Binging Media: Go Big Or Go Home

I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy VIII recently, and I've come to the realization that I tend to binge the entertainment that I consume—whether that happens to be the games that I play, books I read or TV shows I watch. I have a bit of an addictive personality and once I start something it's a bit hard to stop...

...Which is funny because if I miss a beat at any point, I actually find it very difficult to get back into something. Take The Sopranos for instance: amazing show, heralded by many, and the 3 seasons or so that I did watch were very enjoyable. But I had taken a break from the show, for a reason that happens to escape me at the moment, and as it stands I don't have any inclinations to finish up the series.

The same thing can easily happen to me right now with Final Fantasy VIII. I think this is the 4th time that I've restarted this game over the last 15 years. I've never gotten past the second disc and I currently stand on par with the furthest I've ever gotten in the game.

Benefits?

I'm not really 100% sure if binging is a good or bad thing but, at least in regards to RPGs, it has one large benefit: an unabridged story. The biggest culprit for not continuing an RPG has to be taking a break in the middle of a mission and then having no clue what you were doing when you start the game back up again. I couldn't even count how many times this has happened to me and my friends over the years. Thank the devs that started integrating logs into games; being able to keep track of progress is amazing.

Now binging a 40-hour RPG is one thing—even if I played 4 hours a day it would still take over a week to beat—but what about a shooter? Typically a shooter—like Wolfenstein or Killzone—only lasts around 8-12 hours, if I were to binge that it would be over in a couple days, almost leaving me feel a bit wasteful because I didn't relish the little bit of gameplay it offered. Not to mention if I bought it on day one, dropping $70 on it and then just beat it in 3 days...not the best feeling.

Final Thoughts

Along with Final Fantasy VIII, I'm also currently binging The X-Files, which is amazing I tell you! My love for the X-Files aside, swapping back and forth between the two actually works out pretty well; even if I get a little bored with one, I can just switch every other day and continue.

I'm curious about all of you, how do you consume media? Do you take the more methodical approach, take your time, savor the moment, or, do you try to consume as much as possible in an attempt to stave off your impending boredom? Let me know!