles lost their luster years ago, any gaming I did in recent years was limited to easy mode "story play" instead of nightmare modes.
Maybe I've outgrown it? The thought of it saddens me. Perhaps it's just not the right time right now and I'll return to it at a later point? Anyway, I am interested to hear from other folks in the 40+ bracket, if they felt the same way and how they've dealt with it. Cheers!
P.S. 2 weeks away from my 20-year [H]F anniversary. Fuuuuck me time flies.