Quitting Video Games (adv)

[Dannyboy]

Hey guys.

So, I decided a couple of days ago to quit playing video games. I just felt like I was spending too much time playing games instead of doing things other people actually value, like learning to play guitar, actually writing stories like I always claim that I'm going to do, and so on. So, I went ahead and changed my password on steam to some unmemorable string of numbers, and deleted the program.

It's been okay so far, I've actually started reading some classical literature that I "never had time for" before, I've stopped staying up so late, and I've begun exercising daily. My only problem right now is that the desire for what games provided me still lingers. I yearn for the for the sense of achievement it used to give, for the giant fantasy worlds it used to be able to explore. I'm not a good enough writer yet to get the same feeling from my own stories, I honestly don't know if I'll ever be good enough.

So, the question is, do you guys have any idea what I can do that is productive that could give me the same sense of fulfillment that games used to?

[bomaye]

Tabletop RPGs (though that's not one of those things that other people value).

Game design in a way can do that.

Though there isn't a lot that replicates what video games offer when it comes to exploration unfortunately.

[BasedBuzzed]

Watching playthroughs, boss compilations, etcetera, and discussing the themes and design with others on the internet.

[Enail]

If you're not doing much fiction-reading, maybe pick up some fantasy and sci fi? It's not as much a directly productive thing as writing or playing guitar, but it's good for your writing and might give you some conversation topics, and it would give you some of that immersion and exploration. And it's good to have something you can pick up when you don't have the energy or brainspace to actively create things.

[Jayce]

My relationship with video games have definitely changed over the years, the first game I ever played was Adventure Quest, which was an online rpg game, so already I was drawn to pc gaming online. Then I started my first mmo, Runescape, a year after, which I played a lot, during that time I discovered the Moba genre, long before it became this popular (it was back in the Warcraft 3 days in 2005-2006), all of this was fine and all and I played video games until 11th grade, where I spent 2 years studying to get to university so I quit gaming. I came back in 2013, I played quite a bit, on and off until last year where I decided that being at university, would clash too much with video games so I decided to quit video games. But I couldn't quit completely because I played video games all my life and had that itch so I looked for a game that would not require much commitment so I found Hearthstone. However after playing a bit I realised that I'm tired of player vs player games, I'm not bothered to compete with other people anymore, so I quit that as well.

So in the end I ended up finding out about the Japanese rpg mobile game genre, and they had a game based on one of my favourite fantasy manga of all time, one piece. It's not the most complex game compared to the others I've played in the past but I find the game a good fit for me, it dosen't require much commitment at all. Runescape is an really old game now so they only release new quests every two months or so, so I just play the game once every two months for a couple of hours which is nice.

Personally I liked the continuity aspect (where you get to lvl up your character like going from farm boy to great hero), I also liked the online community aspect, I also liked games where you had to think to win but still enjoyed the action paced aspects of it, I enjoyed being a part of a fantasy universe where you can immerse yourself in.

I also found out the reasons why I'm quitting besides not having enough time for them, I just didn't feel like committing my time to doing things like learning to play many heroes & their matchups, playing the game enough so I can still compete, or even doing things like grinding levels in an mmo. I realised it's something I don't want to commit to at the moment, or in the near future.
In addition I'm one of those people that don't play many games, but the ones I do play I play for a long time so once I put my accounts down I don't have the urge much to start playing new games, and the ones I do already play I know the exact reason well enough why I'm not playing them.

These days it's still an ongoing battle, like last week I downloaded Hearthstone again, after talking with someone that played it, played a game, and instantly realised why I dropped it in the first place and un-installed. Having good understanding helps, I don't want to completely shut down my League of Legends accounts cause that game is really big and who knows if one day I graduate and have time for it again, so two weeks ago I re downloaded and logged in and played one game so my account won't be inactive for over a year or so. Even though I won that game, I was still able to un-install after one game, in the past I would've played four more until I remembered why I'm quitting in the first place. So things like quitting can take practice.
Not having easy access helps, League is like 3gb which takes my computer a long time to download so I'm never tempted to go on it, in comparison hearthstone is like 500mb and available on tablet. I've definitely re downloaded hearthstone more times than League of Legends which I've never re-downloaded based on an addiction whim.

I've never completely quit, I just heavily moderated my gaming and stuck to games that don't require too much commitment.

My advice is just to do what you can and find out what works for you, if you fail a couple times, don't beat yourself up for it, and continue to practice, it's definitely a skill.

[bomaye]

Something else I thought of

When you're playing a game: are you unconsciously smiling?

If you're not, you're not actually enjoying yourself. A lot of games are designed to be addictive hamster wheels, which can be fun for a bit but eventually becomes a chore to complete.

Also also, are real life achievements going well? A lot of people use game achievements as a kind of fast-food way to feel accomplished when it's not going well in their real lives.

[Hirundo Bos]

I'm not, at present, trying to quit games myself, but one thing I have that satisfies many of the same needs is making something with my hands. It can be anything really, depending on what works for you, but my case, it's cross-stitch embroidery. It takes consentration, provides slow, but measurable progress, and it's definitely a skill to learn, practice, master. It even puts me in something like the flow state I get when I play games.

[eselle28]

I second Hirundo Bos's suggestion to consider some kind of handcrafting if you're finding that you miss small, achievable goals, having something to keep your hands busy, or want something to do that can be combined with talking to people or watching television. I cross stitch and crochet, and they fill in some of the spaces in my life that were filled by MMO type gaming. I think it's because they're slow and steady and you can kind of get a soothing rhythm going the same as you can while leveling or grinding.

For exploration, have you considered doing a real world explorer morning. For instance, you could say that you're going to go to the next town over or that neighborhood you rarely go to and, without a specific tourist destination, walk around a bit and poke your head in the stores there and just see what it has to offer. That's obviously contingent on transportation and neighborhood safety, but I know someone who has an Elder Scrolls habit who does that when trying to take time away from gaming.

[reboot]

Geocaching is another option for the feeling of exploration and achievement

[sky]

Geocaching is another option for the feeling of exploration and achievement

There is also Letterboxing, which is similar to Geocaching, but you get to carve your own rubber stamp. Finding the letterboxes depends on following written directions and/or solving clues instead of using GPS coordinates.

[Dannyboy]

Thanks for your support everybody!

I've relapsed a couple of times, but for the most part I'm sticking to it. Thank you, reboot, for introducing me to Geocaching. I did my first Geochache last night and, while I didn't succeeed, it was fun all the same.

I've thought about maybe taking up wood carving (whittling), though I don't know if I'll be any good at it.

Thanks again, everyone.

[reboot]

Like any habit you are trying to break, there are going to be relapses. Glad you enjoyed geocaching! Wood carving sounds cool, but also something you will not know you are good at until you do it for a while.

There is also Letterboxing, which is similar to Geocaching, but you get to carve your own rubber stamp. Finding the letterboxes depends on following written directions and/or solving clues instead of using GPS coordinates.

Oh cool! Thanks for the recommendation, sky, I am trying this. There are a bunch of Letterboxes in and around where I live

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