I read it when the article was posted in Community Discussion: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1230552-do-you-ever-feel-like-this/

And I read it a second time when it was posted in this thread.

Your title for this thread is wrong.it should have read 'can I fit family life around skyrim' because that's all your topic is about.age doesn't even come into it. Its not like you find it hard to hold a gamepad in your hands or have some sort of heart condition or something. Also 26 to you is old get a grip of yourself. You've just started living in the real world.

I could ask the same for "why having children at all"? Personally I consider having and raising them as an "heterosixual torture"....

My point is that everybody here's different and have different priorities and preferences. I've both known men and women who loves children, and others who are just horrified by that idea. I also think that the "biological clock" is a bit exaggerated. From my experience, at least.

I agree 100%.

But there is a difference between depth and tediousness. Imo, depth has nothing to with time invested. I think it has more to with how much a game can actually stimulate, inspire, entertain, and teach you. Depth can surprise you with new and rewarding game mechanics, AI, and a compelling storyline.

Tediousness can svck up hours of time to bump up a stat by few points while leaving the gameplay virtually unaltered. Increasing raw killing power or survivabilty by leveling is the definition of pointless tedium and a false sense of accomplishment.

Well you certainly have plenty of time to whine about your boring life on internet forums.

43 here and three children!

You'll find the time to play, even if it's once in a while...

There are a few issues here, my take on them is:

1) Games are just a form of entertainment, ocasionally with some artistic merit. Many games are formally identical (corridor FPS clones, 'tycoon' games, whatever) so it's no surprise that we get sick of formulaic gaming experiences as we age... they get boring, you've already played this! But there's no reason to demote gaming IN GENERAL as more 'childish' than any other form of entertainment. Some games are challenging, some games are conceptually deep, some games are cheap stupid entertainment. Just like films, really. Only difference is that there arent' that many good games out there, maybe because they are difficult and expensive to make, so game makers go for the safer bets.

2) There's nothing wrong your tastes and preferences changing with age. It happens to all of us. I am 27 and recently discovered that I quite like tomatoes. Used to hate them. Maybe you just prefer to spend your free time doing something else these days. Nothing wrong with that.

3) but... free time is important! Sure, I can imagine that as a father you feel that your child is absolute first priority, but it's vital for your mental health that you take time out to do something that you enjoy. Otherwise you are doing your kid a great disservice, to be honest. Most people have at some point met these really stressed out parents who try to do everything perfect. Their kids just get stressed by it!

If your life svcks that much at 26, Im not sure what you have to look forward to

NEVAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!

Your never too old for a good game... I'm 210 years old in dog years, and I can't wait. :homestar:

Spoken like a true well...ignorant being, next time try to be a bit more constructive or simply do not post for the sake 'o posting!

I'm 25 and single with no job and no kids so I have all the time in the world for skyrim.

I love gaming though so a busy schedule wouldn't stop me

I have actually found that I enjoy games more as I have grown up, to be honest. I am nearing my mid-30's, trying to finish college, I have a job that I work anywhere from 50-60 hours a week (with no overtime pay and an hour commute each way :sadvaultboy: ), and a wife and two kids (six and three) on top of it. I do not get to play games nearly as much as I used to, nor nearly as much as I would like, but if anything I treasure the few hours a week I can sit in my computer chair and disappear into another world.

Even if I have to do it with headphones on because my daughter's bedroom is directly above the office....

My thoughts exactly. Its not the length of time you spend playing the game.it the enjoyment you get from playing it.

i hope i can develop a stable routine that allows me the free time to enjoy this game to its fullest extent

i also am 26 w/ a 6 month old daughter, im unemployed but pursuing employment and there is NO room for games atm... hopefully something turns around soon

be thankful. I am 26, 2 girls and going through a divorce since my wife thinks she loves a drug dealing alcoholic more than me. Count your blessings bud. And no, I don't want pity.. I don't want people to feel sorry for me. Life is what you make of it and since she left me I have lost 60 pounds in 2 months and found how to love myself instead of using her as a crutch. Life can always get worse. if you want inspiration go to youtube and search for Emanuel Kelly X Factor. Pick yourself right back up again.

edit: oh, and I am now living back with my parents who are also going through marital problems. Mom is a cancer survivor and my father is too injured to do his job yet does it anyway and they are afraid of losing their home. I have no job and nobody seems to want to hire me (probably because im 396 pounds). The sad part is they have no idea how motivated I am and how much weight I have been losing. The point I have is that I have too much time on my hands and I just want to be productive. It drives me crazy. So being busy is not a BAD THING.

Most people in your position, with a full time job and kids find time to watch between 10-20 hours of TV a week. You never hear people talk about no time to watch TV.. yet TV is just a frivolous thing as videogames.. even more so imo. Would I rather play skyrim or watch another re-hash of American idol? heres a clue... 1 of those is designed to keep your head in the sand.

If people are happy to watch mindless, braindead TV shows all their life... then theres nothing wrong with playing games all your life. I personally dont watch any TV except if a good movies on. TV is obsolete nowadays.

After reading the article I suspect the author is a person who completely lost their passion for gaming. The proof is in this quote:

"Wait a second. Is it possible that those old games didn't do anything magical with their programming to create "immersion," and that, like my kids with GTA, I "immersed" myself in those games because I was playing them at a time before I was dead inside?"

Games simply don't capture his imagination anymore. He also doesn't have the time to stay "practiced" for competitive multiplayer. Such is his life, not mine. I'm 38 and have no trouble finding games in today's market that capture the wonder I had when I first started playing. Has your "inner gamer" died? I can't answer that question for you. That's something you'll have to figure out on your own.

You can use your time fathering, to teach your son/daughter what good games are :thumbsup:

And remember the weekends, if you don't have any plans, there is always some time for extra playing right? Some extra time during holidays perhaps, and suddenly, you got a bit more time to play !

Always look at the bright side! Im sure you'll get enough time to enjoy this game to.

I can relate to many things you said, ?ept the weight thingy eventhough i lost much as well after, well...the "events" that happenend over the past 6 years!

Good for you that you've found a way to deal with much grief, still working on that myself every single day but slowly getting there! I am however somewhat disabled so that would give me all the time in the world...fact is that since Oblivious i have not really touched that many games anymore, perhaps age like mentioned before but...i am thrilled to get my hands on Skyrim!!!!

No i think it's normal, im part of the same generation and my interest in games dropped since a couple of years.

Its like you said, job, girlfriend and a house, its a lot of work.

But its also that we devlopped a more critical eye on games, when i was 16 i could buy almost any FPS or game coming out, but now im more looking what to buy, it has to more than brainless shooting true levels or a linear game in the style of COD.
It has to be open world, beautyfull, complete, houres of gameplay to complete.

By growing older we just become more experienced in games and are more difficult to sattisfy.

(sry for the bad english)

We have people with grandchildren here who will play Skyrim, I wouldn't worry. If you enjoy games, play them.

I'm 27 with a full blown career going on. I travel a lot as part of my job and when Skyrim comes out i'll be on a 3 week visit to a client living out of a suitcase in a sterile hotel. 1-2 months after skyrim comes out I'm moving to the other side of the world! (London to Melbourne)

Nevertheless I will still enjoy skyrim immensely and will likely be playing it on my laptop in the evenings in my hotel room with a room service dinner after work and loving every minute.

Real life is hard, you have responsibilities and commitments. Skyrim for me is that escape from it all that lets me relax and forget about clients, reports, summaries, presentations, paperwork and the general ennui that grips me when at work. So dont be afraid to take a break! make some time for yourself and immerse yourself in the world of TES!

You've got to make personaly time for you. My mom's brother, 30+, worked non-stop for 3 years and the only thing he got was a burnout. We went out fishing a month ago with him and he told me everything about the few past years. "no more" he said. From now on, he'll take it much easier and enjoy life. That's why you live for after all. It's just gambling with the devil to have kids, a job and college going on at the same time. All your time of actually living your life goes away. You will need at least 1 day of the week completely for yourself or you'll hit a burnout before you reach 30.

I feel sorry for any gamer with kids. I have a job and a social life, but my work day ends and I'm not with my friends 24/7. Any other commitments like cleaning and such don't take that long. If you've got kids (young ones especially), you're pretty much their slave until they go to sleep. Even if they'll leave you alone to play, you still can't play anything too violent around them in case you freak them out. If you've got a partner to help you out with distracting them it's better, but if you're a single parent you're screwed lol.
Obviously I don't feel too sorry for parents, they chose to have kids and clearly they want and love them loads, but it must get annoying sometimes. My sister's a Mum and she says at times it's the most boring and frustrating job in the world. Hasn't stopped her from having another one though, so it must be worth it.
I don't think I'll be doing it any time soon though - I like my freedom at the moment.