I made a point to a friend once who never did an abusive substance in his life, but played WoW day in, day out for years, comparing one lifestyle to another. Obviously no physical damage is done with games, but I certainly consider them an electronic drug, along with all the others. But that’s like totally cool or whatever you know. Everyone’s got their thing. Life is suffering, life is dissatisfaction, life is learning how to deal with it all appropriately.

I really should stop commenting until I’ve had my seventh coffee. (addiction!)

I would equate your idea of seeking one used to get from something to the the lynch pin of the tobacco industry. They rely on exactly this concept to gain customers, while using other tactics to make it very difficult to walk back out the front door. A more paranoid version of myself would tip his tin hat and say this is exactly what the movie industry does every time they treat my childhood like a yard sale and attempt to breathe life into some franchise that I outwardly would rather see left as a sacred memory, but inwardly am already counting the bills in my wallet so I can sneak in another hit of that soothing tincture of former joy.

If you get the experience you want or expect from a game already; I mean, say you’ve played Z number of hours of Said Game, and you’re over it, what’s the harm in saying I’m done with it and lock it away or sell it? Move on to a more positive, fulfilling experience? Or if circumstances stop you from finishing That Game you’re quite fond of, then you know… Go for it brozscef. It reminds me of substance abuse addiction when you can’t let go of wanting the feeling you used to get from something (and “substance” can be defined a lot of ways, metaphorically too) even though you never get close to that feeling again, no matter how much you do with that thing. If you are still getting what you want from it, then you are probably not abusing it.

We wander this Earth like hungry ghosts but each bite we take falls through us. But if we had no desires, no itch to keep scratching, then this Earth isn’t really meant for us. Therefore if you’re having too much satisfaction, I suggest withdrawal. Get back to the source and figure out what you love, in a more specific sense, in both the particular objects, the overall grouping of objects, and your experiences in relation to those objects. Give videogames some space, you’re cramping their style.

I don’t remember if that really answers your article. It was kinda rambly (in a good way) so fair enough, that’s what you get for a comment.

[It still ends kinda mean. Sorry Melskå!]

Is this something you want to look back on at the sunset of your life and be able to say, “Well Mel, at least you completed X number of games. You get a trophy!

And, Ethos, I’d master space and time but then I’d be responsible for it. I don’t need the police on my ass when they find out I botched up Wednesdays and replaced them with Arizonas or that I accidentally make every 5 o’ clock happen an hour faster in South Africa.

And it’s true about not wanting to trudge through certain sections. Even incredible games are not perfect, but it’s hard to have something of a scrubber on a game, especially an RPG when a lot of the joy comes from the way the player chooses to engage over time with the systems.

The solution is to master space and time! Get on it, Mel.

In the meantime, I am attempting to focus on finishing more games while not sweating it when I don’t. I follow my gut sometimes for a replay quick fix (Bravely Default and 4 Heroes of Light come to mind), but make more dedicated efforts on games I would like to complete for a number of reasons like Persona 4, Suikoden II, Final Fantasy X, Radiant Historia and Dragon Age: Inquisition. It’s a good thing those games take no time at all to complete. :/

This is despite clearing out scores and scores of games from my library. I’ve sold 80% of what I used to own and I *still* have too many options. There are things I desperately want to play to completion (Lightning Returns!) but I JUST HAVE TOO MANY OPTIONS.

What’s a gamer to do?

Time is certainly a factor. I don’t even remember what my Steam Library count is at, but I admit with some shame that I have actually completely maybe 10% of it, and that might be a generous estimate. Not only do I not have enough time to play all the games that catch my eye, but I am constantly allowing myself to be distracted to new ones like a simpleton to a shiny bauble.

It has been posited by many that too much choice is a bad thing, and I suppose I can see how that might be true. I like having all these choices, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time, my wallet suffers because I pay for titles that I may never complete, not because they are bad games, but because I get pulled away from it by a million other things. That, I suppose, is on me.