Totally feel this dude. Only been a few weeks of it but I’m very much in that season of “I only want to do and focus on things I actually want to do and focus on” Most of that is work related things and where I’m trying to go with a career, but I also need to work that thinking into to how I spend my down time. Cheers, man!

I’m currently doing engineering in university and I have to study most of the day so I definitely feel my hours are precious. One of the reasons I think I can never decide what to play is because I have like 5 games I have bought and haven’t got round to playing and I’m the kind of person who has some sort of OCD that I have to search every single spec of a games area before moving on. So sometimes I waste precious time just searching pointless areas to see if anything is hidden in the corners of them. I love games with long stories, I love final fantasy games. I love final fantasy because it’s linear but with a long and great story FF8 and X etc being good examples. I love spending time searching all open worlds like final fantasy 7 rebirth but I am always dreading that I may have to study hard again tomorrow and even though I am interested in the subjects I am doing and find them interesting, sometimes having to do so much while ignoring other things I enjoy is difficult. I enjoy what I am studying but I tend to over study myself or feel guilty that I am not studying enough especially since I have so many modules to keep track of and that worrying can put a dampener on everything in life but I’m determined to pass and get myself a fun career in engineering. I’m just always worried that I am not studying enough and sometimes end up studying to the point I can’t think straight and I am always worried about the next test that’s coming up and worrying about the regret if I ever messed one of them up which I haven’t and I know I won’t but still, it can be difficult finding a balance for all things in life but, that’s our trail and that’s what we need to work towards so, that’s exactly what I’ll do.

bro turned into a philosopher

I use an iPhone and Macbook and set up a couple of focus modes that are automated for work and gaming. For work, when I need a clear time with no distractions, I hit a macro that turns off all notifications except calls from a few select people and starts a timer (also helps with urgency and focus). For gaming, as soon as I connect my controller or launch Steam, it turns on the gaming focus, which is basically like the work focus. Gaming time is "Me" time ;P. Noise-cancelling headphones, everything blocked automatically. I don't play too often, but when I do, I select moments and the world can wait. Pure recharging.

I’ve deleted all social media (except KZbin). I’ve turned push notifications off for KZbin too. I only engage with it in little breaks. I use it when I want to, not when the app wants too. Only thing I can work on is to not endlessly scroll on the homepage

Life itself is distraction with life ^^

I got rid of social media years ago and that helped a lot. I also don't have work email notifications or Teams notifications on anymore. My phone is usually on low volume and off to the side of my desk face down. If I hear it, I'll check but otherwise I ignore it. Then again I have no friends so it doesn't go off that much anyway but you get the idea.

I was stuck on water temple for about 2 years.

Games aren’t the same as they used to be

When Half-Life came out I was a teenager and it was amazing. I love Black Mesa its the best and your footage is some of the best part of Black Mesa as far as nostalgia from the late 90s goes so big thumbs up for that. I never got addicted to cellphones like so many people and I think that is a big part of the problem people have nowadays. I have no social media and just use a PC to watch and play youtube videos. Get rid of all the dumb subscription services, you can easily entertain yourself with free stuff on youtube and rumble. If you are in a work environment where its expected that you always have to be available by phone or text that sounds like a nightmare.

The problem is we are overwhelmed with choice these days, so its a lot easier to just say fuck it i'll just watch some youtube. For me, I got a couple games I know I love and I just stick to them, I rarely go looking for anything else, its just too much.

i click so fast whenever a new video comes out because these video essays are relatable especially in the modern world, keep em coming BBKDRAGOON!

As far as keeping up with the never ending release cycle of games and tv, there's a really good video here on yt by Mark Maxwell called: How To Get Back Into A Game, According To Science. I recommend watching it if you end up playing new releases while your in the middle of a game. It involves taking notes of what you did previously and what you're going to do next.

For me i use ear plugs to cut the edge off a sudden or constant distraction. Brown and white noise mp3 files played over the speakers which really gets me disconnected as if i just turned out a giant air conditioner or made a waterfall appear out of nowhere. Headphones are nice but i have noticed if nothing else is playing in my apartment it just makes the distractions louder with an added echo effect so i will have my rechargeable boom box playing classical and rock music at a low volume which is extra great when sleeping at night giving me a positive distraction when the environment gets loud in the middle of the night. That is the main thing for me creating positive distractions for myself instead of drowning in negative distractions. So if there is noise in the middle of the night i just make sure to have some soothing classical music playing all night at a low volume this way the noise maker who is usually some passive aggressive dork can't effect me with their distractions. Its really important to filter out those distractions and noise because it will effect every facet of a person's life from hobbies like gaming to work related things. I have one friend, nice guy but he is needy beyond belief calling me constantly. Eventually i learned to just disconnect from him by blocking him at certain times. He understands because he knows he has an impulse problem so its all good unlike my upstairs neighbor who are passive aggressive dorks who do things on purpose to cause issues. Fortunately they already have a bad rep in the building so they can no longer flip things on me. People like that the best thing to do is just enjoy life, my hobbies and watch it make them miserable because they can't stand seeing others happy.

Gen alpha is so cooked.

Gonna star HL2 bc you man

Great video totally agree everyone will have different approach.

Lovin the black mesa gameplay! Thats one of the best single player fps campaigns on pc! 💯

Love these videos, literally feeling of late this exact topic you covered here so I really enjoyed it man!

My dude, because of you I now associate Half Life with therapeutic introspection 😄 On the subject of distraction in gaming and media... If I ever find myself overwhelmed by that, I just focus on work for a week or two, but like really dive in and shut everything else out. I found that that's a really nice pallet cleanser. It's like taking a mental vacation. When I come back I'm almost fully reset P.S. I have a job where I can do that and a boss that will basically close the doors around me and tell everyone "Let him cook", if I ask her to do it. (my boss is amazing)

Getting rid of social media (besides KZbin) and stopping my streaming subscriptions has helped me out a lot. Not being fed my interests via algorithms has made me have more of my own identity again.

hey man, just wanted to say that I've been getting back into your channel after a long break, used to watch back during Monday Night in the Pit and Reviewing Your Replays when I was in middle school (I'm about to turn 25 on Friday), and your video's are keeping me sane during a hard time in my life, so thank you for that, it means a lot. love you man

Excellent discussion! Aligns well!

As a kid, doing something that was a 4/10 felt good because it was a lot better than just staring at a wall. For example, you'd get a questionable game for christmas, and you'd play it anyway. Because what else were you going to do, play one of the small handful of games you own that you've already played to death? Or watch one of the handful of movies you'd already seen 10 times each? Nowadays, things are mostly a 6 or 7 out of 10, and there's a ton to choose from in all mediums. The real task now is choosing the 8s 9s and 10s in the mediums that are most engaging to you, and learning to be ok with not experiencing everything

8:04 Does this remind you of the Nintendo Switch Popeye game? When the player dies, this happens.

I suggest that you take a look at Cal Newport's work, especially his book “Deep Work”. He also has a Podcast and KZbin channel.

I’m always focused, and to minimize notifications, just turn off certain notifications on your apps, and get off of social media, I figured this out right when I got my first iPad, and it’s been a life saver, I can’t handle lots of stuff, so I minimize it!

Stupid dogs that bark all day long distract me...

I completely understand where you're coming from, and I've been trying to do the same thing. Choosing to be intentional is difficult, but it is so extremely important. I've tried setting up the focus times on my phone, but those haven't really helped me much because you can still open any social media app if you choose to, which I often would out of habit or reflex when things get boring at work or in life. I deleted Facebook and Instagram almost 5 years ago and I haven't missed them. I would tell myself, oh I'm keeping it because it's how I keep up with people. While partly true, I know, and I think most of us know, that keep up with people is about 5% of the actual time we spend on social media platforms. We quicky scroll through family and friends posts and then scroll for hours in the "for you" page. The first thing I do, is be honest with myself. If I'm making excuses to keep it because of FOMO or some other worthless reason, get rid of it. I love games and purged my phone of all games except for a few that I genuinely enjoy, and they are REAL games not the never ending live service parasite games that just suck all of your time. Games I can pick up, play for 10 minutes and put down, and come back tomorrow. It's been a huge help. The second thing I do, is discipline myself to remove apps completely, but temporarily. KZbin is the only social media platform I really engage with anymore. I really enjoy KZbin, obviously. But during the week, I delete it from my phone completely. I only download it for the weekend. Because I know that my little addict brain will want to be on it when I don't need to be. Clearly, I'm still on KZbin during the week, but this on my laptop which is far more intentional. There is no scrolling through shorts on my laptop. It's much easier to through something on in picture in picture and still get work done. But ultimately after a couple of videos, I'm done and I put some music on. It's an on going process of improvement, and I really look forward to these videos every week. They help me refocus and see where I've made improvement and where I can continue to improve. Be kind to yourselves, because this world is full of distractions and things that want your time. Be as intentional as possible and forgive yourself when you're not. When that happens, because it will, you're not a failure. You didn't ruin all of the progress you've made. Just recognize what the mistake may have been and refocus moving forward and learning from it.

I like your content. You seem really tuned in. People need to hear this. You are correct, games are weighted to keep players engaged by the same folks that make slot machines and social media applications. All focused on the dopamine hook. IMO most of the shows and movie's these days suck, and I loathe social media. I still like my Halo, but even that needs it's breaks. Halo will always have that strategy aspect to it for an "FPS" game. Hope they can keep it alive. Technology will eventually consume us. Sadly, I don't think there is any way around that. We have crossed some serious, major thresholds. I won't get into that. I try and keep daily routines like meditation, Tai-Chi, and some from of exercise in. When working from home I turn off all notifications. I personally think people were more productive in smaller office and team settings with a good leader. But I'm old school, what do I know. My flow state is always late at night. But it's been like that for decades. I think it's also because everyone has gone to bed, or are winding down etc. Then I thrive. The older I get, the more I like my space. Feeling like I need the tech detox, time away in nature with no tech is the best thing one can do. Takes like a minimum of 4 days.Thanks for the content, sorry for rambling. One (maybe stupid) question for you, what game is that? LOL. I could probably look it up or something. It looks less sweaty and more relaxing. looking forward to Metal Gear! PS: found the game.

“You need to have slack open” I swear to god one day I’ll have PTSD from the notification noise 😂

Trying to stay present in what you are currently doing is so important when it comes to not letting distractions get the best of you. If your so focused on what others are telling you to watch and play (in the world of Film and Games) your never going to enjoy what you’re currently watching or playing. You’re going to be focused on burning through as much content as you can to get to the next big recommendation. And the worst thing is you won’t even enjoy the experience because you’re constantly thinking about what’s next. I know this because it’s something I struggle with.

A few years ago, I went through the same journey of culling distractions and getting off social media. My phone is set up so that my work and personal apps and emails are separate. Mostly just playing games I find fun and most of them are single player but I still play multiplayer games when my friends want to or think it will be enjoyable.

I'm still looking for a general solution too, but in terms of gaming i've mostly stopped playing these high demand hamster weel esque games (been playing lots of modern comp fps that put the though of "fun time is lost time becuase i could've played ranked" in my head for years). It stressed me out to the point that i wasn't playing them for fun but just because getting a higher rank was my task. Then, lately, i started playing games like Ready or Not and modded realism Ghost Recon and wow i had fun playing games again. Doing it "tactical" and "realistic" was so much ´more fun than trying to do it as fast as possible. Also ignoring "progress" and focusing on completing the level instead of seeing it as a way to get more XP was really taking a weight off me. At this point i don't really want to go back to keep this enjoyment as long as i can.

Hello I like to say hello if I can get the first comment so hello and hi😁.

I love this video, my hope is I can make introspectives like this one day

interesting video, there is also the FOMO ! Fear Of Missing Out. Forces you to finish the game sometimes, or to buy that new game, to play that other game cuz there is a limited time event, when in fact you might want none of this.

Really need to finish Three Houses and astral Chain

Artifact is not gone, but its dead. Might and Magics cardgame was fun also. Gone. A pity!

Best sequel in history! It delivered everything promised (and much more) and on top of that, it was incredibly well optimized.

I remember when I was like 7 years old and I was feeling HORRIBLE. My dad gave me a ds game he picked up at a garage sale. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days it was, I was in love with the gameplay, the story. It made me forget about my sickness for a while, even though I was quite literally nearly dying. I'm gonna be honest, this is probably still my favorite game to this day, even now that im an adult, the main character Roxas is still one of my favorites.

HALF-LIFE 2 SAVED MY MARRIAGE

Load up a single player Ark and live your best life. Such a beautiful game

I scan my library and almost always default to Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain 2. Just so easy to get another run in without having to go through the ups and downs of learning another game's systems.

If you can't afford to upgrade sure great options and will get you some games but when it comes to online games or updates eventually that'll come to an end. Best to get like $350 saved get a used series X or even like $200 for a used series S and just go from here.

Just so you know im more than happy to see more Nintendo content

I heavily align with this school of thought

Basically the PS2 may be an old console, but it's games are as modern as it can get. Truth be told... despite a few new genres that rocked hard (as moba, modern survivals, colony management, battle royale and a small "etc") the more classical genres already reached their peak on the PS2 and even that some mechanics and ideas were enhanced, so many others were downgraded and we can count in our fingers how many old franchises (and the ones inspired by those) had better sequels. And there is the fact that the PS2 is one of the last old school consoles (as the Wii and the Switch after it... but not as good as... the Wii not even close), that you simply bought complete games and just insert and play it. In the next gen after it, the two major consoles were PC-lite and the other too different... too focused on casual and lacking on a lot of genres. The PS3 is the last console I bough (also had the Wii on that gen) because I don't want to waste money a downgraded PC that only serves to play games when I already had one that do all the computer sht. And the PS2 had a full package of amazing games that were exclusive and there was the only place to play it all. I'm not a nostalgia boomer... The current gen is a crap just because the current state of the industry is pretty bad, but until the last one, things only improved. I also didn't like the fact that the PS2 almost monopolized the great titles and I prefer the PS360 and PS3X models that players had almost all games in their favorite platform... but yet it don't changed the fact that the PS2, by the wrong reason, still the best console ever released... and that generation still has a huge quantity of amazing games that never grew old as the three other consoles exclusives also still play better than most of current games. Your list just prove it... there is content to do at least twenty other videos like this, being extremely selective about what to quote. Personally, the PS2 emulation is one of the main reasons I almost don't buy new games. Cheers!

Friedrich Harbors

Rather foolishly hoping for a surprise 20th anniversary release of HL2 for PlayStation/Xbox/Switch. Stranger things have happened (Portal/Portal 2 got a Switch release in 2022, while the 360 version got a Series X|S enhancement update), so you never know.