Gaming Marathon?
Raise your hand if on some weekend, you've ever played WoW (or similarly addictive game) for more than 8 hours in a row, interrupted only by "afk bio"? Okay, keep your hands up if more than 12 hours? More than 20? More than one full day?
Now, consider the recently deceased South Korean man, who spent supposedly 49 hours (some reports say 80) playing "battle simulation computer games," and then died of a heart attack. Let's first think of what 49 hours really means. Let's infuse it into a typical work week. You wake up at, let's say, 6:00 a.m. (to make things simple). Do your little coffee/breakfast jig while looking for clean undergarments, and finally at about 7, you're off to work. That's one hour. Due to your 2-hour commute, you arrive just in time to check your email and rush off to a meeting. Despite the coffee, you keep nodding off during the boring meeting, and catch your drool just before it hits your shirt. Finally, it's over, and you find the longest possible path back to your desk. It's 11 a.m., and it seems like the day will never end... and it's only just begun! That's only 5 hours so far.
Somehow, after tedious filing and finding ways to pass the time at work, it's time to go home, 5:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., you're shedding off your clothes and throwing in a microwave meal. Perhaps you grab a soda or beer, and turn on your PC. You check your email, even though you did so just before you left work. You never know when someone has something urgent to tell you. Like, Deal with confidence, we are Visa Verified; or exclusive brands; or 60 second Auto Loan App. All Credit Types Accepted; or New Weight-Loss Craze Sweeping the Nation; or Hi VIAGRA VALIUMM CIALISS; or one of my favourites, Make all your dreams come true. [Yes, I avoided the more vulgar of the spam; why do we have to put up with that crap, anyway?].
Finally, you get your favourite game loaded (is it Tuesday? is there another damn patch? ugh, gotta download that!), and get started. You nearly forget about your microwave meal that's been sitting, waiting for you for about an hour now, and while you're in flight to some remote destination, you take the time to run go get it. It's 9 p.m. You've offed your meal in two gulps, but supplemented it with loads of calories from your drink of choice. You take a quick glance at the clock, it's 9:45 p.m., and curse because you can't even get ONE level in the little time you have to play. You blink. It's 10:45. How did that happen? I just BARELY got on! Now someone's asking me to join them in ZF or whatnot. Well, I know that'll take 3 hours. Yawn. You think about how miserable you'll be at work tomorrow if you stay up past midnight. You pass on the ZF, cursing again, because you know it would have gained you another level. You blink, it's 11:45. Now how did THAT happen? You decide it's about time to call it a night. But, of course, you need to get to the AH to sell your stuff. Hey, it'd make it quicker to get started tomorrow night, right? So, you fly there, and bother to brush your fangs while in flight. You put your stuff up for auction (even though no one will buy any of it because you have it on an 8-hour timer, and put them up at midnight!), and then pop your monitor off, and climb into bed, where your spouse grumbles, turns over, and kicks you.
You get to sleep at about 12:30 a.m. About five seconds before the buzzer on your alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. Now, how did THAT happen?
From the time you woke up, to the time you finally fall asleep, that's 18.5 hours. This guy played a game for one of those entire cycles... plus another entire cycle, and then just over half of another entire cycle. So, basically, two and a half of your normal, waking days, this man was playing a game, non-stop.
The question you have to ask yourself, after you acknowledge it was insane of him to do this, is, do you envy him?
Now, consider the recently deceased South Korean man, who spent supposedly 49 hours (some reports say 80) playing "battle simulation computer games," and then died of a heart attack. Let's first think of what 49 hours really means. Let's infuse it into a typical work week. You wake up at, let's say, 6:00 a.m. (to make things simple). Do your little coffee/breakfast jig while looking for clean undergarments, and finally at about 7, you're off to work. That's one hour. Due to your 2-hour commute, you arrive just in time to check your email and rush off to a meeting. Despite the coffee, you keep nodding off during the boring meeting, and catch your drool just before it hits your shirt. Finally, it's over, and you find the longest possible path back to your desk. It's 11 a.m., and it seems like the day will never end... and it's only just begun! That's only 5 hours so far.
Somehow, after tedious filing and finding ways to pass the time at work, it's time to go home, 5:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., you're shedding off your clothes and throwing in a microwave meal. Perhaps you grab a soda or beer, and turn on your PC. You check your email, even though you did so just before you left work. You never know when someone has something urgent to tell you. Like, Deal with confidence, we are Visa Verified; or exclusive brands; or 60 second Auto Loan App. All Credit Types Accepted; or New Weight-Loss Craze Sweeping the Nation; or Hi VIAGRA VALIUMM CIALISS; or one of my favourites, Make all your dreams come true. [Yes, I avoided the more vulgar of the spam; why do we have to put up with that crap, anyway?].
Finally, you get your favourite game loaded (is it Tuesday? is there another damn patch? ugh, gotta download that!), and get started. You nearly forget about your microwave meal that's been sitting, waiting for you for about an hour now, and while you're in flight to some remote destination, you take the time to run go get it. It's 9 p.m. You've offed your meal in two gulps, but supplemented it with loads of calories from your drink of choice. You take a quick glance at the clock, it's 9:45 p.m., and curse because you can't even get ONE level in the little time you have to play. You blink. It's 10:45. How did that happen? I just BARELY got on! Now someone's asking me to join them in ZF or whatnot. Well, I know that'll take 3 hours. Yawn. You think about how miserable you'll be at work tomorrow if you stay up past midnight. You pass on the ZF, cursing again, because you know it would have gained you another level. You blink, it's 11:45. Now how did THAT happen? You decide it's about time to call it a night. But, of course, you need to get to the AH to sell your stuff. Hey, it'd make it quicker to get started tomorrow night, right? So, you fly there, and bother to brush your fangs while in flight. You put your stuff up for auction (even though no one will buy any of it because you have it on an 8-hour timer, and put them up at midnight!), and then pop your monitor off, and climb into bed, where your spouse grumbles, turns over, and kicks you.
You get to sleep at about 12:30 a.m. About five seconds before the buzzer on your alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. Now, how did THAT happen?
From the time you woke up, to the time you finally fall asleep, that's 18.5 hours. This guy played a game for one of those entire cycles... plus another entire cycle, and then just over half of another entire cycle. So, basically, two and a half of your normal, waking days, this man was playing a game, non-stop.
The question you have to ask yourself, after you acknowledge it was insane of him to do this, is, do you envy him?
posted by Psyae at 8:52 AM
6 Comments:
Do I kick, really???
No. But you should.
LOL - you forgot the part where your (insert wife or significant other) comes in and starts in on you about playing too much.
The kids start microwaving things because they know it drops your WIFI connection.
Both gang up on you around 10-11pm and start guilting you to shut down and come to bed.
Or maybe that's just *my* reality :)
Two words:
Convert them.
My eldest has already been converted. His 31st level Human warrior is my favorite tank companion. My youngest is another story (too small and more than happy to run the microwave to mess up dad and big brother's fun.)
My wife is a different story. She'll happily play DnD at a table full of friends - but balks at sitting behind a computer and playing a game. We'll have to see what I can do about that :)
For starters, make sure she has her own computer. And make sure it's better than yours.
It'll take some time, and effort, but ultimately, it'll be worth it.
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