Obsessed with GTA Online (and Red Dead Online) ...are you?

[NULL AND VOID]

I'm so addicted I have to regularly ask the staff at GTAForums to temporarily ban my account because of my love/anger for the whole thing... 

 

Beat that J/k

 

 

[Geisterfaust]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:54 AM, Talisman_83 said:

So, over to you guys.

How much time do you spend playing?

Would you call it an obsession? If so, is that a bad thing?

Crucially, do you think you could pull away from either (or both, if you play both) games and see how long you could last?

Day two player here, not playing since early 2020. Used to spend good 2-3 hours daily playing the thing, mostly grinding the hell out of the game with other people: friendly sessions, discord, stuff like that.

 

Obsession? Yeah, kind of. As soon as I've moved to PC in 2017, I have ordered the game. My PC wasn't even built yet and the copy of the game was already purchased!

 

Is it a good thing? That depends. I used to spend a lot of time but I mostly have zero regrets, since there were good times in the game and good people I've met over the time. Plus, it was almost the only game I've played apart from Dirt Rally series and Forza Horizon. If gaming is not interfering with your productivity and health, why the hell not?! My idea, is that if you're considering gaming as a way to actually spend your free time, there is nothing bad about it. If you're ruining your body, relationships or failing at your studies/ job, then it's time to reassess some things and move away, because games will always be here, they never leave while life goes on.

 

I have pulled away for more than a year now, not coming back. Still checking the forum from time to time and following general updates news, but not really interested. VI is the thing that will get me back into gaming and the only GTA that I would play. Do I feel better by not playing? Not really, I'm wasting my free time in different ways: more reading, more movies and more sport. I'm going out more recently and taking a lot of pictures.

 

[Sam2150AD]

Hands down, GTAO is the most used game in my PS4.

A few weeks ago, my console kept spitting out/ejecting the disc for no reason. I assumed it was the disc as I've had the disc for as long as I'd had the console (Got them both in a bundle). So I assumed it was the consoles way of telling me 'you've played this for too long' (turns out it was the ejecting disc error found on the original PS4 console that has now been rectified)

Either way, I have taken the last couple of weeks off playing the game mainly because I have found the event weeks boring and with no real incentive to play. I have around $150m, I'm sure most of you have more but it's an amount I can happily 'live off' online. So there's no real 'push' for me to go on atm. 

That being said, I will log in tomorrow (20/4) for the free stuff and double money on weed.

Would I call it an obsession? Probably, not sure, define 'obsession'. The fact I am part of an online forum dedicated to the game, to discuss the game is probably hinting towards yes. 

[Shiloh Comes]

GTA yes, play every day. Some days heists, others racing, others making tracks, some days cruising, painting, some Cayo, Cargo etc, just depends what I feel like. Always something for every mood in LS.

 

Red Dead I tried, but to be honest it was a great idea the first time around, and yes the second outing looks marvellous and all, but it's just too involved for me, 58 buttons for menus, bags, maps, and another 300 just to go fishing. I just can't be bothered with all that. It's like being back in Oblivion, which I played through 8 times. I don't want to feed and brush a horse. That's not fun to me.

 

It just doesn't feel ike a cowboy sim aged that well into the modern times. But hey, if some love it then all power to them. But for me, they should just pave over that beautiful world they made, stick it onto GTA Online and let's have a proper Senora Desert and Blaine County.

[Jimbatron]

I wouldn’t say I have an addiction or obsession to the extent work commitments and real life social engagements have always taken priority. And as I’ve got older and acquired more responsibility, I’ve spent less time gaming.

 

I do find quite a strong urge to load up GTA or RDR though when I haven’t for a while and have a spare hour, so I sort of get where people come from on this. I think it’s escapism. The game requires concentration so I can switch off about other things like work for a bit. As long as you’re aware of that and it doesn’t get excessive then I think that’s fine. Like anything from a night out on the booze through to meditation (different people have very different ways to relax).

[Hellbendzor]

On 4/9/2021 at 10:23 PM, Jenkiiii said:

...more like an AA group for people in or approaching mid-life crisis .

Amen, Jenk... If my bones or joints don't pinpoint me on it, it's watching the kids play videogames and realize I was just like them ... 35 ish years ago...

Yep, I'm becoming an ol geezer... 

[Giantsgiants]

I've been playing GTA Online more than I used to. Cayo Perico brought me back. This was the viable solo grinding method the game so badly needed. I have more money than I'd imagine now and as a result I can experience all the past interesting vehicles that I missed out on because of financial concerns.

[Jenkiiii]

21 hours ago, Hellbendzor said:

Amen, Jenk... If my bones or joints don't pinpoint me on it, it's watching the kids play videogames and realize I was just like them ... 35 ish years ago...

Yep, I'm becoming an ol geezer... 

 

Which is a pleasure, right, and takes the weight off your shoulders? Let someone else take the burden.

 

On 4/19/2021 at 10:10 AM, Geisterfaust said:

Day two player here, not playing since early 2020. Used to spend good 2-3 hours daily playing the thing, mostly grinding the hell out of the game with other people: friendly sessions, discord, stuff like that.

 

Obsession? Yeah, kind of. As soon as I've moved to PC in 2017, I have ordered the game. My PC wasn't even built yet and the copy of the game was already purchased!

 

Is it a good thing? That depends. I used to spend a lot of time but I mostly have zero regrets, since there were good times in the game and good people I've met over the time. Plus, it was almost the only game I've played apart from Dirt Rally series and Forza Horizon. If gaming is not interfering with your productivity and health, why the hell not?! My idea, is that if you're considering gaming as a way to actually spend your free time, there is nothing bad about it. If you're ruining your body, relationships or failing at your studies/ job, then it's time to reassess some things and move away, because games will always be here, they never leave while life goes on.

 

I have pulled away for more than a year now, not coming back. Still checking the forum from time to time and following general updates news, but not really interested. VI is the thing that will get me back into gaming and the only GTA that I would play. Do I feel better by not playing? Not really, I'm wasting my free time in different ways: more reading, more movies and more sport. I'm going out more recently and taking a lot of pictures.

 

 

Sensible man and I wish I could have followed such advice six months or a year ago when I was feeling GTA-jaded extreme, instead of being pushed over the edge, but now that I have fallen off the cliff, I feel a sense of relief that I haven't felt for a long time: no longer a daily obligation to play GTA online out of loyalty to Rockstar, crews or my inner addiction. The problem is, we can't make absolutely every moment of our lives special because there are so many routine and mundane activities that can't  be avoided such as work, domestic duties and caring for others, but there is a point in every day that's all our own, when we can do or be exactly what we want during our gaming time in the evening, so why does GTA online have to become a grind and an unpaid job when it's no longer fun or rewarding? For some reason, we put these thoughts to the back of our minds, continue to bury our heads in the sand, and carry on in the belief that there is a bigger purpose to it all. I'd go as far as to say that I have moderate mental illness and mild schizophrenia, believing that GTA and such activities are a valid substitute for real life, but if you can find that voice within you that says you're no longer having fun, and listen to it, then you're on the right path to beating addiction and having a healthier life.

 

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Jenkiiii

[Excalibur Voltaire]

No, because I have a life, and a lot of better games to play

[AUScowboy]

Used to be with GTAO but that was years ago, you know, when it was still relevant and actually released content more than once a year. As for RDO, that game died before it could even walk so to speak, it’s never even gotten what I’d consider a full size/truly great update. Just a bunch of role playing film flam with no substantial content or meat. Sure, it had less potential than GTAO, but it sure seems like they purposely starve RDO of new content, why I don’t know..