I am happy to say that the Long Dark helped me quit videogames

[White_SnowTree]

I know that this a very awkward post to put here on these forums, but I felt that I needed to share my experience:

 

After having put over 400 hours into the Long Dark, and many more hours into other games in my Steam Library, I started to have the feeling of repetition- I do not know if I have some kind of mental issues, but I would play a game for an hour, grow tired of it because I had played it before, and then move on and play another game for another hour. I simply was going around in circles, playing the same games over and over again while waiting for DLC or expansions to release; the Long Dark was probably the worst culprit of all, considering how slow updates have been for the last year and how Story Mode episodes are being delayed again and again . 

 

As this process repeated itself during the past year, I grew to realize that everything is simply code: every game element, every object, and every action you can take in a game is simply dictated by a line of code. Every cool action I did or mini easter egg I discovered has all been pre-programmed- when I realized this, I started having less enthusiasm for the games that I played. Last year was also a time when I was at school and my grades plummeted; I did not pass a single class during the Fall semester due to skipping class and playing games, and was therefore expelled. Simply put my life was going poorly, and I decided to change for the better.

 

Looking at the main culprit, video games, I began to check how long I could last without playing. I would stop for 2-3 weeks before relapsing again- I do not have a lot of friends, and so my willingness to occupy my time was taken over by wanting to play again. This lasted throughout the summer, but as I started school again full-time this Fall, I finally took up the courage to delete my Steam account- I am finally proud to say that it is the past, and I no longer play any kind of video game. My grades are skyrocketing compared to when I was last at school full-time, I am taking better care of myself physically and mentally, as well as having the courage to finally be with a beautiful girl I love (I used to be a complete screwup with girls during my teenage years).

 

All of this simply because playing 400 hours of the Long Dark taught me how much of my early life I wasted. Playing different games while waiting for content to release wasn't healthy for me, and so I neglected my school work and neglected myself. I still have a lot to work on, but quitting video games has been the first major step in making myself a better person; although video games are a great way to entertain when there is nothing else, life is too short to waste