Please don't let gaming consume your life

There are more subtle ways of gaming ruining your life, as well: slowly losing the drive to do anything more than what's necessary to pay the cable bill, rent, and the gaming subscription. Slowly the only friends you have are people you know from your guild. When the only source &#38; output of creativity and energy are all wrapped up in <i>playing</i> a video game.<p>I've also seen people similarly consumed by pornography, alcohol, gambling, day trading, and I'm sure other things I can't think of now. Pot. I think any of those things can have their place, but please maintain connection to people who can and will say something if you start going overboard.<p>For instance, I'm in a pretty good place right now and still gave parental control to a friend for the D3 release, just in case. Six hours a week is arguably still too much, but seems reasonable to me, and they won't budge because A) I asked them not to; B) they care. That I've hit that limit is a good sign that I may not be as well off as I thought I was ;)<p>Take care of each other, and yourself.

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are:<p>1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as nothing more than fuel, the better off you'll be;<p>2. American cities with their car addictions make it incredibly easy to lead a sedentary existence. Biking is a somewhat hazardous option that's not always realistic. The ideal exercise (in times of reward-for-effort) is probably walking. I live 7 minutes from work and the absolute minimum steps I could take in a day is probably 5000, maybe 6000 (I have a pedometer). 8000 is more common, which is still a bit low (10,000 is recommended). Live 10-15 minutes from work and walk to and from work every day and you <i>massively</i> better off;<p>3. People treat diets and, to a lesser extent, exercise regimes as a transitory effort to get back to some goal weight or fitness level, at which point they seek to return to the previous behaviour. This is a mistake. You're getting older. Your metabolism is, all other things being equal, slowing down (it requires more effort to keep it up at any rate). You should view a dietary change (in particular) as a lifestyle change, not a temporary adjustment;<p>4. Psychological addiction may not be as "obvious" as physiological addiction but its effects can be very real.<p>I'm sorry for your loss. It may sound callous but ultimately we are each responsible for our own well-being. If someone chose to die that way, it's sad but there's not much you could do. You have to choose to be helped.

Gaming? So fast food with no exercise would not have killed him if he had just not played games?<p>I had a friend with diabetes, he was way over weight. One day we talked about his new apartment, WOW and girls. He mentioned he had a good view of the joggers from his window. I mentioned I am frequently one of those joggers, and you see a lot more of the cute girls that way.<p>The topic of conversation moved to WOW, and I mentioned how I hate to touch a computer after spending all day at work sitting in front of one.<p>Despite subtle and not so subtle hints he did not start to exercise and died alone in his mid 30s.<p>And you know what, a lot of people die exactly the same way, with no gaming what so ever involved.<p>This whole heart attacks are a top killer, so eat well and exercise deal pre-dates computers by decades.

Server died...here's a repost:<p>Over this past weekend a good friend and coworker passed away. He always had a good heart and would do anything he could to help you out. It was certainly a shock.<p>Monday morning he didn't show up to work. He always calls or sends an email if he won't be in but nobody could get a hold of him. I got a bit worried since I knew he was playing Diablo 3 since it came out on Tuesday and I've heard of people dying from exhaustion and what not from playing video games so much. I didn't want to think that but it had occurred to me. Especially since nobody has heard from him since late Saturday. I had called his landlord and asked about him. (The landlord, Russ and I are all good friends and we've known each other for a while) I was heading over and she was going to let me in but apparently she got too worried and went in anyway. She found him at his computer. He apparently had a heart attack. Poor gal shouldn't have had to do that. I kick myself for not going there immediately. I had gone in anyway at the request of the Fire Department to find his identification and cellphone. Not a minute goes by that I wish my memory of him had not been sullied in that manner.<p>I sincerely hope that he went quickly and didn't suffer, unable to contact anyone for help.<p>He was only 32 years old.<p>Please, if only for yourselves, take time out of your day to get some exercise. Go outside and enjoy the sun. Ride a bike. Do something active. Video games are great fun when played in moderation. This may be an extreme example but take it as advice to not go overboard. Or at least don't do it alone. He took 3 days off and played Diablo 3 pretty much the whole time. He called in and asked to take Friday off as well. We are placing the blame on ourselves at work wondering if we made him come in on Friday would he still be with us today?<p>It saddens me that we tried to get him to be healthy. Work offered to pay for a gym membership. Friends coaxed him to exercise and eat better. He took us up on our offers, if only for a short while.<p>We should have tried harder.<p>He will be missed greatly by all who knew him.

First off: I am really sorry you have to lose a friend like that.<p>But please, don't blame yourself. Asking him to come in or not might well have not changed anything. While gaming certainly can be addictive, he had a heart attack. That has <i>nothing</i> to do with gaming. You can get a heart attack at any moment. Heck, you can have one while sleeping. (You can even have one without any recognizable symptoms)<p>So, instead I suggest people learn what the symptoms of a heart attack are - so if you or somebody close to you has one, you can actually recognize it and get help in time. Here's one link giving more detail: <a href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart_disease_heart_attacks" rel="nofollow">http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart_disease_heart...</a>

First things first, I'm very sorry for your loss; it's never easy to lose a friend, let alone one so young. With that said...<p>This hit so close to home that it's scary. I'm 24, and my weight hovers between 350 and 385lbs. I've always been fat and otherwise unhealthy. While I don't eat a lot (I definitely eat more than I should, but I don't think that I eat to excess by any means), what I do eat is terrible; that's gotten worse since I moved to NYC and had money to get delivery effectively every night, meaning I eat at my computer and pay no attention to what I'm eating. In my case, it's not gaming but programming that's killing me; I don't get away from the computer and exercise effectively at all, and even if I ate perfectly I'd still be screwed for that reason.<p>But with that said, blaming programming/gaming/whatever for my health problems is like blaming the manufacturer of my chair for making it so damn comfortable. At the end of the day, it's an excuse to take the attention away from the real issue: sedentary lifestyles are unhealthy and <i>will</i> kill you.<p>I don't want to get too far off-topic here because this is about your friend, not me or anyone else here, but the focus really needs to be put on a healthy lifestyle, not on isolating one specific component as the failure point. A serious change in my life (and I imagine Russell's) wouldn't involve removing the object of obsession, but changing a million factors, and it's definitely easier said than done; that said, it's something I'm working hard on myself if only because... I want to live.<p>Edit: Something that I missed while writing this initially, as I got caught up in it.<p>&#62; We should have tried harder.<p>I know you say that with the best of intentions, and I know that you're beating yourself up over this, but you shouldn't be. Speaking as someone who's been on the receiving end of that <i>many</i> times, I can't describe how deeply embarrassing it is to be in this position and how much shame is involved. I know you can't exactly hide being this fat, but you damn sure try to put it out of mind and keep it from being a topic of conversation. That absolutely makes it harder to get help. Think of it like someone being a closet alcoholic, but they always reek of beer regardless.

I'm sorry for the loss of a friend; I don't pretend to know how you currently feel.<p>That said, I think there's a pretty big leap you're taking from "playing a lot of games" and "had a heart attack at 32." Obviously, I don't know this person; but I do know a lot of folks who have gone on binge gaming sessions who have never had heart attacks.<p>I'm not saying there isn't any connection or that it didn't contribute in any way; however, let's be honest with ourselves and admit that a binge gaming session, while not in any way healthy and certainly a likely contributor to this person's poor health, most likely did not cause a heart attack.

I'm not really sure what this has to do with gaming. Spending days at a time hunched in front of a computer with little sleep is like the quintessential image of working the start-up life. He could have spent those three days working in vim rather than playing Diablo and he'd probably still be gone. More importantly, don't blame yourself for letting him take that time off, a heart attack at thirty isn't something that a day in the office could prevent.

At what point is it wrong to engineer a product to be addictive?<p>Tobacco companies are evil for doing this. But when it comes to things like fast food, gambling and <i>games</i>, I hear things like "everyone knows those are bad for you" so you should "be responsible"<p>Like all things, not everyone submits to urges. But I bet most gamers don't know there are sophisticated teams fine-tuning the gaming experience to maximize time played (or whichever metric). Some people are outmatched by those teams.<p>I had been thinking about this earlier today when I saw this quote from Bing Gordon: "World of Warcraft has 0% churn from levels 35-40" [1]. Those guys at Blizzard are <i>good</i>.<p>[1] <a href="https://twitter.com/ericries/statuses/204601761560932352" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/ericries/statuses/204601761560932352</a> - I put faith in Eric Ries for the accuracy of this statement

I think this does the dead man a disservice. He was unhealthy, had unhealthy habits, and he played video games because it was easier to do that than other leisure activities. If he were still alive to be offended, would you have said he played too many games, or perhaps that he didn't exercise enough?<p>There are people who have real, legitimate behavioral addictions to things. There are sex addicts, video game addicts, gambling addicts, even fitness addicts. However, the great majority of people are unhealthy for a large number of subtle and difficult to address reasons. If you've ever known someone who's struggled with their weight, or their general health, you shouldn't be as ignorantly reductionist as the person who posted this.<p>Video games (almost certainly) didn't kill, or even harm, your friend. His poor health killed him, and playing video games gave him a way to enjoy his free time. I understand the idea that endemic boredom would have saved him, but I think that is the result of a fundamental misunderstanding about motivation.<p>Also - if he didn't play video games, but was a voracious reader, would you have posted, "Please don't let reading consume your life?" "Writing?" "Programming?" Etc.

I always heard of people in other countries dying while playing video games. I never thought it would ever be someone in this country let alone someone I knew. It's one of the hardest things to hit me in my recent life...so sad...please take care of yourselves out there. Stay healthy.

Having spent way more time than is healthy playing WoW I realized one day, after I had spent 12 hours collecting virtual materials to make virtual armor so that I could go with folks into a simulated environment without dying so that I could get other armor that would replace the armor I had made, that there were <i>much</i> better ways to spend a Saturday.<p>The challenge of course is that it is so damn easy. And by that I mean that one of the things video games have over programming (what I had previously spent 12 hrs on a Saturday doing for fun) was that in the game everything is set up so that you can get right toward making progress against your goal, and you can stop, and then come back later and get right back into it. From power up to 'engaged' was like 3 minutes, vs programming which seemed to have an hour just to get to the point where everything was in shape to work on it.<p>Since that time, I've been trying to make programming as easy as gaming in that regard. Things like 'screen' can help since you can pop right back into a session, everything is setup your cd path is current, as is your history etc) and stuff like picking one editor and using it everywhere helps too. A USB keyboard is essential because switching between Macbook keyboard to desktop keyboard can generate a lot of mistyped keys. Finally there is the 'questing' system, where in the game you log in and the quests you have to complete are sitting there in a list with a short note about what needs to be done. I use a notebook for that but it has the same effect. Open up the notebook to the book mark and the things that need doing are highlighted and circled, stuff that is done is lined out.<p>I'm still not there yet, work to do. But I am long past being 'hardcore' in WoW.

Not knowing anything about this individual I don't want to make too many assumptions but the broader point here is valid. The whole culture of 'hardcore gaming' is pretty creepy to me. There's a fine line between fun and mental illness. It's too easy to look at this as just a harmless eccentric hobby when, past a certain point, it really needs to be treated more like a serious problem with interventions &#38; rehab. I really dislike how the culture around it is so supportive of obviously destructive behaviors. It's eerily similar to hardcore drug culture at times.

Does it really have anything to do with gaming?<p>It's not like he was a physically healthy guy who sat down for a 30 hour Diablo 3 bender and died, right?<p>Regardless, I'm sad for anyone who dies so young.

Echoing others' sentiments in this thread: I don't see the link between video games and the man's death being all that strong here. I can understand if sharing details of his health isn't something meant for the internet, though, and I am sorry for your loss.<p>As someone who spent the majority of their teenage years "gaming" (6 hours per day average in an MMO), and despite benefiting socially and financially (you read that right) from it all, I have since quit and become a bitter ex-gamer. I speak with that hat on when I say that this is not an article about gaming and its personal costs. I could write such an article, but it's been done before, and you just end up preaching to the choir. Instead, this is an article about the loss of a friend. We always wish we could have spent more time with friends who have passed, regardless of what their hobbies were.<p>To close, I will share the reason behind my own transition. It boils down to one simple notion:<p><i>Do you want to spend your days living in a world someone else created? Or do you want to build your own?</i>

Maybe he died doing what he loved...

It's about a game but it can be about anything. Specially, work kills many more people than video games, for exactly the same reasons. (that even include non-computer work)

If you're a gamer and are looking for a way to get some physical activity, I suggest trying out fencing. I recently started taking lessons and I'm having a blast!<p>Fencing is a sport that appeals to many aspects of a gamer personality: it requires the use of the mind as much as the body; it is competitive; it has clear feedback as to whether you are improving or not. It will get your blood pumping and also stretch you out -- something that most of us need since we probably are sitting at computers all day!<p>When I first thought about trying fencing I watched some videos online and had no clue what was going on. Things happened so quickly that it seemed like people were just moving at random to get a touch. But now that I've fenced, I see why fencing isn't so popular as a spectator sport: in order to appreciate what is going on, you have to understand the techniques. It is only then that you can appreciate the brilliance and athleticism of a high level fencing match. It's much like watching chess or go: largely indecipherable to a layman.<p>I know that I don't have the patience or discipline to run on a treadmill, but fencing is a different story... and it's even motivating me to the point where I might hop on a treadmill or jump rope to improve my fencing. Give it a try!

Regular exercise really is the solution. I know exercise makes me more hungry to the point where everything tastes good. And if you've put in enough effort, you will not want to waste that by eating junk. Solid exercise involves a lot of physical pain and once you learn to deal with that your willpower will be off the charts and sticking to the right food will be a breeze.<p>I was out of shape until I did P90X last summer and now I'm a different person altogether. You would be surprised how much can be done in three months of proper hard work. But it does not have to be a full blown fitness program. People aren't always aware of the options. When thinking of weight loss, jogging is the first thing that pops to mind. I have always found it extremely challenging mentally and I was never even overweight. Commit yourself to a few basketball games a week, or a cycle, a climb, a hike, skiing, whatever you enjoy. If you push that little bit harder every time and get some sweat going, get your heart racing, you will be surprised what it will do to your body.<p>Also a tip for motivation is to focus on performance. If you can run faster and farther, jump higher or feel better, just keep progressing and the weight will come down naturally.

I used to be a gamer but then I realized something. While gaming is fun, sometimes fulfilling and a source of "flow" it's ultimately without higher meaning. Imagine spending hundreds of hours playing WoW, DI:3 or whatever, now imagine what you could have done with that time.<p>It's better to game your life than spending your life gaming. I Enjoy gaming in certain amounts,prefer gaming over TV, but prefer creating, socializing and learning over gaming.

Sorry to hear about your friend Ben.<p>I actually had to kick the video game habit I have to get my electronics cert by August (or I am jobless, will be the first time in 30 years) and I haven't played any game at all since early December last year. Console (an apt word) or PC games certainly are addicting, some people say it can't be since it isn't an opioid drug (some say the same thing about weed) but it's your world when you're alone.<p>It will be nice if, maybe, someday technology will be so seamless that you won't sit and browse the web or play video games maybe it will be a part of our lives all the time but more subtle. Like the telephone was so futuristic when it came out people had no idea it would become so ubiquitous and easy to use. Maybe information won't have to be sifted through on Google or Duckduckgo it will just be there when desired.<p>I remember reading about stimulus response reward training given to US Army soldiers so they would instinctively fire at the enemy it pretty much removed the thinking part of the procedure. That's what it seems like for me anyway when I played, really I had trained myself to play without thinking and kills in the game were my reward.

I'm sorry you had to lose a friend. I understand that you're trying to find meaning and place blame but playing a game for 3 days is not likely to end your life. It's possible he had an underlying medical condition. If he had been sitting for 3 days straight writing code would you blame it instead?

Sorry in advance for this but... Is there chance that this could be a hoax? It's not that it couldn't happen but I couldn't find the obituary or any other reference to this other than the same text reposted on another blog.<p>Also Buildstarted's account was just created to post this entry, which it is not helping me to sorting this out in my mind. I don't want to be skeptical but I take very serious these kind of news and it would be really sad that somebody would be joking with these matters.

Kickstarter idea: A USB connected exercise bike with a keyboard and mouse tray on it and a VESA display mount. If you don't pedal fast enough the screen dims. If you stop the screen blanks and the network connection drops.<p>You'd need a "break" button that you can recharge every so often so you can coast or grab a drink, but otherwise it'd be the ultimate "hard core" mode for gamers.

How sedentary does one have to be to be at risk of a heart attack at age 32? This story seemed a bit odd to me, like it could have been entirely contrived. I certainly hope it wasn't.<p>Exercise (really just walking and getting up on a daily basis) is vitally important, and for those of us OCD enough to program or game 12 to 18 hours straight, it is important to remember such facts.

One of the problems is right here on this thread: lots of conflicting advice, everyone claiming their advice to be true.

Some have questioned whether it was gaming that killed him, obviously playing video games won't give you a heart attack. However sitting in one place for hours on end could give you one (or a stroke). Playing games, coding, flying, in all those cases you should be getting up every now and then.

&#62; We are placing the blame on ourselves at work wondering if we made him come in on Friday would he still be with us today?<p>I'm sorry for your loss. It is not your fault. Please don't beat yourself up over it.<p>I know how this feels, I've experienced survivors guilt over my direct family before.

These days I won't get near an addictive game - I tend to favor games that I can easily pick up and put down, like collectible card games or board games. Also, as a "game designer" I often question whether I should intentionally make my game non-addictive.

Managing distractions is incredibly important, be it reading useless stuff online, or gaming.

Remember most jobs are like gaming. Sitting at a desk for hours on end, maybe a few breaks.<p>I don't think it is gaming alone, it is bad life styles in general. The worst part is most people HAVE to adopt that lifestyle for a desk job.

I think it's really interesting to see so many people here jumping up to defend gaming. Nobody is blaming games or gaming, the original post simply states that like everything else, you should make sure that you moderate the amount of gaming you do and also try to do things that are good for your body. I think it's a good message for Hacker News given the number of gamers we have here (I can easily log 20-30 hours a week when I have a new game and some free time).<p>If you game a lot but you don't let it get in the way of your health then this message wasn't intended for you (except perhaps as a cautionary tale).

So hard to decide if I should read this article or play Skyrim.