The Road to Recovery

Most of us have experienced the gaming binge, when you become one with a game and time becomes irrelevant. But for Connor Scully-Allison, it's more than just a way to spend a weekend: It's a path to lead him back to his hardcore gamer roots.

Read Full Article

I always wince when people refer to themselves as 'hardcore gamers' with utter sincerity.

Hi there Connor, nice article, quite familiar too. May I ask how you got your article in this issue of The Escapist, and why? Did you contact this site yourself with a proposal for this article? Seems like a weird thing to do for someone who isn't (or wasn't?) a hardcore gamer or for a historystudent.

Gaming binge huh? I am no stranger to that! My longest was about 38 hours, it was Kingdom Hearts when it first came out. Second longest was Final Fantasy X with 32 hours and third longest was 23 hours on Final Fantasy XI. I think Fallout 3 may end up taking 3rd soon because I can't get enough of it. BTW yes I have no life...

Clemenstation:
I always wince when people refer to themselves as 'hardcore gamers' with utter sincerity.

My friends call me a Hardcore gamer. I understand them to a point but im more of a Good Gamer lol. I'm just awesome at games and can do decent online as long as it isn't someone who doesn't play the game 24/7

I usually see hardcore gaming, as simply playing a game for a load of time, persistence. I would also call someone a hardcore gamer, if gaming is there main hobby, that's about all you need to be a hardcore gamer in my eyes.

I know that some people think of "hardcore gamer" as something more extreme.

One must also know the difference between what makes a hardcore gamer, hardcore, and a hardcore game, hardcore.

It's a nice article, and I recognize the feeling all too well.

It's hard to find gaming binges like this these days, but the past few months I got them with Shadow Complex and Brutal Legend. Gameplay so addicting that I don't realize the sun has fallen until I have to get up and answer the phone.

However, in terms of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed? That isn't a binge, that's an endurance test. I played the first few levels, but there was too much wrong with the game for me to justify going through it. I'm sorry, but all the force powers in the world couldn't save that game from its sheer lack of polish.

At first I thought this was going to be about trying to stop video game addiction. But this was different for the better.

Since Im a high school student who does his homework before I even go home I have a couple hours each night to beat that rented game. I never finish but I feel like I got the gist of it.

Oh and Halo 3 with co-op is doable in a day and is the definition of challenging but not frustrating in co-op.

I notice that all co-op well executed is that perfect ratio.

My my, that sounds like the exact opposite of what I'm going through right now... It feels just as good too. I suppose change is always good. Dive as deep as possible then come all the way up again for air.

I cringe everytime I think about the time I went on a super binge.. The year was 2006 and the game was BF2.. I played that thing for 36 hours pretty well stright(few breaks for snacks and washroom breaks) I then went to sleep for 5 hours and was on for another 6.. Then I relized I had to slowww it down a little bit.. It was a bad but awesome time.. God I love BF2..

I've lost my spark.

When I game I just feel like I'm going through the motions, not involving myself or enjoying every minute. I don't even look at it during or hold it afterwards anymore.

I've actually made it through the Force Unleashed without much to gripe
I mean it's not very long to begin with and it's fun enough to get through

tho I have been playing games and realized I wasn't having any fun...
hate it when that happens
sometimes it's just me, not the games

I know the exact feeling. I've just moved city after getting a promotion and there's been about a month between any long stints of gaming. I've had a few hours of Spelunky and off-line Left 4 Dead to keep me going but hopefully next week I can break out the online again!

I disagree about a dubious sense of accomplishment being what gaming is all about. I have gone on seven hour binges and persisted in the face of absurd difficulty, but I can never convince myself that it was fun or worthwhile after the fact. My fondest gaming memories are still from The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, they are the only games I have had for more than 4 years that still I drag out for nostalgic value.

It doesn't sound like the worst idea but why fight it is what I'm wondering.
If you're not gaming as much, you must be doing something else. Maybe something you find more engrossing. There's nothing wrong with that.
For me it's always a really good new game that gets me playing regularly again.

Actually i agree. Not with the article with the Hardcore Gamer Term. Its so loosely used its definition has become faded with the passing time. I guess according to most people a Hardcore Gamer is someone Who plays games a lot not someone who plays a lot of games developing there own tastes and even beginning to review games for the self recognition of knowing that their info may one day be used to help someone decide if a game is good. But then again im Insane.

Good story, you reminded me of when I went to my cousin's house and beat Halo 3 in 10 hours overnight, starting mid evening and playing to sun up next day. Haven't done that since Sonic 3!

I need a good game binge.

Guess I'll have to wait for Origins

Nice article

Wait, so you just binged on games?

And here I thought this would be about recovering from an addiction to games. Silly misleading title.

This article made me realize it's been a long time since I've REALLY enjoyed a game. And that was when I beat Megaman 2. On difficult. With only the buster.

The satisfication after beating boss after boss must've been my best gaming experiance ever. I should go do this with the other Megaman games, too. After I've beaten them normaly.

I have binged on 4 games:

Dungeon Siege: The first 3D fantasy RTSRPG I've ever played. (The late 90s left a bad taste in my mouth for 3d).

Neverwinter Nights: & every single expansion pack & premium mod it had to offer. (Lasted half a month).

Baldur's Gate II: It was like playing an awesome game & reading an awesome book at the same time.

Morrowind: If you're in godmode, can you kill every single NPC in the world? Can you jump to the moon? & what kind of hillarious glitches will you see 100 mods installed? A horses ass stuck in a tree? A town summerged in water? Whales & fish swiming on top of islands? (This one lasted a solid month & drove my mother crazy).