Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

A guy who was playing video games for a long period of time died from a blood clot:

http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/866-xb ... lood-clot/


That's very sad. Condolences to his family.

Please folks, if you're playing video games for a long time, remember to stop every so often and take a break...get a bit of exercise...go get something to drink ... go to the bathroom ... go outside for a breath of fresh air ... anything!!! The game will still be there when you return, and you may return refreshed and have a renewed perspective on how to overcome the enemies.

Above all, take care of yourself, because we love you.

I know when I was younger I would play games hours on end, especially in the summer time. But the difference is actually getting up and doing something. I can understand if you're in the middle of a long epic gameplay on your favorite online mmo, but it only takes a few seconds to type brb to let people know you need maybe a few mins to get up and walk around, use the bathroom, get a drink or some food.

Nowadays I don't play games more then maybe 1 or 2 hours, if not even that total cause I get up and move around. For those of us who are parents we have to teach our kids differently then we were taught. We have to let them know its okay if they want to play games, but only in moderation's. Get em out in the sun, go fishing, swimming, get outside and sword fight with some sticks or something lol.

The worst thing is, nowadays, in every game, it is possible to take a break and resume later without losing anything. It was understandable that a player who took three hours to get to the final stage of a Sonic or Mario game was distressed to have to stop, knowing he would have to start it over again if he did so. But, nowadays, every game you can stop and resume later. There is no reason to stay in front of the game for hours, without a break.

However tempting an entertainment can be, spending 10, 12 hours doing the same thing, be it playing games, watching television, reading or exercising at the gym, it is a signal that the person really needs professional help.

I'm so very glad that we're able to save wherever we want in most games these days. There are still a very few that limit this, which is something I find very annoying in modern games. With such increased awareness of the health problems from inactivity, there's little justification for having limited save points that are hours apart. I don't know about anyone else, but I can hardly sit still that long anyway.

Even though this story is sad, I'm glad to hear that the parents are acting rationally. Too many people would blame the game industry for this death in their situation. Instead, his parents are just working to increase awareness of the problem.