Post: #1

Over the past two years, I've grown addicted to PC games. Right now, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 and I'm enjoying it. I'm also working my way through Skyrim and Super Meat Boy. I have a blast playing these games, but 60% of the time, I feel guilty that I play them.

I mentioned before that I never managed to get laid or don't have much of a social life. So I find some solace in being a gamer and it's a cheap source of dopamine. I've deleted all my games before, only to download them again.

Truth be told, I find the internet on the whole to be a big distraction too. I'm always on there, furiously searching for wisdom, never realizing that too much of it can be debilitating.

Basically, I want to change my mental orientation so that so much of my time isn't spent on useless shit, but that useless shit is so often a pleasing relieve from the fact that I feel like a failure. Maybe this is why there are so many obese people in the U.S: they use food for the same reason I use gaming. This makes me more sympathetic to them.

Post: #2

Nothing wrong with video games in moderation. But if you've "grown addicted" you should cut back, especially if you're never getting laid. You should be focusing your energy on fixing that, and if you're just using games to take your mind off of feeling like a failure so that you don't have to work at fixing your problems, then that's a problem. But it sounds like you know that already.

(11-23-2012 03:22 AM)-abe- Wrote:  I'm always on there, furiously searching for wisdom

I sympathize with your RVF addiction, this forum is full of great info, but if you don't go out and apply it, you're not going to get any better.

Post: #3

Its very very easy to get sucked into the fap > videogames > fap > videogames cycle. It's easy...too easy.
I just think about actually fucking girls will feel 1000x better than playing through a game or fapping.

Post: #4

(11-23-2012 04:05 AM)kinjutsu Wrote:  I just think about actually fucking girls will feel 1000x better than playing through a game or fapping.

It is and it isn't. I'm a big into gaming. But I don't let it interfere with my work. Moderation is key. If I binge video games too long, it stops being pleasurable and I feel guilty as you described, like I'm wasting my life and not doing anything worthwhile.

I find videogames much more rewarding when I withhold them from myself. I say, "You can't play until you make 10 approaches today." or "You must finish project so and so" or "You need to go to the gym before you game today" and so on.

Simply learn to reward yourself with games after doing hard work, and you'll quickly find that video games can really enrich your life.

Post: #5

(11-23-2012 03:22 AM)-abe- Wrote:  Over the past two years, I've grown addicted to PC games. Right now, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 and I'm enjoying it. I'm also working my way through Skyrim and Super Meat Boy. I have a blast playing these games, but 60% of the time, I feel guilty that I play them.

I mentioned before that I never managed to get laid or don't have much of a social life. So I find some solace in being a gamer and it's a cheap source of dopamine. I've deleted all my games before, only to download them again.

Truth be told, I find the internet on the whole to be a big distraction too. I'm always on there, furiously searching for wisdom, never realizing that too much of it can be debilitating.

Basically, I want to change my mental orientation so that so much of my time isn't spent on useless shit, but that useless shit is so often a pleasing relieve from the fact that I feel like a failure. Maybe this is why there are so many obese people in the U.S: they use food for the same reason I use gaming. This makes me more sympathetic to them.

You consistently complain about your life without putting in any practical steps to improve your life. We cannot help you as a man if you consistently choose to be a loser. I am putting you on ignore.

Post: #6

I used to be into video games when I was a teenager but it led me to do horribly in a lot of my classes and that ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth, so, although that was ages ago, Ive never allowed myself to get back into them.

I have a simple suggestion for you ; you said you are into 3 games right now? Indulge yourself and finish them. Then, instead of downloading more, every time you feel like playing leave the house and goto a coffee shop instead - read a book, or take your laptop and do some work. After a month look back at how much actual stuff you have accomplished outside of completing video game missions etc - At that point reevaluate whether or not you want to continue playing...

I dont necessarily think its a loser habit if you enjoy it and it helps you relax, but consider how many hours a week you play video games and think about what your life would be like if you spent those hours at the gym, reading books, writing, meeting chicks, making $$$...

Post: #7

I love my video games but I've not turned my xbox on for months, but when I get a game I'll be at it furiously for a couple of hours or a day or two before forgetting.

Football Manager is the one game which catches me out though, it's a timeless game that's the fucking issue with, so many hours over a decade and more wasted on it.

Post: #8

The only loser is the one who ditches his favorite hobbies to chase pussy.

Find a way to integrate your favorite hobby into your life. I have a friend here, he GAMES solid everyday all day (League Of Legends)... He plays a couple other games but he is an addict, hardly comes out of his house at all. He was a Engineer for 4 years, saved his $$$ and came to China. Lives in a 1 bedroom here with his Chinese wife for $200/month. The two of them play games non-stop unless they are on a day trip to HK or wherever to shop... His wife is probably an 8/10 in america, she's 24 or 25 and he is 30. I spent a couple weeks playing through XCOM, that was immensly satisfying.. my wife sat and watched her cartoons while I did that. No pressure to do anything.

You are just in the wrong area man... I use to go and play Starcraft and CS after school with my students and workmates for like 5 hours at a shot. I get laid whenever I need it and go to clubs once in awhile, but the majority of my time is spent gaming when not working. I also have 50 board games that I play with my wife and our friends, Dungeons and Dragons and a ton of MAGIC: The Gathering cards. There's no such thing as a geek out here.

Alternatively, You can make 10 approaches each day, smile 50 fake smiles, strike up 100's of useless conversations with women you really wish would just shut the fuck up, pump iron and eat shit you wouldn't feed your dog OR you can come over here, get one good one, lock her down and go back to your regular life.

Becoming a PUA takes years of dedication.

Picking up asian women is easier than blowing a fart.

Post: #9

When I gave up video games for a few months it turned out to be the most productive year of my life, from a work and game standpoint. I never realized how much time I wasted playing them before. I was an addict, to be sure.

I think the culture that surrounds video games these days really lends itself to Internet culture, which isn't a good thing. I guarantee everyone on reddit has played a video game; how many have been with a good looking woman? Or any woman, for that matter? Probably not a causal relationship, but you can't tell me the guy who plays video games all day is going to be a posterboy for masculinity. 9/10 the stereotype of the fat gaming nerd is true.

Reminds me of watching Skyfall the other night. In the pre-show ads there was one for Best Buy that showed a man and his "lovely" wife, whom he met playing Halo. This fucking wildebeest was an absolute troll, 2/10. I groaned loudly and a bunch of people started laughing.

In conclusion, they can be really fun, but don't make video games your world.

Post: #10

/thread-18018.html

I play Warcraft with guys that have fvcked girls beyond anything 99% of guys on PUA forums could ever dream of.

Linking to my own thread here but if these asian girls turn you on, you can easily pick up this caliber without changing your habits at all. Don't second guess yourself, the problem is North America.

Post: #11

I hibernate in the winter and play games alot. To cold to be outside, nothing to do outside an I already have a rotation of Va-JJ. Alot of people if they cut out video games would just lay around an watch TV instead.

I have fun playing Call of Duty with my friends online, we chat an bull shit an such. But there was a time when I would have 4 or 5 people come over to the house an we would play the 4 player spilt screen Far cry an It was much funner. Them really being there joking on each other an cuttin up an such.... We even talk about it sometimes, about how much funner it was when we all got together an did it. But thats as far as we make it, just talking about it. These days people keep in touch with facebook an text and xbox live... no need to go see a or hangout with friends anymore

Post: #12

The videogame compulsion can be a gift in disguise if you let it. If you are able to play a game for hours on end beginning with a small amount of positive feedback like "Level 2 attained", then you are ahead of others when it comes to persistence.It is possible to channel your compulsive into productive/positive activities and results. For example, after being hooked on playing videogames and applying the same diligence to job-hunting; I am up to filling out 30+ a day after a few replies from interested companies.

Also, a good quote I heard today. "A goal without a plan is a wish(dream)".

Post: #13

i fucked a new chick under a blanket in my jeep last night in a mall parking lot and i bought the game dishonored hours later during the black Friday sales.

i waited in like for hours to get Xbox games and electronics...

video games are not a loser habit and won't stop you from getting laid

Post: #14

I don't see video games as a loser habit if done in moderation. Afterall, video games are just a form of entertainment, so in some respects it is no different than watching movies. The problem lies in being addicted to video games. Since video games are an interactive form of entertainment, they can suck you in for hours and hours on end. That is when there is a problem.

My advice is to put a way video games for a while and focus on a hobby and/or looking for a job. That will take your mind off video games.

Post: #15

Getting pussy isn't ever going to consume 100% of my life. Not ever. I don't think that's a healthy approach to have. So I'll occasionally enjoy a game of MLB 12: The Show. I love that game. Big Baseball fan. But to answer the question, no I don't think it's a loser habit if done in moderation as previously mentioned. If it starts affecting your schooling, work, or personal life then that may be a different story.

Post: #16

It was a loser habit for me growing up... Regret that now.

Whenever I game now it doesn't give me the same amount of joy anymore.

Well, If I've JUST gotten laid it does...

So much productive shit I could have done from 10-19.

Post: #17

(11-23-2012 04:56 PM)freshcream Wrote:  It was a loser habit for me growing up... Regret that now.

Whenever I game now it doesn't give me the same amount of joy anymore.

Well, If I've JUST gotten laid it does...

So much productive shit I could have done from 10-19.

Just curious, at 10 what could you have been doing that was more productive? I'm not being sarcastic either.

Post: #18

(11-23-2012 04:59 PM)CMan0928 Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 04:56 PM)freshcream Wrote:  It was a loser habit for me growing up... Regret that now.

Whenever I game now it doesn't give me the same amount of joy anymore.

Well, If I've JUST gotten laid it does...

So much productive shit I could have done from 10-19.

Just curious, at 10 what could you have been doing that was more productive? I'm not being sarcastic either.

for me it would be reading more and doing more sports

Post: #19

I played Baseball and Football growing up. Baseball was my forte. Made many a traveling All-Star team. But even then I always had time for a massive video game bender.

Post: #20

I was big into games from age 12 to 24. It really fucked up my youth, imo. Not enough socializing, not enough productive outlets. I don't touch them anymore.

If you think about it, there's really nothing redeeming about video games. You're not building anything, you're not having unique life experiences, you're not gaining skills that matter or transfer to anything else, you're usually alone and isolated, you're sedentary, you're often frustrated and edgy, and you lose track of time. It's so easy to blow an entire day before you even realize it. It can be more destructive to motivation than porn because with porn once you splooge you're at least disinterested in porn and whacking for a while. With video games the urge for just "one more" round or level or whatever is always there.

Yeah, moderation, etc. I'm sure it's not a big deal in small doses. I just know that every minute spent playing a video game is a minute someone else is getting ahead of me in life because they're doing something that matters.

Post: #21

Maybe we're all victims. Video Games are very different now than they were in the 80's or 90's. They're just so realistic it seems to heighten some folks addiction to them. I can almost see how, for some, the line can blur between game and reality.

Post: #22

(11-23-2012 05:25 AM)bojangles Wrote:  I love my video games but I've not turned my xbox on for months, but when I get a game I'll be at it furiously for a couple of hours or a day or two before forgetting.

Football Manager is the one game which catches me out though, it's a timeless game that's the fucking issue with, so many hours over a decade and more wasted on it.

I love Football Manager. That game brought me so much joy when I was at one of my darkest times. I had a llm (lower league managing) save that I was playing for about 5 months. The day after my ex walked out of the door, I booted up and the game status said "Your relationship has now expired." That put a huge smile on my face. That day I won my first ever championship at a top flight league.

This is the problem with video games. The objectives and rules are laid out for you. Not only that, you are rewarded fairly when you accomplish them. This cycle just feeds on itself until one day you wake up and realize that video games is the only thing you have. This is the fork in the road where you either cut the shit and try to regulate it, or you say fuck it and go off the deep end into the neckbeard lifestyle.

You sir (abe), are at that crossroads. You know what needs to be done, it's just a matter of doing it. It's not going to be easy, but the gaming will be so much more rewarding when you get back to it (in moderation of course).

Post: #23

(11-23-2012 11:11 AM)Cr33pin Wrote:  I hibernate in the winter and play games alot. To cold to be outside, nothing to do outside an I already have a rotation of Va-JJ. Alot of people if they cut out video games would just lay around an watch TV instead.

So... cut out the TV too.

I'll admit, I waste plenty of time browsing the internet. But owning videogames and a television is committing to wasting time. It's like the difference between having junk food constantly around, vs making the occasional impulse candy bar purchase while your kitchen is otherwise stocked with healthy food. By eliminating television and video games, you have two fewer outlets that are a complete waste of time.

Post: #24

(11-23-2012 04:59 PM)CMan0928 Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 04:56 PM)freshcream Wrote:  It was a loser habit for me growing up... Regret that now.

Whenever I game now it doesn't give me the same amount of joy anymore.

Well, If I've JUST gotten laid it does...

So much productive shit I could have done from 10-19.

Just curious, at 10 what could you have been doing that was more productive? I'm not being sarcastic either.

Good question. Around that time I played soccer and skateboarded. Two things I later quit.

My brothers were out in the woods all the time when I was that age, I just stayed at home.

I was just playing Playstation, goofing around on the PC might have been more rewarding now.

Post: #25

If they stop you from having a decent social/sex life or your health, then yes, it's a loser habit. However, I don't see any problem with playing an hour or two per day. Sometimes when I get a new game I'll play it quite a lot for a few days but usually I'll play 1-2 hours a day IF I do play that day.