Have I Lost My Gaming Mojo?

danabnormal writes "Increasingly I'm being frustrated in my attempts to find a game I want to play. In an effort to catch up, I've been using my bog standard Dell laptop to dig out treasures I have missed, such as American McGee's Alice, Grim Fandango and Syberia. I don't often get the time to play games, so I like to have the opportunity to dip in and out of a title without feeling like I'm losing something by not playing it for periods of time. But when I find a title I like, I make the time. Heavy Rain is the last game that gripped me, that truly engaged me and made me want to complete it in a single sitting. I'm tired of the GTA formulas, bored of CoDs and don't have the reaction time to think on my feet for AOE III. Is it about time I tossed in the controller and resigned myself to the fact that the games I want only come out once in a blue moon? Or have I just not found that one great title that will open me up to a brand new genre? Lords of Ultima is going OK at the moment — is there anything of that ilk I've missed? What are your thoughts? Do you stick to a particular genre? Are you finding it harder, as you get more mature, to find something you want to play?"

Comments

Danabnormal is an Asshole

[darknb]

This question is flat out insulting to gamers. First of all he doesn't even like very good games. Alice, Syberia, and Heavy Rain are terrible. Alice I will just link to a fantastic review here: http://www.oldmanmurray.com/longreviews/56.html
  Heavy Rain is about as much a game as those old interactive laser disc games... or Dragon's Lair. So I guess if you are looking for games find yourself an emulator for a Panasonic Laser Active, or pick up Dragon's Lair which is on a ton of different systems. Now all of these games also happen to have in common that their are 'Art Games'. So if you want to get into a bunch more of those you can check out Metacritic as they do fairly well there.

However, the best course of action, if you really have your heart set on playing more games is to start developing better taste. Much as one can acquire better taste in wine, books, movies, and music, one can also acquire better taste in videogames. Videogames can be roughly divided into two types: Action / Strategy. Western developers are much more adept Strategy and Japanese developers are more adept at action.

Japanese: Shmups (shoot-em-ups): Dodonpachi(vertical), Battle Garegga(vertical), R-type (horizontal)
Run-N-Guns: Metal Slug 1,2,X
Action: Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry
Fighting: King of Fighters XI, Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, Blaze Blue

Western: FPS(first-person-shooter): Half-Life 2, Gears of War 2(3rd), Halo 3
RTS(real time strategy): Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 1
Strategy: Civilization IV, Panzar General 2
RPGS: Fallout 1,2, Diablo 2, Planescape: Torment

Best of all these are all either freely or cheaply obtained at this point in time. THESE ARE THE TRUE ARTISTIC HEIGHTS OF GAMING and im sure others could list HUNDREDS more.

Re:Make some kids

[Totenglocke]

Go make and raise some kids and let them learn some games. That is a fun, rewarding, and quite complex game. All stages of it.

[Citation Needed]

Seriously, different people have different wants, opinions, and desires. You may find having kids fun - I don't, so I won't have any. I have too many things I want to do (games to play, places to travel to, books to read, etc) to afford the massive time drain that is children (not to mention the annoyance factor, which if you claim kids aren't annoying, you're lying - even the most "Kids are so wonderful!" mother admits that her kids get on her frakking nerves). Also, your claim of "the biggest use for games is learning hot to learn fast" - hardly. That may be a side effect, but the biggest use for games is to have fun. You seem to have fallen into the trap that so many do of thinking that "being an adult == not having fun". When I was a kid my parents followed that and kept pressuring me to be miserable because if you're not hating life, you're obviously immature and not working hard enough. Now I'm an adult, work full time (and then some) and I'm in grad school so I'm incredibly busy - yet I still find time to have fun and enjoy my life.

But again, everyone has different desires. Your goal in life may be to have kids and have what society tells you is a "fulfilling life" - if that works for you, then that's great. My goal in life is to enjoy myself, regardless of if society approves of how I do it. Don't try to tell him what to do in order for him to enjoy his life, because only he knows what will make him happy.

Re:Make some kids

[Totenglocke]

First off, you find raising kids fun. Many don't. Saying "raising kids is lots of fun" is a statement of opinion, not a fact. I'll rely on statistics and assume that you enjoy watching sports - however, many do not. See? Fun is a subjective term and everyone has their own idea of what is fun. You cannot tell people what is fun and what is not, you can only state your opinion about what you find fun.

Secondly, your comment on "sound demographics" sounds an awful lot like "force people to have kids". Why do you think the population MUST keep increasing? Why isn't the current population fine - or perhaps one lower than we currently have? For every person who doesn't want kids, there's some moron having a dozen or two (see the Duggar family). The survival of the human race isn't even remotely in danger, plus it's long been noticed that there's a correlation between an increase in women's education / professional achievement and having fewer (or no) kids. Why? Because they have something that they have to give up that they didn't have to lose back in the days of them being (metaphorically) chained in the kitchen.

Thirdly, "sound economic policy" has jack shit to do with individuals and everything to do with the laws and economic policies that politicians implement. You also seem to believe in the bullshit of a "social contract" in which I'm somehow obligated to do things for you just because they'd benefit you. I'm not, nor are you required to do anything for me. You seem to be very much against free will and very much of the "You'll do what I goddamn tell you!" mentality (which leads me to form an assumption about your political affiliations). Just to see if I'm right, please, tell me - I'll give you my guess afterwards. =)

Fourthly, why do we need more kids? The population of the planet is still increasing rapidly - why should people who could have successful and meaningful lives throw them away on having kids? How many female researchers who don't have kids are contributing to furthering science and improving society? If you want to be a martyr, go for it - however, you don't have any right to tell me that I have to have a lower quality life just so that you can try to achieve a "utopia" where everyone has kids dragging them down.

Lastly, when the hell did I mention religion? Never. I said that you follow what society tells you is the "right" path.

The fact that you refuse to acknowledge that there are ups and downs to kids and that people should view both sides of the argument before deciding is exactly why there are so many people with unwanted kids and so many kids with crappy home lives. Have an honest discussion, not this shit of "You're a horrible person if you don't have kids and you'll burn in hell!"