How do I get off PC gaming?
 

I'm actually not a heavy gamer, but the few titles I do play,I feel insane because I play them too much. I want to get games on the computer out of my life. Wanting to game is the reason why I spent over $600 on a PC when I otherwise could've saved a lot.

Replace them with drugs or alcohol.

:) I would not recommend drugs or alcohol. Well, I would, but not in the same way that kony meant it. Everything is okay in its place.

If you find gaming a problem, then it is a problem because it interferes with you. Try doing a web search for "computer game addiction." You may find some useful results.

This is from a guy who has two $800 computers because he wanted computers that ran Linux sweet.

If you want to message me, feel free to do so. I may not be able to help, but I can listen.

Switch to a platform where games aren't available. Like Linux. /s

Serious answer: replace them with books.

You also could use some discretion regarding what KIND of games you play. There are games that are great for eye/hand coordination, some puzzle solving types are good for "mental muscles" but if you're playing games with "jiggle physics" you may need professional help : )

sell it, get a lower-specced desktop that serves all your other needs (except gaming).

there will always be an amount of force of willpower involved to actually switch off the machine, but i wholheartedly recommend books.
maybe good sci-fi entertainment a la Iain M. Banks?

Take a walk in the woods? Read a book? Turn off the TV and remove it from your house?

There's nothing wrong with entertainment as long as it's not an obsession. People have spent far more than $600 on entertainment. And, if "they are entertained," that's not an altogether bad thing. (As long as they continue to mow the grass on Saturdays.) ;)

Recently I re-discovered Sid Meyer's Colonization. It was the first game I played on my 286, 6 MHz 1 MB of RAM. Despite lack of graphics I'm amazed how complete is this game. Very enjoyable - for me. I have played it for three weeks now, works perfect in DosBox. Should I be worried?

Adopt a puppy.

Girls? Works for me.

Have been there. My wife wanted a puppy. I said no for long time, finally I gave in and she got a mini-weenie. This dog got into habit biting my toes as soon as I took my shoes off. I wonder if my wife trained him to do it? Anyhow, to protect myself against my wife's dog I rescued a little rat terrier. I was hoping she will bite the weenie when weenie bites me. Instead she developed a habit to jump on my laps and bite my nose. Shall I get another dog to protect me?

A fan this hardcore deserves to use a better DosBox.

https://github.com/duganchen/dosbox/...NHANCEMENTS.md

And as for the puppy idea:

A puppy will not work out for curing your PC game addiction in the long run. It will eventually turn into a massage cushion that just stays on your lap while you're seated playing PC games.

Hi...

I've been down your road in a way. I think an important question to ask yourself is what are you seeking in playing the games? What are the reasons? Who can really help me with this?

Before I came to the Lord, for reasons that I discuss here, I literally used to spend 4 to 8 hours a day, usually every day, playing video games that focused primarily on war and strategy. World War II was my favorite "theme" but at least two of the games I had dealt with (or included) the occult. At the time, I was a deeply hurt and angry young man who used these games, at least in part, to "act out" my desire for revenge. I knew that shooting people in real life would bring about very unpleasant consequences so video games were my means of dealing with that.

The following morning after I had received the Lord, I had a desire to get rid of and destroy the games I had in my collection. And that's what I did. Many of the games I just took a pair of scissors to the CD's and then tossed them in the garbage. The remaining two or three games I did the same later. Today I play different games, like online Christian games or some of the games I have installed from the repositories (mostly FLTK Checkers, Lincity-NG and SDL-Ball lately.) :)

I'm glad you recognize that you have a problem with this and that you had the courage to share this with others. Praise God for that! What I can tell you truthfully is that Jesus Christ (Who is real and ALIVE) is the solution to any addiction, vice or hurt out there. I know from personal experience! :)

Regards...

erm.
they do grow up, you know?
or is everybody having small dogs these days?

Hello again
My first comment tried to explore if there were positive, useful games that didn't have some addictive component (adrenaline rush?) either to help you taper off or act as a proper perspective, one that you could control instead of a kind that controls you. Since I heard nothing back on that score I now assume you need to or at least wish to break the chain completely.

So I have some serious words of encouragement, and an example. First of all remind yourself from time to time that computers and virtual and online reality are so new that people have no frame of reference to help guide good decision making. Plus there is that "sense of safe" when you look around and you're in your Home, your element and screen is like a 2-way mirror like the police use for lineups so you can see dangerous people but they can't see you or even know for sure that anyone is there. It can feel very empowering that anonymity combined with near complete control. So don't beat yourself up. Just accept it that the effort/reward system in play can be highly addictive and insidious in our ignorance of how exactly we will react and how we can change a great deal by little degrees. Thankfully that can work both ways and you seem to be taking the first few small steps now. I apologize for the cliche but it got to be a cliche exactly because it is short, simple and TRUE! Even the greatest, longest journey starts with the first step, So you appear to be started on a good path.

Gamers have a commonality with drug addicts. Druggies have "drugs of choice"... the one, whether up, down, backwards or sideways, that is the most irresistible. Gamers have genres of choice, whether First Person Shooters, Arcade, Puzzle, Explorer, Horror/Gore, Sex, or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. As an example lets take the last genre. It doesn't matter if it your "heroin" or not. Arguably the best example is World of Warcraft. It has destroyed marriages, devoured families, ruined jobs and just about anything you can think of and that includes some really positive results as well. Nobody would be attracted or submit to an entirely negative experience. For some kids for example it is their first, most satisfying, or foremost social interaction and especially one that allows hiding anything that you don't wish to reveal. That safe anonymity feeling is often why it can be the first deep social interaction for some people as they would never be so bold in a real life situation that could not only occur but spread through recognition.

A college kid I know of found himself flunking out of University mainly because he often cut classes to play WoW 10-12 hours a day (almost 2 full-time jobs worth).. If you're not familiar with WoW or MMORPGs they are designed to keep a person playing through effort, punishment and reward by a game company that needs to recoup development costs by selling and renewing subscriptions.... indefinitely. Much of the game is referred to as "the Grind" because leveling up is mostly rather slow unless one concentrates on one character and does nothing but optimize the odds of gaining the experience points needed to level up, but this includes something of a penalty since if one ignores professions (each character can work a total of 5 professions) and they are extremely useful both for earning money and providing useful gear.

The game is extremely deep and can be played for many hours a day for years and still find a great deal of new knowledge as well as deeper refinement of older, hard-won wisdom. I hope this is enough to give you an idea (assuming you never played it or played little) that the game is tedious, deep and usually slow but punctuated by islands of frenetic bursts of shared energy. For example in addition to professions (Scribe, Leatherworker, miner. Blacksmith, etc.) there are races and classes such as Hunter, Mage, Warrior, Paladin, etc. each with at least 3 optional specialties like Melee, Ranged Damage, Spell Damage, Healer and Tank, each with very specific skill sets (for example Lich King Expansion 3 has 71 skills chosen from a list of roughly 200, plus 6 glyphs chosen from 40 or so, as well as consummable items (potions, scripts, elixirs, scrolls and enchantments all earned and set by the player. After years of utter devotion to the game Chris realized that had he put the same effort into real life work, preparation, networking, etc. he would likely have something to show for all his efforts, a house, a nice car, maybe a family and very importantly, fulfilling employment with a Savings Account and proper HealthCare instead of just several high level game avatars.

I saw him say this on a PC and Gaming show on Independent TV and his name is Chris Hardwick and he got that job because he quit WoW and played games that didn't crate obsession in his emotions for 2-5 hours a week instead of 10-12 a day. That was approximately 12 years ago and these days he has his own Comedy Hour on Network TV and is an American television host, stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, podcaster, musician, and voice artist. has appeared in several major motion pictures and is engaged to an Australian Model and Actress.

Obviously the man had drive and talent all along but he credits his accomplishments and happiness to quitting World of Warcraft and applying the same "grind" techniques to his real life. Not everyone is going to do as well as Chris has done just by quitting or reducing gaming time to an appropriate amount but you will never know what's in store for you if you don't make the effort and try.. He did prove amazing things are possible just through proper time management. I hope something satisfying is in store for you, too.