As you probably gathered from the title of this blog, I don’t have tons of time to devote to gaming. Because of this, I catch a gaming session where I can. One of those times is while I’m on my lunch break at work. Fortunately for me, I work in a small university IT department, located in the basement of a residence hall, so I can easily shut my door, pull out my personal laptop, and jump on the wireless and start playing Guild Wars 2 or any of my 100+ Steam games (ugh… why do I buy so much stuff I don’t have time for? Better yet, why do I admit to it?) without the fear of those pesky “work-related sites only” web filters. Don’t mind me, just another student taking a “study break.” This gives me about a one hour timeslot to get my gaming fix (sometimes the only gaming I do for several days in a row). Some might find this silly or more trouble than it’s worth, but it’s amazing how much consistency plays in to how long a game “lasts.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a new game, been really into it for days, then had three or four days in a row where I’m busy with working late, church, hanging out with my girlfriend, Star Trek/Doctor Who marathons, etc., and suddenly I completely forget about the game. Then a couple months later I remember it, try to pick up where I left off, and forget everything I was doing, and get frustrated and never come back again. Then I feel guilty for spending X dollars for a game I never played. This is, by the way, why I only ever buy games used or on sale; that way I only have to feel 50%-75% guilty if I don’t play it. Sometimes a little dive into the virtual world makes it all the harder to return to grinding out code and putting out fires, but more often for me it satisfies the itch rather than increase it.
How do you fit gaming sessions into your daily routine? Share in the comments!