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Jaded or...?
GraveX
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
How often do you guys actually have fun with a game anymore? I mean, really have *fun?*
I've owned the following systems: C64, Amiga 500, Atari 2600, NES, Lynx, NeoGeo, Jaguar, Genesis, SNES, N64, Gamecube, GBA, DS Lite, PS1, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Wii and too many PC configurations to go into (currently high end).
I have a ridiculous back catalog of games and have played through many of them. I seek out fan and critically acclaimed games and a lot of games in between.
Here's the thing... I play a lot of them and while they're good, I rarely ever feel excited by a game anymore.
It feels like I'm going through the motions with 95% of titles now. Shit like splash screens when starting a game enrage me. I just want to play without all the bullshit and have it blow me away.
I have spent thousands upon thousands on this hobby. I love it and keep up with it daily. In fact, I have friends in the industry and hell, I beta tested Toejam & Earl on the Genesis back in the day. I would say I qualify as "hardcore."
I am 32 years old do not believe I have outgrown gaming. And yet nothing really excites me anymore.
Anyone else feel this way?
I've owned the following systems: C64, Amiga 500, Atari 2600, NES, Lynx, NeoGeo, Jaguar, Genesis, SNES, N64, Gamecube, GBA, DS Lite, PS1, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Wii and too many PC configurations to go into (currently high end).
I have a ridiculous back catalog of games and have played through many of them. I seek out fan and critically acclaimed games and a lot of games in between.
Here's the thing... I play a lot of them and while they're good, I rarely ever feel excited by a game anymore.
It feels like I'm going through the motions with 95% of titles now. Shit like splash screens when starting a game enrage me. I just want to play without all the bullshit and have it blow me away.
I have spent thousands upon thousands on this hobby. I love it and keep up with it daily. In fact, I have friends in the industry and hell, I beta tested Toejam & Earl on the Genesis back in the day. I would say I qualify as "hardcore."
I am 32 years old do not believe I have outgrown gaming. And yet nothing really excites me anymore.
Anyone else feel this way?
-- GraveX
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Honestly. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to hang out with my friends. I must hate them now. I'm tired of pizza. I choose to eschew it forever. I just got home from a jog and I'm tired of running. OFF WITH MY LEGS.
It's a leisure activity, not a lifestyle. Go out and do something different. Go have a midlife crisis or something.
Not a bad thing at all, even enjoyable when done well (sometimes all I want is the old goodness in a new shiny package). But I do find myself wanting more and more for things that don't exist.
Like on the MMO front, I firmly believe the best MMO ever would be to take A Tale in the Desert and marry it to Dwarf Fortress. Not verbatim of course, just taking the better elements of both and putting them together.
You had me up to this point, but I can't feel sympathy for anyone who refers to themselves as hardcore. Bleurgh.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Yes. Yesss... The addiction will call him back. Brilliant!
I'd probably take it a bit further and not play any games for several months and don't read up on video game-related news. Find another hobby or at least something to fill your time. Travel, sports, get another job, fishing, nude skydiving, whatever floats your boat. After awhile come back and see what's new, see if anything grabs your attention.
arguably the greatest bit of advice I've ever seen in G&T.
I often buy games and don't play them, go weeks and weeks without touching any of my systems (and I have all the current ones) but really, what's the panic for? play, don't play... if you have to force it you are doing it WRONG. you're allowed to not want to enjoy one of your hobbies for any period of time, no need to lament.
I was making stuff up though I'm sure that exists. Maybe he could try developing a fetish for diaper play and golden showers instead?
go rafting or something
The further away he gets from videogames, the better.
Plus I mean goddamn I know this is G&T but how can you say watching TV is as good an idea as going outside
nope
There's just as good a chance that he's just plain and simple getting tired of video games, without any dissatisfaction about his life lurking behind the scenes.
Seriously, enjoy other stuff. Games don't define you, a mixture of many life experiences do that, not one hobby.
Oh, and calling yourself "hardcore." You should be old enough to not have to use trend words to describe yourself. Many people here (myself included) grew up in gaming starting with the C64...we should be beyond feuling the trend word fires.
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Listen man, I beat Ghosts 'n' Goblins for the NES with a powerglove! I've been to every E3 since it began! I wrote my own gaming magazine before gaming magazines even existed!
lol...did you beat Ghosts 'n' Goblins once or twice? You only get your "Hardcorez" card if you beat it a second time for the real ending. 8-)
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
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I agree, and I regret the use of the term "hardcore." To be honest, I have been posting to some notoriously hostile forums in the past months, where you had to go on the defensive in almost every post.
As far as a gaming caste system goes, no thanks. If anything, while I appreciate my experiences in the hobby, I almost wish I were discovering it for the first time.
Thank you for the responses!
Anyway, it's the stage of life I'm in - too busy to do anything but sneak some gaming in once in a while, and multiplayer is a good way to do that. Single player games usually require some uninterrupted time.
I know you said that you didn't want to completely cut off the hobby temporarily...how about just minimizing the amount of time for a bit, maybe only a few hours every other day or something, then you'll appreciate your gaming time that much more. Just a thought.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
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I feel you on this one. I enjoy picking the brain of anyone that's new to gaming. My friend's girlfriend is really getting into games, especially WoW, and I was fascinated to learn how enthusiastically she views her game experiences and gaming in general. I miss that feeling.
Everyone's got the right idea, though. Take a break. Just stop altogether, completely. Not permanently, mind you. Find another hobby or three. Focus on something else for a while.
I did something like this years ago, and I'm about ready to do it again.
I hate to think I've 'outgrown' games, but it's just no fun anymore. On the rare occasion I do play games, it'll be an old game I've already beaten and even then it's only played for a few minutes.
I guess the moral is... getting old sucks. I would echo the sentiment that you should take a few weeks/months off from gaming, just don't be surprised if you don't want to come back.
It also helps to try new and different kinds of games when you want to play. I never cared much for strategy games in the past, but I picked up Civilization Revolution anyway, and that turned out to be like electronic crack. I also try to avoid games that look to be huge time sinks, like most RPGs, because if you're older and often only have an hour or two a day to play anything, you feel like you're never making any progress.
Portable gaming also fits well with less playtime. I use my DS far more than any of my consoles or PC because I can take it anywhere. If you don't have a portable, do some research and see if any of the portables and their game libraries appeal to you (since gaming on Apple devices is rapidly becoming a big deal, look into that, too, if you've got an iPod Touch or iPhone).
Of course, maybe you don't want to do any of this. It's not a big deal. I've often left hobbies behind, sometimes for years. You may find you need to take a few years off if you're that sick of everything. Then if you decide to come back, everything looks fresh and new again.
Gaming is rather like reading, I don't think you can so much run out of material as you can run out of enthusiasm trying to get into it. For awhile I found gaming quite boring because I was constantly switching between games / looking for 'better' games. Flooding yourself with games you play for less than 5 minutes will only compound the issue.
Moderation or different hobbies may help but I've never really been keen on much else. Board games and things like D&D offer something great while remaining in the 'gaming' realm. Assuming you can find someone to play them with..
Being 'jaded' is your own mindset. Find a new genre/learn to avoid being so critical on games/try writing some simple games yourself/stop forcing yourself to play games.
I couldn't get into FF12 either, pace was too slow / felt too much like a typical MMO I convinced myself it was disgusting. The new one looks great though. Either way FF12 will keep for the future.
I don't think you can go wrong with anyones advice here ultimately.
Or FF12 is terrible.
Also a perfectly valid option.
If you're not digging anything you're playing now, try something completely new. I wouldn't have expected myself to enjoy a game like Puzzle Quest or Carcassonne or fucking Peggle as much as a Half-Life or a Ninja Gaiden, but there you go. And don't forget that just because a something is critically acclaimed or has a rabid fanbase doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it. Mass Effect grates on my nerves, and every minute I've put into Fallout 3 has simultaneously been spent wishing I was playing STALKER. Yet put me in front of a Zeno Clash or a Dishwasher or an Everyday Shooter and it is physically impossible for me to stop smiling.
And, like everyone else has said, if you are absolutely incapable of finding something that you actually enjoy spending time playing, find something else to spend your time on and maybe try again later. Forcing yourself to have fun with something you don't actively enjoy is just going to build up a lot of bitterness.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
Eventually a game will come out that will really catch your eye, or you will feel like playing a game from your backlog, and it'll be more fun than you remember. At least thats what happened for me.
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
- Okami
- Katamari Damacy
- Portal
- Braid
- Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix (multiplayer with PA folks)
- Fallout 3
- Steambot Chronicles
- Metroid Prime (Original)
- Team Fortress 2 (multiplayer with friends)
- Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Games have evolved quite a bit over the past decade and I feel like they've shifted their focus a bit. To me, the games I listed bring me back to the early 90s (my favorite gaming days), when everything was new and wonderful to me.
If you've already played all those games, take almost everyone else's advice and pick up a new hobby.
Have a clear-out, ebay everything that you are unlikely to get round to playing, maybe cut down on the number of consoles you have too. Stop buying games just because they are hyped and instead buy those you are genuinely excited about even if they don't score so well in reviews. Play what you already have instead of piling on the backlog.