Married with young kids and playing GT5? Please share your thoughts here.

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nik99
I'm 38 and, like many, I get an hour or two at the end of the day, and an odd hour or two here and there over the weekends for some 'me' time which mainly I spend playing GT5.

I have a 15 year old step-daughter, who I have occasionally found racing a Mini (wins handily), and a 6 year old son, who used to only race 'Bublebee', but became obsessed with obtaining a 2J the weekend before last (call it the 'box-car'). He saw a picture of it from mygranturismo.net and had to check the UCD after every race (He knew it was white so he checked every car that had a white paint chip).
We found the 2J on Saturday, so I let him buy it, set it up (+tires, +aids) in a race for him and let him have at it. He seemed to have the car under control, so I went about doing the things you've got to do around the house. After about an hour I came back and found he was in practice mode. Still very excited, he handed me the controller and told me that I "had to try this car."
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Great story - your 6yo has exemplary taste.

My kids are 14mths and 4years, I also work 60-70hours per week. My GT5 gameplay begins at 11:30pm, and ends when I crash...
 
I have two kids 3yo & 1yo plus another on the way and work full time. I can usually get in one or two hours of gaming a night after kids go to bed etc although often at the expense of much needed sleep which ain't good for me.
Still enjoying GT5 but also been playing some other games lately - Heavy Rain, Just Cause 2 and recently got Killzone 2. Hoping to get a wheel in April which will no doubt suck me back into GT5 in big bad way.
 
I thought someone's going to post something like "what's the point of this thread?" again....

I'm happy that it so far it didn't happened...


LOL! ah yes....the "Me Time"......got to make the most of it while single....
 
I'm glad I found this thread, I'm a 29 year old father of two. My boy is 4 and girl is two, been married to my great wife for 5 years and she has put up with me for the same, lol. I'm also a cop and value the time I get to detach from reality with this game. Hope best of luck to all fathers and mothers in their playing, take care and play safe
 
I have a 7 month old and having spent up to my 35th year basically doing what I wanted it's been a bit shock to my system. Previously I'd happily stay up to 1 playing games or watching films and managed to fit in everything I wanted to do into a day.

Given I've had to move down to a sensible car and I've not ridden the motorbike since my child was I born I've got to get some sort of driving fix. GT is that fix of choice at the moment.
 
My wife has a lot of late shifts (mostly 2pm - 10pm) so I have a lot of time to play GT5 when I get home. My little girl is now 7 months and still sleeps a lot. On a 'good' day I could manage 3 or 4 hours of GT.
But when the Mrs. has a few days off I just have to lay low. I don't want to be "the dad that is gaming all day long".
Nonetheless I managed to get to A-spec lvl 28 and B-spec lvl 34.
 
if being married with kids means having just half a hour of "me time" a day, screw it.

I live with my fiancee (and a dachshund puppy but that's besides the point) and I'm perfectly fine as is, I get to play whenever I feel like it up to 2 hours in a row (can't phisically play longer than that tbh) if I'm home and she totally respects that...so just put some sense into your wives and stop being their friggin toy/slave.
 
=ReBeL=
That's brilliant! Great photo!

I'm 32 and my missus' pregnant. In couple of months my playtime will shorten massively. So far I have couple of days off work and tend to play GT5 few hours per day :)
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32, just married and a pregnant wife here as well :D Somewhere in June my free time is going to vanish :P

Right now I mainly play in the early morning, I get up at 6 am, have breakfast and play GT till 7:15, when the missus gets up. I then work out till 8, take a shower and go to work. I usually also get some hours in in the weekend, before the wife wakes :D (yay for needing less sleep!)

Between social stuff with friends, quality time with my wife and working out, I don't often get to play in the evenings...

So far it's been enough to get me to 31 Aspec and 40 Bspec, no complaints here :)
 
C.D
if being married with kids means having just half a hour of "me time" a day, screw it.

I live with my fiancee (and a dachshund puppy but that's besides the point) and I'm perfectly fine as is, I get to play whenever I feel like it up to 2 hours in a row (can't phisically play longer than that tbh) if I'm home and she totally respects that...so just put some sense into your wives and stop being their friggin toy/slave.
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I usually get a bit more than half an hour, though sometimes none at all. Thing is, I don't mind. If I would, I wouldn't have gotten married. It's all about balance. If you need several hours a day of doing stuff without your fiancee, and she's fine with that, perfect. My wife doesn't "forbid" me to play games or do stuff without her, but she does enjoy spending time and doing things together. And so do I. Each couple has to figure out how much they do together, and how much they do apart. I see married people who seem to live completely seperate lives and are happy that way, even though I probably couldn't live like that. I'm sure others wouldn't be happy living the way my wife and I do. To each his own, I say :) Has nothing to do with being someone's slave or toy... if you feel like that when spending time with your fiancee, get out of the relationship while you still can ;)
 
34, married, one 4year old daughter. So far I usually don't play much during the weekdays as I get home by 6:30pm after leaving at 7am. I workout for an hour at least 3 times a week. Eat dinner by 8pm spend time with wife and daughter till the little one is taken to bed by 8:30pm (mainly by my wife and a few times by me) Then we either watch one or two TV shows or go straight to bed.

However, on Saturday or Sunday, I can put in 4+ hours at a go depending on any other social activities. I once did a Saturday night 9pm to Sunday 5am stretch on the first day I got the game.

My wife, thankfully, understands how much I like GT and is willing to let me have time to it. These days, I usually play 2-4 hours on Saturday afternoons or late evenings and about 2-3 hours on Sunday mornings. It's a balance with family coming first but to be honest it's the work (as in office work) that takes the most time from you. Sleep, work, sleep work till Saturday.

GT5 has taken the trophy for the most amount of time spent on a single game in my whole life. I usually finish other games (COD, Killzone, etc) in 15-25 hours depending on the game. Even other driving games (Forza, NFS (which is now silly), Shift) may get played for 2-3 months tops before I get bored but something about the GT series and GT5 in particular has captured my attention and still does.
 
35 - married - 9 month old boy - work primarily from home - play as much GT5 and other games (incl on my Wii) as I can but my main toy is my supercar in the garage and going off with other Porsche/Ferrari friends for drives.

Luckily my wife runs her own business too so she's far too busy to get annoyed at me for playing in evenings (when the baby is asleep) and at weekends when I am not out driving.

GT5 is a good safe alternative especially when it's raining outside - which in the UK is most days!

Killzone 3 and NFS 2 will soon take priority over GT5 though which I have pretty much completed (plus half way through completing on a 2nd profile)
 
First post - 'cos new to GT5, but completely addicted.

Which doesn't always mesh with my wife and 15-week old child! Fortunately he's a great sleeper so far, generally going to bed at 7.00pm and not getting up until 6.00am, so I try to get an evening hour or so in every couple of days (usually while my wife sleeps on the couch :) )
 
Wow, some of us are showing our "experience"...(age) ;)

38 with a 1 year old daughter who watches daddy play occasionally (from mummy's lap) and makes car noises every time! She gets right into it too. She might grow up to be a bit of a car nut like her Dad!

My playing time is usually during bath time around 8:00pm 20-30 min and from 8:30pm until 11:00pm/12:00am.

Recently I have been turning on the ps3 when I get home around 5:00pm-ish and remote race my b-spec freinds' Bobs. Running downstairs every 20 min or so to load up a new race (goes against the "remote" racing bit of it, but at least I can "play" whlist taking care of dinner, play time etc...)

I'll wake up pretty early on the weekends as well, to get some hours in.

A spec = 32 B spec = 35 (b spec is thanks to remote racing friends!!!)

Been a GT addict since the ps1...
 
alex997tt
35 - married - 9 month old boy - work primarily from home - play as much GT5 and other games (incl on my Wii) as I can but my main toy is my supercar in the garage and going off with other Porsche/Ferrari friends for drives.

Luckily my wife runs her own business too so she's far too busy to get annoyed at me for playing in evenings (when the baby is asleep) and at weekends when I am not out driving.

GT5 is a good safe alternative especially when it's raining outside - which in the UK is most days!

Killzone 3 and NFS 2 will soon take priority over GT5 though which I have pretty much completed (plus half way through completing on a 2nd profile)
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So because GT5 not include Porsches you buy one? lol

What a car!!!!:drool:
 
pay2021
So because GT5 not include Porsches you buy one? lol

What a car!!!!:drool:
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:) I have been buying new 911s since I was 29 (so 6 years ago now). My current one is 3 years old now but probably a keeper as I have heavily modified it (wheels/suspension/power/exhaust/etc). I'll see what the next gen (991) Turbo or even GT3 is like but I'll probably add to my garage with a Ferrari 458 next. Buying/collecting/modifying hot cars is much more addictive in real life than it is in GT5!!

My RS6 is my main car these days (great for baby and dog trips away) and I will just keep upgrading that everytime a new one comes out.
 
34, married for nearly 4 years and have a 4 week old little guy. I'm hoping he is taking in all the Top Gear I'm watching while feeding him at night! Thinking of setting his car seat up on the couch next to me while I "drive" in GT, maybe it will settle him down just like being in the car does... Of course he should be rear facing which would ruin he experience for him.

Been playing GT since the first one (I was in second year of undergrad). Must admit I have no idea how I will ever complete GT5, maybe I'll be tag teaming the endurance races with my son once he is older. Let's face it, GT6 won't be out until he's about 10!

Figured I'd hardly get to play once he was born but I'm actually playing more since my wife and the little'un go to bed early so I get an hour or so a few nights a week now. So far I'm level 28 A -Spec and Level 7 B-Spec, working towards Level 30 A-Spec to open up X2010 challenge so I can see exactly how hard it is!
 
I'm in a similar situation to most, except my boy has grown up & doesn't stay with us any more.

Soooo... I gave the situation some thought. Bought an external hard drive & a media player & got my son to download shedloads of movies & series.

Now my other half can't get into the bedromm quick enough after supper to go & watch whatever her current flavour of the week is!

Problem solved! :dopey:
 
pilotofthestorm
34, married for nearly 4 years and have a 4 week old little guy. I'm hoping he is taking in all the Top Gear I'm watching while feeding him at night! Thinking of setting his car seat up on the couch next to me while I "drive" in GT, maybe it will settle him down just like being in the car does... Of course he should be rear facing which would ruin he experience for him.

Been playing GT since the first one (I was in second year of undergrad). Must admit I have no idea how I will ever complete GT5, maybe I'll be tag teaming the endurance races with my son once he is older. Let's face it, GT6 won't be out until he's about 10!

Figured I'd hardly get to play once he was born but I'm actually playing more since my wife and the little'un go to bed early so I get an hour or so a few nights a week now. So far I'm level 28 A -Spec and Level 7 B-Spec, working towards Level 30 A-Spec to open up X2010 challenge so I can see exactly how hard it is!
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If you get frustrated with the X2010 challenges, remember that you get a free X2010 at Level 35 B-Spec. The automatic remote race grinding widget (see B-Spec forum) is helpful as it will run remote races for you while you sleep.

Tip: if you run the widget from your son's account, it will add all 6 of the Bobs from your main account.
 
I have a daughter who will be 2 in a few months. I get through the game with a lot of late nights and 30 minute stints between television programmes.

Even if I wanted to play while my daughter was still up she'd want to 'help' me too, while I am grateful for her help it doesn't help me progress any further in the game :)
 
I ran a Warcraft guild whilst I had a 2 year old son. That was pretty hard work and work suffered a little. It gets better. When your kids get a little older they'll get to a phase of independence and you'll get a lot more gaming done.

For my part I'm 33. I work 60 to 90 minutes drive from home and I have two kids. I get home about 6:30pm at which point the whole family eats. I then spend some time with my son which might involve playing a bit of GT5.

I play for a few hours on Tuesday and sometimes on Thursday, for no more then about 2 hours. However, I make sure to prioritise any seasonals I can and do any special event I can since the exp is quite high.

On Friday night I play for about 4 hours, online, with my friends. We mix up our races between high powered cars and joke races such as the Ring in a Prius. It's a hell of a lot of fun.

On Saturday I play for 3 hours whilst my Son is out with his Grandad at Lunar Liftoff ( Soft Play ). My total gaming time is about 7 hours a week unless I have jobs to do on Saturday.

I'm level 32 in A-Spec and I'm fairly sure I'll be level 40 within about 6 months but coming from a MMO background I'm more than comfortable with this. I'm also about level 35 in B-Spec fuelled mainly by my friends Remote Racing.

My feeling is that you don't need to dedicate massive amounts of time to the game to enjoy it and to progress well.
 
I'm 35, married, and have an 8 year old son. He is more into gaming than me, I'm really only into racing. We usually play every night, and usually fight over the wheel, LOL. I had to buy a second TV so the Mrs. could watch her shows while Dylan and I play. It's an absolute blast, and having the same passion for the game with my son. I usually come home, have dinner with the fam, then Dylan and I play for an hour or two. When he gets tired, I go online and drive. The Mrs. and I usually reserve Friday nights for a movie. I consider myself lucky.
 
35, married, little one-year old boy that is all about two things: grabbing anything that resembles a remote control so that he can smash it on the ground, and diving into laps at his top speed (which is actually like a very unstable 1/4 MPH). The problem with this combination is that - if I can find a working controller - he has an uncanny ability to time his dives to correspond with me trying to negotiate the most technical corners on the track! Class act, that one. It is amazing though.


___

Edit:

The first post is right on though. Get home, check the Bob's progress, make some dinner, bottle, bath, maybe a couple races, wife time, bed, repeat. Funny stuff.
 
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This thread is great! I just turned 30 years old, I have a 10 year old son and a daughter who just turned 6 months! I juggle my game time between my son's ice hockey schedule and helping my wife with my all of a sudden very demanding daughter!

The catch is I am a huge FPS fan, who recently fell in love with racing games (GT5 being my first racing game) so I have a few games I like to play, and it's so incredibly hard to take GT5 out of my PS3 haha! So I can totally relate to this topic.

I also have a funny story to add to this for those of us with these beautiful young children! I was racing the NASCAR A-spec championship and I was on the Laguna Seca race, I was working my way up through the field when my wife came home from her mother's house and set our daughter in the chair with me (I play with a DS3) and I had worked my way into first place on Seca in the NASCAR, I got an okay lead.. Then it happens....like any 6 month old baby would, my daughter grabs hold of my left thumb that is steering the car! It's at the worst possible place too... the peak of the blind downhill turn! It's like she had it planned, my car goes careening off the course right into the wall, I was slowing down as it is, but the car would NOT get out of that damned sand!

Sadly, like I said it's like she had it planned it was late in the race, I could not recover and I lost that particular race, thankfully I was still able to win the championship. Just a good story that just made me laugh.

GO gamer dads!
 
Hey dads (& mums!),

I'm 31 with two kids - 4 and 2 years old. I never thought I'd be able to find time to play GT5, but somehow I just manage to fit it in (mostly at the expense of sleep... which will become more of an issue the more it goes on.. :nervous:)

My son is old enough now that he can enjoy the game with me. He sits in my lap with his hands on the wheel while I race, and I let him have full control in the straights. On a good day he'll spend 60-90 mins playing.

I've decided to try and play the game straight, with no duping, grinding or other glitches... so it's gonna take me 3 years to get the Platinum trophy, but hey... I got time. Just have to find a play/sleep balance that works!

btw @alex997tt: it sounds like you don't NEED GT5 dude... what a garage you have!! :eek:
 
jaimzthedrummer
btw @alex997tt: it sounds like you don't NEED GT5 dude... what a garage you have!! :eek:
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You under estimate how crappy the weather here in the UK is plus how busy the roads are!! 4wd helps but you have pick your days/times/routes wisely in order for a fun drive. No such restriction for GT5!

Got a fun drive scheduled on Sunday with 6 other 997 Porsches, hopefully the weather, traffic and pot-holes are kind!!
 
Hmmmm I wonder if I have any little ones.... Lol

I am 35 practically married and we have a little girl named Layna obviously.. Lol I have almost always been a FPS person. When Battlefield Bad Company came out, I dedicated many many hours into that game, made it to quite a few top 15 leader board spots. Then one day I ran out of smokes and told the "war department" that I was running out to get more... She threw me hers and said "take mine, I can't smoke anymore"

9 months later my life changed in so many ways ( for the better) I never imagined how much love I could have for someone until I saw her that first time. I was still playing BFBC about 4 hours a day, sometimes all at once but most of the time spread throughout the day. When the economy hit the crapper I had to sell my ps3 to pay some bills, sucked but I had to do it. When i got some extra money the wife said... Try xbox... I did, bought BFBC and once again pout in some work in that game. I was the ONLY person to have a #1 leader board spot for the same weapon on both consoles! I dabbed with Forza but couldn't seem to get into it. About 3 months ago after being on Xbox for almost 2 years, I decided I wanted to switch back to the ps3... So i packed all my xbox gear into a box and off to game stop I went. I ended up getting enough trade in value to buy a new 160 gig, 2 controllers and 3 games and only had to spend $45 out of pocket! What 3 games did I get? BFBC2, Little Big Planet 2 and this wonderful game that I have come to truly enjoy.

I am in no way good at this game... Sure I am almost part of the 40/40 club (without glitching) and i have silver or better on all the licenses but the special as I haven't really attempted that one yet.

I am allotted 4 hours of gaming a day through the War Department, and that 4 hours never seems like enough time.. Lol Layna loves to watch the tv when i am playing and she always giggles at the sound of the x10... Which is funny to me for some reason.


Wee enough rambling, just wanted to say hi to all the other dads, sometimes it is tough to balance gaming and family, but in the end we all either figure it out, or we sleep on the couch... Lol
 
chippy
and watch a movie or TV with my wife.
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This is where I promtly tell my wife to go-fly-a-kite, "I'm going to play a game while you watch your TV".

She doesn't enjoy playing games and I don't enjoy watching TV. Therefore, both of us get to go do what we enjoy.
 
By the way....I'll be making a special pedal mount for my 7 year old next weekend. He's too small to reach the pedals on my DFGT when they rest on the floor.

I'll post the plan if anyone's interested.
 
Left my little one to have a relaxing morning with the Mrs, and I swapped my GT5 fun for something with even more realistic driving physics:

IMG_2637.jpg


I have a baby seat now in the Porsche so will start taking him too soon (in less wet weather!)
 
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