I was an avid video gamer for more than half of my life. I started playing video games when I was about five years old, and like many kids, my first video game experience was with Pokémon. If you've been living under a rock and don't know what Pokémon is, it's basically a role-playing game where the main goal is to find, catch, and train monsters using these pocket-sized balls called Pokéballs, hence the name Pokémon (Pocket Monsters). In addition to housing these adorable monsters, the game also allows players to battle other trainers both in-game and in the real world, a feature that competitive players like me enjoy. I can't tell you how many hours I spent on this game as a kid. It was literally my entire childhood.
As my teenage years rolled in, my addiction to Pokémon waned, but my passion for video games remained strong. In middle school, a friend introduced me to Defense of the Ancients, better known as Dota. For those unfamiliar, Dota (and its successor, Dota 2) is a five-versus-five strategy game where teams compete to amass gold and kill opponent heroes, ultimately aiming to destroy the opposing team's base. Due to the competitive and dynamic nature of the game I got hooked instantly. I began spending countless hours playing it at a local computer shop, at home, and sometimes in my school's library afterschool. I loved the game so much I even started playing League of Legends, which is a bootleg version of Dota (I said what I said). This addiction continued throughout high school, college, and into my adult life.
Fast forward to today, Dota 2 is still installed on my computer, but I haven't touched it—or any other video game, for that matter—in three months. You might be wondering how it came to this. Honestly, I wish I had a concrete explanation, but sadly I don't. It wasn't like I planned it; I just didn't feel like playing one day, and then the next, and the next thing you know, it's been weeks, and now we're hitting the three-month mark. It's been an organic "withdrawal". Was it because I was on a losing streak? Nope, I checked, and I actually won most of my last games. And it's not like my daily grind's changed much either. I'm still catching Dota 2 tourneys on stream, so it's not like I've lost the love. So what gives?
I once read about this phenomenon that happens among males where, as soon as they hit a certain age, their testosterone levels start decreasing, which causes behavioral changes such as reduced aggression and increased maturity. Perhaps I'm reaching that age, or have already reached it? Maybe, somewhere in my mind, I've finally realized that playing the game of life is more enjoyable? That the real competition is outside the screen, not on it? Either way, I'm enjoying every single bit of it because this video-game detoxification has allowed me to spend more time on things I find more meaningful.
Before, I would spend hours after work defeating bosses and gaining ranks. Now, most of that time is allocated to attending in-person classes. So, although my in-game achievements have stopped coming, my real-life achievements certainly haven't. Before, I would spend my Friday evenings and Saturdays pressing the Q, W, E, R buttons and right-clicking. Now, I spend that time reading and writing. So, my eye-hand coordination might have dulled a bit, but my mind certainly hasn't. Before, I would spend my Sundays raking in in-game gold. Now, I dedicate them to trading and researching cryptocurrencies. So, my in-game gold might have stagnated, but my investment portfolio definitely hasn't. You see, video games have been a significant part of my life, but if these are the trade-offs and consequences of not playing them, then I'm all for it.