I love playing games. I love it so much – as much as I deny and refuse to say I’m addicted to them I can happily have a good session for a whole day. This to me is my idea of the perfect way to kill time. Despite how the rest of the world will say “What a waste of time..” or despite how a lot of us will have an immediate feeling of regret after a solid 3 hour sesh, the feeling of accomplishment is incomparable and only understood amongst the true blood. This was me approximately 6 months ago…

6 months ago I unlocked one of the most important achievements in life. I got married. Immediately I entered “Prestige Mode”. I am now playing the game of life at the hardest difficulty. It’s a lot of fun, the problems you learn from are definitely worth more than a double xp session you could play in almost any game. This is “the” MMORPG minus the respawns and raids. I am growing up (like properly); even my colleagues would say “I can’t believe you’re a husband!”. This quest has changed me though.

I am no longer the gamer I was 6 months ago. I can’t just pick up the controller and play when ever I want. It’s not that easy anymore. There’s a lot to consider before I pick the controller up. Being able to play a game has become a reward. This makes me look forward to that unforgettable “beep” noise when you press the PS button on the DualShock. All of this has changed me, not only have I started appreciating the little things, I have now become a different gamer.

All I used to play was multiplayer, it wasn’t about the protagonist (unless it’s Metal Gear Solid), not about the story or the trophies, it was all about the leveling, unlocking new stuff and obviously, competing with your mates. I am no longer the guy who skips the single player and jumps straight to the multiplayer part. I used to think spending £40 on a game that has no multiplayer is a huge waste of money. I still standby this for the most part and still think this is true – where, at £50 odd for a PS4 game, if there is no multiplayer, it’s a huge rip off.

Despite all of the above, I don’t seem to care about that stuff anymore. 6 months ago a game would’ve been out of date for me by the 2nd week if it didn’t have decent multiplayer. But now I don’t care. I still play games that are over 6 months old. I still play Battlefield 4 and I still play Need for Speed Rivals. I know I’m behind, but these games still give me value – I’ve never even played Need for speed competitively online even once!

I’m playing Destiny right now, I like it a lot and I’ve played a fair bit online and single player. I’m done with the campaign now but despite not rating the single player side of things that much I’m really enjoying the game. I couldn’t see myself enjoying the game this much 6 months ago.

I don’t get to experience many games any more. Though I haven’t lost the competitive edge, I don’t seem to care about next rank either. Instead I’m learning to make the most the game I have right now. Despite all of this, I still love playing games. I will forever be a gamer.