has working in games ruined your gaming

[brokeback]

So many valid points. Marcus hit the nail on the head. I also enjoy the theory behnind games (thats why I post on the retro section) but I just don't seem to have that much fun actually playing them.
I think I should find a new hobby but nothing gets close to gripping me in the same way. I may become a body builder or a street fighter (I enjoy fighting)

[Rushy]

The problem you get is that it no longer becomes a hobby, more a job, and therefore the enjoyment will only last so long.

Thats the thing, I don't see gaming as my hobby its my main passion in life. Thus for me working with games hasn't negatively affected my gaming life, infact I play games now more than ever (about 40hrs per week).

[acidforblood]

infact I play games now more than ever (about 40hrs per week).

That's a lot of hours, if only you were paid to play!

[anephric]

That's a lot of hours, if only you were paid to play!

If you're QA, it's minimum wage, (or 10p above) baby...

[Rushy]

That's a lot of hours, if only you were paid to play!

Well world of warcraft consumes most of those hours to be fair, but I do squeeze in other games too.

If only I could convince work the games playing I do at home is research and that it contributes to my job, maybe then they can pay me for playin

[Lyris]

It's the same with anything really.

Sometimes I like a film so much that I'll take a DVD release that's slightly botched and try to correct it somehow. I'm guessing that DVD authoring is like game development in that it can sometimes need so much polish, so by the end of of the whole process I'm sick of seeing it and just want to get it finished.

[anephric]

That's the British way of doing things, Lyris! Start off with good intentions but just chuck the ****ing thing out by the end of it...

[Captain-N]

"I foun myself anticipating, and talking about games far more enjoyable than actually playing them"

I can relate to that...

And yeah, you do look at games differently after working in the game industry for a couple of years. Atleast I did. At my company (or rather my ex-company), we produced your standard third person futuristic action-adventures. A side-effect of my work on those projects was that I couldn't really "relax" when I was playing games of similar genres. (And futuristic third person adventures are kinda wide spread after all!)
Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, Resident Evil, you name it, they were all hell on me. Instead of just playing and enjoying them for what they were, I would instantly start breaking down the game play and comparing it to our work, challenging the camera system by running into walls, trying to study the enemy A.I., stupid stuff like that. First after a couple of hours I usually forgot about that but still...
As a result, I found myself playing more and more "Nintendo-style" titles as time went by. Jumping around mushrooms and doing stuff like that was soothing after debating reloading time and placing enemy splines all day. I could enjoy the titles for what they were as its typical content weren't as immediately comparable to the stuff we did.... (Another reason is off-course that "Nintendo-style" games tend to rule, but thats another issue!)

[jassi singh]

What company and what game?

it wasnt Mace Griffen? or...South Park?...Turok?

[chopemon]

i've worked in the industry for about 2 years and the only effect its had on me is cutting down my play time

juggling a full time job (often with loads of over time) and a girlfriend as well as games means that games often don't get completed and i get totally over excited about game releases and then get no time to play them

[JimmyShimmy]

A big part of games is the way they take you and do what they like with your emotions. Being part of the industry-you just look a games like finely tuned peices of art-you concentrate less on what's going on (probably because you've seen it all before) and just look for how well things work/are implemented-it sucks but that's what happens.

Games are suppose to control you and take you on a ride but once you understand the bearings of games and become hyper critical you become immune to being really engrossed in the game.

[in5ane]

I don't work in the games industry, but have a similar experience whenever i fire up some sequencing software and knock out a few tunes. Afterwards, it's hard to hear music without mentally breaking down every individual layer, focusing on the bar repetition, analysing the beat elements etc

[amanset]

This has always been one of my worries and one of the reasons why I never persued game programming as a line of work, even though I am a programmer.

[Nijo]

For me it mostly comes down to time - there are 2 consoles not more than 3m from my desk yet I haven't played anything on them for ages. I do pop into Game every now and again but I tend to look at the releases with a professional eye... keeping track of the UK developers and what they've been up to.

I have a list of titles I want to get into (BO3, DMC3, Stranger's Wrath) but I haven't been able to so far. Right now I'm considering getting a DS for the only free time I have - on the train.

[razu]

I've been a videogames programmer since 1997 and it hasn't ruined my appetite for games.

I suppose it depends on what kind of job you have in the industry. You don't spend a lot of time playing games when you're coding, so it doesn't really eat into your 'gaming appetite'.

Most of the industry employed people I know who don't play a lot of games appear to talk about the industry a lot. I think the filthy business side of things can put a downer on your gaming. Luckily you don't have to care about the idiots in suits to write games, so I don't.