Gaming Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD): Being Distracted from your Distractions

Some co-workers and I about a year ago spent a couple of days to remember and write down how many games we've beaten to completion. One guy had about 30 games completed, another had around 80ish. My best buddy had about 150 games, which impressed everyone else in our dork circle. However, when it came down to my list, I hesitated, then brought out a 5-page document and laid it upon their curious eyes. The total count was 453. Immediate response from everyone? “....wow.”

Professionally (i.e. MS Paint) crafted graph depicting the inverse relationship between video game scoring and real life scoring. Apparently I was a stud when I was 3 years old.

I was both praised and made fun of soon afterward for such a “feat.” As I looked at the list again, I sat there and wondered, “What kind of time did I have growing up to have beaten 453 games in my lifetime? That doesn't even count the games I didn't beat.” As I sat there with shame and regret hanging high on my shoulders, I noticed a trend: there wasn't as many games listed within the recent years (2006-2009); the completed games were mostly accomplished between 1994 and 2004. As of one year from making that list, I've maybe completed 4 or 5 games at best, and I consider myself a seasoned gamer.

What's with the slacking? Why aren't I pounding through game after game per week, shotgunning a Mountain Dew and wiping Cheeto dust on my Zelda-themed triforce shirt every time I see the end credits roll? I've developed something many of my friends and other people have but seldom admit: Gaming Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD).

Some symptoms of GADD include the following: buying new games but only playing them for an hour and then shelving them, carrying on with those you've neglected but stopping because you forgot how to play and/or what the story entailed, dying three times in a game leads to you trading in the game in to Gamestop with the “it's not my thing” excuse, choosing work or social activities over quality gaming time, ignoring your MMO of choice in order to “raid” your girlfriend, becoming a contributing member to society, and so on.

One major cause of GADD is the saturation of the gaming market as a whole. The gaming industry tends to put its biggest releases during the September to December window for the holiday season (though that trend is getting less and less prominent, with publishers now spreading their supposed “triple A” titles throughout the year). Some gamers are reserved and purchase two, maybe three games during this season and are content. However, there are many (and, as a former Gamestop employee, I can attest to this) who will buy upwards of fifteen to twenty games within this timeframe. That's about a game a week. Having so many games on someone's plate will cause them to only fiddle around with their new copies of games for an hour and shelf them until a) they overcome GADD and complete the game, b) sell the game, or c) forever keep them on their Shelf of Unfulfilled Purchases.

Simply put, having too many games around you puts less emphasis on actually completing them. Completing the games you have before you buy new ones can be a cure to the problem, but gamers aren't that pragmatic – they have to buy the collector's edition Final Fantasy XIII on midnight of its release and never get past the tutorial stage.

I feel like a lot of people such as myself, when we are afflicted with the deadly GADD, we tend to think of finishing a game as a chore or as “work.” When it gets to that point, we can probably blame the length of the game, or how terrible some aspects of the game are to prevent you from continuing. But the fact remains that you made the purchase, and you have to slog through Prototype's mundane missions because you dropped $60 bucks on that sucker, and you don't want to trade it in because your friend's beat the game and review sites are telling you there's a good game somewhere in there.

This guy has only actually played Super Mario Bros.

Or maybe the cause is that people my age are adults with obligations, not having time to entertain ourselves via the video game medium. Video games definitely take an ample amount of investment, but why is it that we have the income to purchase these distractions, only to not get the most of what we buy? It's fairly difficult to have a casual attitude about gaming, especially when we don't want to let go of our “veteran” gaming mindsets.

Final Fantasy 3/VI (pictured top) took me a couple of days to beat. With GADD, games like Final Fantasy XIII (pictured bottom) will take me 2 years to complete half the game. Thanks, GADD!

It's just unfortunate to spend money or time on a hobby you're not utilizing to full advantage. But for some, GADD isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you have obligations or friends or other relevant concerns in your life. But if you don't have those things, then I guess dying alone with your shelf of unfinished games is your only option.