Life of an Adult Gamer
The unique challenges of being a gamer and a grown-up
Today, the release of Destiny 2 is a bit of a struggle for me. My boyfriend has taken today and tomorrow off of work in order to play, but I have work and on top of it, it’s finals week. Ah, the life of an adult gamer.
Being a kid, for me, meant having to wait until a major holiday to get a new videogame or game system, first world problems am I right?? Christmas 2003 brought a new GameCube bundled with The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition, which housed my favorite game of all time (Ocarina of Time) and what truly inspired my love for videogames.
These days, any desire for a new game or a new system is met with the question, “do I avoid going out for 6 months to save up, or do I watch other people play the game on social media in despair?” Typically, my social life takes the backseat to any game I want. But then, once you have the game you’ve been waiting for, do you want to go out? No shot! I have a brand new game at home. Plus, why bother seeing your friends in person when you can just play with them on Xbox Live from the comfort of your own home, covered in chips crumbs and wearing your favorite pajamas.
You spend all day at work daydreaming about sitting on your most likely very comfy couch, playing your favorite game. Upon leaving work however you are faced with the dilemma, “am I too tired to play?” Naturally the answer varies daily, but being too tired to play video games is a surefire sign that you are a full-fledged adult!
Another exhausting aspect of being an adult is dating. Adult gamers will find that video games play a surprising role in their dating lives. One of my favorite stories from my adventures in single life, includes the time a guy commented on the triforce tattoo on my upper back saying, “you must like triangles huh?” Yes, yes I do. Exceptional pick-up line. (He was wearing a shirt that said “reading is sexy,” so we should give the guy some credit.)
Now, if you are an adult gamer that has managed to find yourself a significant other that is also an adult gamer, consider yourself lucky! I am 100% an introvert and my boyfriend is an extrovert. This caused problems for us early in our relationship because he constantly wanted to go out and I never did. We would both compromise for the other, but found that it didn’t truly make either of us happy. What does make both of us happy, is hanging out at home and playing video games. We’re one of those couples that puts two TV’s in one room so we can game together.
I never expected gaming to play such a large part in my (love) life.. oh wait, I totally knew that would happen.
This article was written by Super Jump contributor, Samantha Rolen. Please check out her work and follow her on Medium.
