Oh Sh*t, I've Grown Up

Gamers with Jobs has an interesting read about feelings all us gamers have probably had at one time or another.

This little blurb especially struck home.

Where I used to dig into every game and scrape every bit of flavor out of it like a dog with his head in an ice cream bucket, now I mine them for the good bits with a surgical spoon. Once all the chocolate pieces are thoroughly rooted out, I toss it aside and look for the next one. It’s the most efficient way to experience the medium and all it has to offer without letting it take over more of my busy life than I can afford to give.

My feelings almost exactly. In the past I would have played a game like Dragon Age:Origins or Sacred 2 to completion, finishing every quest, getting every item. Now with a 1 year old and a house on the near horizon I find myself with maybe 10 to 20 hours a week to immerse myself in my favorite medium. Even then that is mostly a coffee fueled gamer rage after everyone has gone to bed.

I think about the hundreds of hours sunk into games like Final Fantasy VII. While I enjoyed my time with the game immensely, and I'd love to go back and play it at least twice before I die, the thought of sinking a man-month of time into grinding out a Gold Chocobo makes my unproductive sense tingle.

Someone win me the lottery, anyway link below.

Oh Sh*t, I've Grown Up