World of Warcraft

Yep (EQ2)

I played a lot of games in university.  I still like to play Warcraft II but I never let myself buy WoW because I KNOW that I would never get anything done. 

I was seriously addicted to Black and White in university - it was terrible...

I still maintain some friendships on a set of boards largely dedicated to online gaming.  But I changed my signature line to be:

Triathlon:  A much healthier addiction than gaming.

I don't play but at least 9 of my co-workers including my boss all do.  Sometimes they call it the "nightime Sametime" as they'll chat about work while killing orcs and dragons and whatever.  They pressure me on a daily basis to join their "guild" but I'm still holding out.

They play between 11pm-1am and that doesn't play very well with 5:30am training.

My aunt (dad's brother's wife) plays it and she stays up til all hours of the morning. I don't get it. I mean, she doesn't work, but still. I had a friend in college who basically didn't go to his summer internship because he was up every night play Warcraft.

Sure we're all addicted to BT, but I think most of us only post during the day when we're at work and NOT training. I am almost never on BT during non-business hours

I had friends in college that went on academic probation because of gaming.

I was spending a lot of time playing Halo & Halo 2 before returning to an active lifestyle.  Funny - opposite worlds!

I have a Wii, a PS2 and a home computer (that was the top of the line gaming system when I bought it ...... and still works well for most games even 5 years later).

So I still play a lot of games, much to my wife's chagrin and my kids' pleasure!

I used to play WoW, but grad school and tri training made that pretty much impossible.

I still play games, but not nearly as much as a few years ago.

I used to play EQ/EQ2 and gave it up after i got fed up with a slow connection/computer. I had been basically splitting time between that and school and workingout/frisbee.... so i had a lot more time to dedicate to the latter. Overall, was a great choice. But, not gonna lie.... i did like playing those games and they are fun and fit this addictive personality.

I have several triathlete/gamer friends.  Balance... it's all about balance. 

Eric and I have no trouble telling our guildmates, "Hey, be back in an hour... have to go run."

I started doing tris around the same time I started online gaming.  I know that in the spring and summer, training takes up more of my time, and in the fall and winter, I get to do more gaming.  It works out fine for me.  My lack of training has nothing to do with my gaming.  

But after a long run, I really enjoy "murdering people."

interesting thread here

before i went to Nursing School, i was heavy into Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot.   i spent waaaaay too much time playing and not enough time exercising or with the wife and kids.    Nursing school pretty much fixed that though.   i'm actually surprised and a bit embarrassed at how much time and effort i spent playing those games.   i actually had some online friends that had serious personal issues because of mmorpg's....one even divorced.

now that i'm done with school, i don't play mmorpg's at all.    i do have a PS3 and 360 that i play regularly (about 10 hours a week).   i remember spending all my extra or free time gaming, now it's just an hour or two here or there whenever i can.   family is definitely #1 and then exercise....not even a question anymore.

Occasionally I'll play PacMan or Asteroids on some of these retro-arcade websites.  And there's a few good Facebook games as well.

 Not the same thing?

eh, FPS (deathmatch type games) rock. you can play for 5 mins or a few hours.

computer/gaming time outside of work is down to the bare minimum these days...and i don't miss it a bit. it's funner to train or play with kids.

and there's always that damn honey-do list...

How about we link WOW to a treadmill and you physically have to run from one city to another. 

<from a former slightly addicted Evercrack users who knows better than to play WOW while I have a wife, family and job>. 

Everquest --> Everquest II --> WoW --> Vanguard (what a shame it crashed and burned, so much potential) --> Everquest II/WoW --> Triathlons

Not only did I spend a ton of hours in front of the computer, I usually 2-boxed (playing characters on two different accounts/computers at the same time). For a while, when most of my guildmates had moved to Everquest II and left me (and their EQ1 accounts) behind, I had things set up where I was playing 5 or 6 at a time.

It was fun, but very hard to balance family, training, etc when there's no pause button.

Played Rainbow 6 on 'arena' servers for awhile. Great stress reliever.

Played America's Army for awhile. Got tired of being 'jacked' by 12 and 13 year olds on a daily basis.

Went into WoW with some old Army buddies (who are into raiding 6-7 hours a night). They showed me around and helped me get started. Played for a few months. Then I eventually realized that as neat as the 'world' is and as fun as the 'battlegrounds' can be; it is just a game that you shouldn't devote more time to then say.....sleeping or family.

DAoC was my first MMORPG, and I was amazed at how much time that game could suck up.  Fortunately, I came in near the end, and didn't really have to do much GRINDING before the opened the Classic servers and I could be on the same level as most everyone else without much work.

Now we play Warhammer, and love it.  I can get my murder fix with very little grinding.  Or, if I want to spend an hour doing some PvE questing, it's very rewarding right away.

Eric talks about how he and his wife spent a lot of time playing EQ and EQ2, and I sometimes wonder if her level of playing was what eventually split them up.  But I know that gaming, like any other kind of activity can become a means of avoiding real life issues.  I know people who look down on gamers, and yet drink themselves to sleep every night.  And I have a family member who spends a bit too much time at the casino.  And I know several athletes who have strained their relationships by training when they probably should have stayed home and spent some time with their family.

Eric and I have a firm rule when it comes to balancing gaming with everything else:

RL > game.

It sounds like you've got your priorities in order.