When Playing Video Games Moderation is the Key
I've previously written about my early addiction to video games, and how I gave it up because I considered it a waste of my time, better suited for more enriching activities like reading.
I still feel that reading is a more intelligent use of time, but video games, when used in moderation, can be a relaxing way to unwind when you don't feel like doing anything else. I consider video games to be in the same category as watching a movie, or a television show, or reading a magazine, or a simple novel. It's definitely not the most productive use of your time, but is just a way to relax when you feel you need a break from more serious projects.
Playing video games really only becomes a problem if you do it too often, or causes you to neglect more important projects. For instance, if you never read, and you neglect your health, and you fail to get outside and exercise, and aren't really learning new things, but instead you're spending all your free time playing video games and neglecting everything else, then that's a problem. Like even if you work full-time, but spend your days off playing video games all day, every single week, I would say that is not healthy either. I mean you have the right to do it, but if you want to actually grow as a human being and realize your full potential, then playing video games all the time really could interfere with that.
So it's really important to find a balance between relaxation and productivity, and it's okay to play video games once in awhile, as long as you are also making time for activities that are more mentally enriching and contributing to your health and fitness and overall prosperity.
I don't really spend that much time playing games, because my time is limited, and there are only so many hours in the day, and maybe I only have four hours, and the choice is between reading a book, watching a movie, playing a musical instrument, or taking a walk, and any time spent playing video games means less time for doing anything else. So, really I only play videos games when I'm not in the mood to do anything else, or if I'm just feeling too mentally exhausted or physically drained to concentrate on anything more meaningful.
My Favorite Games
Right now I am basically only alternating between two games:
The Long Dark and This War of Mine. I'm also a fan of the Fallout series, especially Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout New Vegas, but I'm not playing those at the moment. I really enjoy survival games and post-apocalyptic RPGs. I also enjoy books and movies in that genre as well.
Well, anyway, The Long Dark is an excellent survival game, and is probably one of my favorite games of all time. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness, and your character is the lone survivor in a plane crash, in a world where apparently most of the people were killed off by a cataclysmic event. And the whole point of the game is to survive as long as possible while exploring different regions of the game world. It's just you and roaming packs of wolves, and other wildlife, some non-hostile like deer and rabbits, and others like bear and moose that will try to kill you first chance they get.
The main obstacle is staying warm, followed by finding food, water and shelter, and defending yourself against hostile wildlife. What I find most fun though is exploring different locations, and finding new gear.
It's a really fun game, but one of those really time consuming games. I tend to play it in bursts, a few days in a row for a few hours, and then won't play it again for a few weeks, sometimes a few months, and then come back to it, and it's always fun, has never gotten boring.
The other game is called This War of Mine, which is sort of a survival strategy game, involving resource management, where you control 1 to 4 characters sheltering in a damaged house in the middle of a warzone, where half the time is spent fortifying the house against looters, making sure your characters are in good health, and the rest of the time is spent looting other buildings at night and defending yourself against attackers.
This one is definitely the more casual game of the two, and I sometimes play this in between calls when I'm working, if I don't feel like reading.