I can't do it! I just can't do it. Why do I even put myself through this torture?

I made it all the way to the Industrial Complex this time. In Crispy DOOM - I wondered if the high-res textures and other improvements might've remedied my problems, but after a few hours of the game it's just always the same. I had a mild headache already when I started this time, but it gets worse, slowly. The nausea starts coming on - almost unnoticeably, and when I finally give up, stop recording, save the game and go downstairs to grab a glass of water I'm feeling kinda strange.

My stomach's upset too. Unexpected benefit to these DOOM-related side-effects: Highly efficient bowel movement trigger.

When I've had some water and cleared my system I start feeling better again, and in a moment I could probably get back to the game if I wanted to, but not today.

A few hours is enough. A little burst of DOOM now and then, but never too much, cause it just don't feel good.

It's not the worst game that's a pain to play though.

Wolfestein 3D is WAY worse, and so is for example POOM - an all the more visually limited homage/testament to the one and only.

I hear it may be due to the particular head-bobbing motion in these games, combined with the limited palette and graphical style, as well as confined spaces where the floor or ceiling or surrounding frame of texture somehow enforce the bob. The up and down movement is amplified by close-up background elements, that trigger unfortunate effects.

But today it's not like I wanted to play this game anyway! An NG buddy asked me if I could help him get out of a problematic spot in a level of Crispy DOOM yesterday - he sent me a save file and asked if I could send another back - and so I did. And suddenly I'm reeled back in, for a short sojourn into the universe of DOOM and nausea...

These days it doesn't hook me as hard as it used to though. It's fun for a while, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking of other things, and the strange sensation of brewing vertigo probably doesn't make it any more alluring.

I guess it's a sign of growth.

I love DOOM, but for the moment at least I'm moving on and trying other things. Focusing on that which currently captivates me the most, which is, actually... work. Life. The grind.

My future.

I don't like it but I guess I somehow became an adult after all...