Board 8 > Has anyone here ever considered quitting video games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I know this is probably the wrong place to ask but I've been feeling like maybe I should take a step back from gaming lately. It hasn't been very much fun and I feel like I could be spending my time better. I still hang out with friends when I can but literally all of my other free time is spent gaming.

I've just been playing video games for basically my entire life so the thought is a little scary. I'm expecting some joke posts but has anyone ever taken an intentional long break from gaming?

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Since I can never juggle hobbies sometimes I take long breaks from them. Games will always be there. If they arent fun right now you might as well try some other hobbies.

Do what makes you happy. If youre feeling burnt out on games for the moment absolutely pursue other hobbies, but dont make yourself feel guilty about doing what you enjoy.

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If you're not having fun it's fine to take a break. I thought I was falling out of love with games at one point - at the time every game I played felt forced. I took about six months off before coming back and my fire's been burning hotter than ever since then.

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Yep.

I was going through a bad depressive episode in college and recognized that I was relying on gaming as a crutch to pass the time, but more just going through the motions and not enjoying them terribly much. I made a conscious decision to permit myself no more than 2 hours of gaming per week, forcing myself to go on walks around town if my goal was only to pass time.

All in all, I'm glad I did it even though I've upped my game time back up substantially since then. I actually enjoy the time I do spend on games, and am better about stopping when I identify that I'm no longer having fun.

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I sometimes go through phases where I don't play a lot, but I always know I'll get back to it eventually. I've been playing video games literally for as long as I can remember, so I'm not sure I'll ever totally quit. It's just part of who I am.

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I've definitely taken breaks on them before. I do think I'm going to reach a point where I stop buying new games however. I feel like the market trends just keep getting worse and I have a strong feeling it's gonna ruin the industry, at least for me

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Leonhart4 posted...

I sometimes go through phases where I don't play a lot, but I always know I'll get back to it eventually. I've been playing video games literally for as long as I can remember, so I'm not sure I'll ever totally quit. It's just part of who I am.

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I quit for most of 2016. I really only played Ratchet & Clank and a little bit of Pokemon Sun. Was nice to explore other hobbies but I got back to it in 2017.

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I get burnt out on hobbies at various times, and will often stop doing them for a while. Then when the love returns, I pick them back up.

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I only go through phases where I'm not gaming enough.

If I'm depressed, it's tough for me to do anything that's supposed to be fun. Playing lots of games is a sign I'm in a mentally great place.

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i went through a long stretch after college (a couple years) without playing after being an avid gamer. I found that my former video game time was just replaced mostly with tv/movies/internet browsing. That I changed when I bought myself a PS4 and got right back into the video game grind again.

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Yeah gaming definitely feels like I'm just using it to pass time lately/ I think it doesn't help that I play so many online competitive games but single player games offer so little challenge anymore after a lifetime of gaming. Like I just played through the new Paper Mario game (bad example because it was basically made for children) but there was absolutely no difficulty.

It's weird to say gaming has gotten a little boring just because I'm too good at it now but I think that's where I'm at lately.

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Then play on Hard Mode to start with instead of Normal mode

For games that have it, anyway, if you're looking for difficulty, Nintendo isn't the place to find it

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KamikazePotato posted...

Then play on Hard Mode to start with instead of Normal mode

For games that have it, anyway, if you're looking for difficulty, Nintendo isn't the place to find it

Play their NES and SNES Switch online stuff for that!

And also play Nier

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Or be a completionist!

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Yeah I even recognized in my post that Paper Mario was a bad example but I can't remember the last time I was actually challenged by a game that wasn't competitive online.

Might be tough but I think I'm going to try to at least cut down my gaming and see what happens.

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I still play a lot of games, I've just been putting them down when I'm not having fun and balancing my time more

For me, it's the opposite. It feels like I never put in enough time for games, which is a hobby I genuinely still enjoy.

It is important to fill in that time from not playing games to doing something else, whether it's reading more, doing house projects, cooking something new, or rather anything. Otherwise your brain is gonna go through a massive withdrawal.

On that note, there may be times where your brain puts up a resistance with whatever you're trying to do. That's normal, the brain generally doesn't like changes and will get you to do what it's already use to doing. Unless you take drastic measures, a lifetime habit isn't gonna reverse itself overnight. Just realize what's going on and continue doing what you set yourself to do.

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Paratroopa1 posted...

I still play a lot of games, I've just been putting them down when I'm not having fun and balancing my time more

yeah I have no problem dropping a game if I'm not enjoying it, which probably helps me avoid burnout

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I pretty much quit during the PS3 era. I played MGS4, the PW games, and Advance Wars and that was pretty much it. I know this might not seem like "quitting video games" but it's the closest I came.

I've thought about it and taken long breaks from it. It's not as scary as you think it will be, since you'll find other things to take up your time.

I've experienced gaming burnout a few times over the last ten years, and like many have said before, I found that it was just best to step away for a little bit and pursue other hobbies until the spark rekindled.

Since then I think there have been two main factors in ensuring that I now feel burnout in gaming rarely, if ever, and they are mixing in other hobbies, and not being afraid to stop playing a game I'm not immediately enjoying.

Based on your first post, it seems like the first factor may be good for you if you're spending most of your free time gaming. For me, I've always been a sports watcher so it was easy to have another hobby, but I also started reading comics and watching a lot of Twitch, and while there is definitely overlap in the content of my hobbies, rotating between them and giving myself periodic breaks from them has allowed them all to stay fresh and interesting.

The second factor saved gaming for me altogether. I always forced myself to finish a game that I paid real money for, and so often I'd slog through it, which made gaming a chore and a checklist for me. Since I've started putting down and not going back to games I didn't immediately enjoy, I've felt so much better about the hobby.

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Are games not primarily for wasting/passing the time anyway?

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I mean if your main intention is wasting time over having fun or being excited to play then it's a problem I think and that's where I'm at.

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skullbone posted...

I mean if your main intention is wasting time over having fun or being excited to play then it's a problem I think and that's where I'm at.

Yeah, this makes sense.

Personally I'm the opposite - like pj said earlier, if I'm feeling down then I don't feel I have the energy for games and will waste my time on other stuff. Gaming means that things are going well for me. So I've never deliberately taken a break from gaming. But in your situation it sounds like you could do with a break, or at least cutting down/rotating hobbies.
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Yeah when I'm in a depressive episode I just veg out on YouTube or some streaming service. Otherwise it'll feel like work trying to play a game.

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I pretty much only play video games when I have nothing better to do, and sometime I have a lot of better things to do that I don't play for weeks.

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skullbone posted...

I mean if your main intention is wasting time over having fun or being excited to play then it's a problem I think and that's where I'm at.

Yeah I agree with this wholeheartedly

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I'm starting to think this needs to be something I plan for and prepare for instead of just randomly jumping in on a Monday night. Like I'm thinking about what to do after work besides play video games and I'm completely at a loss.

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Maybe anime/manga/comics? Make a topic and you'll be swimming in recs. Or cooking (try a new recipe every night). Or some kind of nature/physical activity thing.
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Leonhart4 posted...

I sometimes go through phases where I don't play a lot, but I always know I'll get back to it eventually. I've been playing video games literally for as long as I can remember, so I'm not sure I'll ever totally quit. It's just part of who I am.

This. I've never felt so caught up in the hobby that I'd need to force a period of "sobriety", but a period where I'm gaming like a maniac is just naturally followed up by one where I take a break. This year is a perfect example: I overloaded on gaming during the first few months of COVID (Witcher 3 and Xenoblade back-to-back with a good handful of other games), but I haven't played anything for the past two months just because my mind/body told me it was time for a cooldown. I just can't sustain the SHINE schedule indefinitely.

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