Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I find I cannot concentrate on building and painting for so long, and these two aspects of the hobby are sometimes not actually fun enough for me to spend my spare time on, so when I want some quick dopamine release, I turn to video games (RTSs or MMO). This sucks a lot of my time away that I could be building up my Iron Warriors 30k Heresy army with.

Anybody have any advice on balancing video games and the hobby? Or is it better to just say stuff video games, and quit cold turkey, and just tough it out when it comes to monotonous building and painting?

Well personally I say stuff painting, but that's just me. Perhaps you need to get into some more short burst games, like FPSs or fighting games. RTSs and MMOs are notorious for eating all your spare time (though I maintain that all my time playing Rome:Total War has granted me valuable tactical insights when playing Warhammer!).
Perhaps reward yourself with some game playing time for completing a squad or tank?

Well, to be real honest with you, you're in a situation that has as many solutions as people. Some techniques work better than others, so you'll probably need to experiment to find what works best for you.

One possibility is to set up a system of rewarding progress on your modeling and painting with gaming time. It can be real simple "I'll build a squad, then I can play tonight." Or larger scale "my goal this week is to do X guys, once I meet that goal, I am done."

The real trick though, is to break up the monotonous parts. Pushing through leads to burnout and that eventually catches up with you in a big way until you don't want to do it at all anymore.

'Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.'

In other words, if you are happy playing video games then don't feel bad about it. Both are hobbies after all, not something you should be doing if you don't want to do it.

At a guess, there will be times where the opposite is true, and you won't want to play games but would like to build/paint stuff. I myself haven't really touched video gaming in a few weeks, and churned out minis by the dozen, but then spent most of the last week playing Arkham Knight, and not finished a model in ages. Neither really bothers me, as I enjoyed the time spent.

As long as you can pay your way, don't feel guilty doing what you enjoy.

 Paradigm wrote:
'Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.'

This is the right way to think about it in the end. I, personally, found that I wasn't enjoying PC games like I used to, so the "well-spent time" turned into "wasted time" in my mind. I have since largely cut PC gaming from my life and now have a bunch of nicely painted miniatures that I am producing with my newly found free time. I will point out that I enjoy the hobby side of wargaming and reading forums about wargaming just as enjoyable as actually playing, so take this with a grain of perspective-salt.

I don't have this problem for 2 reasons.

1. I'm old, and
2. I was firmly entrenched in this miniatures hobby before console gaming really took off (or even computer gaming).

I enjoy the "hands on" aspect of this hobby. I will occasionally play a video game, but as my console is an old PS2, it's for a couple of hours at a time once or twice a year. I have no interest in upgrading to a newer one - as none of the games out for them actually interest me in the slightest.

If you enjoy videogames, then play them. If you don't enjoy painting or assembling models, don't do it. Hobby should not equal chore.

I miss playing Everquest... I used to get a lot of painting done during respawns.

 chromedog wrote:
I don't have this problem for 2 reasons.

1. I'm old, and
2. I was firmly entrenched in this miniatures hobby before console gaming really took off (or even computer gaming).

I enjoy the "hands on" aspect of this hobby. I will occasionally play a video game, but as my console is an old PS2, it's for a couple of hours at a time once or twice a year. I have no interest in upgrading to a newer one - as none of the games out for them actually interest me in the slightest.

If you enjoy videogames, then play them. If you don't enjoy painting or assembling models, don't do it. Hobby should not equal chore.

What are you still playing on the PS2?

The plentiful 40k games suck away lots of 40k time for me, yes, which results in an army that is painfully slowly being worked on.

But if you enjoy it, it is not really a problem.

 xbenblasterx wrote:

What are you still playing on the PS2?

Bunch of games I never finished. I can't play go-to-whoah in one sitting. I play for a bit then let it go - my eyes get tired and I have to put drops into them - which then means I can't focus on much for the next half hour anyway. Current one is "A fistful of boomstick" (evil dead). Ash never gets tiresome.

I can tell you what not to do: don't have your computer at one end of a room with your painting desk at the other, with a wheeled office chair in the middle. I love painting and modelling but I swear that room was seriously sloped downwards towards the computer.

Video games are a quick fix for entertainment. If you really want the hard work done on your models sometimes you have to rip yourself violently from other distractions. Or just learn to be okay with the choice not to do it. If you enjoy the time spent gaming, at the end of the day it's worth it.

MaxZ wrote:
I find I cannot concentrate on building and painting for so long, and these two aspects of the hobby are sometimes not actually fun enough for me to spend my spare time on,

Sounds like you made a choice.
Do you really want to get this stuff done and just want that little bit more to help?
What is the more "painful" element of this stage of the models?
I got an airbrush and "block paint" with it.
I still hate painting large areas, details entertain me so this helped a lot.
This is also "zen time" this is not a dopamine moment.
Some music, comfortable area, well lit, snacks, beverage: keep it a nice place to "relax".

so when I want some quick dopamine release, I turn to video games (RTSs or MMO).

Exciting enough stuff, I find I save the painting and assembly for at least a half hour before bed.
You will sleep better too.

This sucks a lot of my time away that I could be building up my Iron Warriors 30k Heresy army with.

Just manage what is important to you.
I think if you save the quieter time hobby stuff till last but allocate a half hour at least it will all work out.

Anybody have any advice on balancing video games and the hobby? Or is it better to just say stuff video games, and quit cold turkey, and just tough it out when it comes to monotonous building and painting?

"Monotonous" obviously you just want to get on with playing and not the stuff before.
Ever look at some assembly / painting commission work?
Would it be a consideration?
I have friends that can be bribed with model kits if I am desperate for a deadline, do you?

Well, like someone else said everyone has a different solution. Here are some things that have helped me get projects done.

1. I never play with unpainted forces and I never play on a table with unfinished terrain. I also never play without a scenario, but that's just me. Therefore, if I want to play I have to put in the prep workfirst. I find all this build-up actually enhances the game as I have been preparing and building up to it for sometime.

2. Make painting a community event. i don;t paint/build alone all the time. Instead, my group and I get together and have painting nights. Or I paint with my spouse/kid. That makes it more of a social acitivity and a change of pace. Sometimes I learn new tricks, share paints for interesting colors, or get almsot nothing painted because I was talking the whole time!

3. Get involved with community painting goals. Therefore, they aren;t just goals for me, but goals for everyone. That way when you get it done and your friend doesn't you can give them stick about it. Or vice-versa so you better get it done.

4. Spend time away from the painting/building reading stories, looking at artwork, watching battles, reading bat reps, etc. from the universe/game you are going to be building/painting models for. This tends to make me want to get involved as soon as possible.

5. Don't obsess about perfection, instead obsess about usability. Don't make your paint jobs perfect, or the best you can do everytime. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Make them good enough to pass the arm's length test. Especially for back-rankers and the fodder.

6. Paint with movies or other media on in the background. that way you can feel like you accomplished two things at once! You finished painting all the guns on those dudes, AND got caught up on this season of the Bachelor. Double Plus Good!

7. Pre-schedule your painting time. In short order, you will be looking forward to those times where it is just you and the brushes away from the rest of the world.

Just some thoughts.

Edit: On PS2- I still play Intelligence Cube, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Twisted Metal 2 all the time.