Lyran Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well basically a few years ago before I had a computer that could play decent games, I used to spend my time on the net, learning how to hack, learning how do web design and programming and spending time being fascinated by all the smart people I talked to on IM and on forums. Then one day my friend got me to start playing call of duty 1 with him and we played it for hours everyday. Here I am about 4 years later and I've completely lost my concentration, my passion and my mental ability. I find it hard to keep the concentration to read these days or learn anything which is why I didn't care about school and done crap this year. I really need to get out of this so could you guys please offer any advice on how to get back into things of this nature? Anyone ever went through something like this? I've thought about uninstalling windows and forgetting about games and installing linux and that would you know make me learn and make me adapt and get me away from time wasting. Like what should I get involved in programming wise really any advice that comes to mind just throw at me please. I know this may not be the standard thread you get in this place but I really have no idea how to stop being such a detached day dreamer and get back to being a thinker. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alakar Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 (Woot, first post) Ahem.....Hey there Lyran. I know what you mean, I've been there. In fact, I'm just breaking out of one of these doldrums. I find that I can rarely learn for the sake of learning, I have to be able to apply. I set up projects for myself, goals to accomplish, and get cracking away. Ask yourself what you would like to accomplish. If a goal = success Move onto next goal Else Try again See what I did there? Sorry, I'm not a programmer, LOL. If there is anyone close who also likes this sort of thing, get involved, it's always funner when you some one to bounce ideas off of, and can come up with more projects to attempt. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisiam Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well basically a few years ago before I had a computer that could play decent games, I used to spend my time on the net, learning how to hack, learning how do web design and programming and spending time being fascinated by all the smart people I talked to on IM and on forums. Then one day my friend got me to start playing call of duty 1 with him and we played it for hours everyday. Here I am about 4 years later and I've completely lost my concentration, my passion and my mental ability. I find it hard to keep the concentration to read these days or learn anything which is why I didn't care about school and done crap this year. I really need to get out of this so could you guys please offer any advice on how to get back into things of this nature? Anyone ever went through something like this? I've thought about uninstalling windows and forgetting about games and installing linux and that would you know make me learn and make me adapt and get me away from time wasting. Like what should I get involved in programming wise really any advice that comes to mind just throw at me please. I know this may not be the standard thread you get in this place but I really have no idea how to stop being such a detached day dreamer and get back to being a thinker. Thanks. Wait until you have a girlfriend, your computer time will get taken away pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsenic Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Your gonna have to drop the games at least for the most part. You have to WANT to learn. Without motivation or a desire to better yourself it is very hard to sit down and learn something. You are going to have be able to realize that you are in a rut and understand that only you can get yourself out. YOU have to make things happen. Identify your problem, and figure out a way around it. From what you were saying it seems like video games seem to be your current road block. If you have a problem choosing to play vs. something else, you need to make something else seem more appealing. Set up 'road blocks'. Your plan of getting rid of windows to keep you away is good. Do it. Then when you sit down, you can either A: reload windows, install drivers, install the game, and play. Or B: Cruise forums, watch some Hak5 and get excited about an idea and try it out. I was just getting into computers when TheBroken came out, and I saw them scanning wireless AP's and 'hacking' (I know...), and 'social engineering' to get 'free' pizza (again, I know...) but it got me excited. I started playing with wireless cards, and reading about social engineering. I stumbled across forums like learntohack.org and a tech community forum that I liked called lineman.net (now allyourtech.com) and with that IPTV shows and things I saw one the forums became my motivation to learn more. The way I do things is I try to learn as much as I can about everything I do or come across throughout my day. I get bored and distracted easily and have hard time sticking with one thing for a very long time. So everything I do, I make into a learning process, I avoid taking easy routes and try to learn anything I can about what I'm doing and anything associated with it. So there is my experience's. But ultimately, you are going to have to help yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K1u Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I used to be in the Cal scene on DoD : S. It took up literally all my time, I remember practicing for literally 2 days... I am never going to play again. If I were to start playing again I would go on public servers, and most likely just be banned because they would think I am hacking. I wasted alot of time I could of been reading. BTW, try this... When you wake up, do not masturbate, and do not eat, take a very cold shower, meditate for about 1-2 hours. Then bust out any book or do something that you had no concentration on, and you will see how easily you will get everything you could say. I tried it about 2 days ago, and it was epic win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlit Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Turn off your computer, get out of the house. Do not touch a computer while you are out. Do this as many times as you possibly can. After long enough, you will start to care less about the computer and what it means to you. If you become suitably detached you'll be able to come back to the computer and not immediately play games but do something else. Or something. I agree with the previous comments about the fact that you need to want to learn. It's like quitting cigarettes - if you don't want to quit, you probably won't. Same with games. Will I quit soda (games) and start drinking water (coding) and fruit juice (productivity apps)? That's your choice to make. As for school, well, a lot of computer minded people never liked school that much. Not even just geeks, sometimes it's just not what works best for you. If that's the case then make the most of it while you're there and start figuring out what to do when you're not. It's not the end of the world if you don't get awesomely unbelievable grades (sure, they help,) but they're not everything. Another thing is that you could possibly use the games as a reward. If you've been particularly productive, allow yourself some chillout time. It doesn't have to be all work or all play, just keep tabs on how long you do either of them. I'm probably talking bollocks, I just got up and I can't think straight, but I think there was something in there of use, so uh... dunno, good luck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyran Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 thanks there has been some helpful information here and there from your posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim.vangehugten Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well I could add some stuff I think. I know it's hard to quit, but once you've slept good one or more nights you will be able to walk in the forest or something. Just give your body first some mental rest and then walking, or running. Just don't touch the pc for a while. If possible, just do a clean OS install (so you know that if you boot your pc, you can't play the game unless you install it again and that takes a while , driver configurations/ installing libraries etc etc.) Or you can just hang out with some friends, like me, I went yesterday to the sea with a couple of friends and I didn't care about the pc. But remember, your probably mentally tired so give your mind some rest by sleeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 take up karate, that's fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeryth Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Have you ever tried making maps/skins/models? It's a great way to enter the world of hacking, and you don't have to give up gaming. I know it takes a lot of skill to make a good map, but do it just for fun, even if no one will ever play it. Of course if gaming is really affecting your life, I agree you should take a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l3db3tt3r Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 As cheesy as it may be, and the fact that the stereotype dictates otherwise, you should try and broaden your group of friends, online and off. People are social beings, and peer pressure is real. Try and use it to your advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim.vangehugten Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 You could also start programming games, that way you can program and test your game at the same time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unasoto Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 combine getting out of the house and your computer at the same time DEFCON or whatever event is close to you 2600 this way you meet people in real life that share your passion for computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyran Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 I have a girlfrend and I go out quite a lot but I mean it's still crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirster42 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Read a book. Instead of sitting down at your computer/console to play games, grab a book instead and read. You could either read fiction books like sci-fi, fantasy, and/or mystery, or you could read a programming book about something you've always wanted to learn. I tend to have problems teaching myself outside of a structured classroom, unless I have an application for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyran Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 I've been thinking of getting back into c++ but I'm hitting a kind of writers block, like I have no idea what to create with a basic-novice level of knowledge from reading books and such. What sort of stuff do people normally code at this level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueHart Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Wait until you have a girlfriend, your computer time will get taken away pretty quick. ive got a girlfriend but i can log 12+ hour sessions if i want to lol. as far as the topic creators problem. im afraid i cant offer much help. i havent had this problem really. but i might know why. most of the games i play have some sort of scripting engine (WolfET has cfg's, WoW has addons. havent played either in a while though) so im always coding. which makes it easy to go back and forth between gaming and programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjamin1254 Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 i am a geek just like you my friend. as far as help spend some time doing what you like to do. I know i have been and still kinda am in ur situation but i make do with what i got! i do go and create things... sometimes they have to be taken down but check this out: http://techblog.kicks-ass.net:2140/ i made that with some minor help and alot of hrs put into learning linux terminal. yeah man all it took for me to change my ways was to give up my old way of thinking. I became social... i forced myself into speaking to random people. I did this while i was at collage and forced myself into doing it so that way i could become friends with thoes i spent most of my time with.... it may just take some time man. I know it took me tell then to relise that my high school days were meaningless. When i was forced to come back home i relised alot of thoes whom had criticized me in the past were not doing so well as they had hoped. So take your skillz and put them to a good use like i did! It may earn you a high paying job in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisiam Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 ive got a girlfriend but i can log 12+ hour sessions if i want to lol. Lucky you, not including work i would say i can get 5 or 6 hours a night. my g/f is Photoshop addict so we both just sit down infront of a computer most nights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueHart Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Lucky you, not including work i would say i can get 5 or 6 hours a night. my g/f is Photoshop addict so we both just sit down infront of a computer most nights. well theres a simple solution to that. get her (or you) another comp. if she is a photoshop addict then a cheap desktop from walmart would be perfect since its very inexpensive but can still do what she needs. i know photoshop can be a process hog at times but even an e-machine could handle it if it was configured right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakey Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Solution "Skateboarding" i'd spend most of the weekend day skateboarding. then i would either go out with my mates at night or go on the computer its a nice balance. Computer during the day = bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shido Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Alota what these guys said is quite good points. This is no lie when i tell you i was the exact same like you, but this is what i did: I found something i loved and started asking questions about it, that way i started doing more research about it and had less time for games. I was so into it that i started writing about my findings and wrote articles and stuff. Because i did this, i know that i can pick up any book and read it even though its not the topic i chose. The way i see it is, if you get brain in a pattern its gona wanna do it all the time, thats why you long for the games, just try to break outa the habbit I also found something that i loved and really wanted and made that a goal. When you have a goal in your life it will make you try to work harder. Another thing i guarantee will work is waking up about 5 am or even earlier and start reading through your work. At this time the brain is able to focus/concentrate better then other times of the day. (This doesnt mean you should wake up like 2am and sit whole night studying,this is madness) Just wake up about 5 learn for an hour and go back to sleep I hope i could help ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhimself Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Wait until you have a girlfriend, your computer time will get taken away pretty quick. lmao its very true. i got hayley, and now theres not much time at all for game, unless we both game, or if shes at home or somthing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhimself Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Solution "Skateboarding" i'd spend most of the weekend day skateboarding. then i would either go out with my mates at night or go on the computer its a nice balance. Computer during the day = bad. yeah but if u get too involved with skating you take it more seriously than anything. i quit skating, but when i jump on a board i can still bust out 360 flips and heelflips. gaming is near enough past now. i just got college and my girlfriend lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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