Gaming after the transition to adult life

[tippy2k2]

There really isn't a "transition to adult life". Life *is* transition. You are always going to be in a state of change. Sometimes that change will provide you more time for your hobbies, sometimes less. I know guys in their 40's who game more now than they ever could when they were younger. They just have more time.

But yeah. The change thing. Better get used to it buddy. You're just getting started.

That sums it up pretty nicely

I'm going to repeat a lot of BloatedGuppy's opinion here: That's life. When I was a youngion, I would game constantly, replaying the same game over and over and over and over and over again due to time and minimal income.

Now I have income but minimal time, which ultimately somewhat works in my favor. I have to pick and choose what is worth playing and what's not. On the negative side, I miss a lot of games but on the plus side, my games have gotten cheaper (So many great games come out that I don't have time for and they drop in price) and I've focused on great games. It kind of sucks because there are bound to be a few gems that were decried as terrible that I'll miss because they won't get a chance (Psy-Ops: the Mindgate conspiracy and Alpha Protocol both come to mind).

No more rambling, here's my point: It's all about balance. There is time for work and there is time for play; you just have to figure out how to make it.

*For a frame of reference: I am now 27 year old single :'( dude who lives in his own apartment, has about $70,000 worth of fudging debt due to student loans left, and a full time 9-5ish gig at a banking office. Oh God...my life is Office Space!

EDIT: Bitchin! I just did the math for my college loans (getting the interest paid for last year for that sweet tax write-off) and evidently I only have $51,953.34 left to go on my debt! Yah!

 

[gritch]

I can't really claim to have fully transitioned into complete "adult life" but I noticed a steep decrease in my gaming upon my start of university. I don't have nearly the amount of time I had in high school but now even when I have some free time gaming isn't necessarily my first choice. Don't get me wrong I still love to game but I just can't get as excited over it as I used to. I don't really see completely removing gaming but I'd imagine as I take on more responsibilities it'll become a less important part of my life.

 

[Xanadu84]

For me, my gaming time hasn't REALLY been interrupted very much. I work 7-4, and on the bus ride to work and back, I usually play a game of some sort. Ill exercise for an hour and a half, except on Thursdays which is D+D and Board Games night. A couple of nights a week, Ill do something for a few hours with friends or family, which leaves an hour or 2 for video games. On slow day with less to do, that's a solid 3-4 hours to game, read, watch TV, or waste time on the internet. I'm usually busy doing something on Saturdays, but my mornings are generally free, so theres a good 6 potential hours there. And sometimes Ill have a family dinner on sunday and its only mostly free, other times I have the whole day free for video games.

The only thing that has changed for me is my taste. I havn't stopped enjoying anything, but what I enjoy has broadened. Now, Id get board if I JUST played shooters, RPG's and RTS games. I also need an occasional weird indie game, an "Artistic" game now and then (You know what I mean, please don't open that can of worms), a platformer, an action game, an adventure game, something turn based...I still love a good mindless shooter now and again, but in my old age, I crave a larger variety of play experiences.

 

[SweetShark]

Yeah, I know this feeling myself, but it is not necessary transition. Just the lack of time you have for yourself the truth is...
Having a job is a real pain in this ass I must tell you, but satisfying I must say [for me anyway].

 

[TrevHead]

Expect to get your arse kicked on popular MP games by the kiddies you are able to put in more time than you. Especially if you are working long hours and are knackered when you get home.

If you end up working the graveyard shift get used to playing with other ppl in different time zones rather than the usual group you MP with.

 

[Tallim]

I'm 35 and although I don't have as much time as I'd like for gaming I do find that when I game I'm more interested in it than I used to be.

I've found as I accumulate responsibilities that games seem to be a more sound investment for my free time. It can take me most of a week to complete a 10 hour game whereas when I was younger I would have done that in a single session and felt a bit empty afterwards.

 

[BrotherRool]

Now that I've managed to obtain a full-time job, I've realised that all my free time wasn't so much spent gaming as it was killing time on the internet, reading people's opinions, to no great reward.

So if anything I actually game more.

* Read comment.

*Shut of computer and went to make some tea

Cheers =D

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I'm 35 and although I don't have as much time as I'd like for gaming I do find that when I game I'm more interested in it than I used to be.

I've found as I accumulate responsibilities that games seem to be a more sound investment for my free time. It can take me most of a week to complete a 10 hour game whereas when I was younger I would have done that in a single session and felt a bit empty afterwards.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The less time you're capable of spending on games, the more you appreciate it when you get to. ;D

I game almost all day. :s I'm in the midst of searching for a new job, but this place is kind of empty. There's one place where I'm basically a shoe-in, but nobody can be hired until a new assistant manager is found(which he told me he'd definitely call me for an interview). So I've currently got all the time in the world until I'm hired.

 

[Beautiful End]

Well, when I moved to a new house, I installed my consoles in my room as opposed to the living room. that way, I could play whenever i wanted, right? But my job and school and the sort never allowed me to play during the day. So I can only play after 8pm and I cannot go to sleep so late. So when I'm about to play, I gotta figure out what games I wanna play, how long and if I wanna play with someone.

So yeah, it's weird not being able to play whenever for hours and hours like I used to when I was a kid. but it's not that bad. I don't think I can give up gaming overall. So I play for a couple of hours per day, which is nothing. I have games that I haven't played at all and I've found myself not wanting to buy that many games anymore. I'm forced to make better decisions regarding my gaming habits and I guess I developed better taste buds for game, if you know what I mean. Even if I had plenty of time to play, I find myself getting bored of playing the same game, or different games, for hours. It's as if someone who loved cake ate cake nonstop for hours and hours. Even they would need a break.

So it's fine, really. Kinda makes you appreciate your hobby a bit more.

 

[The White Hunter]

Now that I've managed to obtain a full-time job, I've realised that all my free time wasn't so much spent gaming as it was killing time on the internet, reading people's opinions, to no great reward.

So if anything I actually game more.

I'm finding that, I'm currently unemployed so I'm lurking around the escapist and wasting my time and resources on the internet rather than gaming, when I was employed I managed to game a hell of a lot more.

I'll say the transition to being an adult barely changed anything, I was lazy as hell at school too but now I'm not lazing off homework for games, i just have nothing else to do.

Edit: You're right I've wasted 20 fucking minutes on this thread, thats 20 minutes I could have spent finally finishing Twilight Princess or something! See you in a week Escapist!

 

[The White Hunter]

Expect to get your arse kicked on popular MP games by the kiddies you are able to put in more time than you. Especially if you are working long hours and are knackered when you get home.

If you end up working the graveyard shift get used to playing with other ppl in different time zones rather than the usual group you MP with.

When I grew up I stopped playing popular multiplayer games, the frustration of playing with people who had 24 hours a day all week to devote to it wasn't worth the reward of an experience I'd already had.

Now I'm ploughing through half finished JRPG's and such!

 

[The White Hunter]

Yo folks! Long time no see. Let's get in to what I want to talk about. I've recently gone through a lot in life, from homelessness to post secondary to the 9-5 and grocery bills. And it's pretty much taken a big hit on my gaming. Checking over my steam list it's kind of funny that now when I have the income to buy games, I have such little time to play them. I've found myself setting up times for when I want to play games. It's become part of my scheduling routine, when am I going to play what game, will I play it with friends and when do we both have the time do it. These are issues I never really had in my old high schooler living with my parents life. It's been an interesting process coping with all this change and I'm glad I didn't have to completely give up this hobby.

I'm interested in hearing how you folks adapted a huge change in lifestyle without giving up this hobby. Or maybe you have given it up, I'd be interested in hearing why.

Just wait until you throw a long-term commited relationship into that mix, you lose a good 6 hours of game time a day to it!

Can't speak for kids, or much other adult stuff though, as I'm only 21 and stills tuck at home because the economy is friggin awful

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

I'm young yet but between my job and school I only have like one - two days a week for free time (when ignoring coursework haha) so I usually spend one of those days gaming from morning to night and the other with a friend (usually gaming anyway but its social gaming!).

I think my gaming will definitely drop off more and more as I keep progressing towards my degrees and certifications but hopefully after all that I'll have some time to kill with games.

Good ot hear life is getting better for you buddy!

 

[Zeldias]

Stress pretty much prevents me from doign stuff. A teacher's job is never fucking done. Especially if it's 4 or 5 Composition courses. I get so bent out of shape that I need to do something relaxing, and I really enjoy stuff like Bayonetta on Nonstop Climax (which is hard to rest while playing), so I end up playing bits of stuff like Thomas Was Alone or something that I can find some peace in.

I still have time for it, but I guess it's more of a passion for me than a hobby, so it's hard to stop. It'd be like giving up recreational reading for me; it's a part of me, I can't just give it up.

Plus my girlfriend is a gamer, so she doesn't cut into my time in that way. Usually she's telling me we need to play Orcs Must Die 2 or asking me about KotoR 2.

Captcha: Stinking rich? GTFO of here, captcha. On an adjunct's salary?

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I've recently started a 9-5 job after several years of working evenings. As a result I've found myself gaming less as my social life has improved by not working evenings plus I have less free time as before. I do still play games and strangly enjoy gaming a lot more when I grt the chance as I not just doing it to fill in time before going into work.

 

[Iwata]

I started gaming when I was 8-year old back in the 80's.

Now I'm married, I have a baby daughter, and I game as much as I always did through all these years. The secret? There is no secret. I just never stopped.