Bad decision by SE

[Wissp]

I find it interesting reading these POV on hobbies and video games. People are right, what they do with their own time is their own business, even if others think it is not the best use of their time. What started the whole berating of those people is them publicly complaining of being inconvenienced because of how they do their hobby.

As this is the internet, it is a sad fact that people DO love to criticize, no matter what it is or who it is. One can either grow a thick skin and not care or feel offended. But at the end of the day, it is unlikely to change how they are in real life.


Video/computer games as a hobby are a funny thing. Sure I do them, sometimes to excess if I am really into one. But as many people, they are only one of many activities I pursue in my free time. But of all the hobbies I do, I find video games to be the most 'wasteful' of my time.

Is that silly? Sure it is. I personally see video games as the 'junk food' hobby. They are fun and very entertaining, but give you very little to nothing in the time spent in them in relation to other hobbies such as anything artistic, physical, creative, etc. In short, anything that could also benefit you in real life.

Compare 10 hours playing games to 10 hours of say, painting. Afterwards, what do you have to show for those 10 hours? With VG's, maybe fun, relaxation, progression in the game, little else. For the painting, you have fun, relaxation, practice in artistic skill for future endeavors/career, and a piece of media you can admire and show off to others. It is pretty much the same for any other hobby that is used in real life.

So then WHY play games in the first place if they are such time wasters? Like I said, 'junk food'. They are yummy and taste VERY good, but are mainly empty calories that aren't terribly good for you. It is why I try to limit my time with them as to not feel TOO guilty I do them.

But I am only human and sometimes there is something, (like an expansion), that I REALLY want to play a lot of and waste a lot of time on. Then I make up an excuse to myself to justify it. LOL

[Menriq]

I don't care if it does come off as condescending, it's something I think some people, especially the creator of this thread, need to hear.

And I don't really care exactly what interests other people invest in as long as they don't become so invested in a single piece of media--created by people who barely know they exist--that their lives are so impacted by a *two week* delay. That is not psychologically healthy, no matter how many posts on here offer shallow reassurance. Diversifying investments is almost *always* good advice, at least when compared to putting all your happiness eggs into one basket.

AND I think you are doing great and generally not the sort of person I am criticizing. There is a substantial difference between taking one day off and taking an entire week or two off, across several axes. I was specifically addressing people taking multiple days off from work, which is where I think it starts to become unhealthy.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but I have a very well paying job along with 8 weeks of vacation. The fact that I take 2 of those weeks every couple of years off to play a new expansion really isn't your place to say whether it's healthy or not, especially given the fact that you know zero of what people's life situations are. If I were to tell you I was taking two weeks off to do this https://www.rtjgolf.com/trail/ (which I've done btw), I have a feeling you wouldn't be saying the same thing.

[Shin96]

Is that silly? Sure it is. I personally see video games as the 'junk food' hobby. They are fun and very entertaining, but give you very little to nothing in the time spent in them in relation to other hobbies such as anything artistic, physical, creative, etc. In short, anything that could also benefit you in real life.

I agree, wish more people saw it that way. Take it from me but gaming has been a huge detriment to my life when I was younger and more ignorant. Had I spend anywhere near the time invested into real skills (which I did thankfully, albeit later) I probably would've been less depressed. Gaming is a great way to cope with a situation or enjoy it for its artistic value but we as a society have become addicted to it, putting way too much value in something that amounts to nothing but pixels on the screen. That's just my two cents on the situation.

[linayar]

If I were to tell you I was taking two weeks off to do this https://www.rtjgolf.com/trail/ (which I've done btw), I have a feeling you wouldn't be saying the same thing.

I assume that would depend on if you were to complain publicly about not being able to do it within your scheduled two weeks somewhere they can make a response.

[Artemiz]

I assume that would depend on if you were to complain publicly about not being able to do it within your scheduled two weeks somewhere they can make a response.

Well something that does fit within this discussion is my passion away from gaming, carp fishing. In the UK it is very common for carp anglers to use their holiday days to go to France fishing. When the covid lockdowns destroyed everyone's plans there was some complaining, especially towards the end of the lockdown when people started getting frustrated with it. They didn't get lectured at about how to use their time off or what hobbies to enjoy. People either ignored the moaning or showed empathy, why is gaming any different?

[linayar]

Well something that does fit within this discussion is my passion away from gaming, carp fishing. In the UK it is very common for carp anglers to use their holiday days to go to France fishing. When the covid lockdowns destroyed everyone's plans there was some complaining, especially towards the end of the lockdown when people started getting frustrated with it. They didn't get lectured at about how to use their time off or what hobbies to enjoy. People either ignored the moaning or showed empathy, why is gaming any different?

Part of it is probably because there are constant complaints in the world of gaming (not unique to FFXIV). So some people are sick of it and when there are complaints they feel are unnecessary, it may elicit a response.

Also, it seems like your fishing time was closed for good during lockdown and not just delayed for a short time. That may be another difference.

[Artemiz]

Part of it is probably because there are constant complaints in the world of gaming (not unique to FFXIV). So some people are sick of it and when there are complaints they feel are unnecessary, it may elicit a response.

Also, it seems like your fishing time was closed for good during lockdown and not just delayed for a short time. That may be another difference.

I get you, I roll my eyes every day on this forum at the trivial things some people like to moan about but I think this complaint has merit. SE have dropped the ball very close to release at what is easily the busiest time of year for most of us, this has affected carefully made plans so I understand the frustration.

I guess what I'm reacting to as much as anything is for a good 40 years gaming has held a special position in the public psyche as uniquely a waste of time, even though all hobbies are by nature, a waste of time.

[SeverianLyonesse]

At the same time, who are you or anyone else to shame people for having video game as their hobby in their busy lives and want to take their hard earned vaction to play on launch?

I know myself as someone in the mid 30s with familylife and whatnot, playing a game is the one of few activities I have time for, outside of;

- Spending time with loved ones
- Going to the gym
- Reading
- What else that takes up time in your adult life
- etc

What I am imparting is simply the wisdom of basic complex systems theory: the less robust a system is, the more susceptible it is to falling apart in the face of even minor inconveniences.

If people don't want to be devastated by something completely reasonable like a two week delay of something as relatively inconsequential as a video game...don't hinge so much of your happiness on one single media event going as planned. And I have seen enough posts here and on reddit to show that there are definitely some people who were substantially affected by the delay--which to me says more about them and their dependency on the game than anything the developers did wrong.

Some of you clapping back seem to realize I'm not actually addressing you, and instead you are defending what I believe is a pretty...fallible?...heuristic, "don't criticize how people live their lives" (which, if I may be blunt, quite often reads to me as a euphemistic deflection, "don't suggest that defining my identity by my consumer habits might be vacuous and/or irresponsible"). Which, I guess good for you for having some sort of moral compass, even though for many reasons I do not agree with this neoliberal approach to discussion.

Here's the thing, though. This is a public forum. One that is quite susceptible to people posting incredibly myopic, self-centered, underthought threads like this one. 1) By making a thread here, OP is submitting to public comment. 2) Which I as a participating member of this community have done, because I get quite irritated by seeing places of public discourse clogged up with whiny non-topics.

[Artemiz]

What I am imparting is simply the wisdom of basic complex systems theory: the less robust a system is, the more susceptible it is to falling apart in the face of even minor inconveniences.

If people don't want to be devastated by something completely reasonable like a two week delay of something as relatively inconsequential as a video game...don't hinge so much of your happiness on one single media event going as planned. And I have seen enough posts here and on reddit to show that there are definitely some people who were substantially affected by the delay--which to me says more about them and their dependency on the game than anything the developers did wrong.

Some of you clapping back seem to realize I'm not actually addressing you, and instead you are defending what I believe is a pretty...fallible?...heuristic, "don't criticize how people live their lives" (which, if I may be blunt, quite often reads to me as a euphemistic deflection, "don't tell me defining my identity by my consumer habits is vacuous and/or irresponsible"). Which, I guess good for you for having some sort of moral compass, even though for many reasons I do not agree with this neoliberal approach to discussion.

Here's the thing, though. This is a public forum. One that is quite susceptible to people posting incredibly myopic, self-centered, underthought threads like this one. 1) By making a thread they are submitting to public comment. 2) Which I as a participating member of this community have done, because I get quite irritated by seeing places of public discourse clogged up with whiny non-topics.

As I said before I do in many ways agree with your sentiment but you have a habit of delivering it like you're looking down your nose at everyone and patronising them. You wont convince anyone like that.

I also think you are massively over thinking this with all this talk of neolibralism and whatnot. It's about basic empathy for people who blew holiday allowance on something which is now cancelled, that's all.

[SeverianLyonesse]

As I said before I do in many ways agree with your sentiment but you have a habit of delivering it like you're looking down your nose at everyone and patronising them. You wont convince anyone like that.

I also think you are massively over thinking this with all this talk of neolibralism and whatnot. It's about basic empathy for people who blew holiday allowance on something which is now cancelled, that's all.

Fair, some measured sympathy. But the thread creation is unnecessary, and I would hope this would be a learning experience for some of those younger folk.