Completed game: Halo Reach (original 1000 - still need to do Noble achievements).Last achievement earned: Make It Rain (legit).
So I woke up this morning at 5am, feeling as rough as a dog and I've been feeling unwell all day. I wondered whether my marathon 6 hour session on The Club (which lasted into the early morning) had anything to do with it. Been feeling so tired lately and it's often tough to build up motivation but it did get me thinking: how much does forcing yourself through a long gaming session physically take out of you; and what's the damage long term?
Before online play came along, I would often spend ages hunting for every last collectable, but I didn't see this as a chore - I did it because I've always been a completionist. Collecting 5000 lums in Rayman or every toy collectable from Shenmue were fun; achieveing all the platinum medals in PGR3 - challenging and skill-building; and finding every diary in Bioshock made the whole experience so much richer.
Now, if I want to complete a game (especially shooters), I'm forced into doing something terribly monotonous and boring, and I'm beginning to think more carefully about the games I start for this very reason. Of course, developers would say,"You're not playing the game as intended. You're supposed to play our game for 5 years until you get all your 10,001 kills legit!"
Mmmmmm. So I'm supposed to love your game so much that I play it EVERY night, waiting around in empty lobbies? Don't think so, and I'm sure most of the gaming community would agree.
I prefer a gaming diet which is rich in variety and entertains me - why else would we play? Don't get me wrong, The Club is a great game but why spoil it trying to '1-up' Epic? Shooting someone in the face for 2 hours at a time is not fun and is certainly not condusive to an enjoyable experience. When you're fighting tiredness, hunger and overwhelming fatigue just to get to the 'next 1000' it can't possibly be good for you, can it?
Which brings me finally to the poor chap who died in Japan recently. According to reports, he played for 3 days solid, without food or rest and sadly died because of his passion for gaming. Of course addiction of this kind is extreme, but it helps put everything into perpective and reminds me that there are other important things in life.
Will I carry on with The Club? I'm on 8000 kills so I'd be a fool not to. Firefighting my way to Lt Col in Halo: Reach tested my patience, but I got there in the end. I will, however, be looking very carefully at the achievements for Gears 3 before thinking about starting it - I don't think I could cope with another 'waste a month (+) of your life' kill achievement.
