Time is pretty peculiar if you think too much about it. For most of human history it was simply an abstract way to measure a rate of change. That change may have been related to when you needed to get out into the fields to plant or harvest your crops, when a particular deity needed honouring or frequently both.
Then about a century ago along comes Einstein who takes our abstract concept of time and weaves it into the very fabric of the universe, intrinsically linking space and time and showing us just how mutable time can be. For example, relativity has a significant effect on the GPS system.
[drop2]Of course, our perception of time is mutable too. You will all be familiar with how time with a loved one passes too quickly, while minutes can seem like hours when you are standing in the checkout queue at your local supermarket. Common interpretations of Salvador Dali’s famous painting The Persistence of Memory, the one with the ‘melted’ clock faces draped over branches, suggest that he was trying to show how our perception of time is flexible.Time is something we never seem to have enough of either. For me that has been especially true of gaming time recently. For much of this year I have found it difficult to find more than a couple of hours a week to dedicate to gaming. It’s hard to work out where that time has gone too.
I know that about half a working day’s worth of time is now dedicated to the two weekly TSA features that I write, Tweak It and What We Played, but the rest of the time I used for gaming seems to have just evaporated. As a result my pile of played-but-unfinished games continues to grow as more titles like Deus Ex get added to the collection.
To ensure I am getting some gaming in every week I have turned to Gran Turismo 5. I have managed to organise a group of real-life friends who are also PS3 and GT5 owners so that we meet up every Wednesday evening for a couple of hours of races and arguments over who was on the racing line at the point of impact.
It is GT5’s B-Spec mode that allows me to feel like I am getting more gaming done than I actually am. Being able to set my B-Speccers (the current roster including such luminaries as B.May, H.Eisenberg and D.Eisenhower) racing for a few hours, largely unattended, with just the odd bit of encouragement is great. It is almost like being able to game while doing the housework.
[drop]As I write this for example they’re busy putting in 60 laps around the Grand Valley Speedway course which will take them around two and a half hours. They still require the odd bit of “increase pace” encouragement just to keep them on their toes but as their car is comfortably within the top five in the race in terms of actual performance, the fact that they are several levels above the other drivers does most of the work of keeping them towards the front.At the moment then to make sure I get some gaming time in each week I have booked a slot in my calendar with friends to make sure I get a couple of active hours of gaming in. While in addition I enjoy some pseudo-gaming with GT5’s B-Spec mode when I am busy with other things around the house.
How do you manage your gaming time? Do you have fairly rigid and well-defined times when you can game or is your gaming a much more ad-hoc arrangement?
RudeAwakening
I tend to get a few hours during the week, mostly at night when the wife has gone to bed after watching all her soaps, god i hate those soaps!
Most of my gaming would be at the weekend, and even though im prob luckier than most for gaming time i still feel cheated by time as those couple of hours pass by in minutes.
bunimomike
My gaming time is shambolic. I don’t make time to game. It fits in with the rest of my life as I’d rather socialise (online or offline) over anything else. The community at TSA keeps me close but the games will always play second fiddle compared to being with friends.
job
im unlucky enough to have loads of gaming time due to illness. even been told that a “sensible” amount of gaming is therapeutic. but losing your health is shite and i’d gladly go back to 50 hour weeks and stress and no gaming time and all the other stuff i used to moan about.
KeRaSh
I’m in the same boat. I don’t have a lot of time to play games and even when I do I get distracted by things like commenting on TSA or watching Yogscast videos. It’s weird. I still have so many games that I haven’t finished yet but I don’t feel like playing them because it’s a little overwhelming. I know more games are coming out and some games will be left behind unfinished and that frustrates me. I still have 10 days of vacation left for this year and 1 week will be spent on pure gaming. No girlfriend distractions. It wont be enough but it’s a start…
cam_manutd
It ranges from anytime really…my university hours are at a minimum and my girlfriend likes being in my company whether im on games or not but atm im tackling RE4HD :D
a inferior race
As I don’t watch any TV aside from Pointless while I’m eating my tea, I tend to get a couple of hours every night to game.
moshi
Best Game Show in ages .
Foxhound_Solid
One, maybe two hours a night thru the week where poss with work n gym. My GF likes watching games so we both enjoy them. Weekends is where ps3 quality time comes into play…
fazzalax
I used to play for at least 2 hours a day back when i was a student. Now though im lucky if i get 2 hours a week. Sundays is now designated gaming day! If anyone needs me ill be on the sofa all day.
Kaminari
B-Spec is for pussies anyway.
I drove 24 hours straight in Test Drive Le Mans on the Dreamcast.