How do you feel when you see your "hours played" figure on a computer game?

LuckyBenski · 27 Sep 2018 at 01:36

I've been wondering about this: I grew up on computer games and was quite sad in my mid twenties to realise I had drifted out of touch. I've always played a bit but I didn't have many meaningful gaming experiences during that period.

During my time at university from 26-30 my girlfriend would encourage me to play games as she knew it did wonders for my stress levels. So I'm now up to about 4-5 games completed per year, usually as several hours over evenings in a week, with a few weeks in-between if I'm busy at work/socially.

When I see I've put in 30 hours at 50%, or completed a game at 85 hours, I feel like I've achieved something, and put the work in to enjoy it. Does anyone else feel this way, or do you lot feel shame, wasted hours, or something else?

jsmoke · 27 Sep 2018 at 01:46

The most hours played on steam works out at 2.3 years.

Rroff · 27 Sep 2018 at 01:53

I don't play games for the sake of playing games so largely indifferent really when I see my hours played.

Skorpion · 27 Sep 2018 at 05:29

If gaming is what you enjoy doing then carry on. There is no shame in having spent 30+ hours on a game.

People have spent more than that playing golf or motor racing or football. If its your passion, go for it

Kronos · 27 Sep 2018 at 06:12

Surely the longer you play a game the better value it us. 40 hours on a game that cost 40 quid, where else will you get that sitting value for money.
Off the top if my head I think Portal 2 has my longest play time which I think us 2000+ hours. But lots if my games have 40 or 50 hours play time which makes up for the rubbish which will only have a few minutes.

Diddums x · 27 Sep 2018 at 06:28

I play quite a bit of games but to be honest deep down I consider it wasted time. It's time I could have spent doing something productive like studying or working on something which would actually benefit me but I'm too lazy and gaming is an easy way to pass the time. I have no idea how much time I've spend gaming, it's a lot. I do enjoy it but there's always a tiny little element of guilt because I know I should be doing something productive.

Jonny2284 · 27 Sep 2018 at 06:29

I've had a couple of times where I've looked at the number of hours on something and gone "WTF" but really, I play games as my escape and wind down mode. I've never understood why it's somehow far less socially acceptable that instead of vegetating for the 7-10 block of whatever crap BBC and ITV are pushing I put a couple of hours into a game instead.

AHarvey · 27 Sep 2018 at 06:51

I wish I'd never started playing games due to the amount of time I've wasted on them. I enjoy them but when I think about what I could have achieved not wasting time on them.

I still touch on them now and again though to chill out and pass the time.

If you're playing it to get some sort of feeling of achievement then I'd be looking at what I am doing in my life and how to feel achievement outside of a game, it'll be better for you mentally and physically.

Luckystrike123 · 27 Sep 2018 at 07:04

I see the numbers as wasted time. I could have achieved so much more in my teens and early twenties if I hadn't spent so much time gaming.

Hades · 27 Sep 2018 at 07:06

Depressed. It's so low nowadays that it reminds me how little time I have for myself. Almost every minute of the day I'm there to do something for someone else, wherever that's work, wife or kids.

bayo000 · 27 Sep 2018 at 07:52

I don't look at them as they don't mean much. Too often I start a game, then have to go do something for "5 minutes" and 3 hours later I remember that PC is still on and I'm "in game"

Pawnless Endgame · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:13

I played World of Warcraft from 2005 until 2009. Type in "/played" without the quotes on the chat console to give you the total time that you've played WoW, and it said 120 days for me. A third of a year!

MookJong · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:29

When I was younger I spent a lot of time on games, I play about twice a week now, in total I reckon around 5 hours a week. I had a brief spell of PUBG addiction this year but that has died off now. I am meant to be finishing a Synthwave album I have been writing but really struggling to get back into it it after PUBG interrupted it.

Writing an album was meant to be something productive rather than watching TV or gaming etc. At least you have something to show for it at the end. My wife had consoles when she was younger and has the odd iPad game on the go but she sees it as a big waste of time.

One of my mates has a wife who is totally into gaming. Sometimes you will see that the pair of them have been on steam all day on a weekend. At first I was a bit jealous but when I look back at our weekends on the beach / out and about I'm please my wife isn't into it.

UTmaniac · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:37

A series of nerve endings send an electrical impulse to my brain.

Kiyoshi · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:38

I enjoy playing games. If I see X hours playing a game, I think, I'm enjoyed playing that game for X hours.

Dirk Diggler · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:42

I consider more hours played as more value for money.

If I didn't get 6 months off work per year then I doubt that I would even have a gaming PC. In the evenings I wait until wife and kids are in bed before I game (usually around 21:30) and I couldn't do that if I had work in the morning.

Gaming is a great wee hobby that keeps me out the pub.

ScoTTyBEEE · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:45

I look at the time and often it says 5 minutes, so I think "that was a waste of money"

Roar87 · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:46

30 hours? lol. I've put 30 hours in on a weekend

adidan · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:47

Don't pay attention to it really, especially as when you play modded games it doesn't log the time anyway.

wingman · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:47

Diddums said:
I play quite a bit of games but to be honest deep down I consider it wasted time. It's time I could have spent doing something productive like studying or working on something which would actually benefit me but I'm too lazy and gaming is an easy way to pass the time. I have no idea how much time I've spend gaming, it's a lot. I do enjoy it but there's always a tiny little element of guilt because I know I should be doing something productive.

Kiyoshi said:
I enjoy playing games. If I see X hours playing a game, I think, I'm enjoyed playing that game for X hours.

I fall somewhere in the middle of the above two comments.

So long as my other needs are being met: am I turning up for work and being a productive member of the company? Am I making time for my long term girlfriend, and my family? Am I keeping myself well, exercising regularly, getting decent sleep, maintaining a well balanced diet? Am I doing the things I want to do, travelling, reading, studying for passion projects and or career progression, enjoying messing around with cars, meals out, etc? If these are largely being ticked, I see no reason to spend the rest of my time on gaming/music/series/films/YouTube/internet forums/podcasts et al.

Does that mean I don't consider these "wasted"? No, I absolutely sometimes do feel like that, but sometimes they provide the most enlightening, happiest, and entertaining moments of life. In that regard, it's not wasted at all.

We could all be more productive, of course. But that would be a wasted life for a lot of us (i.e. the non Elon Musks* of the world)

*Perhaps a poor example but you get the idea hopefully.