This forum is aging.. gaming getting old for you too?

[HeXen]

I've lost a lot of interest in gaming over the last couple of years. I play more emulated console games than I do anything modern. I even lost interest in games that weren't even out yet that I was interested in at first. Like Red Dead or Cyberpunk. Instead I spend most of my spare time on reddit without any interest in playing a game. I feel like I'm waiting for something that's not coming.

 

[Regs]

The games have out-grew me. The Total War series is based on fantasy, Call of Duty is just completely mindless, Battle field is just one exploit being hack, control scheme, or gaming mechanic, and most turn based strategies like Civilization are stream lined into one click marathons. Games seem to be made for kids, and the one that aren't I have no time for.

I would had loved to play a game like City Skylines and Planet Coaster in my youth, but now there is something negative about a grown adult playing a game for 10 hours and your accomplishment was to build a imaginary tiny rollarcoaster or a underground highway.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Because our rights and freedoms on the PC are being undermined

All you had to do was say, "yes, I post the same thing over and over again". It's much easier that way.

We get it, Valve is destroying your PC gaming experience. I'm sorry. I don't own Valve or work for them. Maybe if I did, I could find a way to un-destroy it. In the meantime, use GoG and have a nice day.

I like that games aren't terribly hard anymore. I don't have time to dump into a challenge like I used to, and if I play a game I want just enough challenge to require me to learn how to play, but if I get frustrated then chances are I won't finish the game because I'm not going to waste my time replaying the same area over and over until I figure it out.

I kinda feel the same way. The other side of the coin is that stuff that used to be hard for me when I was younger is now quite easy for me. It's easy to tear through stuff that requires logical planning like squad configuration, complex combo systems, or overly-complicated rock/paper/scissors systems. It's really hard for a developer to fundamentally out-smart experienced gamers. As a consequence, they resort to overpowering them.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

and most turn based strategies like Civilization are stream lined into one click marathons.

Go back to Civ V and try the Vox Populi mod. That said, it isn't exactly a magic bullet for late game drag.

 

[KentState]

I think this year marks 35 or so years of gaming that I can vividly remember. It's not getting old for me in the least bit and is at the point where I can have pretty much any gaming experience I would want. Now, there are days that I don't touch a console or the PC but it doesn't mean that gaming is getting "old", but rather that other things need tending to. The biggest frustration is the reality that your body gets older and reflexes and vision start to get worse. I can tell this in FPS games like Battlefield 5 or trying to pull off perfect parries in a Dark Souls game.

The other side of gaming that interested me was the technology which at this point is very affordable for me. Spending $10k on a PC was not a reality 20 years ago, but today it is and I'm truly enjoying that aspect of it.

 

[DigDog]

I would had loved to play a game like City Skylines and Planet Coaster in my youth, but now there is something negative about a grown adult playing a game for 10 hours and your accomplishment was to build a imaginary tiny rollarcoaster or a underground highway.

But of course serious stuff takes precedence.

I played videogames all my life between 1979 (Intellivision) and today, but i played no videogames at all between 1992 and 1998 because i had female alternatives to videogames that are much more fun, mkk?

It wasnt a change in videogames - it was that i didnt need to be entertained.

Now i still do need to be entertained, but the videogames just dont cut it.

Oh well, SOME do, but games that should be amazing, do stuff that makes me hate them.


Also as someone who's lived 100% of videogaming history, i want to see games move forward, not stagnate or even move backwards.

Example:
NeverWinter Nights, released 2002.
Game consists of a campaign module, and a launcher that works as a wrapper of rules/UI/assets. Ships with module creation kit.
Can launch ANY user-generated module, which is plentiful, often superior content, and completely free.

Why does Wasteland 2 not have this ? When they had 3 million dollars, but Notch is one guy and he can provide mod support to Minecraft?
Ignore the fact that the launcher is also a platform where Bioware can sell its own modules, why doesnt EVERY rpg have support for user-generated content.

You want me to pay £50 for 8 hours of gameplay ?

Unfortunately ... or rather ... because this is a natural process, games grew up between the 80s and 90s, but then in the 2000s they abandoned their initial core of players, and went back to being products for kids.

So instead of a cool new Hexen, we get "press X to pay respects"; i am more demanding than that.

Online competitive play works for me, a few offline games like God Of War i really liked, but a lot of other stuff i saw is trash.

 

[pontifex]

It is the kid. Once they get older and more independent and you get more time to yourself again you can start enjoying more in depth games again.

Happened to me to, totally burned out on games when my kids were little. Now that they are 4 & 6 I am back into deeper games and bored of casual ones (CoC, hearthstone).

Or not, everyones tastes change.

may be the kid but not necessarily the reason. I feel the same way as OP and there is nothing else happening in my life (no gf, no wife, no kid, no friends). It's very rare that I find a game that can hold my attention for any length of time.

I used to love RPGs. Now they seem like a chore.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I've found that the games I liked when I was younger suck today, and have shifted my focus to other genres and basically reading review after review before bothering to throw money at it. Not all games are trash today, in fact there are some phenominal games out there, but you definitely have to look past multiplayer online games and AAA titles.

 

[mopardude87]

I've found that the games I liked when I was younger suck today, and have shifted my focus to other genres and basically reading review after review before bothering to throw money at it. Not all games are trash today, in fact there are some phenominal games out there, but you definitely have to look past multiplayer online games and AAA titles.

This is me except i love my multiplayer fps games but sadly have been extremely disappointed by both COD BO4 and BF5. Luckily BF4 which has been my go to fps shooter is still very active.I figured i would try the new fps titles cause everyone has different feelings on games and sometimes it seems like if one person hates something then others follow and it becomes popular to hate it.I like to be the exception to this rule.
.

 

[nOOky]

I'm 50 and I loved playing FPS games online back in the day. I probably have hundreds of hours playing Q3 Excessive or instagib etc. I have always liked games that had a decent single player experience, as well as an easy multiplayer experience. Probably why I liked Quake and Doom type of games etc.

We moved to the country a few years ago, and I have 768 up and only 5 gig down, but it's DSL, laggy as hell, so I quit online gaming. I always used gaming as a relief valve, nothing better than to come home from work, open a beer or make a drink, and jump into some quick mindless online killing. My wife hates it when I'm on and talking to my clan friends online, she says I don't realize how stupid I sound when we are fragging together. I tell her that's when I'm having the most fun, so she says she really doesn't mind, but I quit anyway just because.

My advice if you're single and don't want kids, don't get married lol. I still love playing some classics and the new DOOM etc., but truthfully I have about 8 $60 games on STEAM that I have about 30 minutes in before I just lose interest.

 

[DigDog]

The QuakeLive community is still active, pretty sure you can get a few games there.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I'm 36 with young kids and still game. In saying that, I'm way more picky about games these days. I have way less tolerance for mediocre games. Games also aren't my go to leisure activity anymore (which they were in my teens and 20s). Now I'd rather read a good book or watch a good tv show, gaming is down the list a bit. I think part of the reason is that we've seen everything. Yeah they may have better graphics but i've played the same type of games for 20+ years now.

Am looking forward to Civ 6 though.

Quoting myself from 2.5 years ago....I game even less now. In fact, I have to ask myself why I have such a high end rig when I barely make use of its capabilities. I find games so mind numbingly repetitive.

 

[CP5670]

Interesting thread. Like others here, I'm 32 and play games less than I used to. I play fewer titles in general and only do singleplayer games since I get more of a sense of accomplishment by completing everything in them. I largely avoid online games, even though I used to play competitively at one point, and also have a much lower tolerance for games that annoy me in some way (my biggest beef is a lack of quicksave). I also do PC upgrades much less often since the games don't really justify it anymore, even though I can easily afford any hardware I want.

The whole game industry has become very mature today, and it's much harder for a game to do something really original. Few games really impress me the way they did 10-20 years ago. That being said, there are still games that attract my attention and I end up playing them exclusively for a month or two, even if I only have time to play 1-2 hours per day. The last game I played was Dishonored 2 and it was fantastic. For me the best part was just exploring the maps. It has some of the best level design I've ever seen, and I took my time playing through it and exploring everything. Still need to do the DLC for it. I liked Deus Ex Mankind Divided and Prey a lot as well. I also spend a fair amount of time with certain indie games (Overload comes to mind) and various free mods for 10+ year old games, where I often see more creativity than in many big-budget games.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I find games so mind numbingly repetitive.

I hear ya. Games need more exploration of new lands and worlds, and less "grind". Of course, without grind, how would games these days make their $$$ off of micro-transactions from "whales" that would rather pay than grind.

Did you read that paper, on how to turn games into basically full-bore player exploitation, using AI and machine-learning techniques. It was ... disturbing, to say the least.

 

[BSim500]

I largely avoid online games, even though I used to play competitively at one point, and also have a much lower tolerance for games that annoy me in some way (my biggest beef is a lack of quicksave).

I hear ya. Games need more exploration of new lands and worlds, and less "grind". Of course, without grind, how would games these days make their $$$ off of micro-transactions from "whales" that would rather pay than grind.

^ Yeah, that's precisely what the "modern evolved model" for today's market is now all about. Just be grateful these AAA publishers aren't house builders - "Have you seen our new idea inspired by "time-saver" DLC for AAA games? We'll make your house airtight, install an industrial vacuum to suck half the air out, then sell you our new range of "bottled air micro-transactions" to refill it again! It's an exciting alternative to us simply not removing the air from your house in the first place, just like your 'time saver' micro-transactions exist only because of fake grind!" Same goes with other annoyances CP5670 mentioned - Single-slot checkpoint-only no Quick / Manual saves, bullet spongy gunplay, unskippable cutscenes, grind for the sake of grind, unlocking for the sake of unlocking in general are all about cheap game-time padding than adding any real "depth" to the game mechanics.

Did you read that paper, on how to turn games into basically full-bore player exploitation, using AI and machine-learning techniques. It was ... disturbing, to say the least.

You mean this one? I can honestly see them trying to "normalize" a lot of that stuff by 2025-2030, just as they already have with pay2win / pay2degrind, review embargoes, consolization, etc. As one of the comments under the article said - "It was only a matter of time before "telemetry" met "free to play," and had this as its baby."

 

[GibbyPruchesi]

I'm still in my 20s, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the time for gaming. I still play occasionally some basic shooters or action games, but anything that requires some more learning and practice is a big no no for me. I feel like part of becoming an adult is just dedicating more time to mundane stuff and maintenance of the house, car and other random things. I haven't even figured out what I want to do with my career so I don't even have a lot of money to upgrade my rig constantly. I'd like to game to unwind after a long day, but recently the gym and cooking is taking that place because very often online games are becoming frustrating and single player games don't keep my interest very long.

 

[ibex333]

I disagree about Fallout 4. Even though it's no New Vegas, it's still pretty good, and the best we have at the moment.

I am 37, and the issue with gaming, I think, is that there's less and less good strategy games and action/RPG games. I grew up playing Diablo 1 and 2, Command and Conquer and Fallout Tactics.

All this Fortnite and Call of Duty crap that's all the rage now, doesn't appeal to me at all.


Blizzard redacted up on Diablo 3, Command and Conquer is dead(at least in it's 90's-early 2000's form) and the studio behind STALKER is gone. All the good stuff went the way of the dodo. I refuse to adjust and get used to the new stuff because of it's mediocrity.


My Only hope now, is the new Metro game. Other than that, I'm relegated to playing Command and Conquer 3, Dawn of War 1 & 2, and rarely, Fallout 76(even though it's utter garbage compared to what came before)

Maybe it's a good thing, that constant work, and paying bills takes most of my time. Otherwise, I'd be really suffering from boredom.


Profanity isn't allowed in the tech areas.

AT Mod Usandthem

 

[StrangerGuy]

31 year old here.

1. Lack of innovative gameplay in general.
2. Due to #1, watching quality streamers play AAA games to me is the same as playing it myself except without the effort, hassle or cost.
3. The sheer and increasing amounts of P2W, microtransactions, and the loud, toxic, attention-seeking, clickbaiting, cheating antics of gaming community cesspools with the collective mental age of 12 just turns me off more and more.

 

[repoman0]

I have a hard time playing PC games these days -- it's just not that appealing sitting at my computer even though I have a pretty nice setup. Exceptions were playing and loving the Witcher games over the past few years and I still play Overwatch with friends every once in a while. For single player games though, I've pretty much gone back to console peasantry. In the last couple months, I've played and beaten Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, and now I'm in the middle of God of War on PS4 and having a great time -- the GF even sits with me when I play this one because she gets a kick out of the Kratos and Boy interactions. Couch and controller is the way to go.