Serious question for all the hardcore gamers in here... (WoW fans, etc.)

[ragazzo]

No regrets. I'm doing something I enjoy. They only time one should have regrets is if playing games adversely affects school/relationships/etc. But if you use it in moderation as a tool to relieve stress, then it's worth your time.

 

[konakona]

No hard feelings, I am yet to see anything close to offensive in this thread from either sides. Actually, this reminds me of a conversation i had with my dad a while back, him being roughly in the same generation as yours.

I believe this difference in our outlook on the wise and constructive use of time stems from the fundamental difference in how we value and define "success"; personally, it is the state where you can indulge yourself in what you care the most about without too many constraints, be it family, academic
research, hunting, computer gaming or whatever. Not everyone in this world has to be laywers or doctors, and I do not plan on becoming on one. For instance, some of my acquitances happened to be very successful in raking in money in the stock market; these people portray the very kind of success that our society look up to : top notch education at prestigeous schools, no financial worries to speak of, good education for kids and comfortably settled in a sercure setting and all. This is quite an antithesis of the kind of life I am in pursuit of. In some sense, I could be classified as an unmotivated individual, but I have neither the desire for obnoxiously luxurious house and/or prohibitively expensive cars, nor a family at the cost of being too tied up to respnsibilities and too short on time to engage in activities I would have enjoyed otherwise.

While what you have suggested one might have done instead of gaming isnt exactly what i described above, but you get the idea. There is no rule that says you have to follow the 'successful' or wholesome' image created by the society to feel good about yourself or life you live. Video games have came a long way since the days of Pac-man and with the advent of MMORPGs, they can no longer be dismissed as trivial and unconstructive waste of time; rather these games may become one of those things that define your identity and you can associate yourself with. This is no different from say, we ATOT geeks create this self-image upon ourselves as an ATOTer by posting here. Strictly speaking, participating in internet messageboards is just another way to waste of time; however it could be viewed as a learning experience as well.

In fact, time and again I regret not being aware of a great game or anime I could have enjoyed ahead of time only if I knew about them earlier. Like you said, I could be playing WoW some 30 or 40 years down the road when I am ready to retire, but that will never have the same meaning or offer the same kind of experience. Sometimes it is painful to be reminded I am unable to appreciate a certain work of art in the same context I would have when the developers just made it available for the rest of the public, fitting for that time frame. I find it a worthwhile compromise to make, even when I am aware my future career may have greatly benefited from allotting less time for pleasure now; I place my life as a satisfying experience above seven digit income.

All this, of course, comes with the premise that this deep-rooted enthusiasm towards one's hobby does not get in the way of maintaining an ordinary socio-economic status and economic independence, and thus my definition of sucess - the ability to do stuff you like without too many constraints, financial burden being one of them. Like they say, moderation is key.

As I have stated earlier, I have never regrtted wasting time with my gaming / anime related endeavors, and i highly doubt that would change any time soon. Yet an agnostic person I am, so I may see things differently from the way I do when I reach 50-60. Sorry if my rambling sounded too naive and utopian since i am only 23 and through my second year in college without experiencing the hardship and hassle to get a job. Let's hope the reality of corporate world I will face one day doesnt turn out to be too harsh.

Oh yeah, I do hang out with friends all the time... it just so happens that many of them share the same hobby with me, so we do a lot of anime watching or discussion together, play games and so forth when we hang out

 

[FFactory0x]

Not really. Im in college, i go out and party but that gets boring. Plus i have so much time on my hands whatelse ould i do

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Tomato
Do you ever think that when you're 40 or 50, you'll regret spending 20-30+ hours every week of your youth/"prime" trying to advance in level or acquire more gold pieces?

Do you think you'll look back and wish you had spent more time playing sports, enjoying the outdoors, flirting with girls, hanging out with friends, etc.?

Just wondering, no offense intended.

Well, that's in interesting question, because your assuming gaming is a waste of time (relativly speaking). However, I'd disagree. In the last couple of months I am hearing more and more about the benefits of gaming. First I saw something on TV (was a little while back, not sure what station/show, sorry) where they were reseaching the eye-hand coordination of surgeons. They found that dr. that played games has much better eye-hand coord., they recommended gaming to the other drs. to improve that skill (specifically they mentioned first person shooters, which focus on eye-hand coord.).

Then my wife says she saw something about how video games are like puzzles, in that they excersize your thinking abilities. They basic position was: if you think more, you are more capable of thinking.