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Withdrawal

“You play through the tears, the aching wrist, the hunger, after a while
it all goes away.
All of it except the game I should say.”

-From ‘Virus” By Neil Gaiman

I am an addict. I admit it. But with your help I can overcome this terrible affliction.

Enough is enough. Two many times have I found myself still in front of my screen at the wrong end of five am. Sure, sometimes I’m up circumnavigating the web trawling for wonders – but more likely I’m hunched over some goddamn computer game.

Anyone who has clocked up same serious game time knows what I’m talking about. Bleary eyed, teeth grinding, just-until-I-get-through-this-bit, tunnel visioned obsession. The kind of session that ends with you standing up to finally slink off to bed, only to discover you can barely walk due to sitting in the same position for thirteen hours.

I’ve been there oh so many times. So I have made a bloody minded new years resolution to give up computer games. Indefinitely.

Perhaps I’m overly optimistic in thinking I might gain an extra thirty or so hours a week and use this new found surplus of time to write a novel, learn to play the piano or finally do my last three year’s tax returns. But I think it can’t help have a positive effect. Time will tell.

And you, dear reader, are invited to join me as I try to resist the insidious siren song of my software and stay the hell away from gaming.

Also, I’ll probably talk about computer games a lot. In the same was as if I were starving in the desert I might choose to pass the time describing to you my favourite recipe for oven baked Cajun-style king fish fillets.

So. Last night I uninstalled all the games from Friday (my beloved PC), and went to bed early.

Then I played some all New Mario Bros on my girlfriend’s DS Lite.

Which is manifestly NOT cheating. Consider it like a methadone program. Am I supposed to come off the hard stuff cold turkey? Jesus.

Anyway, what’s a little hand-held 2D platforming next to Oblivion? (Never has a game been so aptly named, but we can talk about that another day…)

So the challenge has been made. The gauntlet has been thrown down. (Oooh! I used to play Gauntlet with my brother on the Commodore 64 for hours on end. I was the green elf-guy with all the arrows! My god when you accidentally used your key and let out that death-guy who could drain all of your life and was almost impossible to kill…)

*deep breath*

Wish me luck.