Games You Regret Spending Time On?

Mist said:

Did you have anything you would consider a Peak experience - Wikipedia during those times playing EQ? Did you learn anything important about your fellow humans during that time? Did you acquire any management skills or discover any leadership traits during that time?

This thread is particularly helpful to me, as I am writing a novel where the protagonist regrets and feels shame for the five years she spent addicted to a 'metaverse rpg' even though those experiences, while costly in many ways, greatly contributed to the person she is at the start of the novel. Some of her old friends that still play continue to have peak experiences and other meaningful moments in the game she was addicted to, and some are even financially successful streamers.

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I wasn't aware of the concept of peak experience but looking back I definitely had a few, there's distinct moments where everything felt blissful that I still recall every time I come across the same spot in EQ or WoW even though the actual moment is 15-20 years ago now. I'd describe it as being almost lost in the game, everything just falling into place. The right atmosphere, certain music, playing a class that feels just right etc. It's hard to repeat those moments (if it's even possible) and the advance of meta-gaming stuff like voice-chat, parse culture and probably streamers probably make it even harder as they inevitably take you out of the game world.

Being an officer in a guild was all the experience I needed to know that I never want to be a manager. I wasn't bad at it, just not something I'd ever want to have to do professionally as I got no fulfillment out of it at all.

TBH cannot think of any game. If the game sucked I quit pretty fast. Even Tides of Numenera wasn't that bad.

One thing I do regret is time on a forum - the Vanguard Saga of Heroes forum. I had a 2-digit user ID and wasted a ton of time on there debating game mechanics. Only for the game to be a 100% ineptly designed and managed bomb from day 1.

"game hype you regret buying into" is more accurate.

Diablo3, should've treated it just like D4 and don't give a fuck. At least I never gave those woketards any $$ afterwards.

Yeah, I would definitely echo a lot of people's comments about EQ. I was lucky that I was 28 when it was released and just got out of a 5 year relationship. She was still a friend and used to complain that my phone was always busy until I finally got cable optical internet lol.

I recall looking at my /played and realizing I spent a full 25% of my life (including sleeping time) in the world of Norrath over 4 years. There was regret at the time, for sure. In retrospect, not so much.

However, I quit playing in a guild during a Plane of Innovation raid where I realized my time is far more important than waiting on a bunch of nerds from around North America to get their shit together. From then on I just used it as a time waster. Played WoW in exactly the same way: Never joined a guild, and really enjoyed the Looking for Raid mechanic when it was introduced. And when they nerfed the LFR drops, I quit WoW forever.

I went back and played EQ on Steam years later for another 565 hours, grinding a solo shaman through early raid content with a mercenary and thoroughly enjoyed it a second time.

I occasionally regret and then don't regret the thousands of hours I have spent on PoE (10,000) and War Thunder (2,500). I immersed myself in PoE after my divorce, and War Thunder during the pandemic, so they had their purpose as well.