We've had a good run.

[StarStruckStrumpets]

Hello Escapist, we need to talk. I'll apologise early on, as this will come off as very confessional.

I've been a member of this community for a good 3 years now, and it's been absolutely great. Insightful articles, a wonderful community for the most part, not counting the influx of trolls we get around March, and the few holier-than-thou types here. I just want to say thank you for all the time I've spent here, and here's why.

Today I realised that I just can't 'game' anymore. I'm 17 years old, in college, with exams around the corner. Exams that could potentially make or break how my life turns out. The thing is, I'm something of a gaming addict. I've been playing games since I was about 5, and they're more than a hobby for me now. While I've thought I was enjoying myself, I've been putting life on hold. I've never revised for an exam, because games were far too time consuming and enjoyable. I've turned down dates to keep playing Mass Effect, and I've not gone out with friends because I had one last boss to beat. Today, I decided to pack it all in.

Today, I deleted all of my saved data that I've accumulated over my years of gaming, across the generations. PS1 data, all the way through to my Xbox 360 profile and PC saves, mods and games, with a few handhelds here and there. I've spent hours just looking back over the days I've wasted playing these things, just looking at my life unfold as I delete things save by save. It was hard. Unpleasantly so, but that's not what I want to talk about.

Due to this realisation, I need to distance myself from gaming, regardless of its delivery medium. As such, I'm saying farewell, Escapist. I've had a fantastic time here, debating over Philosophy, discussing industry methods, narrative techniques, and even role-playing with quite a few of you over my stay here. I want to thank Content Creators for keeping me entertained most days, you do an excellent, EXCELLENT job. I want to thank the Tech Team for ensuring that the site doesn't explode for any reason, if it weren't for you, none of us would be here. I want to thank everyone who writes the articles too. Despite some misleading titles on the odd occasion, if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't read at all. Most of all though, I want to thank you. Yes you, the community.

You've made me laugh, sometimes to the point where tears are rolling down my face and my belly aches.
You've made me smile, with your glorious puns on articles that go on for pages at a time.
You've made me sad too, with your life stories and misfortunes.
Most of all, you've been my friends. If it weren't for the Escapist, I wouldn't have met some of the fantastic people I have done.

Thank you for having me, Escapist. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your time here.

StarStruckStrumpets,
Signing off.

 

[lRookiel]

Ok.....cya! Good luck with your exams/life etc.....

I'll be taking your cookies now.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

He'll be back. They all come back in time...
*sinister smile*

 

[The Night Angel]

Couldn't you just wind down the number of hours you spend gaming?? It's what I did when I came to university. Play about 10 hours a week max now. Anyway, good luck with the exams and all. (I've actually been lurking on this site for years, just never made an account, so I've actually seen you around)

 

[bobmus]

This post made me feel sad. Is cold turkey really the route to go vis-a-vis gaming? I don't really think so, and I made it into university just fine...
Ah well, good luck, I guess.

 

[JimB]

Best of luck, StarStruckStrumpet.

...I really don't see the point in deleting every save file you've ever had. Erasing them doesn't erase the time you spent on them, you won't get them back so...what's the point?

If he's going to stop gaming entirely, then the save files aren't especially useful to him, are they? What's the point of keeping them? They'd just be a temptation to play again so he can revisit his past glories.

 

[LilithSlave]

You know, you could just box up your games.

I'll tell you what, though. I sure as heck wouldn't rather play Mass Effect than do other things. There's loads of things I'd rather study than play Mass Effect. I wouldn't say I love gaming more than any other hobby in life. I'd rather play games I like that study things I don't like. And I'd rather study things I do like than play games I don't like.

 

[Svenparty]

Just play less games...if it's effecting your life so much then you should cut down. What gets to me is the general "gamer" community. It seems to me heavily tied in with Memes and comic book movies. I don't really discuss games outside of playing them.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Now I feel bad for spending the last two days on The Escapist and playing Half Life 2 while ignoring my college work.

Damn you and your will-power.

I think spending a few days playing games and talking shit on the internet is justified once it's not a long-term thing. If you don't think you can cut down and have to just quit, you probably know what's best for you.

Good luck!

 

[Vancleef]

You don't really have to stop playing games all together... We're the same age, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

(Maybe things work differently in the UK, but... You go to college when you're 17? That's not how it works in Sweden, as far as I'm concerned...)


I hope things work out for you, though. I really do.

 

[Haunted Serenity]

21. I hold a house, stable job and am married. No kids but my life is decided by my cat. I still find time to push well over 10hours a week of video games while keeping my life in check. It's all about balence. Kudos for taking the "purge all" step. i hope it works for you. But that can come back to haunt you unless you find a distraction which going to post-secondary school, you will need.

 

[ElPatron]

I also found going in with a "I get what I get, that's that, no big deal just another assignment" mindset works far better than a "OMG GOTTA GET AN A GOTTA DO THIS PERFECT" mindset. I found the more I focused on getting some arbitrary score the less likely I was to pass it at all, whereas if I treated it like any other random piece of busywork I passed just fine.

Can't totally agree. I am someone who values his free time and therefore I am inclined to agree with your stance.

But I don't agree with the fact that we define what a student must know to pass, and he won't be able to get at least 90% of the test right.

I wasn't a great student but in many courses I found that it wasn't hard to get at least 80%. I don't think it's healthy to let children think they are only required to know 50% of what they were supposed to.

During college they will have a lot of opportunities to have C's.

(Maybe things work differently in the UK, but... You go to college when you're 17? That's not how it works in Sweden, as far as I'm concerned...)

I was 17 when I finished highschool and I was 17 when I applied to the Air Force. My 18th birthday was the 18th of September.

They still managed to send me the rejection letter before my birthday. Dammit, why did I had to remember this?

 

[Threeseventyfive]

Uh...

Why not just take a temporary break from gaming while you do important stuff IRL?
Why not leave your save data until you have more time?
Why not only game when you have spare time?

 

[Lucem712]

I'd suggest some moderation, my friend. You don't have to give it up, but you do have to set limits. I don't think going completely cold turkey is going to help your problem with games. If you treat it like some forbidden fruit, you could become even more sucked if you "relapse".

I wish you good luck in life and in all things.

 

[DANEgerous]

Awesome... just think of all the time you will spend playing golf once you get onto the business world. Yeah once I think of all the time I "wasted" on games I just go watch Golf, I even did a paper on this about how gaming addictions more or less are our golf.

How so you ask? same thing as games the days spent playing. Massive MASSIVE time is spent playing golf. I followed on golfer for 3 weeks, i knew his name, His wife's name, all 3 kids names and ages, his Dog and cats names an breads, his favorite sports teams, favorite food, color and drinks, occupation an about 70% of his seclude. How? He played 4-7 hours a day and talked all the time.

In short i guess i am saying i fail to see how time spent gaming to be honest on any hobby is wasted. I think of how much time i spend gaming and then the fact I do not have cable and all the time that saves and the fact i only play team sports means i play very little simply due to the fact it is hard to get a 5-5 game going. I think of this and erasing any save to me sounds as absurd as the golfer tossing is clubs in a wood chipper

 

[The Funslinger]

You know, you could just box up your games.

I'll tell you what, though. I sure as heck wouldn't rather play Mass Effect than do other things. There's loads of things I'd rather study than play Mass Effect. I wouldn't say I love gaming more than any other hobby in life. I'd rather play games I like that study things I don't like. And I'd rather study things I do like than play games I don't like.

In actually have a point relevant to this.

My last relationship lasted a month and a bit, from early February, to early March, and I'd been anticipating ME3's release.

Then my relationship ended, and looking back on that time, with this particular girl, I'd actually felt my nerdiness receding. It wasn't that she was trying to mould me in any way, it's just that I'd felt less inclined to do all that stuff. I'd been very happy in that month, and I'd never gotten to tell her. So, shortly after being dumped, my preordered Mass Effect 3 came. I cracked it open, and thought "yay, I guess..."

If I could have chosen between being able to game, and having her back, I'd have chosen her in a heartbeat.