How gaming can effect your relationship

Relationships always have their ups and downs. The most regular arguments spoken of in a relationship are as follows:

*Finances
*House work
*Lack of intimacy
*Commitment issues
*Clashing opinions
*Small habits that annoy the poop out of you

All those who have been in a relationship must’ve encountered one or more of the problems mentioned above.

As a gamer married to a gamer, I can add another issue to that list. Gaming arguments!

I’ve always known that I would end up marrying a man that is into the wondrous world of gaming. Now what I didn’t predict are the arguments that come up involving and triggered by gaming. It doesn’t just affect me. Sometimes a person that is not even interested in videogames that has a partner that spends a lot of time gaming, which also tends to bring up unpleasantness to the glorious bliss of love.

In this editorial, I will not only use my relationship as an example, I will analyze people around me that are in a relationship with a gamer.

One of the biggest issues I’ve encountered is the competitiveness. Both my spouse and I are very competitive people. If he jumps 5 feet, I am going to get spingshoes just to jump 5.1 feet. Being competitive has always been my biggest issue that has leaded to blown up arguments that one of us cheated, or had server advantage. Simply put, you make up any old excuse so you won’t have to admit that your spouse beat you at your own game. It can sometimes be strength but in this case, it’s annoying. Videogames are, in our case, the biggest argument catalyst. Everything from gaming politics to ” HAHA, I PAAAWNED YOU!”

None the less, we are working on that. One solution we’ve established is that we simply don’t play the same game, hence neither of us will see our competitive nature showing its ugly mug. So far it worked great and if anyone has this problem. I suggest you try it, and if you have an alternative solution, let me know.

On another gamer related relationship issue is “my spouse won’t stop playing games and is neglecting me!” This gamer is often found playing videogames a lot and constantly tells every available girl online “I wish my spouse played videogames…”. Of course, girls being sympathetic in nature go “AWWWWW”. Well here is where the situation gets ugly. If now this person is committed in a relationship, there are better ways to go about then spend all time gaming and telling people you randomly meet that your spouse is not understanding of your gaming habits. Talk to your spouse, make up some sort of arrangement. In a relationship, even if you are a hardcore gamer, you have to have room for compromise. It is not always about you and your videogames. They are a pastime and to some, a passion. You have a spouse that obviously loves you enough to try to deal with your gaming habit. So if you just compromise a little bit, it will bring somewhat of a balance in your relationship where you can game and spend time with your special someone. Also for goodness sake, no more self-pity party, it isn’t always great that a spouse games with you, it gets annoying and expensive, trust me.

If you feel that your spouse would love what the world of gaming has to offer, get that person involved. In most relationships when a person has a problem with his significant others gaming habit, it’s only because that person feels isolated and neglected. Also it ends up that person feeling distaste for gaming just because of those simple reasons. The gaming world offers so many varieties of games, racing, MMORPG, puzzle, fighting, adventure etc…with so much variety in designs, there is always a game that your spouse might actually like! All that is needed is some encouragement to make your special someone to feel welcome into your world. Praise that persons achievements and appreciate each other for your differences.

Ever since I and my significant other made the decision to try to keep away from each other’s games, we each have a DS, we sit on the couch playing our games in that way we feel as if we are doing something together. Open communication can do miracles.

A very big problem that I have noticed is jealousy. As the online world grows, more people get burned by those whom they thought they knew. There are examples and examples of online relationships that crashed and burned. I know many examples, the strangest one is a man, claiming to be single, yet he has a wife and a child.
He spends his days playing videogames and flirting up ladies playing online. That man has obviously made his decision, gaming over spouse.
We all play games because we love it! We love the places it takes us to.
It is also an escape from reality.
But if you try to run away from the chains of reality too much, you will end up hurting the one you are committed to.

Basically, videogames are great, they bring us other worlds. A game is still a game, but love is the ultimate adventure! It can give you more variety of emotions than any virtual world can provide.

If you have an interesting relationship story involving gaming, let me know.
If you feel that I missed a key part, I’d like to know that too.