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Losing Interest In Games - A Natural Progression?
MotherInferior writes "I'm 27, soon to be 28. I used to fiend over the newest games and eagerly play whatever I could get my hands on. Team Fortress Classic, Civilization, WarCraft, these were all games that I could literally lose myself for days in. I still drool over the newest games at Best Buy, but now that I actually have the money to buy them, I find myself saying, 'Nah, I'll just play what I've got,' or 'Y'know, I'd rather design my own game then play someone else's.' Even still, I don't really play the games I have. What's up with that? I'm sure my mom would sagely say (with some satisfaction in her voice), 'Wellll, you're just growing up...' Am I not as capable of having fun as I once was, or what? Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy gaming, but I can tell there's some kind of trend happening. Will there be gaming Viagra in my future, I wonder?"
I feel like my gaming glory days are behind me. I see all the latest games that I *want* to play, but either I can't bring myself to play (let alone buy) or I find something else more important to do (like programming). I think it's just age. I've heard from others though that gamers that turn about 40ish seem to pickup gaming again (assuming their spouse, if they have one, let's them).
One other aspect of growing up, besides losing interest in childish things, is moving out on your own. Preferably somewhere where your mom won't be able to give you sage advice so easily.
I have been pwned because my
I dont think your age has much to do with your disillusion, the more recent games just arent as innovative. Genres are already formed from the ground breaking classics, and now it's just a race for the best graphics.
by the time you're old enough to really have really disposable income, you usually have a job that takes up 40+ hours in a week. There's less and less time for games, so you're less likely to buy something new on a whim, more likely to stick with what you know (i.e., established franchises), and since quality game releases are few and far between, even more likely to just play what you've got.
The last game I actually purchased for my PC was War3 expansion. The next game I'm planning on buying is either Doom3 / HL2. Other games have slightly caught my interest (was eyeing galactic civilizations for a while), but I just don't have the time to get lost in a big game, unless it's something I really want to get lost in.
the same phenomena typically happens with music. mid 20s and you start listening to what you have rather than what's new...
That seems to be the same situation for some, and not a problem for others.
I have many games (some unplayed ) and i just dont have the desire to pick up the controller. The last time I played a game was a bout 2 to 3 months ago.
Then again I have 2 pre- orders out (ninja gaiden ffx2 international. But even so it will Probablly take untill summer to beat them. Assuming Ninja gaiden will ever be released.
I've not played or bought new games in a while. .. and usually loose interrest when the demo ends.
.. you hunt for bugs, which kinda kills the playing experiance.
I usually download the demos and play them
There are some games that I still buy, mostly RPG style games with much more story line based gaming then action.
Part of my loss of interrest in working for gaming companies and doing QA (quility assurance) testing. After a while you no longer play the game
Just my take on loosing interrest. Maybe try games you always found boring? explore new horizons with games ?
bain
Sanity is a majority vote.
Sometimes, you realise that the games that you play are repetitive and monotonous, and are really aimed at the younger population. Sometimes (and this actually happens), you purely lose interest in those games. A human being can only perform a repetitive task (which is what current gaming is all about) -that much-.
:)
I would assume that given a good, involving game, or an in-depth roleplaying game, you would be more eager to play it, because of the story involved. Sadly, the current trends are reeking of filler instead of actual gameplay, and games are usually almost carbon-copies of one another. This doesn't really lead to an urge to play something
I had this happen to me much sooner than you, I believe at about the age of 15, when I realised that games have become utterly repetitive and in some cases genuine boring.
Then again, it could be the 'growing up' stage, when you realise that you just don't have as much time as you used to have before, and gaming is shifted to priority B.
But don't worry, you will still enjoy a good gaming session once in a while, humans need games to stay sane
For me its mainly a lack of time.
When I was younger I had oodles of free time so I was able to lose days playing the latest games.
Now I dont have the time to spare what with working, running a house, girlfriend... All the things you tend to aquire as you get older.
I still love games, but find myself trying to spend time finishing th eones I have rather than buying new games.
I have no sig yet I must scream.
Congratulations! Sounds like you are moving up. This phenomenon happens in lots of areas of activity, not just gaming.
You have the urge to be proactive, not reactive. To produce rather than consume.
You don't have to totally give up $EARLIER_STUFF when you move on up to $NEW_STUFF. That's a common but erroneous belief. You're just adding some more activities that are way more satisfying to you as you are now, with your increased capacity for thinking, etc.
Do not fear that you are getting dull as you get older. Which is sharper, the mind that sees a game and says "Cool!" or the mind that conceptualizes it in the first place?
Any change like this generally requires some re-thinking of how you define yourself, but I think you'll like the new definition better.
"Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing."
- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
It's sad to see an old gamer quit the hobby. Maybe someday you'll have more free time and some interesting game will catch your eye. Until then, good luck and have fun with whatever you do!
Work, like in general, and just problems with sitting in front of the computer for who knows how many hours add up.
Find something to do that's differnt than what you normally spend time doing.
Sit and play with lego
Read a book
Work on a puzzle
Build a model
Walk around outside
Take some time and just wander around a nearby mall
It's tough isn't it? I remember when I was about 13 I started to get bored with my matchbox cars and racetrack. It used to be so much fun putting piles of books under the track so the cars would do little jumps, or seeing how big you could make the loop without the cars just falling onto their backs like little turtles.
Then it just started to get boring. I didn't want to play with my old toys any more. Oddly enough, this didn't cause me a huge friggin existential crisis. I didn't post to some Goddam website to find out if the other 13 year olds were suffering a similar confusing emotional trauma. Instead, I took the 'growing up' route, and simply grew up.
Why don't you try the same? Growing up isn't as hard as many people make out. Here are some key tips:
1. Don't idolise your lifestyle. Don't kid yourself that playing Quake II on the office LAN all night was actually some incredibly cool 'in the zone' moment of one-ness with the God of electronic entertainment. It was just being 24.
2. Realise that new things can be fun. If games no longer thrill you, try books, or maybe taking an art class. Perhaps gardening or cooking will be your new forms of relaxation in the daunting world of 'being older than you are right now'.
3. Don't make such a huge deal about it. That way, all the other people who don't give a shit, frankly, won't be disturbed. In time, you too will stop giving a shit, allowing you to simply do something new and different without worrying.
I too wish that computer games gave me as much fun as they did back when I played X-Com for 12 hours straight, or started dreaming about Baldur's Gate or Syndicate Wars.
But then, I wish getting that playing on the swings could keep me happy for 2 hours. I wish that colouring in a picture of a clown gave me a sense of achievement. I wish that I really did believe my lego men were still involved in a desperate war against my brother's lego men.
But, d00d, it ain't going to last, so stop asking where all the good times went, and find something new and fun to do. I mean, why do you think people end up having children?...
-----
My opinion, you probably see the end result of gaming, a sore wrist. You could get the same with a coding hobby, but at least that way you have something to show for your hours spent. Take a look at old people. The ones that stay active and probably have a hobby, are happier and live a little longer. These aren't passive hobbies like watching golf. My grandfather made ceramic statues and what not.
You are now seeing the end result as pointless and the people you have to deal with make it less worth the effort.
Someone hates these cans.
I am 27 yrs old, and have a full time job with long transit times. I am often too tired to do something useful (besides eating, that is), and the crap on TV is boring and repetitive. So I boot up my computer and play a quick game instead.
Geek runner, motorcyclist and professional know-it-all
This is a phase that everyone goes through. Either because of something in your life (often something subtle) or just a batch of mediocre games that temporarily sour your opinion of the entire medium, you stop playing games for awhile. I did the same thing when I was around 17. I stopped playing games for about a year or two straight and missed out on most of the interesting games that were released for the original PlayStation. But it wasn't a part of "growing up", "putting away childish things", or some other moronic platitude that non-gamers would give you. It's just a temporary change in the way you choose to entertain yourself.
This is something that we all do on a regular basis, but we don't really notice it until it strikes a medium that we actually care about. Personally, there was a time when I watched at least a couple of movies on DVD every week, burning through them at about the same rate as most regulars buyers/renters do. But now I haven't watched a movie on DVD in a good three months or so, but I haven't even noticed it. Why? Because I don't visit six or seven movie sites a day, but I do visit Insert Credit, GameSpot, Video Fenky, GAF, The Magic Box, Penny Arcade, and Slashdot Games just about every day. If you're actually posting on this site, then I'm guessing that you have a pretty similar set of sites that you visit.
I'm guessing that you'll pick up something really good in about a year or two and then you'll be addicted again just like the rest of us. But then again, if you really are of the mentality that "games are kids stuff", then maybe you'll deprive yourself of them forever. I really don't see how Metal Gear Solid or Knights of the Old Republic are any more childish than any of the TV shows or movies that I watch, but that's just me. Maybe that's why I really don't see myself abstaining from video games as I grow up any more than I see myself suddenly abstaining from television, movies, or music.
I shall now indulge in reckless and flagrant navel-gazing.
Isn't a game simply a set of arbitrary objectives made difficult by arbitrary obstacles?... but made "fun" by gradual progression and feedback?
I believe that people like to use their minds and actually create "things to do" when there isn't any. When I was younger, I didn't have many obstacles, so I got my "work" on by subjecting myself to the purchased goals and obstacles, IE, a complicated game.
Now that I'm older, I've made my own game: my life. I've created my own "arbitrary" goals and have to work against obstacles to reach those.
At the end of the day, I'm tired from playing a game that's more important to me. Myself.
Yes. That's right. I'm tired from playing with myself.
My quaint little theory works best on brain games. For example, if I have to manage 20 people 40 hours a week, it's not likely I'll enjoy Railroad Tycoon 3 on the weekend. (But that could just be me.) On the other hand, a alpha-state twitchy game might be a nice break from analytical stuff.
I think there's a concept of "control" as well: in one's teens and early twenties, many aspects of one's life is beyond their control. That changes with age, usually and hopefully.
The business climate has gaming companies acting very conservative right now. You are much more likely to see another Warcraft clone than you are to see an innovative new game. No matter how nifty the graphics, if you notice it is the same old Warcraft, you instantly lose 80 percent of your enthusiasm for the title.
Combine that with the constant nagging voice in the back of our heads, telling us we should be doing something more productive, and it can be a battle.
Personally, I believe we are all just wandering around the lobby, waiting for the doors to open to true, immersive virtual reality. We have seen the pretty sunsets on our CRT, now we want to feel the wind in our hair.
I've never been much of a gamer, but I'm 23, and I've noticed the exact thing happening to me with television. I used to follow a lot of series, now I haven't got a clue when anything is on, and just watch whatever's interesting on the rare occasions I happen to sit down in front of the telly (and if there's nothing interesting, I just do something else).
Mostly, the time I used to spend in front of the telly has been taken over by the Internet, books, and programming. I think that's healthier, the latter is more creative, and all three allow me to go at my own pace, rather than sitting there passively waiting to be spoon-fed information slowly.
Another thing that I have noticed now that I've "grown up" is that I simply have not enough time to play all the games I'm interested in. I'm 25 and work full-time and have a house and wife to attend to, family/friend obligations, etc., and I'm lucky if I get to game for 2 hours in as many weeks.
Sometimes I have wondered the same thing as you, "have I lost my interest in gaming," when I have several games I was excited about but I simply don't bother playing. Then I realized that the games I was interested in in the past have started to bore me.
It's the same as anything really. I'm also bored with stupid action flicks, pulp novels, and Star Trek. I'd much rather watch something with substance, action or no, read a long series of classic books(eg. The Foundation series), or non-fiction(eg. The Making of the Atomic Bomb - brilliant book BTW), and as for TV, I really don't care if I miss an episode of one of my favorite show(although I do enjoy 24 and haven't missed an episode, heh).
You get the point. Tastes vary over time. While you may always enjoy a good movie/book/game/etc., you won't want the same thing over and over. And then there's the time and social factors. Don't fret. Things change. Adapt.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
I'm going on 30--I nearly fucked up my college education by spending aeons of time on Netrek and progressed from that to C&C, to Red Alert, to Tomb Raider (my girlfriend loves to watch me play for some reason) to Half Life to Homeworld to Deus Ex to Battlefield 1942 (which I play pretty often.)
I was never too interested in always trying out the latest and greatest, but I notice increasingly that, once I've found something I enjoy, I tend to stick with it for far long--it just holds my attention better.
I don't know how people have time to always finish the newest games right when they come out and move on to something new--the only times I do that is when I find something episode-based or story-based (like Half Life), play it through once, then move on, but I take my time with that, sort of like reading a good book a bit at a time before going to bed.
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
I find that lately I've been looking for something different in the games I play. I still play the single-player action games (Splinter Cell) and I still drool over the latest incredible graphics (UT2k4, Painkiller), but what I where I've been spending most of my time is social gaming. Games like MarioKart: Double Dash and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicle, where you interact with the people in the room with you is not only relatively new, it's loads of fun.
--
Francis
I'm only 18, and while most of my other friends have no problems splashing out $AU3000 for a gaming system, only to upgrade a year later, i simply don't see the point(or could afford it). Up until a week ago i hadn't played any games for about 2 months, and i didn't really miss em. It's not because im sick of playing games or growing up, it's just that there's other things to do. I enjoy going to the pub with mates just as much as i enjoy having a good lan as much as i enjoy a bit of coding, but it's usually just easier to walk to the pub than to pack up my computer.
If there's anything to be learnt from this, it's Beer time > Computer time.
I still buy a fair number of games (I'm 26), but not as many as I used to. I barely play at all, but except for a year-long CounterStrike fascination, I have never played games a whole lot.
:)
Part of it is that I'm simply not the best gamer in the world. Gaming loses interest quickly when you routinely get your ass handed to you on every server you play on. Not to mention - mostly - I just find that gaming is something I'll do more of "when I have more free time".
At the moment, when I'm not working for a living, I'm working for a hobby. Someday my projects may be finished and I'll have enormous gobs of free time and look forward to playing videogames again. But for now, it's a matter of "do I spent these next 12 hours writing code for my personal project - or do I spend it numbing my brain in front of Halo?".
Of course, all bets are off when DoomIII, Unreal-2004 and Half-Life 2 come out.
For me there are a few reasons why I don't play as many games thesedays:
:-/
1. Less time. Got other stuff to do. Study, and work. Work is okay but study consumes a lot of outside hours too. There's always more you could be doing. I find it harder to put time into games now. In the back of my mind, I'm always aware of what else I could be doing.
2. Other interests. Other stuff can be fun too. A few years ago I never read books just for my own interest, now I do. And of all things I've been learning Japanese recently, again something I never would have been interested in when I was younger. I guess I want to expand more, comes with age.
3. Age of fellow players. This one is pretty big. There's only one game I still play occasionaly now, and that's Live For Speed, an excellent, high-quality, independently developed racing sim. The online play is the best I've come across. But while the competition is good, the competitors themselves mostly seem to be guys who are 13-25 (mostly immature), or guys who are 45+. High school kids or men trying to fit in a few games around their spouse. I feel a little out of place.
Aside from LFS, the last game I played for a while was Grand Theft Auto 3. But I think I played that more for the radio stations & music, and the scale of the city rather than gameplay. I tired of it pretty quick. I definately have less tolerance for repetition now.
Times change
It's all about the fact that you now have the possibility to buy most of the games you want.
It just isn't that exiting anymore when you don't have to decide whether to buy QuakeIII or Unreal Tournament2003. You buy them both, and get the short end of the stick, because you don't have the time to play both, or find it hard to decide which one to play at any particular moment. A problem which increases in size the more games you buy.
For us with families, the time spent playing games gets ever shorter, which is why we put higher demands on the games we play. Which in turn leads to the conclusion that all of a sudden, games are no longer that good, because you cannot find the time to really get into more than a few games per season.
I buy fewer games nowadays, but instead I really try to play through them. This pays off most of the time.
Fifty bucks?!?!
That's a week of groceries for cryin' out loud! I'll wait until next year when it hits the $10 bargain rack at Wal-Mart.
I seem to remember going through that with beer, too. At some point, everything just started looking expensive.
Sincerely,
An old fogey
P.S. Just you wait you young buX0rz, pretty soon THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, NIRVANA and PEARL JAM will be on the oldies stations. HAAAAA-HA-HA-HA!
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
I went off games for a period - still bought some but rarely played and never completed. Turned out I was suffering from clinical depression and since recovering I have been right back into gaming and enjoy it as much as ever!
I am 31 btw...
For me, a soon to be 30-yr-old, it's all about two things: the time some of these games would like you to consume playing them, and then the increasing difficulty getting people together for the on-the-couch (as opposed to online) multiplayer games that I like so damn much.
Also, games get no respect from the world at large. Even though I'm mostly a social gamer, though I will play through the occasional one player adventure, my soon-to-be-ex-wife cited that as one of the (minor) issues, my devoting hours to gaming, despite her own f***ing introvert need to sometimes burn hours watching the crappiest of movies on TV to unwind/recharge.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
I complete a game a week or so, mostly adventure games and turn based strategy. As an old fart, I find that I generally look with disdain on the current crop of games. I spend pretty much all my gaming time on older, classic games.
Back in the days I used to play NES and SNES, a LOT.
Later I bougth PSX and then PS2 and XBox (sold again) and discovered that the games have changed. I admit that I somehow miss the colorful "kiddie" games Nintendo is so (in-)famous for. Always this boring b/w "adult looking" GFX (that is so motivating like looking out of my windows on a rainy day) with b/w stories and buzzy-buzzword-crap-hyped crap that never lived up to the games I used to play on the NES and SNES.
Is there a happy end?
...Well I play Metroid Prime (GC) right now (and whatever those "other fanboys" might try to tell me about "kiddie" stuff or Sony stock quotes compared to Nintendo stock quotes...) I love it to death!!! I paid $120 for a Gamecube with two controllers and that single game and get more fun out of it than any other system that I own. Strange isn't it?
(Age: 30)
I still have my original NES hooked up to the TV in the family room. Never had a SNES, N64, GameCube, PlayStation I/II or anything else.
:-)
I'm currently playing in the pennant race on Bases Loaded. I just finished beating Metroid and Contra (again). (For the latter, yes, I still use Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A.) Anyway the list goes on.
I've found that I can get all kinds of games for the NES from people that think they're worthless. Without even trying, I've picked up about 30 additional titles, along with several extra controllers and even a separate console that I use for spare parts when the need arises.
Lots of fun, and I have no plans to upgrade to a "modern" system in the near future.
Lately I've pretty much felt the same way, but not just with games. Every year we've pretty much been seeing the same things coming out of both Hollywood, the music industry and the games industry.
I have a slightly older friend who has always gone to see the latest subtitled film, listened to Belgian house, and was into retro gaming before the concept had even been invented. I always used to take the P*** out of him!
The past year I've been buying a lot of oriental films in a big way, in particular I'm getting heavily into Korean cinema and when I haven't been trying to get Mame games working on a shuttle mini pc that's sat under my tv, I've been really into the indie games scene. Gametunnel and games from moonpod, pompom and sigma team have kept my gaming urges alive this year. They might not offer anything new, but at least they are games offering gameplay, rather than chasing the need of the masses to immerse themselves in a movie. I suppose once you've seen so much media of any time, you begine to crave somehting new.
It's not old age, just boredom. Thankfully, I haven't felt the need to get into Belgian trance music yet...
Back in one of my college anthropology classes, our professor noted sociological studies that showed people's music buying habits dropping significantly at age 25. Anecdotally, that seems to be true. The history of games is much shorter, so I don't think any similar studies have been done, but they both may be manifestations of the same root cause. That root cause, though, has not yet been revealed.
I haven't felt the need to get into Belgian trance music yet...
But I can get the hint that you might be waffling on this one.
Before I was married and had kids, I played computer games thru the night. Now, my gaming style has changed. I play DND every other week with a group of 30+ year olds. I play in a pool league once a week. And for those 10-15 minutes I get alone, I'll play on my MAME box.
Neverwinter Nights is my favorite PC game at the moment, but I only get to play it about once a month instead of all day long.
So, just try some different games.
Life is like surrealism: if you have to have it explained to you, you can't afford it.
We demand more articles about decorating basements and attics! More stories about silent keyboards that don't wake up parents sleeping in the next room! More discussion of Furries! More debates about who would win a fight between Kirk/Picard, Enterprise/Millenium Falcon, and 7 of 9/Wesley!
No more fluff about Valentines Day, losing interest in gaming, movies that are not Sci-fi or fantasy, and esoteric crap like patterns in social networks! There is no pattern in our social networks of one!
Slashdot for geeks! Let those other sites have those lusers who live alone, have girlfriends, and have interests that reach beyond the bag of Doritos in my lap.
I'm still gaming as much as when I was in highschool, more probably. I'm 30. I am doing different games than when I was in highschool. I own two console systems, there are way more fun games to play than there is time for me to play them.
Maybe you don't want to game as much any more. If you want to, and if you look, I think you'll find there is tonnes of innovation and entertainment out there.
Pick up a game cube for the best innovation bang for your buck.
---
I support spreading santorum
I'm the same way... my money situation has improved, but I find that I am unwilling to just blow money on any game just to have it. I have things I work towards now financially, and I think over time us gamers learn that it takes a particularly good game to engross us. I am currently playing Maximo Vs. The Army of Zin and I find it incredibly challenging. Halo for the PC was my last biggie, however I have bought a few more games between buying Halo and Maximo, and I didn't play them as much as I "should" have... in fact, there's a game I have that I haven't even played for more than 1 hour! As we get older, I think we tend to parcel out our time better and are more likely to spend our time enriching or challenging our lives. Don't feel bad... it just means you have better things to do with your time.
> Am I not as capable of having fun as I once was, or what?
Maybe your ideas about what is "fun" are changing. This in itself is not a
bad thing. When you were eight, you probably thought it was fun to run around
on a blacktop with eight-year-old children. At some point you may have thought
it was tremendous fun to read those lame, elementary-school joke books, such
as "101 Fun Food Jokes". Think that's fun now, do you?
The first time I ever played a 3D FPS (it was Wolfenstein 3D at the time), I
thought it was pretty cool. At this point, I've had a belly full of those
and don't care if I never see another one.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
I'm 26 and was starting to have the same problem. I found that I was on average buying and finishing a new game once a month and it was starting to seem like a big waste of time and money. I would sometimes go a month or more without playing, but then I got into the FFXI PS2 beta. This game demands time and commitment and at long last I was getting giddy and excited when the weekend came so I could do a couple 10 hour sessions. Now that FFXI is out in retail I play every night for at least an hour and have been playing since October. It's great because I only pay approx $20 (CDN) a month and right now I can see myself still playing a year from now. My advice is pick up a MMORPG with a developer that is committed to keeping it updated and new.
Do you still play with your GI Joes? Do you still ask mommy if you can ride your bike down to the store to buy some YuGiOh (or however the christ you spell it) trading cards?
Do you really need Slashdot to confirm for you that your interests change when you grow up and get a life? That one day you realize there are better places to spend your money, and your time?
Jesus H, next thing we're gonna be hearing from 13yr old geeks who find hair sprouting in funny places and want to know if that's normal.
Listen. You losing interest in video games at 28 is a *good* thing. The other 28yr olds at the next party you attend want to talk about the new house they bought, or how their job is going, or the plans for the wedding. Not how awesome it was when you shot the guy that was on your team because he picked up the sniper rifle when everybody knows that you kick ass with it.
The only fun part about writing this response is seeing whether I'm insightful or a troll. :)
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
For example, lately I'm playing through Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the Gamecube. It was one of the first games I bought when I got my Gamecube, but I didn't really start playing it until recently.
My opinion is this: If you are too busy to watch TV, you'll probably find yourself too busy to play games.
If I ever found myself saying, "Rather than playing a game, I'll watch that new My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance show," I seriously hope somebody will shoot me....
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
I dunno why, but I have always *hated* games, even as a child. They seem so utterly pointless.
If I'm gonna invest the mental firepower that would be needed to become accomplished at some sort of (yuck!) GAME, then I want to see an actual *result* that matters in THIS world when I'm done.
Games are mere mental masturbation, IMHO.
A total waste of time.
Brak: What's THAT?
Thundercleese: A light switch.. of TOTAL DEVASTATION!
I know I went through the same thing a while back, and to a point I still am. I figured out it was mostly from throwing down $30-$50 bucks on a game that totally sucked. Now I research a game by reading web sites, talking to other gamer friends, and trying out demos before taking the plunge. All of this basically slows me down from buying new games on impulse and gives me time to enjoy the ones I've already bought.
With my own children growing old enough to play games I have found my own interest rekindled playing with them, showing them the games of my youth. I got the old Atari 800 out and they are having a blast with the classics from that system - River Raid, Pac Man, Ballblazer to name a few. After getting them a PS2 my interest has also picked up. I find myself playing Ratchet and Clank 1 & 2, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper long into the night after they have went to bed. On the other hand, I have found the PC game scene to be stagnating with every new release just more eye candy with the same game play with previous titles in the same genre. For instance, the graphics in the latest FPS are amazing, but the basic gameplay is still "if it moves, shoot it", unchanged since Doom and Wolf3D.
Don't get me wrong, I understand perfectly well the gist of your post, but I think you are jumping the gun.
There are a lot of hobbies that people "grow out" of, such as playing with matchbox cars. However, there are some hobbies that can have more staying power, such as reading, movies, model trains, etc. People don't look at those things and say, "Grow up!" Gaming happens to be one of those new hobbies that people without prior exposure to don't understand and assume to be a hobby for young people, like comic books. But, apparently that isn't necessarily the case. Sure, there are a lot of *"losers" who still read comics and play games at 40, but with the advent of adult-oriented comics(ie. "graphic novels") and games, many older folk (ie. non-"loser" older folk) are continuing with those childish hobbies.
At 25, I don't read the same comics I did when I was 13(rather, I don't read any comics), but some new graphic novels (mentioned here on /.) have interested me.
YMMV, different strokes, etc. But please, don't be an old pompous scab telling us youthful folk how to live.
Paraphrasing:
- someone less of a dullard than you* - are they really "losers," I prefer not to label someone so harshly simply for continuing with something I consider to be somewhat childish. Perhaps they just didn't sell out and murder their inner child in order to be accepted as an adult. Or perhaps they are indeed losers and should be derided as such until their sad, lonely death.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
If you're a fan of the classics, then really, gaming is moving away from you. Classics meaning like Pac-Man, Galga, etc. They're not going to make any more, because the classics are already there, and anything to try and capitalize on that will just be seen as a copy-cat. (EXCEPTION: Most current puzzle games I see is beeing Classic-ish. Simple gameplay, playing for points, not levels, etc.)
Myself? I tend to play more games now than ever. And I'm enjoying them more too. There are several reasons...The main reason is they're making more games I like, at least on consoles.
Things I like:
#1. The feeling of being busy and intense while not feeling frustrated and out-of control. Viewtiful Joe, being the best example (and one of the best games ever), as well you have Ratchet and Clank:Going Commando, the Dynasty Warriors series, Ikaragua and assorted others. (Some of which are not so good, like Enter The Matrix).
#2. Fighting games that are both deep yet accessable. They still make them, I still love them. Yes, Fighting games are deep. Always lived outside a big arcade scene, but locally, people here are big KoF nuts, and I had a fun time learning 97-98-99 into the ground. But Soul Calibur 2 is great with some people who know what they are doing.
#3. Better stories. This is both a function of technology, but it's also a function of ambition. I'm not just talking about your Final Fantasy type story. (Although the story for X was amazingly deep, yet because of the PoV aspect was still personal) I'm talking Ratchet and Clank with the hilarious commercials in it. Disgaea:Hour of Darkness, the story is just not what you expect at all. I think the word is...snarky among others. As part of the story, the best games just feel fleshed out. They have that something extra that keeps you in there. Interesting characters, if there's not the oppurtunity for a story..an interesting idea.
#4. Eye/Ear candy. I love this stuff. Sure sure, it's all about gameplay. But still. Starting a race in F-Zero GX, and watching all the light trails from the racers in front of you, as they are attacking each other and jockying for position. Metriod Prime, when an energy ball comes flying by your face, seeing Samus's reflection in her visor. At the same time, you have Audio candy as well. The radio stations in GTA 3/VC. The music from Final Fantasy games, (Especially X. Auron's theme pumped through a surround system is mesmorizing.)
Now, if you have better things to do, in your mind, that's a personal decision. But yeah, if those things don't matter to you, then it's fair to say that games have "left you".
As for PC games? PC games are unfortunatly boring. There's not much that's coming out that really pushes the boundries. And when they do, it tends to not be too unplayable. What do I play? Half-Life mods. Natural Selection mostly. I like some of the Microsoft games, believe it or not..Freelancer, Rise of Nations. What else is there? Not very much.
I still play a ton of games, but I won't play crap anymore. When I was a kid, I'd play anything that fell into my hands. Now, I won't play it unless it's exactly what I want to play, and I wonder how I ever managed to deal with some of the crap I used to play.
I also make a point of playing online with friends who are scattered all over the country. Use Roger Wilco and catch up with friends while using your experience and teamwork to slaughter hordes of newbies. Or just get completely destroyed, like I usually do. Whatever.
It's still fun for me.
I mean, why do you think people end up having children?...
And here I always thought it was because she forgot to take the pill.
(That or the condom broke)
Relax I kid I kid, you lovable bloke
You get fed up after a while, simple as that.
I used to get hooked on games too, but that is
many years past. Now past 40, I play the occasional
frozen bubble, and (even rarer) tuxracer. But there
are a lot of more interesting things to do out there
than gaming.
Gaming solo is what I can't seem to enjoy as much anymore. By making it a social event, I can really get into gaming without fear of getting old. I get "together" with my friends twice a week to play games online. We don't get to see each other nearly as often as any of us would like to, so our Monday night Battlefield 1942 and Wednesday night Rise of Nations sessions give us a reason to hook up the VoIP chat and hang out, even if it is only virtual. Since it's a habitial thing, my wife doesn't even give me much flak for it.
It's probably not you personally, it's that the game industry isn't innovating much. Many games that are coming out are just graphically nicer versions with basically the same gameplay as older games. They still succeed in the market because a new generation picks them up as their first exposure to the genre, but to you, they naturally seem boring.
Furthermore, many computer games are not very replayable. How often can you play through the single player versions of even a comparatively good game like Half Life before you know all the tricks and "surprises"? A humble little game like Frozen Bubble or Alchemy, or a game like Nethack, for that matter, has much more replayability than any fancy single-player FPS. And, of course, with games like Chess and Go, you keep learning as you play them, which is why many people can play them their whole life and not get bored.
Long term success with games means creating games that are replayable and innovating; the mainstream game industry doesn't know how to do that--they just lose themselves in ever more graphics technology.
Maybe, rather than loosing interest in games, the real reason you are not finding gaming exciting anymore is because no-ones developing anything groundbreakingly different anymore. There are plenty of games that look good, and play well, but most are re-hashes of things that have been done before.
Having said that, I have had some long sessions on THPS4 on the PS2, which also plays well online.
I hear "A Dogs Life" by Frontier developments is supposed to be quite fun although I've never played it. Its about as original an idea as i've seen in a while. What would else would you expect from David Braben (of Elite fame though ?)
I think we just need more original games.
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
Incidentally, what took you till 28? As a devout technophile, even as a kid I much rather took apart toys to see how they worked than actually play with them, much to the bane of my parents--and, in hindsight, to my detriment, since that led to getting fewer toys, as I "just broke them anyway". That didn't stop when getting into computers later on: even if playing a game I would often wonder how a particular effect was achieved, so off I'd go trying to program it myself. Frankly, getting seriously wrapped up in programming and hardware takes up so much time, there'd be little left for hour-long game playing. I seriously believe the phenomenon of the technically highly competent nerd that plays games every waking moment is a Hollywood myth, or extremely rare in any case. I have yet to meet one of these creatures; most game enthusiasts I've met tend to be technically fairly shallow.
I understand where this guy is coming from... Its getting harder and harder to find a game that leaves me completely satisfied that however much money I spent on the game was well worth it.
;)
These days, most of those good games I find are on consoles.
I agree with a lot of you that there seems to be a cascade of good games every few years, followed by a bad aftertaste of trite titles. Right now, the pc is badly sufferring from something truly exciting. If you asked my opinion, I'd say the most exciting things to happen in the pc gaming world have been MMO's and graphics enhancements to games all around (but that will always be exciting, so it doesn't count). And the mmo's suck, too! (speaking from someone who spent a little over a year - not cumulatively - playing them)
I think the pc game market is gonna hit another milestone soon, if for no other reason that its just due. Seeing games like Half-life 2, while still an fps, gets me really pumped at the level of realism and detail being poured in -- not just in graphics, but in physics, sound, AI, animation, and an extreme level of attention to the psychology of the player.
Take a look at some of the better console games lately. My picks would be those that really suck you into the environment, like a good movie. At least, that's how I judge whether a game is good or not (excusing more old-school-esque games whre its not about environment or story). Think about something like Silent Hill 3 -- do you have any idea how much time went into little details that made that game so creepy feeling? What about Metal Gear Solid / 2 ? Those games really took you into their world. Metroid? These games were all immensely popular for a reason.
I could go on and on, but you begin to get the point. Its hard to put your finger on it, but there's something very cinematic and involving in those games -- not just in storyline, gameplay, or graphics -- but something that really makes you forget to do things like eat and sleep.
When the new consoles hit the markets in the next year or two, I expect we'll see the lull with those games -- as developers will be spending most of their time just fucking with them.
PC games will hit their mark again. Just look for the ones with amazing sales. That's usually a good way to judge a game before buying it
Where I once spent countless hours in front of a computer or console playing games, now that I'm older I can't stand the thought of sitting at home alone and spending that much time on one. I'd feel like a loser.
I'm 29, married, with a full-time job, and I still game almost every night. It's my hobby, I enjoy it, and fuck you if you think it's childish. I switch from Warcraft 3 to Animal Crossing to Fatal Frame 2 to Karaoke Revolution without skipping a beat. Good, fun games are always out there... if you've stopped looking for them it's nobody's fault but your own.
All you dicks who have jumped out of the shadows to harp on How Important It Is To Grow Up should realize that you're on Slashdot debating Linux flavors three forums over.
And to the original questioner: Your taste in games has stagnated, and your appeal for sympathy is boring and pathetic.
I didn't tell him to get over himself, and I didn't tell him he would never be interested in gaming again, quite the contrary. The other post you refer to which I shot down was very condescending, and basically implied that gaming isn't suitable for older folk, and he should get over it, and he's pathetic for posting this in the first place.
WTF is your problem? Are you illiterate?
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Everytime I pick up a game to play I feel guilty. I spend 60$ (CDN) and I know it'll only last me a few weeks and instead of playing that stupid game I could be programming or learning something new. So recently I haven't played any games at all in 1 month. I feel alot better. Plus the quality of most of the games now adays is fairly poor. I'd say I can't enjoy games as much because they are either rushed off to production and they haven't been fine tuned to meet the requirements of the average gamer so no one can enjoy these games to their full potential and it may be aggravating some into not playing games at all.
Happens to us all eventaly take a break for a while and then games become intersting agien.
Video gaming is just as much as an activity as golf, reading, watching television or bowling. It's something you do for entertainment. There doesn't have to be a maturity level attached to gaming. Video games don't age discriminate.
The problem is that you're bored. Video games are a form of entertainment. If you play a game and you've been entertained, then you haven't wasted your time. It's February, an established lull time for the game industry, the next-generation of games have all been delayed and there have been a glut of sequels. We're all bored somewhat. You want to design games because you recognize what's lacking in today's games.
The real difference between being older and playing games and being younger and playing is time. As an adult, you need to balance career and family first before you sit down and play. Why should you make time playing games when it isn't fun? There are plenty of other forms of entertainment out there that you can take advantage of. My advice is to take a break so you don't get burned out and wait for a game to come to you. Don't get burned out by forcing yourself to play something. Have fun. Enjoy yourself doing other things. The games will still be there when you get back.
Doing anything at all is wanking. Everyone dies in the end and all works fade away.
When Sol dies in 20 billion years, what could you possibly have done in your life that will matter then? When the last of the Milky Way is being crushed into a supermassive black hole quadrillions of years from now of what use will any of your life have been?
I rediscovered wargames, which I used to play as a teen--the maps and counters type, whereas now it's the PC versions. They're great for business travel--don't need a hefty laptop for them, can make a few moves as time permits, can let games stretch out for months, don't need the constant work on the hand-eye skills, which deteriorate with age anyway. I've always liked the thinking, reflective games better anyway, not the instinct/reaction speed games.
Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
Have a baby. That will cure you of your gaming addiction permanently -- or at least for the next 18 years.
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
I've been having the same experience with this issue on several fronts. One thing that make me acutely aware that I was growing up was a trip my girlfriend and I made to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum this past weekend. I may journal about it.
Specifically I remember taking a trip to this museum with my Dad when I was 10 years old (ca 1980). I was a HUGE Trekkie at the time. Thoroughly obsessed. Seeing the USS Enterprise was a thrill unmatched. I remember feeling like I was bearing witness to the second coming as I inspected every inch of the "starship" with my eyes, soaking in every molecule optically. I earnestly HOPED to have at least an echo of that feeling. Sadly this was not the case. Seeing it again at 34, it just looked like a big toy. I tried to be enthused, but being honest with myself my reaction was just a notch above "meh". All this despite the fact that I am currently in a downtime project of watching every Star Trek episode ever made, currently up to the end of season 3 on DVD. I sincerely wish I could muster just a 10th of that kind of childish enthusiasm for anything. So I myself must wonder, what must we lose to become adult?
Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the trip or become enthused at all. What perhaps made the biggest impression on me was the Martin B-26B Marauder "Flak Bait" bomber. Here was something real. I was simply bowled over. It made WWII seem really real. And this airplane seemed to represent what it really was: a death machine. Regardless of the fact that it mas killing WWII era Germans, far as I was concerned I was standing there looking at a human meat grinder. THAT left a far, far bigger impression on me than the "USS Enterprise". What also made a very real emotional impression on me was an actual (albeit prototypical) example of a Lunar Lander. Also a big deal to me were the Minuteman Missile as well as a Russian ICBM and a recreation of the Apollo-Soyuz "meetup" in space. It was all very moving, but my reactions were not at all what I might've expected.
I notice that I don't quite enjoy punk rock the way I used to, gaming and science fiction the same.
Quod scripsi, scripsi.
My gaming experience sounds pretty similar to yours. I can buy whatever game I want, but now I have a harder time keeping interest in the games. I however don't think it is because I am growing up and gaming is something children do. Besides the fact that I don't have as much time as I did during my prime gaming years, I think that I am bored with the current titles. For instance, have we really had much innovation in the First Person Shooter scene since Half Life? I don't think so. My gaming group that was very active a few years ago has been trying all the new titles and nothing is catching on. We tried Call of Duty, but it felt like it was a step backwards. It just felt like we were playing the same game we had already played to death. RPGs aren't really that much better. If something really new came to the table I am sure I would once again be staying up till Three in the morning playing the game. I just haven't found anything that doesn't feel like I have already played it.
...these were all games that I could literally lose myself for days in.
What are you trying to say, that your physical body got misplaced? Surely you mean you figuratively lost yourself for days.
You are welcome.
-English Police
Real mature games games designed for actual grown ups (not twitchin trigger teenagers) which actually present histories and situations which offer more than the "virtual gotcha", and "save the world" histories, the silent hill series comes to mind , the history of harry mason going to hell to retrieve the memory of her dead spouse (or her daughter in the first one) is shocking but xtrangely addictive as well. GTA3 putting you under the skin of a mobster may feel like a teenage dream, but grown ups enjoy the power and to certain grade the responsability involved in growing your own criminal empire same goes for Mafia.
Warcraft 3 (single player) offer superb artwork with an exceptional history of power and deception and curiously which actually prizes more brain than brawl. And of course the office favorites Age of empires and Rise of nations.
Now if you are really looking for innovation, Beyond good and evil is probably one of the most interesting and underrated games this year. ICO is probably the most underrated game ever,"The movies" by peter Mollineux coming this year, will offer the experience of having your own movie studio and filming any movie you like. And of course the fabled "fable" the game in which you are suposed to be able to do anything in a virtual life from battling evil to turning into a feared beast to getting married, going fishing, aging and growing fruit for a living.
You have grown up, is time to let your tastes grown up as well, time to let quakers, counterstrikers and haloers have their l33t frags leave mario,zelda and pokemon alone, let dante and those guys from RE make the devil cry for a while. Theres a LOT of experiences besides those in the gaming world go and explore, you may enjoy them.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
My game passions went out the window when I started getting simulator sickness from everyone I played!!! :)
In my situation I ended up regressing rather than progressing. I picked up one of my teenage passions again. I am now officially a
comic book geek again.
I never saw it coming, but they have gotten much better and it fills that fun void games used to fill.
I think it has to do with the sheer amount of stuff that we have. When I was a young kiddie pushing the boxy pixels around on a screen, I had maybe half a dozen games to play with so I enjoyed them more. Thousands of games later, I've grown very jaded and the best graphics in the world aren't going to bring back my enthusiasm for very long.
Really, it's the same thing with all objects... when you can focus on a few things, you achieve greater understanding and pleasure... but the more you have, the less pleasure individual things bring you, until one day you don't feel much of anything at all and it's time to move on to the next thing.
"Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me."
My love for games has been rekindled recently. The reason is becuase I finally bit the bullet and tried a game genre that I had always shyed away from. I always thought I wouldn't like certain genres. It turns out that I am addicted to some of the games I thought I would never play. If you lament the fact that you are losing interest in games just try one game that has gotten great reviews in a genre you have never tried or have avoided. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you don't lament your lack of interest than bugger off.
I swear PowerPoint is going to be the downfall of higher education in western society.
See, when one is born they are born really sloshed. Thats why one cant walk and can talk only in slurred gibberish. As a young child sometimes one may say brilliant, innocent things that a sober adult would never say and may dare to create a work of art without fear of judgement.
As one grows the buzz wears off. We become aware of our actions and how people will perceive them. This occurs at different rates for different people. Some will be totally sober before becoming a teenage and others have found ways to stall until very late in life. Personally I like to reintroduce alcohol into the system whenever possible.
It sounds like you may be finally entering the hangover phase of your life. You'll have a headache for a while and there will be many questions about what you did and who you were with last night. This doesn't mean you did anything wrong, in fact you might find you liked it and still do.
I recommend not thinking about it too much, whats done is done. If you want to keep playing, keep playing. There is enough time for work and still enough time for all different kinds of play in life. Oh and get drunk.
slow maturing nature of gaming.
If you've played computer games as far back as the atari/coleco days, then you have clocked in many days of game, that can probably amass to half a year by now. With that, you have played a varied spectrum of games in the early years, to more specific genres. Now, what's happening is that you want more complexity in the game play, along with more future possibilities for longer lasting game play.
For example, you play in an MMORPG and have reached the highest level, tons of credits, numerous weapons/items, have travelled the known universe of the game... what else is left? Retirement? Well... yeah.
Many games are not innovative enough to keep up with our desires for grander things in the game. Whether you have played that new game that just came out or not, there's a very good chance you have played the same functions in a previous game, and are just redoing what you've done before? Yeah, it has a new storyline, new characters, but same things are happening. I'm currently in that situation now, I've played a number of games, but find the mechanics to be too similar to previous games that after awhile, it's not new and it's no longer exciting.
You want excitement, go back to pen and paper rpgs, that way you have more flexible mechanics than the computer. I wish you luck in finding a game that can satisfy your gaming needs.
I love to play games. But I am selective. Games I don't enjoy are a bloody waste of my time. Fortunately I played so many different games that I now know what I like and can recognize quality. And quality does not mean "the coolest graphics". It means "the best gameplay". Therefore I don't mind playing older games. As long as they are fun.
It's the same with music. When you're a teen, you listen to all the crap that's pooped into the airwaves over the radio. Then your taste matures. You may get interested in classical music, or at least you realize there are only a few good bands out there.
It's the same with books. As a teen you read lots of SF (if you are a geeky type), but when you mature you realize most of it is just a waste of good trees.
Remember, most of it. Not all of it.
When you acquire a mature taste, you don't need to spend so much time on something to get your fix. But your love need not diminish.
Sure all the new games have better graphics, better sound etc., but they just aren't as fun to play anymore... I also find myself playing fewer and fewer new games, but I just spent about 2 hours playing Wizards and Warriors III (on the Nintendo, not the emulator, cause it's better that way). That was a fun game! I think games these days are just lacking innovation; becoming stale. Every once and a while, a new game does catch everyone's eye (Super Smash Bros.), but for the most part, they are just doing the same thing twenty other games did before them. Also, games are far too easy (for the most part) these days. Many games released these days can be beaten relatively quickly (and usually without throwing a controller or two in anger).
-Magiluke
Earl Grey, Hot.
I'm in a similar situation. I'm 29, single (but dating) and *want* to love games as much as I used to, but frankly I can't anymore (and here's the key) unless I'm enjoying it with other people. Playing a game by myself just isn't what it used to be. The fact is that most of my friends are married and have very little time for games or simply aren't gamers at all anymore. That's something I took for granted as a teen on up through my college years: the abundance of gamers that ran in my circle of friends. I could find a pick up game of at almost any time, day or night. But life changes, and I'm fine with that, and I really cherish those memories. Little did I realize then, as I now do, how important the communal aspect of gaming was to my enjoyment of it. Case
By the way, Captain Literacy, the word "goddamn" has an "n" at the end.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
What I've found recently is that I don't like to spend as much time anymore on games and rather get on with my "real" life instead. This results in me choosing games that I can play for say 15 minutes at a time rather than having to invest hours into each gaming session.
Still, whenever I go on a business trip, I take a couple of good old-fashioned RPGs (think Baldur's Gate and similar) and spend a lot of time playing those in the bland boring hotel rooms.
I therefore conclude it is not the games that are at fault, but my priorities of what I like to do with my spare time have changed. That said, I recently started playing Rainbow 6 on XBox live and this game, I can't get enough of. Maybe that's because of the more social nature of the co-op game modes I like to play, maybe it's just the novelty (at least for me) of being able to talk to people in multiplayer games.
I asked for a refund - and got my monkey back.
WTF is your problem? Illiteracy I presumed at first, but since you imply otherwise, I don't know what to assume. Do you even know what "graphic novels" are like? Did you not notice that I read all kinds of books? Did you have a problem understanding that I have never even read a graphic novel? I only said some newer graphic novels look interesting, and they are targeted at adults.
FYI -- in what is probably a vain attempt to placate your grotesque ignorance of the subject -- many graphic novels targeted at adults are comprised of roughly equal parts text and artwork, ie. they are most certainly not what one would consider "comic books." There is nothing inherently immature about the format, on the contrary, some writing can greatly benefit from accompanying artistic imagery. If you believe there is something inherently immature about a mix of text and artwork to convey a story, please enlighten me with some logical arguments.
And you are entirely incorrect, "goddam" is not spelled incorrectly; both spellings are in common usage today and can be found in the dictionary.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Try stalking through real woods wearing real camo armed with the paintball equivalent of Tommy guns loaded with 150 round drum clips. After picking up this hobby, playing UT (or whatever) online has paled for me. Price of entry: $110 in used equipment, plus the weekly assortment of bruises. Paintball rocks.
Vonnegut was right: Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
This is one of the reasons I never picked up a PS2, and sold my X-Box. Though to be fair, there aren't a lot of Gamecube games I'm playing right now.
I was thinking about this the other day, about the essential sameness of gaming today. In the old days people seemed to start with a concept (maze game with chasing antagonists - Pac-Man, obstacle course with limited means of avoiding obstacles - Donkey Kong, shooting game involving learning the unique movement styles of each type of opponent - Centipede and especially Millipede). Now, they just simulate reality as best they can, plop you down into a GenericPerson (tm) with a gun, and give you targets.
That worked for me back when I played Doom, and Goldeneye gave it a fresh coat of paint for me, but now... eh. I like the idea behind Deus Ex, the idea of having many ways to accomplish tasks, there's something about that which strikes me as very *right*, but I don't have the time to invest into learning yet another FPS game.
What I have been playing, for my Gamecube, has been Viewtiful Joe (absolutely cool) and Midway Arcade Treasures (24 easy-to-learn yet challenging games, including Rampart, on which I've raved far, far too much here) On GBA I've spent some time with the new Metroid (much like the old Metroid) and Fire Emblem. But I'm on something of a gaming binge right now, and before Viewtiful Joe I hardly played anything for weeks.
I guess the difference between then and now is, simply, the games that are available. I go to stores looking for something to buy and walk away disappointed.
I haven't played a computer game since Neverwinter Nights, and there for me the "game" was really just module creation, but I do have to admit that funky SimCity add-on for The Sims has my interest piqued.
A few games have been heading back in that direction, actually. I was quite impressed with both Mario and Luigi, and Wario Ware for the GBA. Best games I've played in a long time, and not only do they have solid, simple gameplay, they manage to be very innovative as well.
Though, the same old copycat games are...bleh. I can't say I have the slightest interest in playing Halo; I played Goldeneye seven years ago, why do I need to play it again? (Or a clone, as the case may be).
I've been through this before with a few things. Here's what I _think_ I've learned. (BTW, I realize some of this may not make much sense...)
:)
The bad news is, gaming will probably NEVER reliably make you feel like it once did. At least not for a long time. If ever... It's like gum that's been chewed too long. It's pretty much over.
My guess is that gaming will give you less and less satisfaction, until you basically put it away for long periods of time. You may regain some interest in it again when it becomes significantly different from what it is like now.
The good news is all those good feelings you used to associate with gaming probably have nothing to do with gaming. Gaming is an "escapist" pastime (in the best way). It was letting you feel things you needed/wanted to feel in real life but couldn't. But we all want to feel REAL things, that's why you are loosing interest. That's why you will loose interest in anything else that is essentially escapist. Gaming, although fun in it's own right, is also a crutch that you've worn down to a nub.
At least that's my experience... I think...
I am a hardcore gamer who spends > 40 hours per week on games. Ranging from Dark Age of Camelot (an MMORPG), Call of Duty, America's Army and C&C Generals, depending on what mood I'm in. On top of this I try to get some programming in as well.
Today I have less time to invest 'dedicated' to one particular game, which is frustrating because you develop friends in the online gaming community that you lose when you move on. To me its saddening, and I'm clawing on to keep at the level I used to be at, but it isn't working. :(
Oh well, time to find a girlfriend, get married, and put the money spent on computers and games into a home deposit!
Man watching 6 MSCE's around a sun box, looks alot like the opening scene's of 2001:space odyssey...
I played quite some games.
... well, what is the good thing of that? If you play alone, or if WC 3 is youor first game you are less bored, fine. And for true players? Building a town and upgrading troop stats is now boring, why not starting with a full town instead? Skip upgradig of troops completely.
... no new games. The new games of our days simply suck, all of them. As I mentioned Settlers above: Settles IV is just the same like WC 3. The shift from Settlers III to Settlers IV ... they dropped everything and rewrote teh complete game. They could have changed the name and no one had realized the connection between the two games. No deed to say: Settlers II was GREAT, besides it gets a bit boring over time because of the dumb RTS battle AI. Settlers IV was a $40 waste of money. The biggest shit in games I ever bought.
... its funny. However the coders spend more time in making a good game concept and using a standard vanilla engine instead of crafting incredible fancy effects ... te story line and the way to play it is cool. Only realy bad: the battle AI is as dumb as a 15 years old WC 1 battle AI. No idea why that is constantly bad since decades.
... at least Diablo II LOD remains :D
Civilization II/III, War Lords II/III, War Craft II/III, Descent I/II, Sim City I/II and endless unknown low sales games. Ah yes and Settlers II/III/IV.
Point is: Civilization III was "just the same" like Civilization II. No real improvement. On 100 times the hardware power (Pentium III/1400) CivIII was as slow as Civ II on my old Pentium 1/180MHz.
War Craf III was a complete disappointment. Incredible dumb AI. Boring (IMHO) story, and the new game concept of story/quest IMHO badly adapted. See SpellFore, quite the same game, but 10 times better. 5 times faster building of constructions
RTS games have not improved besides using 3D engines now. No real new kick except more graphics, more sound, more lightening. Even the 3D characters, the heroes and power units in WC II are so poor designed, rendered. Unbelieveable. I have a super 3D graphics card and a charcter traveling over the screen barely has more than 4 "positions". If you count the waving cape, you have 4 for the characer and 3 for the cape.
Same for Descent 3. Descent 2 was a quite good game. On modern hardware you realized the bugs caused by network latency and "drifting" world images of the different simulation on the playing hosts. But it was really great fun and we play it still today.
But D III? Only everythign was FASTER, BRIGHTER, and with more POWER. It makes no sense to shift from a game version 2 to 3 and the main difference is the increase speed of crafts and incresed damage of weapons. E.G: D II you could play wit keyboard only, no need ofr a joy stick if you where good at it. D 3 was impossible to pay with keyboard because you could not configure the autorepeat and delay and acceleration speed of keyboard commands good enough.
Then came games like Halo. Just an example: the cross hair is as big as my thumb, the hit zone as well. What sense is it to have a 3D first person shooter and the player only needs to run around, avoid getting hit, collect amo and continioulsy keep the mouse button(aka fire button) pressed down?
Bottom line: I still enjoy playing 12 hours at my PC a computer game. But well
Since two weeks I play SpellForce. It has disadvantages en mass. Stupid 3D engine whre a standard old day 2D isometric view would be enough. When I have a full fledged army my screen makes only 4 to 5 frames per second. But: the game is GREAT! A lot of the game is so old habited
Conclusion: modern computer games are only "movies" adapted to the computer with a limited possibility of interaction.
The poster is right: meanwhile I rather code my own game than spending endless hours wasting my energy in playing stupid designed incredible expensive games not even running properly fast on my just one year old PC.
Sig
angel'o'sphere
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said -- "two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lips, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Q.
Insert Signature Here
I go through this exact issue every night with my wife. We finally get the kids to sleep and sit down for "quality time" and she watches the goddamn idiot box (tv).
Now I enjoy the odd show or two, but in general I would much rather be programming, writing, playing/writing music, stuffing about on /. or basically anything more mentally stimulating than "Reality TV XXVIII - Big brother pop star survivor celebrity average joe extravaganza".
However if I sit at my computer (2 metres away from the couch/tv) then I am ignoring/neglecting her needs, or have a mistress, or love my computer more than her, or etc.
The upshot of all this is: wake-up, get kids ready and play with them till I leave for work, work all day, come home and feed/bathe kids, get them ready for bed, sit in front of the TV watching shit I couldn't care less about, go to bed(sic), wait till wife falls asleep and get up so I can have some time to myself. Really helps my insomnia...
No wonder I never play games any more...
Q.
Insert Signature Here
... when she complains that the sex is boring, "stop asking where all the good times went", it's part of growing up.
Of course your 'wife' might just be that stack of sticky playboys under the bed, or have you grown out of them too?
GPLv2: I want my rights, I want my phone call! DRM: What use is a phone call, if you are unable to speak?
god, I lose interest in videogames once a year at least... then I gain interest in something else... then I go back to videogames.... because I never have cared to do the same thing continously without breaks.
-You're wasting your time. Alfador only likes me.
Every so often I see these "growing up" messages posted by guilty video game nerds and they are downright pathetic -- the same old pompous crap about outgrowing games and finding other interests and about living life viscerally and not vicarously, etc. What happens is some game geek gets a spouse/girlfriend or some "good-paying" 9 to 5 job and all of a sudden he's feeling like a man. Or maybe he's met some new friends and has taken up mountain biking or hanging out at Starbucks Coffee. Or maybe he and his nagging plain Jane wife have decided to copulate and produce offspring. In any case, the message is always the same, self-righteous, pompous, holier-than-thou "I'm a grown-up living a real life now" bullshit. Well, give it a few years until you're sick of the job or girlfriend or wife and kids, and you'll be back with more gaming gusto than ever before. It always happens. Once a gamer, always a gamer, though you can live in denial of it your whole life, pursuing your socially-approved mature interests like golf or television or ammasing a useless DVD collection. Sheeple, sheeple, sheeple. Or maybe you'll be off pursuing your glorious acts of creation while the rest of us passively consume our childish little video games like the immature losers we are.
Aside from the possibility of changing intrests, another factor in gaming is available time.
I know plenty of poeple who enjoy D&D, but because of the huge time investment involved in a single session, not many can make the time to play. (never mind the difficulty in 4 or more adults with wives finding the SAME 4 hour block of free time on a regular basis).
Another factor is available options. Gaming is no more or less valid then any other activity. As a student, your often on a tight budget. And a game is a pretty good entertainment investment. But as an adult, you can probably afford to go out drinking with friends or paintballing or something. Doing such a thing once is cheap, but they add up quickly. You cannot afford that as a student or on a Mc Job.
I am guessing that your intrests have not changed as much as your resources have.
END COMMUNICATION
I've turned away from video games as you have in the past... and right when I think they are out of my life forever, one will come out that makes gaming fun again.
Years ago I had sold off all my games and played Nothing. Just did other things with my time. Then, about a year ago, I discovered Dance Dance Revolution. It took everything I knew about what could make a video game fun, and turned it on its head. Now I have a PS2 with two dance pads all modded up, a livingroom PC with Stepmania and USB adapters to play custom dance songs, and my girlfriend (as well as our friends and their spouses/fiancees) are having the time of our lives when we get together for an evening of DDR, drinking, and as of recently, Karaoke Revolution.
It's all about what you find fun, and if video games don't deliver, then you won't be playing video games until one comes along that Does.
While it is true that I don't play games on my flashy 3GHz home PC, I _do_ play interactive fiction games on my Palm Zire, with its non-backlit screen and 16MHz processor, on the subway to and from work each day. I can play everything from the original ADVENTURE to the newest games, including the 2003 IF Competition entries. Try it! :)
"... I declare our city to be a free and independent state to be named Tri-Insula!" --Fernando Wood, Mayor of NYC 1861
As a 30 year old, my interest in games is waning quickly, mainly because I can no longer compete.
MMORPGS take up too much time to be competitive, I cannot hang with people with no jobs or go to college, since the nature of the MMORPG is Time = Equipment + Gold + Abilities. Whomever has the best equipment due to the most gold usually wins.
FPS's the winners are the ones with the high frame rate, low ping times, twitchy reflexes, and macros. Kids can out aim, jump, and shoot me now.
Single Player RPG's - I sit there, and play, and think, I'm sitting here trying to figure out a puzzle, or to click the buttons in the sequence that the developers tell me to, or allude to. *Not Fun*
So, I'm left with open ended games like GTA Vice City, and single player sports games. Madden, etc.
Both of which I find amusing and relatively fun to play. But neither of which are very satisfying, because, once again, you're beating a computer. There's no "HA HA" factor in playing by yourself.
So, for me, my interest in games is dying because I can no longer compete. The competition is what was fun for me.
I think, though, that I will always play videogames to some extent. My circle of friends and I discuss this occasionally. Do I think I'll be up till 3AM playing an FPS when I'm 40? No. But when I have my old buddies over to watch the superbowl or a barbeque, could a descendant of Super Smash Bros. make an appearance? I suspect the answer will be yes.
I also have a feeling that, should I have a son, playing videogames will be a great way to interact with him. My generation (or slightly before) will be the first one with any hope of relating to their kids in this way. Maybe I'm being naive, but I suspect videogames are here to stay, and that the industry is going to be stuck for quite a while with the same 3 spatial dimensions and 2.1 vectors for sensory input (sight, sound, lame rumbling).
25 seems like a plausible median age for preparing for marriage, first real estate purchase, first new car, etc. It's when you begin having enough buying power to buy expensive things, instead of just a lot of dispoable entertainment.
However, I too have gone through the occassional slump of not knowing what to play or if I should at all. If the idea of building a game of your own comes to mind, I suggest you go with it. No really, try to build your own game or a mod to one that you're generally familiar with. I tried it with Neverwinter Nights. I had a team, hundreds of areas, pages of code I wrote meself, and after it all... I can't wait to just sit down and play. I hated having to build some new system, write another script, or fix another bug while everyone else was in my lil world playing. It drove me nuts. And then, when I did get to play, they'd see me in there and swamp me with requests and suggestions... I had to use an alias account it got so bad.
So, if you need a kick start on the ol' "Should I Play" question, design and build a game/mod... it'll show you just how much fun playing really is and you'll get right back into it... just up until you'd like to make/design another game :)
Good things come to those who wait on the early bird who gets the worm... hey, wait a sec!
Look at who games are marketed to. They say they're targeting 18-34 year olds, but gaming really hits its prime between 13-25 year olds.
I, too, used to be an avid gamer, but my buying habits have slowed considerably. I'm in my mid-twenties and I still buy games, but far less frequently than I did in my early twenties. However, I've always been a voracious reader and my interest in books has not waned one iota.
As things stand, the only games I'm actively looking forward to are Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Half-Life 2. I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with torpor: games are, by and large, virtually a complete and utter waste of time and given a few hours of downtime, I'd rather read a book or play an old game.
This is not to say that there aren't games I love. I have great memories of Descent (1 and 2), Twisted Metal (1, 2 and Black), Command & Conquer (Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert), Ico (which everyone ever should be required to own), Grand Theft Auto (III and Vice City), Metal Gear Solid (1 and 2), Half Life, Deus Ex, Warcraft (1 through 3), Starcraft, Quake (1 through 3), NHL (199x - 200x), Final Fantasy (VII - X), Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and many more. But when you're 19 you don't quite realize just how expensive games are, probably because you're at college and mom & dad are funding you. When you have to pay your own expenses, games become a luxury, and an expensive one at that.
As people get older, they find that their time is more valuable to them. The scientific and psychological causes of this are hard to determine but it may have something to do with our perception of the passage of time (when you were a child a year was a really long time, but now a year goes by quickly). :) If your time is less valuable to you then playing games will seem like less of a waste of it.
At any rate, the marginal cost of playing a game is now higher than your percieved benefit. This is natural and the only way you will regain your interest in playing games is to make them a priority. (quit some other activities or even your job!
The idea that "video games are for kids" is just hogwash. I'm 30, and video games are my entertainment of choice. I get more value from my entertainment dollar by buying a $40.00 game than I do by paying $50.00 a month for cable television. A well-designed video game is a thing of beauty. I live for the moment when I find a game that hooks me from start to finish with intuitive gameplay that goes deeper and deeper the more I play. You can't get that kind of entertainment from television. And then there are the mods and the games, like Morrowind, that anyone with a little imagination can learn to modify. I get to exercise my creative side which is something no one can do while watching TV. If games are for little kids, then we all need a little more kid inside us.
Sitting in front of the Television?
Joining in some Sport?
What kind of activity do you do for entertainment value brings value or creates something of value?
If you really felt that way, why are you even reading a Slashdot story that is accessible from the 'Gaming/Gamer' section of Slashdot?
Why would you read or even post to Slashdot for that matter? What kind of value canone really take away from posting something to Slashdot?
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
I only read the post at the top of the page, but I can see what you mean. It's as simple as one's idea of a perfect game becomes more refined through the years of gaming. I shall use myself as an example: When I was a little kid, playing games like mighty morphin' power rangers on SNES was bliss. Now, I wish that somebody would make something like a cross between MGS2 and shinobi, or hell, just let me use the sword for the entire game without a gameshark. Of course, this'll never happen, and I'll shut up now.
Thanks for responding to the question. Though I haven't had a chance to read everything (I definitely will), I appreciate what honesty and bluntness I've seen so far. That's why I read /.
I've just been noticing over time that I have less and less patience for all the fuss of gaming. For starters, gaming isn't really a "buy a computer and play King's Quest IV until you vomit" kind of experience anymore. Between the graphics cards, Barton chips, drivers and lag-times, gamers are required to be a little more like combatants in an arms-race than fun-seekers.
Also, there seems to be polarization in gaming genres. Most games these days are either "throw-away" games (Tetris, Solitare, etc.) or massively multiplayer black holes (you fill in the blank).
In a way, I suppose I've been missing the happy medium between the two. The older console systems seemed to capture this middle-way with some level of consistency, whereas newer systems seem to be rushing towards the great Everquest-FPS panacea, replete with alternate economies and Stephenson-esque realities.
My addled brain is getting worn out with the seemingly endless drama of code-leaks, postponements and screenshots. In a way, I could just sit back and live vicariously through Tycho and Gabriel and never even pick up a joystick.
Long story short, gaming is starting to become a full time job that I don't have time for, so, yeah, maybe it is just age. But, dangit, Doom III and Half-Life II look so good!
Time will tell, I guess....
It's all about moderation. I have a friend who plays so many games its absurd. As I've gotten older, I try to play only the very best games (as determined by gamerankings.com and a few other factors such as genre, developer and brand recognition). I also find that I need to have a good stretch of time to play the game in or else I can get distracted from it really easily (unless the game is one of the best ever).
It's also VERY helpful not to have Internet acccess in the same room as your games.
I've gone through up and down periods, but I have in fact entered a period where I'm gaming even MORE. And I'm about to be 34. Fear not - it may just take the right time and game.
Meh.
Your verb tenses are all over the place. Please try to fix this in the future.
(Incidentally, I'll refrain from quoting that which looks like it may have been thesaurus abuse.)
Homer: Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Seriously though, it's nice to read a perspective that isn't clouded with self-deception. It's really amazing how few people stop to examine the greater context of human existence.
People seem to have an extremely difficult time wrapping their minds around the fact that there are essentially no unselfish reasons to have children. Considering the gravity of the consequences (instantiating a new consciousness for your own gratification) it's the single most selfish thing a person could do. But no one wants to hear that. All great truths begin as blasphemies. (GB Shaw)
Incorrect. My verb tenses were all used in a correct manner and as I intended.
(Incidentally, I'll refrain from quoting that which looks like it may have been thesaurus abuse.)
I have not looked in a thesaurus in years. That you would assume I used a thesaurus to form my response demonstrates your own poor vocabulary, or so it would seem.
That you have shifted this discussion from the original matter to my use of the English language is baffling, considering your apparent poor reading comprehension skills. I suppose that fact is also telling about your arguing abilities. See also "staw man."
Now piss off.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden