I work a normal job, 40 hours a week pays the bills. I need to sleep and make sure I can get to work on time. I also live with my girlfriend, which can take up alot of time. So where the hell am I supposed to fit in my games? The whims of a job and personal life removes me from the gaming lifestyle I had grown so accustomed to over the years. Do I wish I had more time or more money for games? Yes... Am I going to get it? That's something completely different.
The major problem with growing up is that your priorities change. When I lived with my parents and worked full time, I did whatever I wanted and bought whatever I thought was cool. Now with bills, rent, and saving for the future, I can't afford to get everything. Hell, between sleeping, working, and spending time with the girlfriend, I have very little time to play games. Whether or not I want to get a game doesn't change the fact that I just can't play all of them. I have missed some really great games because I know I won't be able to make time to play them, Batman: Arkham Asylum comes to mind. At this point in time I would be lucky to get in 12 hours of gaming on my 360 and 4 hours of portable games on my phone.
Although I have lost the ability to play games for 45 hours a week, I have learned to be better at selecting quality games to get. I have purchased a total of 8 new games so far this year (no more planned) and no used games. As opposed to before, I would buy 10 games in a year (5 games in just the holiday season), and a large number of used games (anything that looked interesting). And while not all the games I bought this year were fantastic games, Brink was not one of those fantastic games, I did enjoy them for what they were.
What are games to me now? A hobby, not life. I used to completely troll game forums, play any game I could get my hands on, and play for 100% completion. Now, I can be happy with a game if I can finish the campaign mode and get in a bit of multiplayer. No need to complete it, no need to find everything, I just want to enjoy the game. I remember I got roughly about 3000 hours of play from Gran Tourismo 3, but I only put 300 hours into Forza Motorsports 3. While I did play GT3 for four years compared to the two for FM3, I got the same enjoyment out of the game. Was it because I was better now than I was then? Possibly, but I think it had to do with how I measure enjoyment in games. If I get an hour of two in on a game a day, I can be happy. If I make some sort of progress in campaign, I can be happy. If I can get one good game in with my friends, I can be happy.
I often wonder to myself... Will I ever stop playing games? Will I ever just be too old for this type of entertainment? Maybe... But that time is not now. That time may come sooner than I think, but until then, I will continue playing those games. I will continue to follow game news. And I will continue writing about games. Until that day comes, you can always find time to play with penSPED.
The major problem with growing up is that your priorities change. When I lived with my parents and worked full time, I did whatever I wanted and bought whatever I thought was cool. Now with bills, rent, and saving for the future, I can't afford to get everything. Hell, between sleeping, working, and spending time with the girlfriend, I have very little time to play games. Whether or not I want to get a game doesn't change the fact that I just can't play all of them. I have missed some really great games because I know I won't be able to make time to play them, Batman: Arkham Asylum comes to mind. At this point in time I would be lucky to get in 12 hours of gaming on my 360 and 4 hours of portable games on my phone.
Although I have lost the ability to play games for 45 hours a week, I have learned to be better at selecting quality games to get. I have purchased a total of 8 new games so far this year (no more planned) and no used games. As opposed to before, I would buy 10 games in a year (5 games in just the holiday season), and a large number of used games (anything that looked interesting). And while not all the games I bought this year were fantastic games, Brink was not one of those fantastic games, I did enjoy them for what they were.
What are games to me now? A hobby, not life. I used to completely troll game forums, play any game I could get my hands on, and play for 100% completion. Now, I can be happy with a game if I can finish the campaign mode and get in a bit of multiplayer. No need to complete it, no need to find everything, I just want to enjoy the game. I remember I got roughly about 3000 hours of play from Gran Tourismo 3, but I only put 300 hours into Forza Motorsports 3. While I did play GT3 for four years compared to the two for FM3, I got the same enjoyment out of the game. Was it because I was better now than I was then? Possibly, but I think it had to do with how I measure enjoyment in games. If I get an hour of two in on a game a day, I can be happy. If I make some sort of progress in campaign, I can be happy. If I can get one good game in with my friends, I can be happy.
I often wonder to myself... Will I ever stop playing games? Will I ever just be too old for this type of entertainment? Maybe... But that time is not now. That time may come sooner than I think, but until then, I will continue playing those games. I will continue to follow game news. And I will continue writing about games. Until that day comes, you can always find time to play with penSPED.
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