How do you manage your real life and DayZ at the same time?

[john5220 15]

Guys I deleted DayZ after just 40 hours of play time. The reason being is I started University and I also want to be a Indie Game Developer which will take more work than say someone who just wanted to learn Mechanical Engineering. I decided on Computer Engineering here in the Caribbean so I can open my own business etc.

 

However the addiction in DayZ the days passing by like minutes, the constant running very long distances etc looking for food to survive it became an issue of surviving in both a video game and real world where I simply could not warrant doing it anymore, the addiction became too strong.

 

I am wondering what do you guys do for a living? how do you manage time with DayZ? what would happen when you die starting all over again and putting in the time to acquire the items to die yet again and lose it all?

 

I have since stuck to Black Ops 2 and Counter Strike GO for a casual experience.

 

Its hard for me to see anyone playing DayZ unless they are in middle school etc like age 13 years or so, maybe long summer vacation would allow for the time to play it?'

Maybe someone collecting disability or pension Dayz would be great for them they would have all the time in the world

Or are you guys capable of just playing a couple hours a week and stopping?

 

For me its so hard when I get pulled into an experience like DayZ I cannot let go and I keep telling myself yeah tomorrow I will get the work done and that tomorrow turns into another tomorrow into weeks and months. I want to reinstall DayZ but I am thinking its going to be a bad idea

 

I am thinking 29 years of age its really time for me to give up that good fight, get my degree, make some money, lose some weight and find a girl friend. I am just not sure all of this can be done same time while I play DayZ due to my addicted nature. I am also learning Unreal Engine 4 and developing a game on it, as such it requires deep knowledge of C++ programming etc and as such I think my time is better spent doing that which may help me make money in the future.

Edited December 30, 2014 by John5220

[OrLoK 16182]

Hello there

 

A decent work life balance is *essential*.

 

Nothing wrong with gaming at any age (im 44) but do get out there and grab that degree, find that girl/boy/Dalmatian/cheese

 

you can do all at once, you just need to manage your time.

 

or be like me, play games all day and become middle aged, unemployed, single and still living with my folks.

 

Trust me, its not cool.

 

Rgds

 

LoK

[sachad 1016]

I've got a busy work schedule and social obligations but I still manage to squeeze in some game time. If you're not going to play regularly, just play from time to time. Short sessions can be just as fun as long ones.

 

Then again, if the game becomes an addiction, then maybe putting it away is the sensible choice. Still, it's something you need to decide. 

 

And remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

[john5220 15]

Hello there

 

A decent work life balance is *essential*.

 

Nothing wrong with gaming at any age (im 44) but do get out there and grab that degree, find that girl/boy/Dalmatian/cheese

 

you can do all at once, you just need to manage your time.

 

or be like me, play games all day and become middle aged, unemployed, single and still living with my folks.

 

Trust me, its not cool.

 

Rgds

 

LoK

 

Man you got a great response here lol. I would say this I spent almost all of my life since age 5 on my NES playing video games to present time on PC.

 

I feel as though will consider reinstalling DayZ but in future perhaps. Will try managing my time better I think thats my biggest issue, I have spent thousands and thousands of hours in Starcraft since 1998 and also Heroes of Newerth/Dota so I had an enjoyable life, I guess right now I will have to put this degree first.

 

Perhaps once I can better manage my time in real life I can give DayZ another shot.

Edited December 30, 2014 by John5220

[GrappleX 354]

Being in high school with few friends and a girlfriend who understands my obsession for video games has helped me. But if i actually had a job id probably say fuck you dayz and focus on that. 

 

As fun as dayz is, i tend to put real life first. Mostly....

[CJFlint 357]

DayZ is something I like to do after work, after I get everything ready for the next day dont have anything to worry about. RL is always 1st no matter what. When I play, in spirts. I play for prob 45 min to an hour then take a break for 15 min. Then log in again rinse recycle repeat. I drink beer when I play normally so I normally half snockered, which pretty much takes the edge off of the game and the whole day in general. So Im pretty much totally relaxed playing, only sometimes tencing up...yes thats right.....I find dayz well....to be relaxing.. 

 

For me video games are a huge part of my life, since the atari. So pretty much is my hobbies that and boating. So its prob something I always do even when Im in a nursing home.

 

Take care of you RL 1st always, sounds like indie games is a great goal. Indie games are taking off right now. The high tech industry is pretty asome regardless, lots of money. You allot to be excited about. The game and the people you meet online to play games with will always be there waiting when you have time. Just dont get in the habit of puting games before your RL tasks. One reason I try to avoid games like WOW, I did play one MMORPG. There kind of taxing on time.

Edited December 30, 2014 by CJFlint

[sachad 1016]

What kind of jobs are you guys after that they take away your free time that much? Are you living to work, or working to live?

[nexventor 429]

DayZ is a training ground for the coming apocalypse, so it isn't really wasting time at all.  

[McWendy 675]

OP i like your post. Not only is it well written, but you ask yourself legitimate and fair questions.

You are at a point in your life at which these questions pop up.

For reference:

-34yrs old

-married 5 yrs (10 together)

-2 kids (3/4)

-full time job (combat trainer Dutch army)

-hobby's (golf/fitness/crosscountry running)

-Gaming since Atari2600 never stopped since

So you see it is possible (in my situation) to do/have it all. You just need to discipline yourself into prioritizing (not spelled correctly i think but hey im dutch)

I game usually most evenings at 2/5 hours depending on all listed above.

Those things come FIRST. And it is important that if you want to be in a relationship that your hobby of gaming needs to be discussed on both ends. Because saying to the future mrs that you only game every other day for an hour or so but irl play each day for at least two.... gets relationships killed faster then i know.

If you get addicted to something really easy i would suggest real proffessional help. This will help in all of your lifetime.

And losing gear ingame? Sure it sucks, but i dont mind it too much. If i wanted to be right back in the thick of it id go play a shooter. Not a apocalyptic themed game but csgo or similair.

Good luck tho. With all your endeavours :)

[thznutz 112]

happiness wears many hats.....

 

sounds like you just need to focus and manage your time better (or some at least). i use DayZ as an "escape" from real life, not a substitute for real life. due to being a bit more established and a very understanding wife (really, she knows she has no choice in the matter) i can pretty much play it whenever i want. i work my 45-50 hours a week, and "play" at least that much--not always DayZ though--not always a game...also play guitar/bass, do home recording, and in the fall i live high school football...literally. now that i am talking about it, i think i could use better time management/focus...there is alot of shit to do around the house....fuck...thanks guy, now i'll feel all guilted out if i play tonite :D

 

take care of whats important and everything else will take care of itself....

[kitlope04@yahoo.com 3]

I live in the Great White North and turned 40 this year. I have a trade and winter months things are usually very slow for work, so I spend a good portion doing some guilt free gaming. It's been like this every winter for many, many years. Come late March or early April, things start getting very busy and off to work I go. If it's in-town work I can squeak in an hour or two of gaming, outta town I don't play any games, mostly cause the laptop is dated. I'll probably be buying a new one this year though as this Day-Z is just too awesome.

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

Lots of time budgeting.

 

I work full time and have to take it home sometimes.

I'm the Site Supervisor for Security at a Johnson & Johnson manufacturer, and my weekends are spent playing/managing a tournament paintball team.

I only get to play DayZ for about 1-2 hours a day if I'm lucky.

 

Most of the time I get to play it when my girlfriend is asleep or if she's playing a single player game. We spend some of our off time in the same room, playing separate games, and occasionally bugging each other while doing so, (ie tossing the dog's toys at my head while I run from zombies).

[NoPaEr10 50]

I guess I'm lucky that I still visit school. 17 years old and only one year to go. My fellow gamer, I just guess you should manage your time if you have such problems concerning your free time. I hope things get better bro and keep in mind. It's just a game :)

Edited December 31, 2014 by NoPaEr10

[Killawife 599]

I work at a home depot kinda store(in sweden, not home depot buy nobody would understand the name) where stupid people ask stupid questions and behave in stupid ways all the time, so Dayz is kinda more of the same.

[john5220 15]

OP i like your post. Not only is it well written, but you ask yourself legitimate and fair questions.

You are at a point in your life at which these questions pop up.

For reference:

-34yrs old

-married 5 yrs (10 together)

-2 kids (3/4)

-full time job (combat trainer Dutch army)

-hobby's (golf/fitness/crosscountry running)

-Gaming since Atari2600 never stopped since

So you see it is possible (in my situation) to do/have it all. You just need to discipline yourself into prioritizing (not spelled correctly i think but hey im dutch)

I game usually most evenings at 2/5 hours depending on all listed above.

Those things come FIRST. And it is important that if you want to be in a relationship that your hobby of gaming needs to be discussed on both ends. Because saying to the future mrs that you only game every other day for an hour or so but irl play each day for at least two.... gets relationships killed faster then i know.

If you get addicted to something really easy i would suggest real proffessional help. This will help in all of your lifetime.

And losing gear ingame? Sure it sucks, but i dont mind it too much. If i wanted to be right back in the thick of it id go play a shooter. Not a apocalyptic themed game but csgo or similair.

Good luck tho. With all your endeavours :)

 

 

aah thanks dude much appreciated, you are indeed right my addictive nature is something I have to deal with I will work on that as a matter of fact as I think its my biggest issue so thanks for this advice :D

Edited December 30, 2014 by John5220

[McWendy 675]

Glad i could help. :)

[Grimey Rick 3417]

I work ~400km from the north pole three weeks out of the month, so that helps. No internet/cell phone ftw. When I get home, DayZ is a good way to pass the time with friends, but it's just as easy to not play it at this point.

 

I was quite addicted when it first came out, though. I have almost 1,500 legit hours logged so far, so I feel your pain. ♥

[Noble Savage 116]

I have had dayz for a couple of months and have played 68 hours, I love the game but I love life more.

[Geckofrog7 1168]

Become MLG and make money in tournaments. What are you a fukin casul???

[john5220 15]

Take care of you RL 1st always, sounds like indie games is a great goal. Indie games are taking off right now. The high tech industry is pretty asome regardless, lots of money. You allot to be excited about. The game and the people you meet online to play games with will always be there waiting when you have time. Just dont get in the habit of puting games before your RL tasks. One reason I try to avoid games like WOW, I did play one MMORPG. There kind of taxing on time.

 

Hey thanks

 

yeah i got the unreal engine 4 from GitHub for free, free as long as I attend university which will be 4 years. Normal folks have to pay $20 US  a month for subscription I get the subscription free "however the normal person can buy 1 month and cancel subscription and still use the engine to their leisure but wont get updates is all". Was simply a matter of providing my school student ID and description of my program. I want to have the best project for final year so i am working on it all now so to speak, because here in the Caribbean its a really new thing and the distance I am going with this UE4 no one in this region has ever gone so far before in any project I feel very excited.

 

EPIC has allowed the world of opportunity with UE4, and as an added bonus its 100% C++ and they only take 5% of your total earnings from any game you sell. Thats mighty generous for what might be considered a multi million dollar game Engine its true AAA blockbuster quality and power. Unreal Engine 3 did power some lovely games like Bioshock series and Batman Arkham series so I feel confident in this company and the work they are doing for the indie scene.

 

They have shown that they are passionate and dedicated to Indie devs, hobbyist and students. Folks have done a couple stuff here for university projects using Unity 3D free engine, but its nowhere near as powerful as Unreal Engine 4. I think I started at an excellent time :)

 

Its what keeps me going, to me in many ways its like my relaxation, my second DayZ experience so to speak but being productive LOL. Its just that DayZ has gripped me like none other in ways I never taught it would. So for now I have made my decision to stay away from DayZ until I am sure I can manage my time. On the great side i got it at a discount so its always great to have in future, who knows maybe when future comes around and vehicles etc are much easier to get and travel around it won't require so much of my personal time to do simple things and I can then warrant playing once more as I would feel satisfied much quicker

 

I guess we can't blame it, its EA Alpha after all :)

Edited December 31, 2014 by John5220

[Pandema 352]

Life > DayZ

 

If DayZ is getting in the way of real life obligations, just stop playing DayZ until you have some free time.

[Jfiles 439]

You dont.

[VermillionX 78]

I have no life. It leaves plenty of time for gaming, DayZ or not.

[ruullor 56]

Guys I deleted DayZ after just 40 hours of play time. The reason being is I started University and I also want to be a Indie Game Developer which will take more work than say someone who just wanted to learn Mechanical Engineering. I decided on Computer Engineering here in the Caribbean so I can open my own business etc.

 

However the addiction in DayZ the days passing by like minutes, the constant running very long distances etc looking for food to survive it became an issue of surviving in both a video game and real world where I simply could not warrant doing it anymore, the addiction became too strong.

 

I am wondering what do you guys do for a living? how do you manage time with DayZ? what would happen when you die starting all over again and putting in the time to acquire the items to die yet again and lose it all?

 

I have since stuck to Black Ops 2 and Counter Strike GO for a casual experience.

 

Its hard for me to see anyone playing DayZ unless they are in middle school etc like age 13 years or so, maybe long summer vacation would allow for the time to play it?'

Maybe someone collecting disability or pension Dayz would be great for them they would have all the time in the world

Or are you guys capable of just playing a couple hours a week and stopping?

 

For me its so hard when I get pulled into an experience like DayZ I cannot let go and I keep telling myself yeah tomorrow I will get the work done and that tomorrow turns into another tomorrow into weeks and months. I want to reinstall DayZ but I am thinking its going to be a bad idea

 

I have over 1000 jrs now in dayz

but I dont have a wife or kids

If I had a project like you do, I have time for it. Thats what daytime is for me. Thats how I delegate time for me. But I am not you

 

I am thinking 29 years of age its really time for me to give up that good fight, get my degree, make some money, lose some weight and find a girl friend. I am just not sure all of this can be done same time while I play DayZ due to my addicted nature. I am also learning Unreal Engine 4 and developing a game on it, as such it requires deep knowledge of C++ programming etc and as such I think my time is better spent doing that which may help me make money in the future.

Its not easy of course. you have to live your real life, otherwise your in trouble.I guess this type of gaming is not for everybody

Edited December 31, 2014 by ruullor

[Fuerii 26]

What you're describing is a inability to discipline yourself. There are two ways to deal with this. One is total avoidance which is what you have chosen by uninstalling dayz. The other is actually learning how to stop playing at appropriate times. By avoiding the game entirely your not learning to deal with your addictive tendencies. If your okay with that then that's fine. Just be aware this will always be a potential problem.

It sounds like you're a young adult going through what all adults go through. Which is learning how to force yourself to do what you might rather not be doing. Welcome to life sir.

If you're interested to know, i wake up 2 hours early every day so i can play whatever game before it's time to shower up and head to work.

Edited December 31, 2014 by Fuerii