Will you ever regret the time you spend gaming?

I regret spending over 1000 hours playing Dota and Dota 2 because it turned out to be very toxic to me. I promptly dropped playing Dota completely when I realised it added NO benefit to my life.

However, games like Battlefield actually make me feel BETTER after playing a round. Something which I could rarely say about Dota.

I know people cringe when they retrospectively look at their time spent gaming - but - in the same light, take "non gamers" and ask them to calculate the time they spend watching television. Mindlessly browsing channels and eating potato chips. I bet you it will be even more scary.

I've always stood by my point that I would rather play a multiplayer game with some local players and have fun for 3-4 hours, than sit behind a television like a vegetable. To me gaming > watching television any day of the week.

The only time I will sit back and watch stuff on TV is when I'm relaxing with my wife next to me and baby sleeping on me chest. In that case, nothing comes close.
 
In its entirety?

-No

Certain games I've played yes. The time wasted playing rubbish, and trying to find something good, reaping no benefits?

-Most definitely.
 
Hagan said:
In its entirety?

-No

Certain games I've played yes. The time wasted playing rubbish, and trying to find something good, reaping no benefits?

-Most definitely.
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Its a tricky one that... Because you never know if a game is going to be a waste of time until you get stuck into it... I dont have the time I used to to play games, and for this reason im very picky about what I play...
 
Not at all. Since the age of about sixteen, I have spent (pretty much) equal amounts of time in night clubs/house parties, partying as hard as I can; experiencing as much as I can; meeting as many new and interesting people as I can, and exploring as many games/game worlds as I can. My life experiences have been as obscure and fantastic as my gaming experiences. By society's standards, I lived excessively and gamed excessively, but I regret neither. I reject it's expectation that I should choose designer labels and heels over Diablo III tees and sneakers, or that I should be in possession of 2.5 offspring. I don't see myself conforming anytime soon ... Ironically, the same acquaintances who reprimanded me for the amount of time I spent playing World of Warcraft (in retrospect, a tad excessive) now spend their days glued to Selfiebook ... oh the irony! Additionally, my years of gaming have resulted in me making friends with interesting people all over the globe, and thus allowed me insight into their lifestyles and culture. Not to mention all of the local (and international) folks I've been able to meet up with and get ridiculously drunk so I could point and laugh or, for example, put day-old wors in their beds when they were passed out at 6 am on a Sunday morning ... just sayin' ...
 
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I only started gaming full on again about 7 years ago. Before that I did all the other stuff like travel and go out and party etc etc.
The only time I would regret gaming is if I willfully avoid an important family/friend function in order to game - and something happens to any one of those people. Considering I would never do that, I'm ok - I'd rather be doing something interactive that vegging on the couch like Neo said.
I also prefer to do stuff on weekends during the day, so I actually think I game more during the week evenings - just for relaxation after work.

BlackSwan said:
the same acquaintances who reprimanded me for the amount of time I spent playing World of Warcraft (in retrospect, a tad excessive) now spend their days glued to Selfiebook ... oh the irony!
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Oh I do love that one.

People that harp on about games being a waste of time are the same ones that fill weekends with 60 hours of series and movies.
And they're also under the impression that if you play games, then that is literally all you ever do. :wtf:

Also, don't pass out around Black Swan.
 
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Murph said:
People that harp on about games being a waste of time are the same ones that fill weekends with 60 hours of series and movies.
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Idd. And ironically, the same people who throw a shizzle fit about week-old spoilers for GoT and Vikings. Clearly, with all of my gaming, I still seem to be ahead. ;)

Murph said:
Also, don't pass out around Black Swan.
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Sage advice. *cough*Caboose*cough*. MUHAHAHA! :D

The Swan never sleeps ... E V E R ...
 
No. I don't buy games (especially MMOs) if they're overpriced and haven't gotten sufficiently good reviews. Thus far my intuition has served me well in that regard and I haven't ever spent money on a game that left me feeling disappointed.
 
Money can't buy time. Yoh...that's deep.

I don't regret what I've spent at all - I hardly ever buy games on release. Plenty happy to wait for the inevitable price drop or specials (and when you take into account Steam, Origin, Humble Bundles - that works out to virtually nothing)
 
Everyone's entitled to spend their time how they like, so I won't judge anyone for their opinion here. (This includes judging myself, since I started gaming on a C64 and continued on and off well into my twenties.)

However, to all those who've said that they don't game enough or wish they'd spent more time gaming: give it a few years and then look at your answer again.

No matter how much you love it, or you much you feel it defines you, or how much you rationalise that it's the best use of your time, I promise you that your opinion is going to change.

I first started to realise this around the time I wrote this article, and, looking back now, it's remarkable how oddly prophetic those events turned out to be. And if anyone had told me during my school or varsity days that I'd end up spending only a couple hours a week gaming, I would've asked them if they'd kept the receipt for that crystal ball.

TL;DR - Do gaming if it works for you right now, but don't be afraid that your opinion can (and very likely will) change.
 
Dan said:
Everyone's entitled to spend their time how they like, so I won't judge anyone for their opinion here. (This includes judging myself, since I started gaming on a C64 and continued on and off well into my twenties.)

However, to all those who've said that they don't game enough or wish they'd spent more time gaming: give it a few years and then look at your answer again.

No matter how much you love it, or you much you feel it defines you, or how much you rationalise that it's the best use of your time, I promise you that your opinion is going to change.

I first started to realise this around the time I wrote this article, and, looking back now, it's remarkable how oddly prophetic those events turned out to be. And if anyone had told me during my school or varsity days that I'd end up spending only a couple hours a week gaming, I would've asked them if they'd kept the receipt for that crystal ball.

TL;DR - Do gaming if it works for you right now, but don't be afraid that your opinion can (and very likely will) change.
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I'm turning 35 next week and I strongly disagree with this statement. :p

Of course I know it's different for different people, but I just don't see myself ever enjoying any other hobby.
 
To be honest. I used to feel that way too. But now, what i'm doing right now actually has something to do with games, and the great thing is, all the experience of playing games in my past (from playing games on SNES to Xbox to N-Gage QD), it actually gave me a lot of experience and information to help me with what i'm doing right now. I'm not an expert, but i'm glad i still have some personal experience of this field.
 
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