Losing Yourself (and Time) in the Game

[SerSlavos]

It happens sometimes. I guess when we unconsciously "want" to do that, we do it. In other words, when we don't want to do anything else and have some fun we turn on our PC/Console, start playing and don't even look at the clock. To me it doesn't happen that often, but it did happen a few times. I just played and looked at the clock and look, it said 4AM, not good

 

[msyukionna]

Haha! This topic reminds me of that meme about "buying pants at mall vs exploring a game". I'm so that dungeon exploring person! I get easily distracted from the main goal of the game that I spend 5 times as long completing what I planned to do. I always tell myself, "I'll stop at the next checkpoint" only to find side quests and unexplored areas that it took hours to get to the "next checkpoint".

 

[Chinatown88]

Yup you start playing in the morning. Then you suddenly get hungry and realize it's almost dinner time. I've had that experience plenty of times.

 

[AnthonyB]

I don't spend too much time gaming now than I used to. Like I said in another thread, I had an addiction to gameplaying that kinda messed me up that I'm still recovering from… Financially. One time, I spent 36 straight hours playing some pac-man Game that my aunt had gotten for me. I think I might have been in elementary school, and this was over the summer break. I remember locking myself in my room, not going outside or talking to anyone until I beat that stupid game. It wasn't necessarily a good game, but I can admit, it was addictive. It was addictive in the way a stupid game is addictive and you want to beat it, because you know it's so stupid that you know you should be able to beat this dumb game. As the game went on, though, it did get a bit more difficult. Whenever I do think about that game, I get a sense of frustration. Probably what I buried deep down in my brain lol

 

[BeardedMamba]

This happens to me a lot of time when I was a kid. I kept telling myself and my parents that I'll stop playing and sleep by 10, and I'll end up playing until 3am. I always lost track of time, because I enjoyed playing too much.

 

[missionreport]

When I play games, I really indulge myself. I want to savor the entire experience and to do that, is to really forget about planning how much time you want to spend on gaming. Gaming is a way of life. When I played the Witcher3, I wasn't playing as Geralt. In my mind, I was Geralt! When I play games I feel good knowing that I've invested my time in something beautiful and worthwhile. To me personally, games are great achievements of art and I've really taken them quite seriously.

 

[Okaviator]

I'm actually quite terrible at managing time. Most times I'll end up spending 8+ hours on video games without even noticing. These days though I'm trying to work on this and I take breaks every 2 hours.

 

[Lexi]

I also try to limit my times to an hour or two, depending on class work and stuff. But I do have days where I play for however long I want. It's easy to lose 6 hours in a game, especially if you're with friends and they're in a different time zone. I think it's ok to go over 2 hours once in a while if you have the spare time and aren't interrupting important things for it. And if you take your breaks of course, but you do need to control the time spent on them. Otherwise, you'll be addicted to it.

 

[thart]

It happened to me many times, especially when i play a game that i love so much. I don't pay attention to time or to people and my all focus is only in the game, and sometimes i wish if it's 48 hours in one day :tonguewink: just to keep playing. I really lost many good times with family and friends, but lately i'm forcing myself to make limits in playing.

 

[Sino989]

I lose time in a game all of the time, especially when it's a good game that is fun to you and that you actually enjoy playing, so to me, losing time in a video game is good because that means the game is good because you're getting lost the make belief of the game so to me thats a plus.

 

[WarVet]

It has happened many times. Nowadays I tend to keep a strict work schedule. But when I was younger I remember arriving from school and playing all the way till next day stopping only to eat and go to the bathroom. I believe the best thing in life is moderation and gaming is no exception to the rule. An addiction to gaming could be just as harmful as an addiction to a drug or alcohol.

 

[Pixie06]

It happens so many times to me. I usually plan about the amount of time to play but however at times I get lost in the game and forget all about the time. It usually happens when I am playing a new game or if I am close to reach my goal in a particular game. If my friends come to play at my place then I usually spend so much time playing and I don't really mind about not respecting the time limit.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

When I played Witcher 3 and Skyrim I just cruised through my daily tasks and jobs just to get back to gaming. I think it was months of my life gone. The games were just so immersive and you feel like you are trying to accomplish everything that nothing in real life matters. I know it's sad, but it was a pretty fun time for me since work and doing chores can get boring from time to time. It's nice to escape life for a bit and go out on an adventure in foreign lands you will never see again.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I have experienced this, Initially when I was in high school, I loved the game " Vice city" and I still love it , but I used spend atleast 6 hours a day playing the game at a stretch, most of the times I would even skip my meals for the game. But then later I realized that i getting too much addicted to the game and no sooner i realized this I controlled my instincts for gaming.

I was the same when I played GTA San Andreas. It was a very massive game and you could really explore everything and anything under the sun. It was the first GTA game I think where you can swim, so the limitations of the previous game was gone and you can just play by driving through the scenery. Sure, today the graphics don't seem like much, but back then it was amazingly mind blowing.

 

[overcast]

I think happens with me plenty of times. You have to just go with the flow. We are meant to be winning every game the first time we play. That focus to just enjoy the process is the best one. I have found that people who don't tease me and don't mock me for losing. And it's all part of the fun. That's the way it should be some of the times.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I think happens with me plenty of times. You have to just go with the flow. We are meant to be winning every game the first time we play. That focus to just enjoy the process is the best one. I have found that people who don't tease me and don't mock me for losing. And it's all part of the fun. That's the way it should be some of the times.

Yeah there's always that one player who seems to think he would die if he doesn't win this non-competitive game. I hate playing with those and they ruin the gaming experience for everyone. Too bad though most if not all of gamers go through this phase when they are becoming more serious with a particular game, especially in ranked matches.

 

[Neiltarquin]

Yeah. World of Tanks, DOTA, Diablo, MU and Need for Speed. Thise where the games that made me doubt if my clock is working.

 

[valy]

Hi, I try to limit my time playing, but sometimes I forget about all that is around me, and I wake up from playing after too long, and when I see the clock, I can't believe how time passed so fast. I wonder why time is not moving so fast when we are at work?

 

[Neo]

I've lost track of time multiple times while playing games I love. Time does fly fast when you don't want it to. But now since I'm working too I've limited my time strictly. I play only when I have a lot of spare time or on days off, and can take the risk to forget time and play to my heart's content. Or I play when I'm really stressed or need a small break, I put a timer on my phone to remind me that I need to stop now.

 

[Maxthewriter]

Tell me about it! I have several times been guilty of this. Sometimes, deliberately; other times, unwittingly. When playing against a friend, for example, and losing, I often dedicate more attention to the game just to, at least, draw even.

Before knowing it, we would have spent a lot of hours playing even though we did it plan to play for very long initially. On the other hand, I sometimes deliberately 'lose myself in the game'. This is mostly to take things bothering me off my mind