I get this for sure....but it's all to do with boundaries ....the money aspect doesn't stack up though for me ...e.g.I paid full whack for Jedi Survivor, Cyberpunk,TLOU ,The Witcher 3,Red fall,all arrived totally broken and disgracefull performance issues to my PC (plenty of other games too)and all equipped with this new apology template....that's why I'm investing time now with ESO because the others just stole my money ....
I just checked my age at Hans and it was almost 180 days on my Ironman. 4,300 hours. It's still fun and I'm proud of what I have achieved through those hours. I don't have the time that I used to but I still think it's a thing that through small incremental progress I can achieve things. Even it is just one farm-run each day. I still get something done. I find that having a hobby that might not be productive in the world is so important. Something that truly doesn't matter to anyone other than yourself is a great and freeing feeling. A matter of confidence truly.
This. People need to understand this, you my sir, achieved CHIM. A hobby doenst need to be productive or change the world, it just need to entertaim, to give people a brief respite from how harsh life can get. Seriously, people that bash on "useless" hobies like gaming or maybe colecting toys, in my opinion, just hitted such a low end on their life that they need to constantly validate themselvs by putting what other people like down.
I see the points you are making and for each individual to make the best choices for yourselves where possible in this world,unfortunately many humans don’t have that luxury . Anyway Adam for yourself this is your way forward ,I will miss your Elder Scrolls content . For myself as an older gamer (64yrs young😮) I enjoy playing Elder Scrolls just returned from year and half break and I will be playing on a regular basis for another year I would guess could be longer could be less. I find the game actually therapeutic for my mental health and see it as an outlet outside the daily grind of life and simply just enjoy playing .I also love movies, music and the arts in general and wouldn’t be without them they have enriched my life and not impacted negatively apart from 25 years ago when in a bad relationship and guess I sought a bit of refuge there . I wish you all the best for the future.😊
Totally agree man. Everything you said, I hard agree with. I dropped (finally) the MMO addiction in 2015 or so after recognizing that the /played days was ... 500, or 600 across all the games. I really, really regret neglecting my real life for all that time. Sure I had fun, some of it I connected with new friends, but yeah... yeah...
Your story is really inspiring. Your thoughts on this are really on point and i think everyone abusing gaming have these sometimes but we neglect them. It really gets me motivated to get my shit together. Changing your channel had to be hard desicion but i wish you all good in creating more videos like this one
We might be around the same age, my first mmorpg was also runescape, the start of the journey. However, I no longer game for the same reasons as yours. I do praise God that my gaming habits amongst other things lead me to him. Keep going in this direction!
im glad i found this, i used to be in your guild back during quarantine but fell off when life picked up again. good to see ur doing well. I agree dude, after so many hours it feels great to be high level in the game. but when u log off and ur still level 1 in real life that feeling compels me to keep playing. so i set boundaries and put more time into the skills and hobbies that i love in real life. leveling up my real life skills so to speak. and that makes me feel way more fulfilled with my life. i still play here and there, but the real life skills are way more fulfilling.
Hi Adam. I needed to see this video. It took the latest update, that broke my gamepad functions to find this video. Thanks for sharing this experience. I have literally sustained gaming related injuries from playing too much. I have done physical harm to my body from poor posture or bad equipment; not to mention the psycological effects of being neglectful. The thing is: i've done it over and over again. There's a lot of topics you can touch on this subject. Thanks for this Brah. We got this
Adam, your realization hits on so many levels. I have been playing video games my whole life, but i also read books, watched and learned new real life skills. The dopamine fix you get in gaming is the same feeling you get when you accomplish a real life goal, so its hard to distinguish between the two. I have slowly reduced my gaming habit, but mobile games are just as addicting and i find myself drawn in just like MMOs. Stay strong and keep up this podcast. I know it will be worth it in the end. You have touched someone and changed their life. 😊
Thats the dumbest thing ibever heard, gamming is a hobby, a fcking HOBBY, seriously, what is so diferent from it from people that colect seals/legos/post cards or play sports asa hobby?
I spent my teens and early 20s going out every day. Drinking and just fucking around. I started gaming when I got my first apartment like 6 years ago. Since then, it has consumed me. I look forward to my off days of work so I can just play games all day. Right now, I don’t see a problem, but when I’m older i probably will. We’ll see. Hahah.
I would say that gamming has actually started helping you, and if it will harm you or not will all depend on how you take things, remember, gamming/drinking etc, these things are not a problem, what is a problem is lack of control, everything in excess is bad.
I actually have the same problem with not finishing some of my games, ghost of tsushima, god of war and bloodborne are some that I love but just can't get around to finish and I think it's because I don't want to not play them anymore because the first time playing these types of game are best times. I also played ESO for like 6 months straight there and got from 600CP to like 1200CP and I've been burnt out and I've realised how much money ESO sucks out of you, literally just cosmetic items. Especially them being locked behind gambling forcing you to pay real life money. ESO is the worst for valuing another humans time. ZOS doesn't value your time just your money. I've stopped playing ESO because I realised how much time it's actually taking from me, so now I'm just going to spend some time playing my single player games that I have
I have played thousands of hours on eso if I wasn't working or sleeping I was playing eso. The crazy pendulum nerfs made it so I couldn't keep up with the meta builds. I decided to take a break and it's been 2 years since I've played a game! Now I just do the grinding in real life. I did the math one time and if I had done overtime instead of playing eso I would have made 200,000$ and change. It really put things into perspective, now I'm getting my life on track, and life is amazing!
I guess I'll point out that what you're talking about is just human nature. Those tiktoks with the games at the top? Yeah, we've been doing that for thousands of years. People talk to each other while doing other things. Walking, petting their dog, watching the birds, cooking, cleaning, working, etc. We as human beings are not very good at devoting 100% of our attention to something that doesn't require 100% of our attention, and even then it can be a challenge if you're doing something that isn't engaging. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with those people. What it means is we are as human now as we were 10,000 years ago but with electricity. Can our caveman brain be hijacked by giving it a consistent dopamine drip? Of course. Is that a problem? Well yeah, it certainly can be. The catch is that isn't a problem found only in MMOs or video games. It's found in everyone's life, no matter how pious or careful you may be. The bottom line is, if you don't play MMOs anymore because you felt you were unable to properly manage your time to the point of it being a real problem in your life, that's is obviously your choice to make, but that's all it is. You don't need a +30 minute video trying to explain yourself. "I don't play MMOs anymore because I wasn't able to manage my time in a healthy way." and leave it at that. Ancedotes are fine, but these were ultimately pointless. The tiktok rant and the stuff about how you think kids are today lacked any critical thought. The less you say about this the more you'll get across.
I think you need to understand real life sucks, people will lie to you girls will cheat on you and family will betray you. I love playing eso every day. What if you are a low status guy? Life is hell for you. Mmos are a little happiness in your life.
This was especially true during the covid era. Was unemployed and life was sh*t. That's when I got into ESO. Unfortunately having so much invested in ESO makes it real hard to leave the game. I've transitioned into casual playing a few times a week, but it's very true what he says about MMOs. They never end, and you have to keep playing to not loose your progress/investment in the game.
@elderwiz3165 Yes,but else are you going to do? Go to a bar and watch football? ESO is the cheapest hobby i ever had and the funest. And i can stay home to play.
Why would you call yourself a low status guys? I think everyone has some level of greatness in them but it’s not something you’re going to find playing eso everyday.
Most men are low status to women. Just look at the low marriage rate. ESO is not the problem. The problem is a broken culture. It was their before i was born. Most people suck. Part of that is because of the christ BS. We were better off pagan/ or a magical view of the world.
I definitely have gone through phases like this with games. I actually never really had this problem with MMOs (I was really into fifa, would play too much and spent too much money on fifa points). I’ve been playing eso casually, mostly just doing quests. I like that I’m not taking it too seriously. I’ll play for an hour or two whenever I have time and it feels so much better that way.
I think wow is pretty casual. I only log in when I want to and do a dungeon or two. No real pressure unless you’re trying to be a number one raider. God bless.
I cant relate because im not and never was addicted to anything. Used to smoke i quit cold turkey np. Now that i realise that ESO end game is also fashion and Housing it kinda got me off a bit. Warframe is the same but Warframe you can stop and comeback for couple hours of fun and stop again. I do still check your Eso videos tho 😊
A good video to make. It's good for men to hear this as you transition into 'Men's Leadership'. There can be value in videogames, it's the current way we experience, fantasy, mythology, epic narratives and literature, hidden in the most interesting lores (like ES) there's a fragment of the human subconscious, having said that people who waste their lives getting every tier piece becoming a sweaty tryhard on pvp to put down others etc. should feel ashamed since that is WORTHLESS. Dreaming in fantasy worlds, stimulating one's creativity, being part of a positive community has WORTH if a fair balance can be reached.
@paulward9038 You got me curious, so I checked. Over the past 365 days there has been an overall decrease of 4.4k subs and overall decrease of 2m views. There was a short-term spike in views after this video was posted. However, there were three videos of the new content within 31 days of this, so difficult to say for sure which video was the cause. My guess is the spike was primarily his long-time viewers looking for more details. That's the unfortunate reality of turning a channel almost 180 from what most of the subs joined for after years of content.
Hi Adam... I am 44, I play this kind of games since I was very young. You are completely right about the time consuming of MMORPGs... What I do... My solution has been to limit my playtime during the week to no more than 5 hours... That rule forced me to pick maybe one or two games and leave the others behind. I also don't take them very seriously... For instance if I can't play on a whole week it is fine with me. Of course that is because I don't have any game community engagement. Because when you do have one, then that factor creates a silent pressure on you even if you have controlled your desire to play... That's working so far. Note: from 2016 - 2019 i was very hardcore (20-40 hours) per week. And it definitely affected my whole life in a negative way. Since 2020 i decided to gradually become a casual gamer... So now it takes much more time to make progress within any game.. But but at least I have more control and a balanced life. Enjoying for me is not squeezing the games fast, but having fun while I play them... So far I am feeling better with that change😊😊.
Yeah I'm sorry but MMOs aren't the problem here. What you are describing is that YOU personally have and addictive personality and YOU don't know how to control yourself around it. If you replace MMO with alcohol, drugs, porn, eating, or anything else the comparison remains the same. I think instead of turning to RU-vid or other platforms to "help" others overcome their problems (which I'm 99.9999% sure you aren't trained in helping others with these things) you should be reaching out to an addiction counselor to deal with YOUR problem.
Right. Like all these comments saying the games never end and you have to keep playing. No you don't. You literally don't all you need is the bare minimum self control and this whole preaching to others stance is bs imo cause his audience is mostly gamers and him leaving the gaming space is fine, but trying to convert people who genuinely love the game and the eso universe etc into thinking that games are bad is weird. I hate when content creators do that cause his whole thing is about retaining people's attention with his content but when it's mmo's it's bad 🤨
hey ADAM, this is a video ive been waiting along time to see from someone i relate and am inspired by. i too have gone through this whole process you described about 3-5 times in my life since 10 yo to now 26. it started with OG WoW WotLK but i was i kid and had my dad scrappy laptop so that stint didnt last too long. ESO had the hardest hit on me. its becasue i was a adult with a decent job going and i neglected so much shit man. pulled myself together outta the mud now but you know the thing that hit me the hardest was "completing tasks in MMO's tells your brain/mind that youve actually completed something and progressed, when IN REALITY you technically havent done anything. my mottto now is if theres dishes in the sink and clothes on the floor i cant game (except weekends) and also to realise when i am gettting obsessed compared to able to easily put the controller down. thanks adam!
Adam, I completely agree! Video games are not inherently bad. But can become massive time sucks and life stealers. Especially MMO RPGs. I understand the draw that these games have or even all games have to men. It’s a escape from the real world and we are always the hero’s in these games. Something we may not feel like we are in the real world. And that has been a problem for me in my young adult life. But as I get older I am discovering that there is so much more reward in being a better man, being a better husband, being a better follower of Christ. That the satisfaction of being just a little bit better at any of those things is so much better then reaching lvl99 in OSRS. But I still do enjoy an hour every couple days that I do get to grind and hangout with a community that enjoys the same thing as me. Thank you for making this podcast!
You could make this argument with any video game or ANY form of entertainment. Watching tv, reading, exercising, playing a sport, playing a mmo. They all “take time” from other things. It’s called life, balance, understanding how to enjoy things. I believe that if you think too much about what you’re neglecting you’ll never be happy. I live a very happy life with my family and we do things all the time. I also love video games. You CAN do both, trust me. Just know when it’s family time, and when it’s time to relax and turn on the game. I understand it’s addictive at times, but that is a personal thing that is different with each individual. Just find what works best with you
Hey Adam, just wanted to say, this video helped me realize an aspect to gaming that I never really considered. I have been playing games since I was 6, and have resorted to only playing games on the hardest difficulties, and 100% them in order to feel accomplished. Yet outside of gaming, in real life, I would still feel worthless and insecure due to not moving forward in my life. This is an excellent eye opener that I hope many can take a lesson from. Keep up the great work dude, and may God guide you through all challenges and trials to come. I'm praying for you❤
Very true. I went on a business trip overseas and commented id not seen any young men around, only woman and old folk. The company translator said its because they are all gaming and then took me inside an internet cafe...bingo !! All males, playing, eating and even areas to sleep there. 24 hour internet cafe, bloody sad. We need better leadership on this planet, leaders to enrich our existence not take take take all the time from it. WTF happened to all the youth centres and places that taught youth trade skills and life skills? Your message needs to reach many, too many are wasting their lives playing these games, me included and im 49 years old ! Ps. 4000 hours is enough to become a qualified electrician, plumber, carpenter, mechanic etc... Food for thought.
This video kind of makes me sad. Because you post this right on the Necrom release date! I started playing mmos in FFXI when I was in college. I have learned over the years to curb the gaming. I have a child by myself so can only play certain times. It’s a struggle so I get the addiction. I did notice that if I don’t play too much I don’t get so burnt out. I limit myself to a certain amount per week. I can’t imagine gaming in the 6th grade. I did play games back then but mmos were not out yet. So it wasn’t so time consuming. And about the sounds, the sounds I love is wooden doors opening in TES games 😅
