The day I stop gaming, is the day I lose my youth and childhood.

About a month back, on the last day of my examinations for the semester, I remembered a conversation I had with a friend of mine. We were talking about gaming. Specifically we were talking about some of the upcoming games that were about to be released during the summer break. Eventually, it got on to the topic of Mass Effect 3, the final conclusion to the sci-fi epic RPG that I have been dying to play. I played the first two installments and I loved it to death. So it goes without saying that I just had to play the final game to see its conclusion. The game was released months back and I still hadn’t got hold of the game. So eventually my friend asked me when I would eventually play this game and it got me thinking; when will I EVER get to play this game? After a 360 degree turnaround on my summer plans for this year (going to Tunisia and all) I kinda suspect that I may never be able to play this game anytime soon. Finally towards the end, he made a harmless casual remark that somebody is ditching gaming and finally becoming a “responsible working adult’.

I find that comment really funny because it was the exact same sentiment that I had with myself when I realized that I have less and less time for gaming and that more and more titles are being passed on. The very notion that my passion for gaming doesn’t wane, but rather, being supplanted by other commitments that are more ‘adult’, more pragmatic and useful for my future self, is becoming more evident by the day. I am starting to see my future self ditching my passion for gaming to do something else that I would enjoy less.

I am pretty sure that this will not come to pass. Gaming, has no age limits. Anyone can game. The problem is, whether I can commit a small number of hours to something I truly enjoy. And I find it quite sad that it is increasingly difficult in doing so. Not so much on the fact that I have way too many life commitments to fulfill, but rather on the fact that I have yet to perform satisfactorily on the things I’m doing (studies, family, friend, social commitment etc..) before taking up on more commitments. Therefore it has become sort of a vicious cycle to spend more time on those, leading to less time on gaming.

The only explanation I can find for now why this is happening is the fact that I am reaching a stage in life, where there are other, more important priorities coming up that needs my immediate attention. For one, the feeling of being a final year student, has led to an increase in urgency in finding out my future career paths. I now have to devote a lot of time and resources in figuring out my future. The convergence of different paths in life presented in front of me now that are important for my future had led me astray from my passion.

I really hope that I will continue to find time to game and enjoy doing the things I love doing.