"You Will Not Wish You Had Spent More Time Gaming"

[Fappy]

Gaming is a hobby. Unless you're spending all your time doing it I don't see how you can regret having spent time doing it. Just seems weird to me. Most people would be wasting their time in another fashion if not gaming.

 

[debtcollector]

If I was stuck on some boss or terrible level the day of my fatal accident, I'd probably have some fleeting thought as my life ebbs away to the effect of "well shit, I guess I'll never know how that plays out." (if it was a boss, I might even get some hallucination of him flipping me the bird).

That said, such a thought would be fleeting, and most of my fevered cripple thoughts would be devoted to, you know, friends and family and actual tangible people.

 

[Something Amyss]

I won't. But that really isn't different from most pastimes.

 

[Evonisia]

Most people don't say "I wish I had went to the pub more often" either.

I think the writer thinks that gaming is a job of some kind, or an obligation... it's really strange because it's not unless you make it so (like being a Critic).

 

[TheDoctor455]

Are you being serious?

No one, and I mean no one will ever be in their deathbed and say, "oh, how I wish I had Platinum'd New Vegas. Or no-scoped that fag in Blops." They will wish they had more time grilling on the porch with their friends and family, yes.

You obviously haven't read the comments section from that article yet, because there are some people claiming just that.

As for the supreme enjoyment of "grilling with friends and family" - why don't we spend all of our time doing that, then? Why play games at all? Why not just spend our finite time jamming in as much social interaction and mountain-climbing in as we can before we die?

What about playing games with friends and family. Is that better than grilling with them?

What about just sitting on the porch, not grilling?

Also "gaming" is a bit nebulous.

What about tabletop games? You know... the ones that are almost always multiplayer?

 

[Doom972]

I'm pretty sure most people regret more about what they didn't do when close to death.
Maybe on my deathbed I'll say "I wish I had spent more time playing sports". Everyone around would probably laugh.

 

[Foolery]

Isn't one the most common regrets of dying people, 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'? I spend more time reading and practicing guitar, gardening, etc, than gaming. Although, I wouldn't have met one of my best friends, who I hang out with in real life, had I not played Left4Dead online.

 

[Frotality]

spending more time with family is a common late-life thought because its what most people dont do; if they did, they would never learn to appreciate it in the first place. someone who spent their life making social progress would regret their lack of self-fulfillment instead.

most media exists primarily to waste your time, why you single out games is strange, but some has a purpose as art that expands your perspective and has all sorts of nifty benefits you might never appreciate or even realize. and of course, gaming is a sort of culture itself that unites people in the first place, and if you didnt waste your time with them you would never had met some of those people you regret not spending enough time with.

 

[Flatfrog]

For me, it'll mostly be regret that I don't get to see how things turn out in the future - as Christopher Hitchens said, the worst thing is not being told that the party's over; it's being told that the party's still going but you have to leave.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I'll be thinking: "why did I not murder more people? I could have gotten away with more." Am I joking? Just test me...

 

[COMaestro]

I'll agree with the author of the article that there is a lot of things to do in this world and a lot of things to experience and it is impossible to do them all. But, just because there are some things he considers "more worthy" of time doesn't mean I view them the same way. I am an introverted individual, meaning I am more comfortable alone or in small groups. I have a decent circle of friends, but if I am around all of them at once, I feel a bit uncomfortable. It's just too many people. Five to six at a time though, and it's all good. And we are friends because we share similar interests, which includes gaming of all kinds.

This article seems to only be counting solitary gaming, especially MMO's due to the mention of raiding. However, even that can be social and you can have friends online, even if you've never met them in person. If you're on your deathbed, who wouldn't want to be spending just a little bit more time with their friends, even if it is through a game?

For me personally, I could see having some regret that I didn't finish a game, so I didn't get to see how the story pans out. Same for a book, or a movie or TV series that I may not have seen. Because these are the things I enjoy doing. I also enjoy spending time with my wife and child (second one due in December), playing games with friends, going out to dinner, etc. Just because I don't want to climb a mountain or attend a family reunion (I go to them, but GOD they are boring) doesn't mean I'm wasting my life. It just means I'm spending it on things that matter more to me.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Thing is, I think those people know full well that they are wasting their time on this earth with virtual experiences while other folks are out enjoying The Real Thing. They won't admit it, obviously. I mean, really, who would? So when things like this come along and rub it in then some folks are going to get angry and defensive. It's only natural.

Does it REALLY matter as long as I'm having fun? I don't like just sitting on porches talking about weather. I don't like going to a noisy as hell bar and being surrounded by drunken idiots.
What I do like is playing games with friends and having blast.

People who think about what they will regret on their deathbed, or even think the question really matters beyond a joke, are just being ridiculous. If you did what YOU wanted to, then you didn't have a bad life.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

How is this news? At the end of the day we are social creatures. We crave experiences with other human beings more than anything else. Especially love. Why do you think so many people consider love to be the greatest thing in life? Because it is. Of course it's not gaming or watching movies, reading books or listening to music. It's all those things when we do them with people we love.

 

[FancyNick]

It's a bit late to start regretting things when you are on your deathbed.

OT: It's all perspective really. Some people enjoy games and people on the interwebs more than the "Real Thing" and that's perfectly understandable. To each their own. It is possible someone will regret not finishing that RPG or never getting around to playing that sequel. It will most likely not be the only thing they regret, as human's are complex, but it may certainly be one of them.

 

[Eisenfaust]

I remember seeing a picture somewhere, of the events gamers have experienced over their life - "I have saved the galaxy from the reapers, I have solved the mystery of the blah blah blah, and stopped the plans of whoever", and stuff along that line. I'm currently looking for the picture, but the feeling I got from it was that as gamers we have experienced... things... grand events and affected great outcomes, etc, and this has made it worthwhile. I can imagine that I would die regretting having not read certain books, and I can say the same for games, too - though that may speak more to "I'm going to die before I could finish a certain game", rather than "I wish I had spent more time gaming", but to me they seem somewhat similar

I regret my lack of specificity, but I honestly can't remember the things included

 

[Zenn3k]

On my deathbed (assuming I get one, shit happens)...I'll say: "I wish I didn't waste all my game time working".

There, feel better?

 

[Hambers]

From a subjective point of view any activity could be insignificant when looked back on from your death bed. No matter how worthy someone deems an event or activity in their life another person could look at it and question whether it was something that you should take pride on in your final moments.

Just because something might not have great significance in your life as a whole doesn't mean it isn't worth spending a few hours on, here and there.

I won't die wishing I'd spent more time showering but I won't be cutting it out my life.

Captcha: "Extra Cheese" I will die wishing I had asked for extra cheese?

 

[Roguelike]

Spending time with people > Spending time with gadgets.

Why can't I spend time with people while we spend time with gadgets?