101 things to do instead of playing Skyrim

Sometimes I wonder how better off we would be if gamers put forth the same amount of time and effort towards something productive as they do their games. There would surely be a lot more skilled and talented people in the world.

Everyone enjoys some form of entertainment. Would you rather I was out clubbing every night/weekend killing brain cells? How can you possibly think gamers are bad enough to write this list? Maybe you could switch out "playing Skyrim" with "watching Jersey Shore" and I'd agree.

How is playing minecraft better?

Sorry, Earl. I don't see how writing a list of 101 (with probably 99 things you've never done and never will do) is something that's even worth doing. You could have spent that wasted time not giving a fuck and done at least, like, 10 of those things. Although, you may have just made this shit up to make fans rage (if you did... you've slightly done it). And on another note.... Minecraft? How is that not wasting time? Nothing gets accomplished in that game... ever. It's fun though. Won't lie. And one more.... Sex.... That wasn't at all on the list. But you do have "Master Chess" on there. Makes me think you do a lot of "Master...bation". All I'm saying is.... you could have spent that time playing Skyrim... instead of wasting that time making a horrible list.

Skyrim is a fun way to be entertained, but like all forms of entertainment, it's always a great idea to take a break every once in a while, and do something for humanity. Skyrim is full of quests that help a thriving virtual population. People who love Skyrim must have a desire to help others; otherwise they wouldn't be playing a game that relied so heavily on helping virtual people. I see the love of helping others as a beautiful quality, one that should be explored both inside, and outside of the game world.

Hm, it would appear our opinions differ. We should do what you say.

Skyrim for me was pretty damn impressive, but when I got bored of it, I got bored. It just hit me like a hammer, and to be honest, I'd rather play Minecraft than Skyrim after that.

Nice list, and has given me a few things to look at instead of play any other game really.

any video game that becomes super time consuming is a waste of time. regardless of what level you make it to. how is living vicariously through a game living? those who play for hours and hours on end are giving into what the proverbial "they" want you to do. be connected. tied into the computer so they know exactly where you are and what you are doing. weve just been conditioned to think this is living when really its anything but. this list was awesome except for .. the minecraft suggestion. trading 1 game for another is sort of obsolete and redundant. at least skyrim has better graphic =x

Here's what a typical day of my life looks like.

Wake up at 8am. Exercise for an hour: weights, crunches, pushups. Then my wife is usually out of the shower. She plays Skyrim or watches old episodes of Frasier, or the Golden Girls or whatever she feels like doing from 9am to 1pm. During this time, I hang out with her while I do computer repair work out of my home. Then she gets ready and goes to work.

I then read a page in "the Intellectual Devotional" a few times to memorise the subject, whether it be music, art, science, math or religion. Then I go look the subject up online to learn more about it.

Then I look up a verse of scripture and then read some of the commentary on it. Then I pray for a little bit. It's usually about 4-4:30 at this point.

Then what do I do from 4:30 until my wife gets back from work at about 11pm? I usually play the heck out of Skyrim, breaking to cook supper, look at stuff online, little tasks around the house and whatnot.

Things interrupt this schedule throughout the week -- I serve my church family by assisting them with tech issues and attend church events and "hang out" with friends every now and then. I'm an introvert, social situations are not as pleasant for me as they are for others, but I still force myself to have social contact outside of my wife.

I play 6 or 7 hours of Skyrim a day. Some days I read or play another game instead.

Am I not well-rounded? Your article is interesting, but actually a waste of your time. There's no reason for anybody to stop playing Skyrim, it's just a great game. And if somebody sacrifices too much of their life to play it, that sort of person would just be doing something else if Skyrim didn't exist.

Holy crap - if this was an attempt to convince us that people who resent video games are mind-numbingly boring, passionless individuals, it's a rousing success.

It's not that many of the things on this list aren't interesting. It's just that each of them is delivered in the short, listless tone of a dispassionate friend jealous and frustrated with his social group's enthusiasm.

I'll zero in on one item for an example: going to an art museum. Now suppose a friend comes up to you, and starts gushing about a small Aztec microculture that basically pre-empted the European cubist movement by a millennium, and you notice that a local museum just put together an exhibit displaying actual pieces from that society alongside with its influences and parallels. Now that sounds like something I'd like to go see!

Contrast this with: "Spend a few hours at an art museum." Notice how the length of time is stressed rather than the content. This, like every item on this list, sounds like either a chore or an attempt to look busy. (Some of them actually ARE chores - back up your computer files? Wheeee.)

If you're trying to convince Skyrim enthusiasts that there are other things to be passionate about, you should try coming up with things you actually find interesting, so it doesn't end up being one giant counterexample.

I can do a lot of that in the Province of Skyrim.