I watch AEW, but that's basically it for TV. I mean, I guess I still watch shows, just not through cable. And not nearly as often as I once did.
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How do you find room for video games in your life as you get older?
- Thread starter Alex
- Start date
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Yeah, reading is my passive entertainment, and also I'm usually reading for a book club so it's social in that way.
When it comes to TV, there's not a lot that I care to watch by myself. I'll watch kids shows with the kids, grownup shows with my wife, but if I am using the TV for myself, it's video game time.
The current circumstances of my life have it, however, that my own personal TV time is relatively limited. It can't be helped much; it's summer, the kids are home all the time and staying up later, and I'm so tired by the end of the day that I'm involuntarily falling asleep the minute I sit down to do something.
I think I do need to make a concerted effort to focus on quality entertainment, the internet as a whole seems predatorily designed to steal your time from you.
The current circumstances of my life have it, however, that my own personal TV time is relatively limited. It can't be helped much; it's summer, the kids are home all the time and staying up later, and I'm so tired by the end of the day that I'm involuntarily falling asleep the minute I sit down to do something.
I think I do need to make a concerted effort to focus on quality entertainment, the internet as a whole seems predatorily designed to steal your time from you.
I watch a fair amount of TV in the evenings with Katie. We generally negotiate a bit over what we watch and take turns. I also occasionally watch something on my own. I have not been reading much this year.
And, here is a bit of evidence for this thread: I played 24 games in the first half of 2025. I beat all of them, except the two that I noted below.
And, here is a bit of evidence for this thread: I played 24 games in the first half of 2025. I beat all of them, except the two that I noted below.
- Cherry Bomb (Pico-8)
- The Legend of Zelda: ALTTP (GBA)
- Trip World DX (GBC)
- UFO Swamp Odyssey (Pico-8)
- Donkey Kong 94 (GB)
- Black Castle (GB)
- Froglegs (Pico-8)
- Dragonsweeper (Pico-8)
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Gen)
- Flooded Caves (Pico-8)
- Sonic Pocket Adventures (NGPC)
- Kurukuru Kururin (GBA)
- Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (GB)
- Dragon Quest II (GBC)
- Avenging Spirit (GB)
- The Lucky Dime Caper (SMS)
- Deep Duck Trouble (SMS)
- Metal Storm (NES)
- Kirby’s Dream Land 2 DX (GBC)
- Pokemon Crystal (GBC)
- Pokemon Emerald (ended nuzlocke run at champion-GBA)
- Pokemon Emerald Seaglass (ended nuzlocke run at victory road-GBA)
- Pokemon White (DS)
- Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
These days I basically play Pokemon GO (which I can do while out and about, but I also make time specifically for the big events so that eats some of my free time budget) and Picross on Switch which I can pick up and set down whenever (or before I was doing that it was Theatrhythm). I really struggle to make any time for substantial games; I've been meaning to play FFXVI for *years* now, and while I finally played through 95% of BotW which I loved, I still haven't finished it off and moved into TotK. Occasionally I'll manage to knock a shorter indie off my backlog but even that's very slow going.
Part of it is definitely the tradeoff with other media - my wife and I tend to watch at least a couple hours of TV shows together as an evening wind-down (we're currently going through all of Voyager and Bob's Burgers), and that supplants most evening game time aside from maybe a couple Picross puzzles. Though occasionally she gets a gaming bug and wants to spend some time with Borderlands or The Sims and I might get a little something else in then.
Part of it is definitely the tradeoff with other media - my wife and I tend to watch at least a couple hours of TV shows together as an evening wind-down (we're currently going through all of Voyager and Bob's Burgers), and that supplants most evening game time aside from maybe a couple Picross puzzles. Though occasionally she gets a gaming bug and wants to spend some time with Borderlands or The Sims and I might get a little something else in then.
I'm naturally more of a single-player gamer, but one way I've managed to keep gaming in my life vs almost completely abandoning the medium like several of my IRL friends have, is by turning gaming into a more social experience. Playing games with old friends, online friends, or coworkers in the evenings has supplanted a lot of my typical gaming habits. Even single player experiences can be shared this way if your friends/loved ones are open to the experience. I watched a friend play most of Death Stranding 2 last week. And I think I had more fun watching him play than if I was playing it by myself. (I love Kojima games, and I like a lot of what this game does, but the fact that it GRADES you constantly would drive me insane.)
In this way, I'm still engaging in game playing, as it's now wrapped into the time I set aside for socializing -- which is way higher on the priority list. It's a nice compromise.
In this way, I'm still engaging in game playing, as it's now wrapped into the time I set aside for socializing -- which is way higher on the priority list. It's a nice compromise.
I've done a lot more handheld gaming now that my toddler is constantly monopolizing the TV to watch (mostly insufferable) kid's programming. I also just have to play a lot more late at night. For whatever it's worth, working in the games industry has also made me want to do more stuff away from screens in my free time.
I think right now it's a matter of timing; time to myself in these summer months is harder to come by since my kids are out of school, and apparently between the time that I was a kid and today, it's become no longer acceptable to lock the kids out of the house from sunrise to sunset.
Plus, I think it's okay to let priorities shift as you get older. And if you don't get the same amount of pleasure from a leisure activity as you used to, it's okay to try new and different things.
Plus, I think it's okay to let priorities shift as you get older. And if you don't get the same amount of pleasure from a leisure activity as you used to, it's okay to try new and different things.
I could make that thread now! I haven't seen my Nintendo Switch in months!
Yeah, that one sounds familiar. My son going to sleepaway camp is the reason I was able to finish the DQ3 HD-2D remaster.