IM GOING TO GO BURN ALL MY VIDEOGAMES I LOVED THIS

Your animation was very touching. So much so that I felt compelled to log into an account I haven't used in years. I felt the need to re-activate this old, dusty thing. I am a gamer, I've been playing games for most of my life; from age 4, and ever since. Your story made me think. It made me question my way of life. It made me contemplate if the way I'm living my be wrong in some way. I felt close to tears halfway through, just thinking of all the time I've been wasted. You made excellent points. Towards the end, you said you found things relating to Penny Arcade con, and went on to explain some - in my opinion - good points about being a gamer. While it does take time, and it can make you persuade yourself to push aside important things for it, It is still an extremely entertaining hobby. Then there's the community. When you're not getting yelled at by prepubescent boys I find the community to be a very welcoming, very friendly place. The conventions put together to help the gaming, anime, manga and comic communities come together are amazing, they help develop new friendships, even new relationships in some cases.Anyway, your animation was extremely moving and thought-provoking. I thank you, sincerely, for making me question my lifestyle where others have not been able to. I will most certainly keep your words in my head, and try to change the way I act sometimes, especially where important things such as family and my girlfriend are concerned.

I think some people are not getting the point of this flash. It is HIS opinion and close to the end he does point out how games do effect people positivley by bringing people together and creating friendships. He is judging no one. Just sharing his personal experience so why are some of the commentors judging him? Thank you for sharing this flash with us. I think it is well done and in some cases yes, people can become addicted to games in an unhealthy manner they aren't weak willed per say....it just sometimes takes control

Made me think a lot about my time as a gamer. In comparison to you and many other gamers, I haven't had the social skills to actually make a lot of friends and I rarely had anyone to discuss my game experiences with. But although, I play games for the art, for the music, atmosphere, story, and not for the actual game itself which may sound weird. So I really don't know if I wasted my all my years (I'm 20 now and have played since I was a kid) playing games, because in a way, they inspire me a lot and given me a lot of material to work with and think over when I'm singing which is a real life hobby I have. Thing is, all these years have been awfully lonely though and to be honest, I never have been able to keep a friend after changing game or for e.g. schools irl. I'm not ashamed to say that.

But if you look on it with an objective perspective, games can also be a savior, because even if it is just a timesaver sometimes, it takes away the real pain many may harbor because of family relations or other stuff. I was for e.g. sick during my young years A LOT, so I barely had no other choice, it was games or utter boredom. Sure I could have read books but what kid does that really? And so it sort of stuck with me, and therefore I can't really hate what games have made me into, since they helped me overcome the hard parts in life.

All in all, it's mostly sad in the end, because as I said, it made me really lonely and it took away the experience that is Life. I don't agree with you on the "it's just a type of entertainment", no, for many, it's the only life they got. It's life support.

But the hard part now, when understanding the effect, is how do you really "get a life", when there never was any to begin with?

It is funny on the notion of finding a balance though. I know two people that play world of warcraft for 20+ hours a week. One just got dumped by his fiance over it and the other works a full time, while going to school part time, and being a step father to two. It is amazing to see how some people can handle things so much better than others.