I quit gaming.

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TangledThornz

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I quit gaming almost four months. Gaming of all kinds from PC to mobile.

Used to be a hard core gamer since I was a little boy almost 40 years ago and back in early March I was in the ER for a few hours and the healing time kept me from playing games for a week. During that week I found myself spending more time with my young children and my beautiful wife. I really enjoyed it too, was able to catch up on Netflix and reconnect with my wife and she has enjoyed that too... if you know what I mean ;) I'm also back in the gym since they reopened too, bye bye dad bod!! Since March I hadn't gamed once with STEAM, ORIGIN already uninstalled that month.

I think quitting gaming has benefited me financially too with no more spending hundred to thousands of dollars on upgrades and a new PC rig every four years. The lack of stress from competitive gaming has helped my mood a lot too. Plus I've been worried about my young son watching me play games and was afraid he'd end up like my neighbor's son who stays home all day playing PC games, anti-social and overweight.

I do still enjoy reading tech/gaming news and posting in gaming forums here as it keeps me entertained and I may game again but I'm hoping that isn't till I'm in the retirement home :)

Thought it was worth sharing for those that may be interested.
 
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I thought I quit gaming in the mid 2000s, I didn't play games at all for months on end or barely. It wasn't a conscioius decision I just thought I grew out of it. Then slowly I got dragged back in.
 
Good luck with all of your future endeavors

...but it really just seems like you're trying to get validation for your choices regarding hardware & gaming in a hardware enthusiast forum & gaming subforum.
 
Looking for a new hobby myself. Been pc gaming since '93 and and getting bored by it all now.I still like to game but I want something to do away from the pc more often. I ordered a 3D printer. I find them fascinating so going to try my hand at making some things. Who knows where it might lead to. A new adventure!
 
Same here. I more or less stopped from 2009-2014, got back into it around 2015, but I also got back into Board Games and D&D when they released 5th edition. I spend far more time doing those than video games at this point, and I KNOW I am a better person for it. The face to face gaming is so much more what I remember from the days I really loved playing video games on the 2600, NES etc. I also play arcade games with my kids on an emulator setup, which is also, very fun cause you are there with the person and talking smack and laughing.
 
Play games when you want. Don't play them when you don't want. Also don't let them be a distraction if they're there and you're not playing them. I'm starting to get better at this. I'll get around to the ones I want to play, some may sit. I just play when I have a little time. I've also been spending more time with my family, and will continue to more now. I still want to play the fuck out of Cyberpunk though. ;)
 
Moderation and balance is key in all things. I had a quit gaming (mostly) for a about 4 years when I was in school for my bachelors while working full time and had my own family to take care of as well. Since I graduated, I've got back into it probably more than I was before school even. But I enjoy it with my family and kids a lot as well with party games like Mario Party and the Jackbox games. My wife is watching me replay through The Last of Us part 2 right now too and will occasionally watch me play some of my other story-based games like that. But I know for some of my friends, it's a one-or-the-other type of thing between playing games and spending time with their spouse/family and it doesn't really have to be like that. But if you're happy, that's all that matters too. We all change and our hobbies change as well.
 
TangledThornz said:
Thank you!

I thought about that selling my gaming accounts. I'm interested in selling my Rockstar account for starters, it has RDR2 and GTA5. Is there a way to sell a gaming account that isn't sketchy?
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I have sold accounts by changing the email address if the buyer doesn't have that service. Of course you want to remove all billing info. I know there is a way to LOAN games in Steam but haven't done it but seen it referenced here from good traders.
 
pendragon1 said:
thats the key, balance. if you like gaming theres no need to give it up, just re-balance things.
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No, I think stopping cold gives him the opportunity to experience all the things he was missing, and after a few more months maybe decide if he wants to restart at a much lower pace then before.

If you're only doing one thing, it's easy to lose focus on everything else around you. Shutting off that one thing can help you reprioritize, while still having a chance of retain some of that distraction

But yeah, competitive online gaming is not something I've been able to do since I acquired adult responsibilities, and I think you're going to have to give that up. Also, if you're addicted to that adrenaline rush of leveling up ad unlocking the latest lootbox in your favorite online game, it might be a good idea to quit online gaming permanently (it's both a time sink and money sink).
 
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polonyc2 said:
enjoy your post-gaming life!...but you could always come back and play fewer games...something like Cyberpunk 2077 or Valorant
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HAHA! I was really looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077 but I learned from playing RDR2 that I just didn't have the time for those kinds of games before I quit gaming. Plus those games felt like a second job or life in a sense so it wasn't very fun for me. I was only able enjoy short online matches in games like World of Warships or BF4.

Skott said:
Looking for a new hobby myself. Been pc gaming since '93 and and getting bored by it all now.I still like to game but I want something to do away from the pc more often. I ordered a 3D printer. I find them fascinating so going to try my hand at making some things. Who knows where it might lead to. A new adventure!
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My new hobby is the gym again. I was in really good shape when I met my wife and now my old gaming time is going towards lifting weights again. I'm hoping to look damn sexy before end of Summer, lol.


Appreciate the support!
 
TangledThornz said:
HAHA! I was really looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077 but I learned from playing RDR2 that I just didn't have the time for those kinds of games before I quit gaming. Plus those games felt like a second job or life in a sense so it wasn't very fun for me. I was only able enjoy short online matches in games like World of Warships or BF4.



My new hobby is the gym again. I was in really good shape when I met my wife and now my old gaming time is going towards lifting weights again. I'm hoping to look damn sexy before end of Summer, lol.


Appreciate the support!
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God knows I need to go to the gym but I just never could get into doing workouts and stuff like that. Too much like work. lol But we just moved to a place with over 2 acres of land so I'll have plenty of yard work now so that's how i'll get a work out.
 
I definitely don't get much time to game these days with a kid in the house but I can usually squeeze in an hour a day if I want to. I adapted to it easily. Main reason I got into PC games was because I grew up in the middle of nowhere so there wasn't much else to do often. Don't get me wrong, I went outside plenty. Games gave me some variety.
 
quitting is for quitters! :-P my gaming has become youtube but, i also do projects like running Ethernet in the house and stuff.
 
cdoublejj said:
quitting is for quitters! :-P my gaming has become youtube but, i also do projects like running Ethernet in the house and stuff.
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Nice!

I finally arrived at a fiber backbone between each floor of my house and four Cisco switches in the most key locations of the house. Gb copper to all non-mobile devices.

Was/is a fun project. It’s great to try new things out before implementing at work :D
 
After having kids I've had almost zero time for games. I'll still fire up CS:GO for an hour or two with a few cold beers after everyone goes to sleep, but it's pretty rare.
 
TangledThornz said:
HAHA! I was really looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077 but I learned from playing RDR2 that I just didn't have the time for those kinds of games before I quit gaming.
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Yeah that is the problem with a lot of these games. Yes, you can play an hour or two a day, but I'll forget what happened in hour 5 of a 60 hour game 2-3 months later.
 
Whenever I read posts like the OP's, I can't help but shake my head in bewilderment at what I'm reading. It isn't as if you have to forsake everything else in your life to be a gamer or to enjoy gaming as a hobby. Posts like the OP's simply tell me that he (and others like him) with this mentality simply haven't learned to find balance in their lives. I have many hobbies and work two jobs for upwards of 60+ hours a week. Yet, I'm a gamer with nearly 2,000 hours in Destiny 2 since it transitioned to Steam. I've played other games as well. I do projects around the house, replaced the drivetrain in my Camaro and make time for my girlfriend and friends. I hang out with my friends almost every week and enjoy social gatherings with them fairly often.

Gaming isn't all or nothing. You can be a gamer and still make time for what's truly important.
 
Dan_D said:
Whenever I read posts like the OP's, I can't help but shake my head in bewilderment at what I'm reading. It isn't as if you have to forsake everything else in your life to be a gamer or to enjoy gaming as a hobby. Posts like the OP's simply tell me that he (and others like him) with this mentality simply haven't learned to find balance in their lives. I have many hobbies and work two jobs for upwards of 60+ hours a week. Yet, I'm a gamer with nearly 2,000 hours in Destiny 2 since it transitioned to Steam. I've played other games as well. I do projects around the house, replaced the drivetrain in my Camaro and make time for my girlfriend and friends. I hang out with my friends almost every week and enjoy social gatherings with them fairly often.

Gaming isn't all or nothing. You can be a gamer and still make time for what's truly important.
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That's great but are you married with children? Ain't gonna lie, if I was single with no children I'd still be gaming. When I was single I could game for several hours a day, more so on off days. After children my free time was about two hours a day, tops. Didn't leave me much time for anything else so a choice was made. I also wouldn't push someone to quit gaming as it could make them resentful.
 
Dan_D you must have found a way to untangle yourself from the dimension of time. (Quantum physics)

For the rest of us, we are still tangled up in the constraints of 24 hour illusion.

Alas, woe unto us, for we are flowing with the quantum dimension through quantized mathematical diffeomorphism invariance of the four-dimensional space. Resistance is futile.
 
UltraTaco said:
Dan_D you must have found a way to untangle yourself from the dimension of time. (Quantum physics)

For the rest of us, we are still tangled up in the constraints of 24 hour illusion.

Alas, woe unto us, for we are flowing with the quantum dimension through quantized mathematical diffeomorphism invariance of the four-dimensional space. Resistance is futile.
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Unless there are imperceptible to human extra spacial dimensions, and then time is a different property of spacetime. Not necessarily the fourth dimension. :p
 
TangledThornz said:
That's great but are you married with children? Ain't gonna lie, if I was single with no children I'd still be gaming. When I was single I could game for several hours a day, more so on off days. After children my free time was about two hours a day, tops. Didn't leave me much time for anything else so a choice was made. I also wouldn't push someone to quit gaming as it could make them resentful.
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I do not have children. Even so, I think the point still stands. Sure, that might take additional time until they become more self-sufficient, but I don't think it takes all of your time away. I know plenty of parents who are still gamers. No, they don't have as much free time as I do, but they didn't have to quit gaming to find a balance for these things.

UltraTaco said:
Dan_D you must have found a way to untangle yourself from the dimension of time. (Quantum physics)

For the rest of us, we are still tangled up in the constraints of 24 hour illusion.

Alas, woe unto us, for we are flowing with the quantum dimension through quantized mathematical diffeomorphism invariance of the four-dimensional space. Resistance is futile.
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J3RK said:
Unless there are imperceptible to human extra spacial dimensions, and then time is a different property of spacetime. Not necessarily the fourth dimension. :p
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It helps that I only sleep 5-6 hours a night at most. Its 4-5 hours or less much of the time. The times where I sleep less are often a result of on call weeks or time spent writing review articles.
 
Dan_D said:
I do not have children. Even so, I think the point still stands. Sure, that might take additional time until they become more self-sufficient, but I don't think it takes all of your time away. I know plenty of parents who are still gamers. No, they don't have as much free time as I do, but they didn't have to quit gaming to find a balance for these things.


It helps that I only sleep 5-6 hours a night at most. Its 4-5 hours or less much of the time. The times where I sleep less are often a result of on call weeks or time spent writing review articles.
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I don't know how you survive on <6 hours of sleep per night. I know my average hours of sleep was likely around the same for the first 3 years of having kids, but looking back it was a pretty rough existence. During that time, it was definitely a choice between sleep or gaming. Once a week or so I would get out of bed after the wife passed out and go game until around midnight.
As far as quitting gaming completely, especially to not set a bad example, I would echo what others on here have said about using it as an opportunity to teach about moderation. I think the key is to make it so that gaming is not seen as something you go off and hide to do by yourself. Once the kids got older, I moved to games that were more co-op/multiplayer focused, and more kid-friendly games. I try to treat the time as a special time/reward for after it is too late to play outside, and i switch that time up so that sometime it is board games/table games, some nights it is movie night, and then others it is playing games on the computer or console (and sometimes on their Fire tablets). The key for me is to make it a reward, not an expectation.
 
ThatITGuy said:
I don't know how you survive on <6 hours of sleep per night. I know my average hours of sleep was likely around the same for the first 3 years of having kids, but looking back it was a pretty rough existence. During that time, it was definitely a choice between sleep or gaming. Once a week or so I would get out of bed after the wife passed out and go game until around midnight.
As far as quitting gaming completely, especially to not set a bad example, I would echo what others on here have said about using it as an opportunity to teach about moderation. I think the key is to make it so that gaming is not seen as something you go off and hide to do by yourself. Once the kids got older, I moved to games that were more co-op/multiplayer focused, and more kid-friendly games. I try to treat the time as a special time/reward for after it is too late to play outside, and i switch that time up so that sometime it is board games/table games, some nights it is movie night, and then others it is playing games on the computer or console (and sometimes on their Fire tablets). The key for me is to make it a reward, not an expectation.
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5 hours is fine, 6 hours is really perfect for me. I can wake up fully rested and ready to go after that. If I sleep longer than that, I'll drag ass all day and need an absurd amount of caffeine just to get through the day. Beyond that, I do suffer from frequent bouts of insomnia or simply don't have time for it when work gets crazy. As a result, I've become accustomed to running on very little sleep. But, even when I'm on vacation and doing nothing at home (a rare occurrence), I still don't sleep more than 5 to 6 hours. When the insomnia hits, it's 2, 3, or none.

That aside, I agree with your assertion that the key is moderation. That's essentially the point I was trying to make.
 
TangledThornz said:
That's great but are you married with children? Ain't gonna lie, if I was single with no children I'd still be gaming. When I was single I could game for several hours a day, more so on off days. After children my free time was about two hours a day, tops. Didn't leave me much time for anything else so a choice was made. I also wouldn't push someone to quit gaming as it could make them resentful.
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I have young children (4 and 1), many of my gamer friends are slightly older than me and they have kids in the early 10s. While I can definitely say my gaming is a lot less than it was pre-kids, I also know from my buddies with older kids it is a phase and they spend more time with friends and less with parents, giving more time for parents to engage in hobbies.

I get 1-2 hours a day, at most, but often I prefer to take those hours and spend them with my wife and bank the gaming time for a longer stint on a weekend or something.

Honestly, your original post reads like you had/have an addiction rather than balance, and gaming doesn't really add anything to your life other than relaxation/entertainment. In that case you do need to take a break if not give it up entirely, life is balance and knowing what is most important to have your time, and entertainment (while not entirely worthless) is a pretty low priority compared to work, friends and family.
 
All things are good in moderation. Finding a balance of what makes you happy is best.
I am able for some gaming in, and still lead a balanced life. I just do not neglect other things for it.
 
I know guys at work who have 4 kids or more they are messed up beyond repair. Their kids heighten them their wives nag them they have no money and their job sucks to them anyway. Game development is like as 60s hippy who found the good stuff. LCD screens mess them up even more which is why 24.5 is the perfect size.
 
Hulk said:
You'll be back.

Cyberpunk 2077
/thread
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They always come back. Nobody escapes gaming :p

king homer laugh.gif
 
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