Giving up the game.

Sometimes you wanna give up.

Other times you find you gave up a long time ago, just never really clued on to that fact.

So what stops up from giving up on games, what makes us either continuously play games or pick them up again after a few months, maybe even a year’s absence?
Games do different things for different people, but their main goal is a simple one - to entertain. That's what we spend our excess money on if we're lucky to have it. We like to treat ourselves; we like to have time killed in an amusing or engaging manner. Games encompass more than just some colour chart range on the screen where you shoot or jump at things.

But lately I've been wondering, would I ever give up gaming? Another passion of mine in terms of hobbies is comic books. I am a comic book geek. Even my shoes are comic book themed. I'd love to open a gaming and comic book themed café/bar. But I haven't been reading comics lately. I haven't actually bought a comic book in 2 years due to it just being a strain on my invisible finances, which I spend on invisible lap dances on my invisible yacht. I still keep up to date with them but in terms of DC and Marvel right now, the revamp of all the characters and the constant flood of saga after saga that's suppose to be apocalyptic, with no in-between break has just caused a decrease in flow and has not peaked my interest.
But in that regards, there's a reason for why I haven't engaged in my other loved hobby.

But giving up on games on a temporary basis via a conscious or unconscious choice?

That's a different kettle of fish. Gaming is continuously evolving, offering us new experiences and visuals on a grand or minute yet satisfactory level, for the most part. There are plenty of games out there that people like to call utter shit, like Farmville, yet a lot of people enjoy Farmville. Ok I’m not sure if they actually enjoyed it, or just became addicted during bored spells. Personally for me I went through a heavy handed Farmville period. I had nothing else going on and it was a great time killer. I obviously left it a long time ago and never looked back, but I now feel kindred to crack addicts. Still those that continue to play those Zynga–esque games aren't necessarily bad gamers and we’re not better than them.

But perhaps a reason for why we always pick up games and never really stop is hinted in games like Farmville, maybe we are all little addicts, not in a severe manner were we must sell our spouses and auction off our good linen to top up on Microsoft points.



We don’t give up on playing games for life, I think once you become a gamer, you’re one for life and that you can take sabbaticals for as long as possible. The mood we’re in at any given time, dictates what interest we pursue or whether we even get off our arses at all. I love films, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood to watch one. I love gaming, but the same applies or sometimes it branches into a variation like “I’m in the mood to play video games, but only on PC, not Xbox this week”

We don’t give up on gaming, because we don’t have to or really want to. We just wait for the next thing to come along that grabs our attention and no doubt if it comes from Japan, our asses.
Sometimes some of us, not mentioning any names, don’t give up hope that maybe at some point a sequel to our favourite will come out. A THIRD IN THE SERIES THAT WILL WRAP SOME SHIT UP AND POSSIBLY INVOLVE WOOKIES. YA GET ME?!

You give up when there’s a reason to, paradoxically that could be because there’s no reason left to keep on going. Be it hobbies, passions, jobs, basic physical movement or love. But sometimes we wake up and jump right into the fold again and find something in either of the above categories that suddenly is of interest to us and can produce positive benefits in our lives or in some cases, fun time killing.


Sigh I said time killing, not time splitters but…you look cool so I’ll let it slide

Maybe I should give up eating the foods I like for long periods and then I’ll appreciate them more after the break. But I can’t because I like them now, I might die tomorrow by a stampede of horny pigeons.



Maybe I should give up writing, wait until a fuming bubble of words bursts from within, but I can’t. I enjoy writing, be it on factual stuff or fiction. Writing is creating a world, with new people, designing cultures, vehicles, concepts, adventures and the possibility of touching someone in a profound manner. The joy that comes from writing, the joy it gives is something that won’t ever decay with time.


Then again…

We don’t give up on things we love, if we truly love them and there’s still something to be gained. If something in life is dead or hit its stride and no effort is made on either side, then we have no choice to give up, for our own good.

If people didn’t enjoy playing games, then there would be no need for games. But we also need the creators. It’s a fusion of sharing a passion (and a profit of course). With gaming there’s more that can be done and that’s because of writing. Graphics are hit and miss, unimportant to some, integral maybe to others, but writing will also be the means of new worlds and inventions and via that comes adaption in an interactive visual engaging forum, i.e a computer game.

Then again I suppose a not so secret point of this, isn’t just to show that gaming has a longevitiy and is something that can always stick with us, but that in general, most people feel like giving up. They can’t be arsed anymore and who can blame them. Don’t give up something you love, unless you fight for it. Don’t give up a hobby because of current events or what other people think of it, because they’re probably asshats and EA will get theirs.
Stick with it.