22 replies to this topic

[TRAViS]

So let's see. People get interventions for a lot of things. Whether it's for excessive drinking or drug abuse, family matters that show a lack of care, or even simply you-need-to-move-out-now-that-you're-40, it'll likely happen at some point to every one of us since nobody's perfect. I've come to learn this.

What kind of intervention do I get? A gaming intervention.

You're probably thinking, "man, he must play an awful lot of WoW or something," but rather this is just drawing attention to my overindulgence in racing games, music games, and in general any game as shallow as a puddle that falls in line with an arcade game. Basically, I'm being forced to play nothing but games with a plot and story for a full week.

Starting about 3 years ago, after I got my first job, I finally reached the point where I bought a video game and didn't have the time to play it through to completion (nor anywhere near it). So I had to put that aside against other important things like work and a social life (as much as a gamer can have). Then after a while another new game came out I just had to play. That also didn't get completed, so now I had multiple games sitting around waiting to be beaten. When I had time to game I flocked right back to the quick-fix shallow-as-hell games, nearly all of which were racing, music, or arcade genres. These would consume hours of my life at a time, and nothing would get done. I would mysteriously vanish and come back from the games having accomplished nothing to progress with anything. This went on up until today.

Right now, I have a "backlog," as I call it, of nearly 50 quality game titles that I've skipped over time and time again just to go and play something mind-blowingly simple. Some of the more notable ones include Sakura Wars, Tales of Symphonia, Xenosaga II, Devil May Cry 3, Sonic CD, The Godfather, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, Shenmue, and more. I know half of you would kill for these games.

Forum regular Murasaki Doku (the ringleader of this intervention) calls this a form of rehab. I call it a form of torture. I've been in it a whole hour and 35 minutes and I'd kill for a round of Mario Kart. The point of this thread is to get opinions on interventions in general and any experiences you've had and how to get through these things. As minor and pathetic as this intervention sounds, it's already tearing me apart. The games are under lock-and-key and there's no way I can get to them now. I handed my parents the keys and told them not to give them back to me for ANY reason until this Saturday at midnight. God I hope I can hold out that long.

[Murasaki Doku]

Remember, TRAViS. We're doing this...because we love you.

and when I say "we" I mean "I".

[Bannipper]

I hope you can get through this alright. There was this one time where I had to make sure I muted the T.V. whenever I played Simpsons Road Rage because of its language (I was in Latin HAHAHAHA). Seriously, though, I got through my pickle with a little patience, and a little determination.

[iLLViLLAiN]

I know how you feel. Earlier this year I packed up my PS3 because I was playing it too much and I was failing really bad. The urge was so intense. A day later I took it out of the box and began playing it nonstop. I may join this little intervention. I have been doing nothing but playing video games since I got out of high school. I really need a job.

[DAiLiGHT]

I know how you feel, TRAViS. But remember, try occupying your time with things that sort of FEEL like gaming, like screwing around with the settings on the microwave or pressing all the buttons on the blender. That's what I do. Then I just imagine the blender is a Gamecube controller and there's a screen in front of it and I'm golden.

No, seriously, I actually do this.

[Penelopi]

I know how you feel. Lent usually gives me that feeling. Last Lent was terrible. I gave up playing the Wii. After only 6 days of playing it. We hadn't gotten it until the Wednesday before Lent. Of course, the only game I was really playing on it was JoD. I let my friend borrow it (JoD) so I wouldn't be tempted to play it. I didn't even play the Wii on Sundays. That is, until I found out that the reason you're let off on Sundays is because they aren't even counted in the 40 days of Lent. So I played Ocarina of Time on the Virtual Console when Sunday rolled by. I was missing my NiGHTS game, though. I tried to distract myself with a little project to get the original game. The Saturn came in, then NiD the Saturday after, and I had tons of fun. But I felt guilty because I might as well be playing JoD on the Wii, so I gave that up, too. I asked my friend to give JoD back to me in time for the last Sunday before Easter, and she did. I was so happy when Easter started. But next year it'll start all over again...

[Shia Hatsune]

Ouch. I know how it feels.

This isn't a gaming intervention, but kinda. I had a big big problem with my computer. Like, I HAD to be in front of it or on someone else's computer to just feel.. right. When I wasn't near it, I felt nervous and just weird. It was driving me away from my friends, because whenever I was invited over, I'd just go on the computer. Or when my family wanted to see me, I'd lock myself in my room with my comp.

But then I got NiGHTS JoD. And I couldn't play the Wii in my room cause my TV is ultra tiny.

So! NiGHTS got me outta my room, and off of my computer. Is it corny to say that NiGHTS helped me? Haha, whatever. He totally did.


My mom was like. "Okay, we got you outta your room, now we need to get you off the couch"

Rawr, one step at a time

[iLLViLLAiN]

Ouch. I know how it feels.

This isn't a gaming intervention, but kinda. I had a big big problem with my computer. Like, I HAD to be in front of it or on someone else's computer to just feel.. right. When I wasn't near it, I felt nervous and just weird. It was driving me away from my friends, because whenever I was invited over, I'd just go on the computer. Or when my family wanted to see me, I'd lock myself in my room with my comp.

Wow I'm sorta the same way. I have trouble talking to people off of a computer because it takes a while for me to say just the right thing and I often hide myself in the house in front of a tv screen playing games or on the computer because I'm a pretty antisocial person.

[DAiLiGHT]

I tend to live by the deep, complex meaningful philosophy of "People f@(%!^& suck."

Therefore I am never seen out of my room unless it's to go to the bathroom or eat food.

[TRAViS]

Here I am just trying to expand my gaming horizons, and it sounds like we're uncovering larger issues here o_o

People, as much as we call ourselves gamers, or love to be them, social lives have to take precedence. I can understand extended game sessions if nothing else is going on, but if you lock yourselves up from society and live by the glow of a screen, then you have larger problems than I can fathom. The only reason I've had extended play sessions a lot this summer is because all my friends around here are working in retail like I am and our schedules never line up to go do stuff. As a result when one of us is free, most everyone else isn't.

But yeah. Live a little. Games don't move on. People do. Don't put the games first. If you do, then I challenge you to join me for the rest of this week. Just a few days without your favorite video games. Even if you just do what I did and lock up the ones you play continually, just get outside of your comfort zone and force some change. I guarantee it'll be for the better.

Oh, and.

I tend to live by the deep, complex meaningful philosophy of "People f@(%!^& suck."

If you think like that you're going to miss the beauty and purity that lies right in front of your eyes.

[Murasaki Doku]

If you think like that you're going to miss the beauty and purity that lies right in front of your eyes.

Yeah! If TRAViS didn't drive [insert number of miles] from New Hampshire to Connecticut, I still wouldn't have played the original NiGHTS into Dreams or...um...hung out with him as much. Yeah.

[DiGi Valentine]

Basically, I'm being forced to play nothing but games with a plot and story for a full week.
God I hope I can hold out that long.

and then

But yeah. Live a little. Games don't move on. People do. Don't put the games first. If you do, then I challenge you to join me for the rest of this week. Just a few days without your favorite video games.

I dunno but to me this sounds a liiiittle contradicting, Trav man.

Games with nothing but a plot require more time to play them because they're deep and involving. Doesn't that take you more into the game rather than away from gaming altogether? I know that if i was to go and put Smash Bros on i'd have a quick play session for about 20 to 30 minutes and i'd be done thus leaving me the rest of the day to hang out with the wife (if she ain't busy) or go and do something else more sociable. However, if i was to go and play a game with a story ...say Devil May Cry or something...then that would keep me playing longer because there is a storyline unfolding after every level i complete therefore i'm sitting there longer.

Personaly, i think if you really wanna do something to be proud of and do a REAL intervention, get off the games completely for a whole week, not just your favourite games.

[iLLViLLAiN]

I already f'd up. I was testing out the new flip top on my pstwo when all of a sudden I caught myself playing the sonic mega collection lol. I'll try again next week I guess.

[DiGi Valentine]

Oh, i see. TRAViS wanted to stop playing short quick games and play the longer games on purpose. I understand now.

Still, i think it would probably do you better to try and cut back on games in general for one week. That would probably be more rewarding than playing longer games. Playing longer games in place of shorter ones kinda defeats the point of having an intervention of sorts, i think.

[TRAViS]

Well you see, the point of this little change-up is just to try some of the games I haven't had a chance to play. Believe it or not, I've gone for a week or more without games up at uni since there's just so much more to do with friends than huddle around a TV. I'm just doing this because my summer is dead and some people think the fact I play racing games almost exclusively is just driving me around in circles. And believe me; trying to play anything but racing games is pretty difficult. RPGs and adventure games bore the ever loving crap out of me...

...which means I've actually been playing a ton less...my gaming sessions yesterday cumulated to about an hour and a half (as opposed to the usual 6 or 7 that reach far into the early morning...).

[TRiPPY]

I remember when i used to play my Saturn every single damn day... completely ignored all the other games too >.>

[MidgitLD]

XD We know which one yoooouuuuu were playing, Lynne.


As for myself, I've gotten (due to family stress and my room likes to randomly explode with junk everywhere) to where I only binge play every so often. I'll go weeks or months without so much as looking at my TV and consoles, then BAM I'll clean up some and sit down in front of the TV and off I play for many magical hours. Then sudden, I won't play.

This is probably a good thing, as it does leave some time for a social life. Sadly, though, my area doesn't exactly promote such a thing.

[Murasaki Doku]

XD We know which one yoooouuuuu were playing, Lynne.


As for myself, I've gotten (due to family stress and my room likes to randomly explode with junk everywhere) to where I only binge play every so often. I'll go weeks or months without so much as looking at my TV and consoles, then BAM I'll clean up some and sit down in front of the TV and off I play for many magical hours. Then sudden, I won't play.

This is probably a good thing, as it does leave some time for a social life. Sadly, though, my area doesn't exactly promote such a thing.

Sounds like me, actually... >>

[Nemoide]

Addition and I go way back!
I used to smoke cigarettes all the freaking time. Eventually I decided spending my money on things that cause health problems was not a good idea? So I quit, pretty much cold turkey. I said "if I can last one day without smoking, I can last any day without smoking. Eventually a week went by (which was hellish). Then another (which was also hellish). But after that things began to get easier and now I feel I have pretty much mastered my habit. Now I'll only buy one pack of cigarettes a year, no exceptions. (This is more than some folks but I still consider myself "master of habit"). I did it entirely myself though, so I have no "invervention XP".

Wait, what was this thread about again? Video games?
For me gaming is cyclic. I've gone for up to a year I think without playing anything at all. Gaming just doesn't enter my mind. Then I enter a period of HARDCORE GAMING in which I'll spend a couple hours a day working on an old-school RPG or honing my skill with a "simple" game like NiGHTS or Space Harrier. After a few months of hardcore gaming, I again lose interest for a while and stop playing for a few months.
I guess this is like MidgitLD or Murasaki Doku but with a longer "on" time?
Now I'm trying to play DDR every day though. So I'll be exercising and such? Also I want the skills of a master. So maybe the "on" mode I'm currently in will last longer than usual perhaps?

ANYWAYS, GOOD LUCK TRAViS!? I know what it is like to have collections that pile up unused. Sadness! But maybe if you do not like RPGs or adventure games you should not be playing them at all?

[Rhapsody]

I used to have a really bad problem with over-gaming, but now i'm over it. It's my brother i'm worried about. Every year when school starts, my mom keeps our gaming down to a minimum of two days a week, sunday, and holidays. My brother has such bad withdrawal symptoms that it often leads to depression, and school starts in three days! And he's only twelve. When we try to tell him this or take away his games, he'll claim crazy things to make us seem like the bad guys. He is going to a new school, however, that does a lot of fun, distracting things (like taking international trips).

My dad says people should play less of the engrossing, newer games and go back to the limited-plot, original classics like the original Sonic or Mario, or his favorite, Namco's Mappy.

[Musashi_HUmar]

I just think the whole concept of an intervention is stupid. First of all, the only way someone will ever stop doing something is if they WANT to. At the intervention, the person can go along with everyone and say they'll stop doing whatever it is they're doing. But once everyone leaves, what do you think they're going to do? So the moral of the story is, is that a person can only change if they want to. They can't be forced.

[animejosse]

So the moral of the story is, is that a person can only change if they want to. They can't be forced.

Especially if they're no aware of/doesn't think they have a problem. If it's done by choice, there's a much better chance of it working.

[Murasaki Doku]

I just think the whole concept of an intervention is stupid. First of all, the only way someone will ever stop doing something is if they WANT to. At the intervention, the person can go along with everyone and say they'll stop doing whatever it is they're doing. But once everyone leaves, what do you think they're going to do? So the moral of the story is, is that a person can only change if they want to. They can't be forced.

Yeah, and humans are just as predictable as the color of the sky.