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How do you guys find time to play? (1 Viewer)

StevenK

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 16, 2000
Messages
266
This totally isn't meant to be a troll thread here. I'm a big time gamer without any time. I have 5 XBox games I have yet to open, 6 PC games I have yet to install, and many more PS1, Dreamcast and PC games that I have permanently given up on.

When I was an undergrad, I was so swamped with classes. But I just thought to myself...once grad school begins, I'll only be taking 1 or 2 classes a quarter, so I can get in a game now and then.

When I got to grad school...I became overwhelmed with the research and the teaching assitant duties...in addition to the measly 2 classes. But I thought to myself...well, once I get a job, it's only a 9-5 thing...so I'll have the nights to play my game.

Well, now that I've been working for a few months....where the hell is my time?!?!?! I get home at 7pm...relax a bit, cook some dinner, then bam! next thing I know, it's 9:30...about time to get ready for bed? Hell, I don't have time to call my g/f much less turn on the XBox.

Anyways...just had to rent cause it's so damn depressing. I want to play so badly but I just can't. I feel so lucky just to get in 1 game of NBA 2K3 or Madden 2003 once a month....I just wonder where the hell you guys find the time to play all these awesome games. I'm just so damn jealous reading through these threads (at work! ;) )

I wonder if I have to just take a vacation to play games (like the time I took a quarter off...basically to play Gran Turismo...or the time Halo got me so addicted I even forgot I was in grad school).
 

Saurav

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2001
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2,174
Move in with your gf, and share cooking duties. That way, you'll get a few hours every other evening :)
 

Brandon_H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 25, 2001
Messages
234
I feel your pain.

When I had a job, I could get home on a good day by 6 p.m. and game for at least a couple of hours. But grad school has thoroughly kicked my ass. 12-14 hours of study on a good day, plus quite a few hours on weekends, left me scraping for gaming time.

Of course, now I've hit summer. And as soon as I finish cleaning my basement theater, I'll be gaming for DAYS straight. Only trouble is picking which ones to play first . . . think I'll finally finish Halo. . .
 

CameronS

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 26, 1998
Messages
708
I hear you. I only have a Gamecube, and I don't have enough time to play my games on that. I'd love to have an X-BOX and PS2 but, to be honest, I don't know where the hell I'd find the time to play games for a second or evern third system! I don't know how some people do it.
 

Alex_Santos

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 22, 2001
Messages
302
I got three words for you...Lack of Sleep! I honestly don't know how people survive a long day after staying up all night and gaming. I haven't even gotten to Vice City yet. I need some prunes here Im so backed up.
 

Carl Johnson

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Joined
May 6, 1999
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Real Name
Carl III
I have both an X Box and a Gamecube but it's been at least a month since I've played either. Now that I have a house to maintain, a girlfriend to visit and a high speed internet connection to keep me occupied after work I don't play nearly as many video games as I used to.
 

Romier S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 2, 1999
Messages
3,525
I sold my soul to the devil and he split it in two. One soul stays home and plays games, the other leads my normal life.;)
 

Chris Rock

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 10, 2001
Messages
710
cocaine
If this is a joke, the humor is over my head. The last time I checked, illegal drug use was no laughing matter.

/off high horse

Anyway,
Being a full time employee/husband myself, I often wish I had more game time. My solution is to schedule it like anything else. I also try to get my friends involved. I often go to a friends house to play, or have friends over.

It also helps immensely to have my wife share my "addiction". I get her games from time to time, stuff that she like that takes a long time, like Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, or Ratchet and Clank...sometimes she'll play on one TV and I'll play on the other.

But I know what you mean, I read posts here and wonder how some of these guys have the time to even experience all these games, much less beat all of them.
 

StevenK

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 16, 2000
Messages
266
The problem I have is I read about some great game here...buy it...play it for an hour...then realize I have something to do. 2 months later, I realize that brand spanking new game is still in the system. But by then I've lost interest. I guess that's why Halo, Civ, and GT were such great games...they never let you leave!
 

ChuckDeLa

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Messages
2,802
Mostly, I don't find time. My plate is way too full. Besides having a job, a very high-maintenance girlfriend, and four pets (including a puppy), there's all this looming over my head:

- fairly sizable pile of DVDs to watch (not as bad as it used to be, but those Angel and Twin Peaks box sets are gonna take a lot of time)
- several hours of Beavis & Butthead tapes to watch, and a small pile of other VHS tapes
- at least 100 books to read, including a huge book on C++ that I really ought to be learning if I'm going to have a future in this career
- huge MAD Magazine CD-ROM box set, which I've owned for like 4 years and have only read 2 issues so far
- gobs and gobs of MP3s to listen to
- usually do 1 or 2 new movies every weekend

So these games are all just waiting, collecting dust:

PC: Dungeon Siege
PC: Heroes of Might & Magic 4
PC: about 1000 MAME games (ongoing)
GBA: Monster Rancher Advance 2
GBA: Pokemon Sapphire (girlfriend is currently playing this one, though)
Cube: Zelda - Wind Waker
Cube: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
Cube: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 (about 20% done)
Cube: Rogue Leader (about 20% done)
Cube: LOTR Two Towers
Cube: Resident Evil
Cube: Starfox Adventures (about 15% done)
 

DonRoeber

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 11, 2001
Messages
1,849
I play for a couple hours a night, a few nights a week. Somtimes I'm lucky, and get in a few hours in the mornings on the weekends. I'm 25, own a house, work 12hrs a day, and am in the process of planning a wedding. I've got a bunch of games that I'm halfway through, and will occasionally get back to them (Metal Gear Solid 2 has been half-played for months now, same with Rogue Leader), but if a game is really great, I'll end up playing it as much as I can until it's done. Zelda was recently like this, and now I'm playing Metroid Prime.

The great thing about this is that I save money. I can often wait until the games on onsale or buy 'em used. I try not to pay more than $35 for a game, unless it's one that I absolutely have to have right away.
 

Dean Cooper

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 23, 2000
Messages
972
:laugh: Just wait until you have a kid, no time AND no energy to play your games. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. I usually get a couple hours after my wife and daughter have gone to sleep that are to myself. This is where I squeeze in watching X-play, reading my emails and playing my games a bit to relax before I go to sleep. Unfortunately this doesn't mix with Live very well because I have to be so quiet so I rarely ever get on it now.
 

Tim Markley

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,279
Just wait until you have a kid, no time AND no energy to play your games.
Ain't that the truth! :D I've got a 1 month old son and I haven't even had time to think about playing games. I get a 'quickie' in every now and then on the GBA but that's it. I hope that by the time SWG is released I'll have some 'free' time.
 

Derrik Draven

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 7, 1998
Messages
937
Real Name
Chris
No wife, no kids, work 2nd shift, no problems. :)

Seriously though, when I come home from work around 9pm, or so, I usually fire up the home theater/Xbox and play 'till 3 or 4 in the morning.

That hasn't been the case as of late. I'm remodeling my entire downstairs to make a real home theater room. I'll post the pics when I'm done, but for now, most of my evening is spent hanging drywall. :thumbsdown:
 

Morgan Jolley

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Messages
9,711
I'm 17 years old in High School with no job. That's how I find time to play. Believe it or not, Honors-level classes don't give that much homework around here.
 

Joe Szott

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 22, 2002
Messages
1,962
Real Name
Joe S.
Steven,

I work a full time tech job, watch the 2 yr old so my wife can work a bit, and maintain the house pretty much all the time. Here's the two ways I have found to do the stuff I want to do (usually games, DVDs, or reading a book):

#1 - Make the time

This sounds cliche, but it is true. I usually go to bed around 11:30 or so and my son goes down at 9:00 (takes 1/2 hour to get him actually in bed though). So that's a good 2 hours or so there if I don't watch TV. If there is a game I really want to play or am really into it, I'll stay up to 1:00 am or so and just be sleepy the next day. If I only do that once a week or so, you don't get too tired.

#2 - Prioritize

This one takes a few different forms. Prioritize the games you want to play and only buy them in that order and as you complete them. If you can't get through Halo, don't buy another game until you do (or decide it isn't worth it.) You won't feel so bad if there are only 2 unplayed games on the shelf instead of 6. Also, you can prioritize all the other stuff you do and make a little free time. Like order a pizza or chinese food in one night a week and use that dinner preperation time to do what you want (games.) Or some weekends I just will decide not to vaccuum and live with the mess for a few more days to play a game.

Anyway, hope this helps you out. Try to pick one game you really want to play and then figure out how to make the time to play just that one a few times a week. Hopefully, that can get you feeling a little better.

PS - I also tend to not even buy the loonnnggg type games anymore. RPGs tend to require 10x the commitment from an action shooter to get anywhere. So I'll buy something like Halo or Panzer Dragoon Orta over Xenosaga or FX-2. You can play them for 30 mins or 3 hours and still get somewhere.
 

Dome Vongvises

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 13, 2001
Messages
8,172
Unemployment. Well that, and I didn't get into med school. So I've got a lot of free time to play away my sorrows.
 

BrianB

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2000
Messages
5,205
Time to play is frequently a problem for me too, particularly when work is busy. Between work, gym, dinner, spending time with my wife, it's easily 9:30.

My solution? Watch less TV :) Tivo helps a great deal with this - I watch /more/ programs each week, but I spend less time just sat in front of the TV looking for something to watch or tied there to watch something at a specific time.
 

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