Gaming midlife crisis

[ixelion]

I have been a gamer in one way or another since I was 10years old, I am almost 30 now and I can't get excited about PC gaming anymore.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the top played games on steam stats, I am wondering what are people enjoying?, maybe I am missing out?

I am not missing out, most of that list is composed of: 1) indie games, 2) multiplayer first person shooters 3)MMOs 4) strategy games 5)F2P online games 6) small number of console ports, most of which I have already played or don't want to play.

I am missing out on something? I thought Xrebirth would be it, finally something to quench the dry spell, but not not even close. I have gone back and played older games, but still nothing.

I looked at Red Dead, Infamous, and Metal Gear Solid games, could this be it? Will this satisfy the hunger that bellows deep within my loins?

What do I do ATOT? I have $200 and a spare hard drive. I can go get a PS3 and get those 3 games for less than $50.

 

[nickbits]

Find a new hobby. I can't get into any game anymore. I've tried but I'm just not that interested anymore. I'm 34.

 

[Genx87]

At about your age I also had a dry spell of gaming desire. I think it is was because at that point the new games were re-hashes of older games and werent interesting. But in the last couple years with more f2p and indie games coming to the market. I have a renewed interest in gaming. One thing is to keep away from MMO's. They suck the life out of your gaming desire.

 

[JamesV]

I'm 42 and felt the same way for a while, until I started playing indie games.

All the big publisher games are almost all the same now, in a different setting with different characters, but shooters with experience to level up. Tomb Raider, Max Payne, and Bioshock Infinite for example, all basically play the same imo; run around killing stuff and level up. Boring after playing this type of game 100 times.

And then you have all the sequels. After playing all the Total War games, I'm just not that interested in playing another, which will be much like the others I've already played.

Indie games have sparked my gaming interest, and held my attention lately. FTL, Binding of Isaac, Prison Architect, Kerbal Space Program, and others are vastly different, and far more fun than any big producer game.

Some free-to-play games are also really good, like Path of Exile and Might and Magic Duel of Champions.

My advice - don't even look at big name games; try some indie and free to play.

 

[clok1966]

45 and hit this "wall" sometimes, i just do something else (oldcar nut, motorcycle nut, and still try to socialize with women much to young for me on rare occasion). Bu in the end I always find something to play, if its an Oldy (still play DUNE II or Red Alert II through about 1 time a year). To be honest its the best time to be a gamer, you can play almost any old game you want, and there are quite honestly 100's of new games, indy or otherwise that are interesting.. I tend to think its almost overload for me, to many.

RPG's is where i get my big kick.. but I still play LFD2 about once a night as well as World of Tanks (team games where teamwork actually matters)..

if your really still a gamer, it will pass and you will be back at it.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I've been gaming since I was....5 or 6. I am now 39 with a crap ton of untouched games. A few games hold my interest for awhile, but inevitably I forget about them. Oddly though, I cannot stop my old habits of looking and being excited for this game or that game.

I would say that it stems from many more interests and outlets for entertainment that are readily available to us these days than in years past. I can barely sit and just watch a movie or TV w/o doing something else while doing it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I'm 42 and felt the same way for a while, until I started playing indie games.

I fully agree. I'm 41 and have been gaming since my aunt first got Pong. I hit the same slump a year or so ago. I no longer have lots of free time to play games and many of the games out there you really need to be able to devote 40 hours a week to be able to play. Others were just too obviously built for 15 year olds with ADD, they often remind me of the worst of the pinball machines, lots of flashing lights and ringing bells and blowing whistles, maybe a picture of a half naked lady, but not really fun to play. I just don't have time to waste my time playing games like that. There are too many other things I want to do.

Indie games have sparked my gaming interest, and held my attention lately. FTL, Binding of Isaac, Prison Architect, Kerbal Space Program, and others are vastly different, and far more fun than any big producer game.

And SPAZ, and 10000000, and Terreria, and Solar 2, and Dead Pixles, and Bastion, and Shank, And Torchlight 1 & 2, and Grimrock, the list just goes on and on, all by small name developers that can't afford to have their games on every other billboard in town.

My advice - don't even look at big name games; try some indie and free to play.

Also check out what is coming out of Kickstarter. Some good stuff is being crowdfunded by people just like us.

 

[ControlD]

Agree with the above (I'm 44 btw). Indie games and Borderlands 2 are pretty much all I play these days, but that's still plenty.

 

[lozina]

Yeah maybe time for a new hobby? I am older and still have a love for games though I feel the game producers are getting lazier and focus more on a mainstream market and dont offer some of the niche genre games I love but I still find plenty of games to keep me busy. In the past year or so it's been BF4, Civ5, Skyrim and Salem

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I still play X-COM 2 and some of the other classics once in a while. But yeah, newer games don't enthrall me like those did - and most of the enjoyment of playing them is like rereading an old favorite book and remembering it like it was, not so much the game itself.

But I'll still get "into" a new game for a month or two at a stretch, if it's really good. It's just not a guaranteed thing. And if I need to take a break from gaming and read a book, or build something, or go camping, well, so be it.

 

[Albatross]

Playing DOOM2 (Plutonia) and having a blast.In the past level design was level design and not basic 3 D introduction.

 

[CuriousMike]

I run into gaming ruts every couple of years that last awhile.

PvZ, a genre I had never played pulled me out of my last rut.
That led me to Defense Grid which I found fantastic.

Just step away and find another hobby or TV series to get into.
Just don't spend your time browsing the same three websites for 4 hours a night over and over and over and over.

 

[Dumac]

Games I have enjoyed lately:
Path of Exile
Witcher 2
Rome Total War 2
Dark Souls (my favorite game in years)
Sleeping Dogs

Yes, some are on consoles as well.

Games I look forward to:
Witcher 3
Heroes of the Storm
Metal Gear Solid Revengeance
GTAV
Dark Souls 2

If you are looking for something new and have enough willpower, try Dwarf Fortress. It is easily the most complex and deep game I've played. There is really nothing like it.

 

[ixelion]

I most of the recent games I have played were indie games, FTL, Braid and Amnesia

The only problem is that these games still feel like they are lacking something bigger.

For example, as great as Amnesia was, it really pales in comparison to something like Silent Hill, it just has that indescribable "it" factor if that makes any sense.

Vampires the Masquerade was another deeply enthralling game that I will never forget ditto for Deus Ex.

Very few indie games do this for me maybe Swapper and Braid, were the only ones, the rest were amusing diversions.

This is why I brought up RDR, Infamous, and MGS4, I looked at the videos and I want to play them, but I don't know if this is a case of "grass is greener on the other side" .

 

[Via]

I think most of us hardcore or semi-hardcore gamers have two "golden ages": one when we first discover games as a kid and one when we mature and discover the joys of more complex games.

I would say they each probably lasts about 5-10 years, and when the second one starts to fade it's never the same again. You can still have fun and enjoy a game from time to time but that child-like sense of wonder that we all need to be life-long gaming lovers never returns, and we take a more cynical approach to games. Enjoy it while it lasts; I think it's going to be quite a while before games take that revolutionary step forward that might change things.

In the (not too distant) past I was always able to re-ignite my gaming passion with older games that I've loved over the years, but now that's beginning to fade as well. KotoR was always a sure thing for me but I've stalled in Tatooine. I find myself constantly thinking "do I really want to do all of that again?". I've never felt that way about KotoR before, I've always just enjoyed the world, kind of like throwing in an old CD of music I love. I have similar feelings about Gothic and Gothic 2, two of my all time favorites.

Gaming companies know this. They understand a gamer's life cycle, and they know where the easy money is: new gamers. They're not going to spend the resources it takes to appease people who are increasingly difficult to satisfy.

 

[felang]

Feel the exact same way as OP. The worst part is I still spend a bunch of money upgrading my PC. I´m 31 years old BTW.

 

[Randum]

I just hit 30, and I recently jumped back into PC gaming - I'm a big car nut so find myself playing Forza on my Xbox a ton, and I still enjoy occasional action games.

I am a sucker for FPS games on the PC and recently BF4 really made me realize how much I miss intense FPS on the PC.

But yeah, some unexpected indie games are where its at as well. I would just try stuff and something will grab you - I think in our age we've seen just about everything and it really takes something unique to grab us, or something old and familiar.

 

[ctk1981]

In the same boat. Even when you do find a good game, seems like it doesn't last very long (game time). Part of my problem is I simply refuse to play "online" games/multiplayer games.

 

[Anteaus]

Everyone hits a point where the idea of gaming is more fun than the actual gaming. Compared to to 5 years ago, I'm spending twice as much on games but actually spending half as long playing them. It's not the games. I genuinely don't get into them as much. I don't buy into the whole "gaming has gone downhill thing." That may be true to a point, but maturity and life play a role. You might be ready for a new hobby.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I am currently in a gaming glut myself....
I have been an avid Quake and Unreal person since the days....
I am not a bad gamer yet I do not care enough about gaming to get myself the latest and greatest processor and video card.......
Yet I am told that most of the excellent Quake Live players are using Intel i7 chips and top of the line video card...etc....

I cannot justify spending that kind of money to play games.....I am finding gamed to be very boring....I have tried many of the newer games but to be honest they pale in comparison to the fun I had with Quake 2 and the Unreal series....

 

[Doppel]

I have played since I was a kid. Some years back I lost interest and went a few years without playing anything, then started up again when I bought a 360. Have played again for five years now, but I don't have it as an all the time hobby. Instead of always being into something I typically play just the best games--and always single player now due to time constraints--then I will go a couple months before playing another game.

I did stop PC gaming, though, something I never thought I would stop. When a PC is left for a year it gets slow, as things get newer, but this doesn't happen with a console. First PC game I payed in a long time was Dishonored because my work laptop happened to run it.

 

[Imp]

Hit that point in my mid 20s. Got tired of the pricks online and single-player games got really short. I maybe buy 2 or 3 games a year now -- one is usually a Steam/clearance sale item.

I'm more interested in photography and other nerdy stuff now.

 

[Dumac]

Hit that point in my mid 20s. Got tired of the pricks online and single-player games got really short. I maybe buy 2 or 3 games a year now -- one is usually a Steam/clearance sale item.

I'm more interested in photography and other nerdy stuff now.

There are some lengthy single player games now. You just have to look for them.

 

[Sulaco]

Being active in forums like these can create a sort of subconscious expectation on yourself to be interested in or playing all the games everyone is talking about.

I watch a lot of YouTube channels with different guys who are quite literally obsessed with gaming, collecting, discussing everything about games, etc. And while I enjoy watching them and remember when I used to be that way, I've since discovered that I've changed, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, in many ways, there's a lot good about it; more money and free time for one lol.

I still enjoy gaming and likely always will, but I do so at my own pace. There's no need to "keep up with the Jones' " if you will. I'm playing a game from 2011 and 2007 right now for an hour or so a day and having a blast. When I feel like playing a different/newer game, I will.

 

[blastingcap]

I think it's just general jadedness of life for me. I need to experience new things to keep my interest, whether it's video games or food or travel. I don't even like hiking the same trail twice.

With video games, the problem is especially acute. Many games are just rehashes of ones before them, so they lose that fresh feeling. Some games are worse offenders than others in this respect (I'm looking at you, FPS's like COD/Battlefield; you too, sports games, and many RTSes). Total War is so repetitive that I can't even finish my Shogun 2 campaign because I am sick of playing what feels like almost the same game as its predecessors.

The games I seem to enjoy most have storylines and decent gameplay, like Witcher or Bethesda games (Fallout, Skyrim, etc.) I also have been backfilling with older games with storylines like KOTOR.

If I just want to blow stuff up for a few rounds, stuff like Left 4 Dead, TF2 are good and seem to attract fewer hardcore no-lifers, perhaps because they are cheap/free to play and don't have the "realistic military" vibe.

I absolutely loathe online-only timesuckers like MMORPGs designed to encourage grinding and/or nickel-and-diming you with micropayments. Worse is a subscription-based MMORPG; I'd feel obligated to play simply because I was paying for it.

Good luck with your choices. I took a five-year break between PC gaming several years ago and maybe that's what it'll take for you to get interested again. Either that or cycle through different genres and indie games because those may not suffer from the same recycled-sequel problem afflicting many big-name franchises.