Gaming midlife crisis

[Grooveriding]

I've been gaming since I was 12 and I'm 36 now. It just takes a lot more now to get me interested in a game. So maybe 3 or 4 titles a year that really get me excited about playing them. Still wind up buying a crapload of games every year though, just to sit unfinished in my Steam library

 

[Geosurface]

I struggle with actually having enough excitement for games too, I'm 33 and have been a video gamer since Atari 2600 when I was like 5.

If you are considering a PS3, I say do it. Get The Last of Us. I can guarantee you will enjoy that. Immensely.

 

[BSim500]

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.

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.

Same here. Now in my mid-30's been gaming since I was 7. Your taste does change as you get older (often more Indie/RPG less "twitch" gaming), but I also think it's just as much the repetitive "feel" of the new games as it is a mid-life crisis. There's literally only so many times you can rehash the "You're a [marine / former cop / disgruntled person]. You're on a [desert island / dystopian city / abandoned space / military facility]. You need to kill [terrorists / enemy soldiers / nazis / zombies / aliens / bad guys]" copy & paste plots.

CoD is basically the same game released over and over again, and looking at the shocking 1.8/10 user game rating on Metacritic for Ghosts, it looks like that franchise is running out of steam. Even hyped to the hills BF4 is getting only 6.3/10 PC user rating (both games scores averaged over 1,500 reviews / votes), so the "feel" is quite widespread, and not just limited to us thirty/forty-somethings.

Game mechanics have become repetitive too. System Shock 2 & Deus Ex (original) perfected the hybrid FPS/RPG genre. Now every FPS game wants to become a hybrid FPS/RPG. The "fresh smart FPS" feel of Deus Ex has now turned into "levelling up for the sake of levelling up" and become repetitive to the point of tediousness.

Over the past 12 months, I can honestly say I've had more fun playing older games than newer ones. In fact, I've just completed a marathon run of every level in Doom 1, Doom 2, Plutonia, TNT, Heretic & Hexen WAD's (through the JDoom / Doomsday engine). Followed by Diablo 2, Thief 1-3, System Shock 2, Neverwinter Nights, original CoD & MoH, Morrowind, Oblivion, Dragon Age, Torchlight 1&2, Portal 1&2 - the whole lot running at 1920x1080 (thank you community patchers!). That cured my "God, why don't they make games like they used to?" dry spell. Best fun I've had in years and the only new AAA games I've bought were Bioshock Infinite & Dishonored. Quite a bit of cash saved for other hobbies. :thumbsup:

As many others have said on other forums, with a few exceptions, a lot of modern AAA games have just lost that "fun-ness" and "PC feel" by trying to turn everything into a "made-for-TV, scripted cinematic experience". Poor Consolization porting has spoiled others (poor 'designed for 10ft view distance' HUD scaling at 2ft, laggy mouse/keyboard input, limited controls, etc). In recent years a lot of "A" titles have been much more enjoyable (Portal, etc), not to mention Indie games. I just can't put down "Don't Starve".

You'll find your footing eventually ixelion. Sometimes playing a few old favorites again can give you a fresh perspective that the problem isn't necessarily with you, but rather looking at the gaping split on Metacritic between high "professional" reviewers (verging on "shill" reviews / viral marketing) and low community reviews, is a general "AAA brain drain malaise" at the moment.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

The game I wouldn't mind having a HD-textured PC remake of is Midtown Madness 3.
(Yes,I know it's a decade-old game by now,but I still wouldn't mind.)

I was frustrated that DICE never released a official PC version of this game.

 

[EDUSAN]

as years go by you will fid joy in a different kind of games, there is plenty of different games out there, you just have to find the kind that you enjoy now.

For instance i recently found out that im burnt out of pixel art indie games, even if they might be interesting, that kind of graphics just make me look somewhere else. Dont get me wrong im not one of those "graphics are everything in games" kind of guy, but pixel games seem to be EVERYWHERE nowadays. I already had my share of pixel games, in 1990.

And im also burnt out from 2d/semi 3d platformer games. Limbo/Super meat boy/rochard/trine1/trine2/shoot many robots/etc etc etc. there are too many of those also!

i now found out that i enjoy roguelike games. Loved Binding of Isaac, FTL and Rogue Legacy. there is something about them that makes me play it for several hours unil i decide its enough.

 

[NAC]

I didn't game much at all for several years around my 30's. I didn't miss it. Then when my kids were a few years old, I got back into gaming casually. I typically game 1 to 3 nights a week for say a month or two, then take a few months break, and then game again. Usually I'll game when I'm stressed about work or something, and not game if I'm not stressed. I'm comfortable with the amount of gaming I do - it doesn't take up too much time, but is a nice distraction.
I keep buying games that seem interesting and are well reviewed on Steam sales, but I haven't played a lot of them, others I felt were too "console-ish" for me. It is a small expense - for less than $40 a year I get a few games which I may or may not play. I never have, and probably never will buy new releases. I then play either new games and old classics I liked.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'm also in a rut, and have less time to play...but my Steam list keeps getting bigger hahahaha...damned Steam sales!

I'm 31 and I just don't have the patience anymore to sit for 3-4 hrs gaming in one sitting.

 

[Haider]

I kinda went through the same thing. In fact the games out there were a turn off. I was then introduced to Kickstarter and the passion has comeback with a vengeance: -


Elite Dangerous - Commited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znUVaUKn23o


The Long Dark - To Commit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65qslR8hJ60


Satellite Reign - Commited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFPSMq7xEM


It's the commercial clap-trap that is boring you...I'm looking at buying CastAR for Elite Dangerous if it's (CastAR) is any good. Obviously with David Braben at the helm Elite Dangerous will be sublime. That's the way I'll go spend my precious time on fewer games but when I play them I'll invest more in them...


Thanks
Haider

Been gaming since the Commodore PET!

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Not too interested in most games out there...when I buy a game it has to be something interesting to me and not the latest fad game. I never play online either.
My personal relatively new favorites include:
STALKER series
RTCW
Witcher series
Painkiller (original...)
Oblivian and Morrowind (I do have Skyrim, haven't played it yet)
Except for Witcher series, I never buy games when they first come out. I also find that modding games can be a lot of fun, especially with TES games.
BTW, I am a bit older than you by a few decades. In my thirties, I had other things to occupy me, including raising kids and full time job.

The Wife

 

[Oyeve]

Im 47 and have been gaming since PONG in '72. I own pretty much every game console since the atari 2600 in '77 and have not been "gaming" for the last 4 years or so, yet I keep buying games. I feel that games in general over the last couple of years are just too damn easy. I mean, real easy. Hell, games tell you what to do if you idle too long. I think games should be harder in general. I recall playing space quest 3 back in the day and the game stumped you. We didnt google the answer. Now, games keep telling you to press X to do Y. I finished playing GTAV recently and while I liked the game it was just too damn easy.

 

[Keeper]

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.


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.




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

Is there a website that alerts you to Kick Starters?
I am pissed I missed the Jagged Alliance kicker... But I never knew about it. This board advertised the Chris Roberts kick starter.... But it didnt interest me.

I'd LOVE a site that alerted you to all the upcoming kick starter PC games.
Yes, I have googled but have not found what I am looking for.

 

[TheSlamma]

This is the case with many hobbies. Time for you to take a break from this one or even quit it cold turkey, I did that after 10 years of being hardcore with automobiles, now I can't stand em, wish I could take public transit everywhere I go.

 

[Ns1]

Same boat. DL'ing games left/right to try to bring back the magic and nothing yet.

Civ5 is on sale and I was like ehhhhh.

 

[coloumb]

I kinda went through the same thing. In fact the games out there were a turn off. I was then introduced to Kickstarter and the passion has comeback with a vengeance: -


Elite Dangerous - Commited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znUVaUKn23o


The Long Dark - To Commit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65qslR8hJ60


Satellite Reign - Commited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFPSMq7xEM


It's the commercial clap-trap that is boring you...I'm looking at buying CastAR for Elite Dangerous if it's (CastAR) is any good. Obviously with David Braben at the helm Elite Dangerous will be sublime. That's the way I'll go spend my precious time on fewer games but when I play them I'll invest more in them...


Thanks
Haider

Been gaming since the Commodore PET!

Wow - those look pretty good [so far]. Too bad they are still in the development phase

 

[QuantumPion]

We're just in an off year(s) after having a couple really good years. 2009-2010 sucked too and people often talked about "the death of PC gaming" around that time.

 

[Randum]

We're just in an off year(s) after having a couple really good years. 2009-2010 sucked too and people often talked about "the death of PC gaming" around that time.

I feel like the "death of PC gaming" comes up with each new console release - I seem to remember some murmurs of this back when the ps3 and Xbox 360 were hitting their stride.

Also during the ps2 era, and steam came into the game, and people were going nuts over that concept...now look at it!

 

[festa_freak]

I hear ya.

I used to be so content to just play oblivion for 6 hours straight in an evening, or mario world on the SNES. Now I play 3 ARAM games in LoL and I'm done. If I play skyrim it's only for about an hour.
I used to be so heavy into strategy games. Red alert 2 and AoE were the old ones and supcom is the new one. I love civ 4/5 as well but everything i think of starting a game i think how long they take and how many months it will take to win or even get anywhere in it.
Life is becoming very busy now that I have my own house and that I have just asked my wonderful now-fiancee to marry me. Lot's of stuff to do and I'm actually glad that my former addiction to video games aren't holding me back from doing the things I need to do. It's a healthy relationship me and games have now, they don't own me anymore!

 

[monkeydelmagico]

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. .

Yep, was going to recommend a break. Took 10 years off from gaming to do other stuff. When you come back to it after such a long time everything is new and shiny again.

 

[mode101wpb]

I get in and out of it often. I bought Consoles and sold them 3 or 6 months later after having my fill, some I owned longer years ago. I always use a PC so, the PC Games are always there if my system can handle them and there is interest. Problem is, it takes a lot of money to upgrade a computer to handle the latest games at the highest settings and often for me I see no point in spending upwars of $1K+ to play maybe 2-3 games that interest me and most if not all are on consoles which is a cheaper solution.

Problem I find is a lot of the games have little replay value, too linear and you already know the next move.

I do not see the Steam Box as a cheap solution to playing PC games either.

 

[NTMBK]

At least PC gaming makes it easy to dip in and out. Even a low end PC will play modern games if you turn the settings down, and you have about 20 years' worth of back catalogue that you can install and play when the mood strikes- and it'll run like blazes on any modern PC.

 

[Remobz]

Yep, was going to recommend a break. Took 10 years off from gaming to do other stuff. When you come back to it after such a long time everything is new and shiny again.

I started gaming full time once I owned my first PC at age 25. Gamed a lot then quit about 7 or 8 years after. Never had the time or money to invest in a gaming machine to play games again. I keep telling myself one day, but that has been over 5 years now

 

[mode101wpb]

At least PC gaming makes it easy to dip in and out. Even a low end PC will play modern games if you turn the settings down, and you have about 20 years' worth of back catalogue that you can install and play when the mood strikes- and it'll run like blazes on any modern PC.

Try playing Metro: LL on a low end PC, it's about as enjoyable as chewing broken glass. If you like crappy graphics + frame rates, along with a major headache it may work for you.

Sure there are some titles that will work, but the effect won't be as good in my opinion.

 

[Druidx]

I rare play anymore but have bought a ton of discounted games on Steam.
:\

 

[MWink]

I've gone through phases where my interests vary. I've also noticed a tendency to vacillate between PC gaming and console gaming. Right now I'm more interested in PC gaming which is good because I can't afford a modern console or it's games. Luckily great PC games can be had dirt cheap due to things like Humble Bundles and hardware isn't advancing as fast as it used to.

I also think the big game companies are just too set in their ways. They release the same thing over and over and over. They also concentrate on things like online multiplayer, social media integration, billions of DLC, and other things that I don't care about or downright despise. These days I have very little interest in AAA titles. The last one that really stood out was Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I'm definitely having much more fun with indie titles. There are tons of innovative and fun indie games out there. I also find that I still enjoy the classics, even ones I didn't play in their time. I don't know why, they just tend to be more fun. I think it's great what companies like GOG are doing.

 

[moonbogg]

34 years old and few games do it for me at all. Battlefield games are always fun for me, and actually that's about it. The rare exceptions were Far Cry 3 (loved it) and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. I played it for a while and enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the new C&C game as that could be fun. I used to be a big RTS gamer with the C&C series being my favorite and really only series I stuck with.
Get some other hobbies that you can switch to once in a while. I took up target shooting and reloading ammo and that is a lot of fun.