Gaming and Getting Older

For most of my life ive been growing up playing games.  My first game system was a SNES with games like Super Mario World, Star fox, and Donkey Kong country (yes i was a 90's child).  Throughout Elementary videos games were practically THE best distraction for me as i was growing up, In middle school video games dominated most of my social life since many of my friends at the time would go down to an internet cafe which was a block away from my school to play Counter Strike.  Then highschool started.  During my whole time in highschool i found it very hard to commit to playing any game...now that i think about it i dont think ive beaten any game that ive bought thoughout highschool.
 
For me so far i feel like im out growing video gaming as a hobby which really sucks for me but im pretty sure that alot of people that get much more busier feel this way, but i will try to get back into gaming during this summer when i graduate and hav emuch more free time

For most of my life ive been growing up playing games.  My first game system was a SNES with games like Super Mario World, Star fox, and Donkey Kong country (yes i was a 90's child).  Throughout Elementary videos games were practically THE best distraction for me as i was growing up, In middle school video games dominated most of my social life since many of my friends at the time would go down to an internet cafe which was a block away from my school to play Counter Strike.  Then highschool started.  During my whole time in highschool i found it very hard to commit to playing any game...now that i think about it i dont think ive beaten any game that ive bought thoughout highschool.
 
For me so far i feel like im out growing video gaming as a hobby which really sucks for me but im pretty sure that alot of people that get much more busier feel this way, but i will try to get back into gaming during this summer when i graduate and hav emuch more free time

You should play handheld games. That should help you get your gaming fix while you're busy.

OP: You're not alone in that market. I'm a 90's child here too; other interests have filled the void that gaming would have normally done when I was real young.
 
@Ace829: Agreed. Picked up a Nintendo DS and I do not regret it! Great for mass transit trips.

 Yea i gotta agree with Ave829 ive been playing around with my DS more often after i wrote this post and its giving me some enjoyment with my games, also of course my ipod touch is a great gaming device as well 

I would guess that it is hard to do leisurely things like gaming in high school. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?

 @damnboyadvance: yea it does buy i am graduating this year which is a good thing, and i guess this means a bit more free time till i go to college 

I think everyone feels that way once you get to a certain age, you just don't have the free time you did when you were younger and when you do play games you can't fully commit yourself to it because you know you should be doing something else. To play a game these days and get the enjoyment out of it that I got when I was younger is much more difficult.

*80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me..

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

" @Southgrove said:

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

Bro-fist to that. I'm approaching 30 way too fast for my liking. "

@s3ank1m: 
 
 
I have played a ridiculous amount of videogames in my life and like you (kind of? maybe?) my gaming lulled durring high school (I still played a ridiculous amount of videogames, the only difference was that I was always out with friends.) Now I've been in college for a few years, and two semester's ago I transfered to a new college. My gaming has gone from ridiculous to unhealthy habit. I don't know anyone here, there is nothing to do, and my classes take no effort.   I still love videogames, but god am I bored. They do get boring(ish) when you play them constantly, you know?
 
So rest easy young sir, your time may come again.... but you might want to hope it doesnt.

Personally, gaming has been a passion for me since I got my Sega Master System way back when. From there I played non-stop on various systems up until I was about 17 or 18, and then my gaming took a slight dip. Once I started university, and moved out to live with friends, it was a downward spiral. It was 9-hour Halo 2 marathons almost every night, and then after Christmas '05, the 360 came out and I was completely sucked into it.  

It got to the point where I spent so much time playing the 360 that I had to make a conscious decision to stop playing for a while. So I took a break for around a year or two, only gaming very casually for maybe one day every couple of months. That helped me strike a balance. This year however, the final year of my uni course, I have gotten back into gaming again, albeit in a much more concentrated and (semi-) organised fashion. However, I cannot wait until the end of my course in June when I can start really gaming again. 
  
Basically, if your life gets busier, expect your hobbies to take a back seat. If you really want to start them again, all you have to do is find a way to fit them into your timetable.

" @odintal said:

" @Southgrove said:

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

Bro-fist to that. I'm approaching 30 way too fast for my liking. "

Got four months left... O_o "

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

" @Southgrove said:

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

Bro-fist to that. I'm approaching 30 way too fast for my liking. "

" @Southgrove said:

" *80's kid* Yea, it gets worse.. trust me.. "

Bro-fist to that. I'm approaching 30 way too fast for my liking. "

f*ck it dude. lets go bowling.

I know what you mean, I noticed that I didn't like playing games as much as I used to around the time I turned 18, it got progressively worse and there was a period where  I just didn't play anything or visit any gaming sites for a 7 month stretch. 
 
Once I purchase a game I usually lost most interest in that title I had been anticipating, it is really weird and I wish I could explain why I do that. I tend to enjoy games I picked up on a whim a whole lot more.

I went from 12 hours gaming sessions a day down to just 1 hour a week. I would never have predicted that.

I love these types of posts.  God, I wish I was a "90's kid" but I cut my teeth on the coin-ops that your parents played when they were my age back then.  I only finish about 10% of the games I start and I can go weeks without picking up a controller.  None of that matters to me though because when I get to urge to play for a bit and I've got some free time, I still enjoy the hobby.  I don't let it define me nor do I restrict myself to any standard of what it means to be a gamer.  I game, therefore I am.  I believe too many kids who grew up with their SNES's and Mega Drives created an image in their mind of what it means to be a gamer.  Any politician or artist might try to project a desired identity to the public, and we gamers too often do the same even if that public is just our fellow gamers.  So, one day we wake up and see that our lives are now greater than our hobbies and so there is a loss of identity.  Our other interests have expanded and we've grown beyond the limited confines created during childhood.  None of this means we have to stop being gamers, we just have to stop worrying about it.  This is supposed to be fun.  If you find that only one title interests you during an entire year then so what?  Enjoy that one game then go read a book, take an art class or bake some fudge.  Explore other activities and when you're done, check out Giant Bomb or stroll into a BestBuy and see if anything catches your eye.  If so, try it out and if not, then go on with your life.  Don't fret over what you've lost, just enjoy the present for what it is. 

The older I get the more I hate unnecessarily long games. Streamline your shit bro. I would rather play a tight and action packed 6 Hour game then one padded with needless backtracking and other crap to pad the games length past 10 Hours. Wind Waker has probable been the biggest offender in this regard though the recent Castlevania games have been getting so you have to farm certain rare monsters for their even rarer drop items if you want the "good" ending.