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[Funk]

Take up bord games, a good D&D group or something should kill some time as will watching a season of tv.

[Playergamer]

(as a guy who gets paid to play video games (still not sure why, i suck, but mkay) why would you want to quit video games? phhh, smoking, they'll be fine)

Serious time: I believe B12 has a book a week thing, which should help you a little. Read lots of books, watch lots of movies, (personal suggestion: spend some time exercising. low impact stuff can be great for your health, and the argument used against it 90 percent of the time is "i don't have the time" which you just freed up a lot of. unless you're extremely fit. in which case, still spend time exercising. it's good for you.) and uninstall every video game you have. It's the suicide thing, if someone stops you from killing yourself "in the moment" then by the time you have another chance you'll rethink it. Get around to any projects you felt like working on, etc. Since you're still in school, do extra credit work, join clubs, whatever. There's 5256 (DAMNIT RENT, GET OUT.) uh...a lot of time in a year, and you have to spend all of it.

[Antsan]

Martinuzz is right, this is a bad deal and even if you get through the year without touching a game it's still questionable whether they manage to hold up their side of the deal. Nicotine is serious stuff.
The behaviour of your parents sounds abusive to me, especially after you mentioned that they do this to your sister regularly.

Still it is very possible to quit gaming for a year.

First: Remember that you won't loose or miss anything. While games can help you through tough timnes they aren't the only things that can do so and ultimately they are not necessary for your wellbeing. When you come back a year later gaming will still be nice and you'll be able to look back at all th other stuff you did - additional experiences doing something are always worthwhile and gaming is exceptionally prone to compel you to not seek them out.

Second: People who tell you that regular gaming isn't bad four you if you don't shaft responsibilities probably don't know what they are talking about or are exceptional. Gaming daily is one thing, gaming daily for hours is another.
Gaming compells you to sit much, which in itself is bad for your spine. Most games need your undivided attention while causing an almost constant sensory overload - either through flashy graphics or the need for constant abstraction interpretation. This cuts into time you should spend relaxing. Although gaming might feel like relaxation, it isn't - you are just constantly distracted from the stress it causes you while also constantly pushing your reward buttons.
Also gaming is a distraction, which means that you have less time to think about important stuff. Sometimes that distraction is important (as you well know, judging by your... uhm, let's call it "justification"... for being a gamer) but such a distraction should only suck out the emotionality of a problem and provide relaxation (the latter isn't provided by games). When you achieved that, you should go back to the problem and start working on it. Most problems which nedd distraction in the first place need a lot of time to think about, so every minute spent gaming is a minute you loose for getting into your problems. I am not saying you should work on problems in highspeed, rather you need the time to think about those problems without feeling the pressure to solve them right now, roll them around in your head, so to speak.
I only spend around a month or so without a computer but I can tell you that this time was quite good for my physical, mental and emotional health. I felt distinctly better all around and was more productive (even afterwards in regards to programming).

This leads me directly for some stuff you can (and should) do with the time you free up by not playing games on your computer:
Take walks, go outside. Using your feet without the need to go anywhere special is really relaxing and gives you time to think about stuff. If you are away from your usual living environment this also means that you normally don't feel so pressed to do something right now and might even be emotionally distant enough from everyone when you are alone and outside that feelings of being trapped with your problems might not develop as much and thus not having a solution doesn't cause so much additional stress - this is at least what I observe in myself when I go for a walk.
Living outside town is an advantage for this - cities and towns are not the environment where I personally feel free of pressure and I assume the same goes for most people.
You might think that your natural surroundings are boring. I guess they aren't - in most environments it is possible to train yourself to see interesting detail which isn't obvious if you aren't used to looking for it. I live at a dike in a rural area and for years I considered the flat fields around me to be boring. This changed quickly when I made rounds across the dike.

Walking probalby won't be enough for you, so do something that you can do while you are outside. Drawing or writing come to mind and there's probably other stuff you can come up with - herbalism for instance or whatever, I don't know. I don't know what you might be interested in or rather, which you can work up interest for.
I'd advise against doing something on your computer if you want to keep away from gaming. I got a laptop to do programming on and I still manage to play games on it quite a lot. The compulsion to start up or even install a game is a serious problem - don't rely on your pure will to do this, reduce the amount of time you spend at your computer and you'll be less prone to failing your goal.

Hope this helps you in any way.

[Zrk2]

Read. Read all the time. It's an excellent hobby, even aside from getting your parents to quit smoking.

[Tiruin]

-snip-

Erm, I'd have to nudge your statement and advice there d_r... just in a tiny bit It's all good either way.

Wishing won't help or get you anywhere, and will get you everywhere at the same time. Wishing only makes you aware that you have it in you to be able to commit to the goal. The problem is going about how, now. The 'won't help' part is when you just wish, but do not act. The 'get you anywhere' part is when you use that wish to bolster your actions.

So, at the very least, you must at least pretend to quit gaming. As you said, gaming got you through some tough times, which is true. On the other hand, smokers feel like cigs get them through hard times, which is very, very false :> Spending four or five dollars on some chemical-laced plant that violently tries to kill you by destroying your only way to intake oxygen has never, and will never, solve a problem or provide comfort
Anyway, pretend to give up gaming. Because if your parents are average humans they won't be able to just flawlessly drop cigs out of their lives without a few slip-ups.. Unless your gaming is leading to your grades being low or your dog starving from being ignored, then your game playing isn't harmful in any way (and is a time-passing hobby, the exact same as reading a book, or painting, or watching TV, or hiking.)

While in good heart and intent, it [that second paragraph] isn't...right, or better worded, it isn't holistic (complete sounds/feels better) to note that humanity is always flawed, as in, an 'average' person slips up. Yea, they do, but at times, and differing per individual.
...Unless I totally misread that ._. Apologies ahead.
It's already evident in the mindset where the determination, willpower and thought process lies that affects the action.
True, that, in the very least, pretending is an option, but that doesn't help much...other than probably teach pretending to do {x} is a valid way of getting things done. But you should also think if you are in the least, being honest with yourself. The self is the last thing you should lie to--as that is you, and of everyone else in the world, you should at least trust yourself wholly before anything else.

You've a brilliant point on gaming there--it's not on the same level as cigarettes, in all aspects. In many cases, it is purely positive: just what you do with it. Y'know what many people who are very familiar with the RPG genre do? They attribute 'leveling up' to reality
Believe you me, its a thing very common in my community that when we talk about someone who improves themselves, we speak in Tagalog <"Did you level up yet?"> Then we all have a good laugh over it + *pat pat back* and other forms of camaraderie.
It's how you attribute the action to the desire.

Basically, why there is addiction is due to a feeling. This feeling is dealt with by thought and action--how you attribute and associate things towards the action or feeling. How effective it is is how far or how strong those associations are to the action. Related ideas are: "Operant Conditioning." Willpower is a basic set term to describe how effective it all is, and is a very broad term (though is pretty awesome in its main usage )

Tip. Try to associate better things to grasp on. Like sports instead of 'gaming'.
For smokers, try to understand what makes it feel addictive--Nicotine! \o/
I've searched the net of an image like this on imgur before but the searches don't seem to comply, so this is the best link possible.
Basically, it deals with the psyche, along with dealing in what you value. There are so many ways in facing addiction, yet only very few are effective due to the lacking information on how to deal with the root instead of the sprout.

You see the many coping methods people talk about online and off? "I've stopped this because {x}." where x is a reason? It's also connected to how far you understand and put value into something. With 'understand' being how far you can see alternatives existing.

...And to be back on track, *cheers you all*
Though this was all written in the idea of you giving up gaming. I'd speak against it, but its only one year anyway [and gaming is a VERY broad term...I mean, I could 'game' with my friends in a mathematical puzzle-off. ]

[Levi]

Heh, semi-unrelated but it reminds me of how my Dad used gaming to quit smoking.  He started playing first person shooters which required him to use both hands, so he couldn't smoke at the same time.   

[breadman]

Count me in the "find another hobby" camp.  Personally, I would suggest programming; it can satisfy some of the same itches as DF, while developing a marketable skill.  Perhaps start with Regex Golf, and study until you can come back with a better 3D multi-destination pathfinding algorithm that works for walking, flying, swimming, and/or multi-tile creatures.

If you want to go real hard-core, while ensuring that you don't slip on your end of the bargain, take the computer you play Dwarf Fortress on, and install Linux From Scratch.  You'll learn more about computers than you dreamed possible, and it could take some serious effort to get it back up to a state that can run DF.  By the end, you'll be able to compile your own games from open source code.

No matter what you do, congratulations for helping your parents take such a significant step.  Good luck!

[Orange Wizard]

I wonder where he's gone?

[martinuzz]

One year, no gaming.. Gosh, I hope that does not make him take up smoking 

[JBramhall]

Thanks everyone for the support and ideas about how I can avoid the urges and keep to this deal.

Dwarf_reform, Thank you, you really helped me understand what my parents are going through and just how difficult it is for them to give it up. Alot more than what I have to go through. I wish you luck on giving up your addiction and thanks once again.

I am very determined to carry out my end of the deal so at the least, I can say I kept up my end and leave it up to them.

We all have stuck to the deal so far and the urges my parents are facing are decreasing they are telling me. They say the morning and before bedtime is the hardest (like Dwarf_reform said)

I have started reading a lot more, the public library in Ashburton really has helped, also, i'm putting a lot more time into programming like a lot of you have suggested (I am starting on Python) and doing a lot more study.

And no, I wont take up smoking 

Thanks everyone again for your support and advice

[Thief^]

Congrats to your whole family

[Retropunch]

Definitely take up python programming - it's one of the most useful skills you can have these days! Maybe make a caveat to the deal to allow you to program your own games (and play test them!). If it's good enough to hold your interest for long enough to be really into it - you've achieved something pretty major!

I'd also recommend that (along with your parents!) you get into a sport or just general exercise, and then REALLY go for it. I'm not talking about a weekly run, I'm talking about becoming the NZ kickboxing champion. This will help in a number of obvious ways, but if your parents join in, nothing is a motivator for quitting smoking quite like trying to be on peak physical form.

[Orange Wizard]

I'm pretty sure we don't really have kickboxing in the Noo Zee Lands.
Edit: No, wait, never mind. I haven't heard of it != it doesn't exist.

There's also a programming thread in the lower boards with many people who totally don't argue over pointless things and would be very happy to give you any help you need. I should link to it, but unfortunately, it's late and I'm lazy. Sorry about that.

[freeformschooler]

The biggest barrier I'm coming across is that we live 15 kms out of town with nothing to do and they are already getting testy with my mum going into a massive cleaning frenzy and my step dad getting angry at every little thing.

baha... this sounds like how most people act when they have free space in their day and can't think how to fill it. Clean and/or panic there are worse things to be doing than fighting entropy, though

GL on your goal JBramhall