Gamer's Block

Jason Trent, Associate Writer

March 30, 2010

I'm sure you've all heard of writer's block, right? It's a very strange and frustrating experience that, to be frank, can be a total pain for someone who enjoys writing from time to time. It seems that some days, I can write about anything for hours without ever running out of ideas, while other days, I can't even crank out one well constructed sentence. Alright, so maybe you're not a writer. What does this have to do with you? I've encountered something worse; something that I've named gamer's block. It's pretty much what it sounds like. It's the inability to enjoy videogames: easily one of the cruelest afflictions I've ever had to endure.

So, how did I make this unfortunate discovery? There are different kinds of stress. Some stress is positive, and other stress is on the more negative side of the spectrum, but too much of any kind of stress can impact your normal day-to-day relaxation routines. After having a particularly bad few days of work, work that I am very grateful to have by the way, I came home hoping to get something written. Well, to make a long story short, I couldn't write. I just didn't have it in me. I didn't have any creative ideas, and I didn't have a desire, so I decided that I'd do another thing that I love. I sat down with my trusty Xbox 360, popped in a game, and browsed through the latest and greatest news and videos. I highlighted the option to start my game, but I just couldn't boot the game. At first I thought that perhaps the game I'd chosen wasn't the right title for the job. I then picked up a quick arcade title, goofed around for a few minutes, then found myself in the exact same situation I was in before. For once, I was completely uninterested in gaming.

I was kind of surprised at first, but it didn't take me very long to pin down the cause. I was too stressed to relax. I know it sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but really, my brain was over stimulated. I'm sure most of you would agree with me that gaming isn't the brain-dead activity some make it out to be, so it's not too hard to see why this issue could be a potential problem. Initially, I panicked. What if my urge to game never came back? Then what was I supposed to do with my free time? Enjoy the company of others? Watch TV? Pick up a book? No way. I wanted to want to game. I finally gave in and turned the TV off. I threw on some relaxing music (ok, so hard rock might not be relaxing to everyone out there, but it is to me), and zoned out.

Sometimes we go through periods in our lives where things we once loved are no longer appealing. The important thing to keep in mind is that we shouldn't force ourselves to try to do something that our brain doesn't want to do. More often than not, you'll see that these activities become even more attractive than they'd ever been in the past. During these predicaments, make sure to listen to your heart. I learned the hard way, that, sometimes, videogames aren't the answer. Sometimes you just need a little bit of ol' fashioned quiet time to calm the nerves.

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