If the world ended today, would you regret the time you spent gaming?

[BeardyHat]

I felt like giving Colif a little poke

In regards to the topic: No, I don't think so.

• Gaming, PC gaming in particular has given me certain skills with PC's that I've been able to leverage into a career, which assisted me in living the life I get to live today.
• Playing Id games probably planted the seeds for my love of my favorite genre of music, which while maybe not having great impact on my life, does bring me great joy.
• I've become quite skillful at backing-up trailers in real life due to my many hours in both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator.
• Gaming allowed me to bond with my wife in our early days, as we both (weirdly, given she's not really a "gamer") shared a love of Heroes of Might & Magic.
• My wife and I still bond over the shared experience of games when we find one we can play together, as we're doing with Dead Space Remake currently.
• Gaming has helped facilitate my spacial reasoning, as well as given me strong visual navigation skills.

I don't know that all the hours I spent on World of Warcraft really benefited me in anyway, but I don't regret all the time I spent playing it and enjoying myself; talking to and hanging out with online friends, keeping myself out of the same trouble my real life friends were constantly getting into. Over the years, who knows how long I've actually spent in front of my computer, just playing games and even talking about them, but even if it's tens of thousands of hours, I wouldn't take any of it back. Generally, I think it's been a net benefit to my life, both in terms of the happiness it's brought me, as well as the skills it has either taught or facilitated for me. I'm almost certain there are more things in my life that have directly benefited from my gaming habit, but these are just a few of the things I could think of as I sit here and drink my morning coffee.

 

[Johnway]

Honestly, probably yes. if i didn't spend so much time playing games, i could have built empires. or spent it watching rubbish tv.

I would say that i am a heavy gamer. Not so much that i'm addicted and impacting my work/life schedule, certainly never done an all nighter playing to the early hours of the morning or taking days off to play a game. I think the problem is that i'm introverted and coming from a poorer family we didn't really experience many things or travel etc. Where we lived didn't really have much to do tbh.

I'm sure there are plenty of other activities i would have taken instead of gaming, like travelling/hiking, building something, etc but that costs money/time that i don't really have.

That said, gaming has influenced my (family) life so perhaps it wasn't all bad. My hobby in art, my gatherings with family normally involved games.

 

[Frindis]

Gaming has been a part of my childhood and adolescence ++, giving me friendship, skills, and a lot of awesome memories. Could I have used the time for other stuff? Sure, but I could say that with anything. What matters to me is that I have fun and that gaming gives me joy. It does not matter if you collect stamps, play chess, read books, swim, climb mountains, parachute, play poker, or whatnot. What matters is what YOU want.

 

[DXCHASE]

No, and i dont think any self-respecting gamer would. Yea, do i wish that i hadnt broken as many peripherals and small parts over the years from my bullish nature, of course, but ill never regret playing the games whether they were bad or not.

I would say that i am a heavy gamer. Not so much that i'm addicted and impacting my work/life schedule, certainly never done an all nighter playing to the early hours of the morning or taking days off to play a game. I think the problem is that i'm introverted and coming from a poorer family we didn't really experience many things or travel etc. Where we lived didn't really have much to do tbh.

Im pretty introverted too (even though i stream) but i have most certainly had plenty of all-nighters and taken days off work , dont regret neither!

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Nope, its never been something that stopped me doing anything else. Ive always loved most kinds of games, competitive sports a lot when I was a kid and younger adult, board games, bar games like pool or darts, a bit of cards, whatever. I just like playing stuff, with other people or on my own. Video games have been the only constant since I was about 5 although I probably played a lot less during my 20s there was never a point when I didnt have a dedicated gaming machine of some sort.

One thing I do regret is never really knowing people who played any Warhammer or RPG games. Played a little D&D at school, but it kind of fizzled out because the other kids were older and left and we lost contact in the days before mobile phones and social networks. There was only one other kid in my year who played.

Video games definitely helped me develop a lot of skills, whether all of those skills have been actually useful is debatable but I just like to practice things and get better at them for the sake of it.

 

[BeardyHat]

I'm sure there are plenty of other activities i would have taken instead of gaming, like travelling/hiking, building something, etc but that costs money/time that i don't really have

Most of those are somewhat overrated anyway. I've been a Colorado person my entire life and our state is known for it's outdoorsy activities, but I've never liked any of them. Hiking is sweaty and buggy, traveling is interesting, but being away from home sucks and it's never too late to learn to build something. Construction isn't my favorite activity either though...

One thing I do regret is never really knowing people who played any Warhammer or RPG games. Played a little D&D at school, but it kind of fizzled out because the other kids were older and left and we lost contact in the days before mobile phones and social networks. There was only one other kid in my year who played.

Never too late to start! I've been playing D&D for 20+ years now and it's never been more popular than this. My current group is 3/4 people who would have never been into it when I started and there's always lots of people looking for groups these days.

As for Wargaming, I only started about 4 years ago. Granted, it's a little easier because I have friends to play with, but it's very easy to get into these days especially with something like Tabletop Sim where you can try out a huge variety of games and models with little to no investment of money and only a bit of your time learning the rules. From there, you probably have some local game store where people gather on Friday nights and weekends to play pick up games.

Wargaming is a super rewarding hobby and the "gaming" part is what really keeps me interested in it as a whole.

 

[neogunhero]

Not necessarily. Gaming has brought me some amazing memories in my life. Playing games with friends, beating a difficult game, overcoming different challenges and what not. I think gaming is just as fulfilling as any other hobby you could spend your time with, but the problem for a lot of people is how much time we spend gaming. The activity itself is nothing to be ashamed of, but if you’ve ever had that feeling of disgust after sitting in front of the computer for 8 hours straight doing nothing but playing games, there is a bit of regret there. If I condensed that into a 1-2 hour session, I would feel more fulfilled in my mind.

If the world was ending today, I wouldn’t regret all the time I spent gaming, but I would look for more useful ways to spend the remaining time I had left.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Never too late to start! I've been playing D&D for 20+ years now and it's never been more popular than this. My current group is 3/4 people who would have never been into it when I started and there's always lots of people looking for groups these days.

As for Wargaming, I only started about 4 years ago. Granted, it's a little easier because I have friends to play with, but it's very easy to get into these days especially with something like Tabletop Sim where you can try out a huge variety of games and models with little to no investment of money and only a bit of your time learning the rules. From there, you probably have some local game store where people gather on Friday nights and weekends to play pick up games.

Wargaming is a super rewarding hobby and the "gaming" part is what really keeps me interested in it as a whole.

I'm playing Gloomhaven with a couple of people so guess that kind of counts, we've had a campaign going for a little while just onto my second character.

If I meet someone who's into war gaming and will show me the ropes I'll take it as a sign I should give it a go, its does seem like a lot of fun and Ive always loved strategy games. Its just lifes busy enough for the minute that I dont feel like looking for more hobbies just yet.

 

[Alm]

I wouldn’t regret it. I probably haven’t achieved in life what I could have but, like people get lost in books, I get lost in games. I love games and they have given me a safe haven from the confusing and anxiety inducing outside world. And the best times with my friends were gaming memories.

 

[Pifanjr]

No. If anything, I'm sad I don't get to spend more time on gaming.

 

[Brian Boru]

I felt like giving Colif a little poke

Excellent idea, let's make that a weekly tradition!

No regrets. I've spent lots of time on different pastimes—sport, board & card games, books, music, movies, some TV—gaming is just the latest evolution of my leisure pursuits.

While I learned tons more from sport and books than from the others, that was an extra, not an objective of the activities. But there is a long list of things you will or can learn from gaming, for example

Spoiler: here's a partial list

Computer assembly
Concentration
Cooperation
Coordination
Creative Exploration
Delayed Gratification
Detection
Empathy
Exploration
Farm work
Focus-Concentration
Forward Thinking
Immersion
Improvisation
Improvising
Interdependence
Investing
Job flow
Leadership
Manufacturing layout
Map Reading
Mental flexibility
Money-Resource Mgt
Multitasking
Orienteering
Patience
Perseverance
Physical Coordination
Planning
Probability
Process Design
Reading
Reading Ability
Relaxation
Resource management
Saving-Investing
Socialization
Socializing
Strategic choice
Strategic Planning
Strategy
Sympathy-Empathy
Tactical flexibility
Tactics
Task Sequencing
Teamwork
Timing

.

 

[Slasken]

Nope, and if I did, it wouldn't be for long.

 

[Colif]

I would regret not spending more time playing

 

[Johnway]

Most of those are somewhat overrated anyway. I've been a Colorado person my entire life and our state is known for it's outdoorsy activities, but I've never liked any of them. Hiking is sweaty and buggy, traveling is interesting, but being away from home sucks and it's never too late to learn to build something. Construction isn't my favorite activity either though...

Its more about experiencing different scenery and cultures. Doing all the tourist stuff, see the famous stuff and such. Obviously far too expensive and google street view helps sate my curiosity of locations. its not the same, but i can kinda see it in a really pathetic way. I can visit hon kong or japan without being there!

 

[Zloth]

Google street view is fun for that!

Hiking is sweaty and buggy,....

Not to mention all the Kansans wandering around, gasping for breath, flaunting their super bowl shirts.

Oh, the topic! Umm, I don't know, I would probably be regretting whatever it was that was causing the world to end more than my own choices.

 

[SHR-51]

Would a book reader regret their time reading books? After all, they could have been playing video games during that time instead!

I don't know why I was put on this planet, but what I do know is I'm gonna do whatever makes me happy. You better believe, as soon as I retire, me and the bois are hopping on voice chat and pressing buttons all day every day. Can't wait for that, if I'm being honest.

 

[Brian Boru]

Would a book reader regret their time reading books?

Nope, I absolutely do not—nor do I regret giving up that pastime once it had run its course.

why I was put on this planet

1—to produce the next generation, without which the whole show stops;
2—to speed the evolution of Humans 2.0, without which the future would be pretty dim.
You're welcome

 

[SHR-51]

Nope, I absolutely do not—nor do I regret giving up that pastime once it had run its course.


1—to produce the next generation, without which the whole show stops;
2—to speed the evolution of Humans 2.0, without which the future would be pretty dim.
You're welcome

Well, I like to think I'm making some small progress towards 2, because I'm definitely failing 1!

 

[Zimbaly]

I'd only regret not taking more screen caps of my killer scores in games.
🤘

 

[Frag Maniac]

Honestly, it's a mixed bag, but mostly yes. The main reason I regret it is nearly 20 yrs ago I stopped mt biking, hiking, and back packing, using one excuse or another, and my primary thought was gaming, TV, and movies could occupy that time instead.

I realize now, no matter how bad things get with any exercise related activities, be it socially, financially, or tenant noise that makes it hard to come back from such excursions, you are doing your body and mind a great disservice abandoning it.

So now I am stuck with a 20 yr old mt bike that is not nearly as capable a descender as current models, no backpacking boots because the midsoles on the ones I had deteriorated, and a body that is aged and much less in shape than it used to be.

To be clear, I certainly don't blame the video gaming industry or community, it is purely my choice, and a lack of balance in my life that is the culprit. There's no reason I couldn't have both gamed AND enjoyed my outdoor activities in those yrs.

Fast forward to present day, and the mt bike club I left has done a 180, working together with land managers and other trail user groups to build and/or repair trails (vs riding and building illegal trails), and the bikes now are much more intelligently designed.

I got into that club (named differently then) via meeting a couple other guys whom were also clearing deadfall on a trail. I'm left feeling like the curmudgeon that couldn't get along, vs the guy who was then trying to advocate good community relations.

It seems at times one of the human brain's greatest tricks is to convince you there's a good reason for being stubborn and refusing to associate with those whom are taking risky paths, vs sticking around and trying to convince them otherwise.

Mostly though, I'd be REALLY pissed if the world just up and ended today, and even more mad at myself for that bad decision I made 20 yrs ago. I have SO much on my bucket list because of it, so let's not talk about the world suddenly ending please!

 

[ElvenNeko]

Nope, real life is boring anyway, there are almost nothing to do there if you not rich or lucky.

 

[ZedClampet]

I felt like giving Colif a little poke

In regards to the topic: No, I don't think so.

• Gaming, PC gaming in particular has given me certain skills with PC's that I've been able to leverage into a career, which assisted me in living the life I get to live today.
• Playing Id games probably planted the seeds for my love of my favorite genre of music, which while maybe not having great impact on my life, does bring me great joy.
• I've become quite skillful at backing-up trailers in real life due to my many hours in both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator.
• Gaming allowed me to bond with my wife in our early days, as we both (weirdly, given she's not really a "gamer") shared a love of Heroes of Might & Magic.
• My wife and I still bond over the shared experience of games when we find one we can play together, as we're doing with Dead Space Remake currently.
• Gaming has helped facilitate my spacial reasoning, as well as given me strong visual navigation skills.

I don't know that all the hours I spent on World of Warcraft really benefited me in anyway, but I don't regret all the time I spent playing it and enjoying myself; talking to and hanging out with online friends, keeping myself out of the same trouble my real life friends were constantly getting into. Over the years, who knows how long I've actually spent in front of my computer, just playing games and even talking about them, but even if it's tens of thousands of hours, I wouldn't take any of it back. Generally, I think it's been a net benefit to my life, both in terms of the happiness it's brought me, as well as the skills it has either taught or facilitated for me. I'm almost certain there are more things in my life that have directly benefited from my gaming habit, but these are just a few of the things I could think of as I sit here and drink my morning coffee.

No regrets from me.

As my mother would have surely said, I could have spent this time doing something useful like volunteer work. and I've done some of that with a literacy organization. But I've only got one life (maybe). and I'd like to spend the last stage of life doing the things I want to do and didn't have time for before.