Gaming through the ages..

[Scottie]

Hello all,

This is a question for most of you. I know there is a vast range of ages when it comes to gamers. Some of us started out early in life, others maybe only with the new generation of gaming, and there are probably some who have just started out.

For those of you who have played video games for more than 10 years.. do you find your gaming habits have changed? I can remember the days of having trouble sleeping..waking up extra early because Super Mario RPG was waiting for me downstairs. I'm 28 now, and while I do sleep better.. I can still get up early and have thoughts of Call of Duty or FFXIII on my mind. I always thought to myself when I was younger that this is just a phase and when I reach 25 or so video games would be an afterthought. Boy was I wrong! The culture of video games is still a huge part of my life. They continuously evolve and still capture my attention. While I don't play hours on end like I used to.. I still play almost daily as a general way to unwind from a stressful day at work.

So, I'm curious as to those of you who have noticed your gaming habits have changed, if at all. I imagine if you've given up on them, you wouldn't be on this site anymore, so we'll see what this opens up to.

[Pike]

Games have always been a huge part of my life and I think they always will be.

I've been playing them since before I can remember-- I honestly have no idea what my first game was because I was playing them before I was forming memories. They were there for me growing up, they were there for me in middle school and high school, they were there for me in college (I actually took my Game Boy Advance to campus and played it between classes rather than study), they were there for me after college when I was able to take my love of games and turn it into a successful blogging endeavor and they're there for me now, providing motivation to write (ten turns of a turn-based game for every paragraph I write!) and support when I'm sad or worried or otherwise not doing too well.

I pour several hours a day into gaming on my days off, and usually at least a few on my work days, as well.

In short, games have always been a big part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Sephex]

I'm 29 myself, and I haven't stopped gaming one bit. Granted, my adult life sometime leaves less time for them, but I still play very often and manage to pull off long gaming sessions if I really want to (I played FFXIII-2 for 8 hours straight when I picked it up on Tuesday).

A website my friends and I run also causes me to play video games often because I sometimes review or discuss video games, so in a way I have to play them!

EDIT: I can't clearly think of a starting point of when I began to play video games because the habit started very early. While I never had an Atari, I did play ancient PC games and my first console was a NES.

[Quindiana Jones]

I started with the PS1, sometime around 2000ish. Maybe a year or two later. I remember many a night spent playing FF9, and I used to creep downstairs to go on the PC and play Runescape, haha. My adult life hasn't changed my love of gaming, but it doesn't leave as much time for it, although I do on occasion stay up really late if I'm getting into a game.

[Rianoa]

I can't remember what my first game was, they have always been there. One of the things I do remember was playing the 3DO on a army game and every time I lost the game over there was a skull laughing at me . I think games will always be in my life I couldn't imagine not playing them .

[Chris]

It depends on the type I am playing. I tend to drag it out, when it comes to games like The Longest Journey and Syberia. Even though I have already gone through the games many times before, I want to enjoy the story and the atmosphere, which is especially intriguing in said games.

As for my first game... Hmm, I don't remember a specific game, but it was without a doubt one for my Commodore 64.

Most likely this one:

[Shlup]

The only way my gaming habits have changed is that I have to set aside a block of time rather than just having that block. Rather than thinking "I've got ten hours--let's play video games," it's "I want to play this game for ten hours, so let's get A, B, and C done now and I can do D and E tomorrow."

[Bubba]

The only way my gaming habits have changed is that I have to set aside a block of time rather than just having that block. Rather than thinking "I've got ten hours--let's play video games," it's "I want to play this game for ten hours, so let's get A, B, and C done now and I can do D and E tomorrow."

I'm the same. I work six days a week so I have to be super-organised with my "funtime". Thank the lord for portable gaming so I can get my fix while travelling. FF1 on my iPhone is currently my "train game" of choice.

My first computer was a Spectrum 128K (Yes I'm nearing 30, so what?). From the first time I played "Chuckie Egg" and "Horace Goes Skiing" I knew I'd always be into computer games.

[Hollycat]

I've been playing since 2000, and I've kept playing the same amount. I will say that the games don't seem as fun as the used to.

[Tigmafuzz]

[Pike]

LOAD"*",8,1

[Jessweeee♪]

Used to be my parents would only let me play on the weekend, so I'd stay up until 6AM playing. Now I am a grown up and I get to decide when I play, so I play during the week after work, go to bed at a reasonable hour, and dedicate my weekend to my friends because we have cars now and can go to each other's houses whenever we want

[Iceglow]

Gaming for me used to be a way to absorb myself and escape from reality for a while, it was how I procrastinated at life. I used them to avoid doing homework, being around my family too much, avoid going outside much so that the bullies in my school didn't see me to pick on me more.

These days Gaming is a social event and a bit of escapism, hard day in the store? Go online shoot some people, over my families and talking to my sisters fella, play some Zombies mode from Black Ops, want to escape boredom during my week off? Play some Dragon Age 2 or Whatever. It's mostly however about the social aspect. Yes, I am competitive as I ever was, yet I find myself not wanting to bother with clan's or guilds and just be myself by myself. I will still play games alone as well as in a team but mostly I like playing games with friends, nothing so far has quite beaten the fun of playing alongside Dan, Paul, Julian, Quin, Milf and a few others in Halo, Dead Rising 2, Burnout Paradise or other titles. Though I think due to the insane amount of skill we as a group could field on it, Modern Warfare 3 would become a hilarious piss take of us just ripping people apart regardless of their tactics. I had far more fun tonight playing Modern Warfare 3 with Agrias than I did earlier in the night when I put a few games in solo. If I am on XBL and people like Psychotic or Dan or Quin are online regardless of the game I am playing or the game they are playing, I will invite them to join or join their party and have a conversation with them because it feels more natural, I'm playing a game so I'm being sociable with friends.

[Jiro]

dedicate my weekend to my friends because we have cars now and can go to each other's houses whenever we want

You play games at their houses right? I mean what else would you do? WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?

[Bolivar]

I was born at the height of the NES and I've probably been playing all my life. It's always been my escape, my hobby, my time killer. Law school made it harder, but I still find time to fit in those extra long sessions, as well as sneak in the quick couple matches of Call of Duty.