I was telling my Discord server that I just got my sons into playing Civilization 5 and how it had been nearly 10 years since I had played Civ. Someone remarked that was a long time to go without Civ.
And they were right. I did miss it. I miss video games a lot.
But when I decided in 2018 to bring writing back into my creative practice, I had to cut something, and video games went by the wayside almost immediately.
Now, if you've listened to Chit Chat with Chris and Matt or followed me on Twitter or...watched me on Twitch, you'd know that I still definitely play video games. And there are still times I overindulge in them. But I also know that some video games are part of my self-care, part of how I can manage my stress throughout the year.
But there's certain things I can't do. I can't get into a big multiplayer FPS thing. I can't touch anything Free-to-play. I like it too much, and it'll suck away time that I can never get back.
As it is, I'm having a hard time justifying the 125 hours I've spent on Elden Ring...
Doing consistent creative work requires making choices. Not all of them are fun.