EPTHas anyone ever taken a two year break from not gaming at all? What is it like when you play again after a long stretch of time?
Feel like you're getting too old for videogames?
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Hug-A-Hydralisk
United States174 Posts
Has anyone ever taken a two year break from not gaming at all? What is it like when you play again after a long stretch of time? | ||
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ZERG_RUSSIAN
10417 Posts
[edit] I'm 24 and I just started a doctorate program in psychology. I don't have time to mass game like I did but that doesn't change the fact that I enjoy it. [/edit] | ||
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Torte de Lini
Germany38463 Posts
The community involved with it however... | ||
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obesechicken13
United States10467 Posts
I know some guy from bioware? recently wrote something online about a year without gaming. He said he did it to test himself. He had more time but he obviously missed it and made a list of games to play after the year was up. | ||
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FeUerFlieGe
United States1193 Posts
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TheRabidDeer
United States3806 Posts
On August 21 2012 13:06 FeUerFlieGe wrote: I'm still in high school and I play on and off. The thing is, my grades suffer when I play and I don't have a good computer, so I want to get into College before I start playing again. If your grades suffer in high school, you definitely dont want to play in College when your grades REALLY matter. I can still play at 26, but it feels like I dont play as well as I did when I was younger. | ||
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MountainDewJunkie
United States10346 Posts
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TheSwedishFan
Sweden608 Posts
Nowadays, if i'm going to play a new game i have to schedule it and say to myself that "- Tomorrow, i'll be doing nothing but playing a certain game". If i do that then i can fully commit to the game without having anxiety about having better things to do. | ||
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Xiphos
Canada7507 Posts
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KobyKat
United States111 Posts
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Kich
United States339 Posts
I graduated college, landed a sweet job, get up at 6, don't get home until around 7 or 8 from work, and there's just very little time to play like I used to.. I still game every night, but it's very casually. I think that's the key thing, when you're younger the game feels very important. Everything you do feels very important because it's all very new to you. When you're 15 and World of Warcraft just came out, it was very new, there was a lot to do, the grindy repetitive tasks don't feel that way because you honest to god don't even realize how grindy and tedious they are until you end up having to do them for the fourth time over. Right around 20 when I was no longer playing CS competitively (team fell apart) and WoW relegated itself to the backburner because it just kept getting more and more dumb is when I realized that I wasn't actually having fun playing games. The games no longer feel very important and they stop being fun when you take them very seriously. So now I play CS:GO, my natural FPS skill pushes me to the top of the team and I spend most of my time playing it with friends doing fun things. The biggest thing about video games is that initial portion, the portion where everything still feels new, you still get that adrenaline rush, you still have an urge to play it. CS 1.6 eventually lost that for me, I lost any sensation when I played and you trade the adrenaline and fun for having flick headshots engrained into your muscles. So I'm trying to play it less frequently and only with other people to keep it fun. The only game actually, that I still play with some degree of frequency is Magic the Gathering. It's easily my most invested hobby and the only game that after 13 years is still enjoyable. There's aspects I miss, like the innocence of opening a pack and finding a cool card and thinking "wow I hope I find another one of these in a pack" (harder to do that when you have a salary and can just buy the playset, but hey, now I have a salary, so maybe I'll just buy packs and get back to the trading side of it all), but over all the sheer amount of people I've met and literally unending depth to the game drives me to play it. I often spend hours browsing cards and tinkering new decks (hoping to drop a bomb on legacy soon). ((I'm aware tinker is banned, that was not intended to be a joke)) I literally just dropped $250 on various foil japanese cards and felt -super- fucking good about it. Magic is pretty set in stone as a game I'll play for the rest of my life, and it's unique in that role. Most highly regarded players are adults--the hobby is expensive and requires travel to gain notoriety, you literally need a real job or a rich ass dad to play it competitively. I could straight up play Magic for 12 hours straight and never get bored--tried and true. The ever changing rotation of Standard cards and the changes each new set brings to Legacy makes the game an ever evolving Turn Based Real Time Strategy Game. I mean how can you fuck with that? It's a TBRTSTCG. Fuck you MMORPG's, big man in the house. I like these threads, gives me an excuse to ramble. | ||
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screamingpalm
United States1527 Posts
Video games were a huge part of my life growing up. I had Pong when it first came out, the Atari console, and eventually PC. In those days, everything was innovative, new, and exciting. I think that leaves a different sort of long lasting appreciation for my generation than what the current state of the industry does. AAA titles do seem more targeted at a younger audience though, getting older just means your tastes get more sophisticated. We usually find more satisfaction in indie titles these days. | ||
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obesechicken13
United States10467 Posts
I'm 21 if it matters. I thoroughly enjoy gaming still. I do enjoy talking to people more. Like I'd rather be talking to any friend or even texting than playing games, browsing TL, or standing awkwardly at a loud party. There's definitely a nostalgia to gaming as a youth, but it's not like I suddenly don't have fun gaming as an adult. I just wish there was more interaction in the gaming. Many of my friends play LoL, but I don't see them online often enough. Like I'll sign in and noone else will be on. A few times I'll sign in and see someone on but still play alone  I wish I could play more with my little brother. He's into minecraft and he talks to me about it, but I'm not into minecraft and so we can't play together anymore. It's not all bad. I comment while he plays now like back when he played turret defense in starcraft. | ||
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Leyra
United States1222 Posts
The free time naturally goes away as you age, as you gain more responsibilities and obligations, but I think filling that free time with games is still okay | ||
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shindigs
United States4795 Posts
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dUTtrOACh
Canada2339 Posts
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Euronyme
Sweden3804 Posts
On August 21 2012 13:35 Leyra wrote: I find that most of the people that talk about how they're "too old" for games, or they've "matured" past gaming always come off as a bit condescending, lol. I'm 23 and working full-time while finishing school, so obviously don't have the time I have in the past, but still spend most of the free time I have that's not taken up by family/friends playing games. Perhaps its true some people grow out of it, but I'm quite sure I won't. My oldest brother is 30 and is much the same, he has a wife, 2 kids, and a full time job, and still plays games probably 10-15hrs a week. The free time naturally goes away as you age, as you gain more responsibilities and obligations, but I think filling that free time with games is still okay Imagine our generation when we reach retirement. Epic lans with what friends you have left that stretches for years. Awesome. | ||
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MountainDewJunkie
United States10346 Posts
Also, I essentially grew up through the near-complete evolution of video games. Even though I wasn't born when it was first created, we played Atari as little kids. One year later we're all playing Super Mario Bros. on NES. Three years later we're shuffling though Genesis, SNES, and GameBoy Color. When I was 9, the N64 came out. Then came the big PC game boom. PC games were strange in retrospect. At first they were great. But they became more time consuming, less satisfying, and rigorous than many console games. Then the console games began to mimic the increasing path of PC games. Now today's generation is lost in a sea of FPSs, MMORPGS, and whatever the hell LoL qualifies as. Games that are designed to keep you in. Raids, PvPs, character purchases, paying real money for fake game money, endless patches and modifications, new maps. So I grew up on games that had an objective, a long struggle of increasing difficulties, and a finality, a victory. So it's probably just my conditioning that pushed me away from today's type of gaming. Is beating Metal Sonic on a goddamn Zeppelin (or plane-o-copter?) cooler than going online with friends and shooting complete strangers, or leveling up, or upgrading equipment? Objectively, of course not. But since taste is subjective, allow me to say, hell yes it is! | ||
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Grimmyman123
Canada939 Posts
My gaming prime was 15 years ago. So, I guess I am old enough to be the father to a great majority of TL's patrons. But, I still love video games, and I enjoy playing them. It's frustrating for me, due to my age, that my hands don't work as fast as they used to, and because I have to work a day job as well as have a life outside of a video game, I don't practice/play as much either to be as good as I possibly could be. But, I am not a highschool student, still attached to mom's teet, living for free, where I can just seclude myself in an office and play day and night. I have other things that need to be done, and other activities I enjoy more than playing video games. So, I do that. As you get older, you just have to find the balance between the additional tasks that need to be done, and gaming loses priority in life. | ||
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GnarlyArbitrage
575 Posts
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Kich
United States339 Posts
Inferno was a very, very bad idea from a game design perspective. As a player it immediately invalidated all previously accomplished goals and made literally every piece of gear I had obtained instantaneously useless compared to even the most meager and commonly dropped items in Inferno. What dumbass thought that was a good idea? Why was I doing something like 6-8k dps prior to 60, and immediatley shoot to 30k upon hitting inferno, what possible need was there to ramp the scaling of health and damage that hard at 60? Diablo dungeon crawling type games have real basic criteria to follow: make really cool shit that's rare to see that's objectively better than anything anyone else can get, give those items variations and even more rare "perfect" rolled uniques, and provide characters a near unthinkable level of flexibility by making virtually all paths of play viable. Diablo failed it on all fronts (every class had a very strictly defined set of best skills and the items that existed in the game were horribly boring). New patch seems to fixed a lot of that. | ||
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Archontas
United States319 Posts
When I was around 25, the previous appeal of games started to go away. Instead of getting self-validation from playing a game, I looked to them to enrich my life. I became more focused on the challenges - instead of just "What achievement am I going to get from this?", it was "What am I learning? What am I improving? Is there a story developing from this? Do I feel like I'm exploring something new or just looking for the quickest way to a goal? Am I actually enjoying the process or just trying to finish this so I can move on to the next thing?" Obviously, after that change in my outlook happened, I never felt the urge to play an MMO again. I love Starcraft, I still play Quake Live occasionally, and I play through other games if I see something interesting. Games that offer challenges, things to work on, etc. Can I refine better strategies than my opponents? Think faster? Recognize patterns? Learn something that will help me later on? I also enjoy the social aspect a lot more - connect with other people and share with them, practice with them, enjoy your common interest. I expect I will continue to enjoy gaming for a long time to come. Not to mention, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to me than working on your golf swing. | ||
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don_kyuhote
3007 Posts
Good old times.... | ||
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screamingpalm
United States1527 Posts
I think the problem lies in the current sad state of the industry overall, with the exception of some really good indie titles. | ||
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yevoc
United States93 Posts
Then I stood tens of feet in front of WhiteRa (who is a year older than me) as he annihilated Stephano with sublime micro. I will never accept the idea of "too old" ever again. Games are in our blood forever, and the good games will never stop pushing us to better ourselves while having the time of our lives. | ||
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Euronyme
Sweden3804 Posts
On August 21 2012 14:17 don_kyuhote wrote: Wow that video really reminded me of times back in the days when we had to blow into the chip of the cartridge of nintendo games when it wouldn't start. Good old times.... In all fairness you don't have to be particularly old to remember that. Nintendos were plentiful up until the release of playstation 2 and xbox honestly. | ||
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SKDN
Sweden243 Posts
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Xanbatou
United States805 Posts
Another huge thing that makes me think this is my overall view of new games in series that I used to love. The most recent example of this is skyrim. I remember playing morrowind ages ago on my xbox. I had so much fun with that game. I had to have sunk hundreds and hundreds of hours in that game. I played through it countless times, with different races and different ridiculous playstyles. I played a monk once that just used hand-to-hand to kill things and I did all those pilgrimage quests and just had a blast. In skyrim, I can't be bothered to do that. I feel like I played more oblivion than I did skyrim, despite how much flak that game gets. Some people blame a decline in the gaming industry. I'm starting to think I'm just getting older, don't have as vivid of an imagination, and have other things that I value spending time on. Don't get me wrong, I still love playing games. Just not as much to spend as much time as I did when I was a kid, I guess. Dunno if anyone else feels the same way. | ||
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ETisME
12702 Posts
eg. SC2 I still play other games like god of war etcetc but mostly just to finish the game asap and move on | ||
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nttea
Sweden4353 Posts
I have felt quite a heavy decline in my ability to enjoy single player games though, i feel like they've all just become way too predictable (whether that's true or it's just my failing imagination i can't say) I hope and think i will be able to continue playing videogames until i die. | ||
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ThaZenith
Canada3116 Posts
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screamingpalm
United States1527 Posts
On August 21 2012 14:27 Xanbatou wrote: + Show Spoiler + I don't enjoy games as much as I used to. When I was in my teens, I could play games like runescape, or maple story for hours each day and not feel bored. Nowadays, I can't play mmorpgs. It just feels like a massive waste of time. I can't speak for everyone, but when I was a teen, I didn't have anywhere near as much as responsibility as I do now that I'm basically about to start a full-time job. Another huge thing that makes me think this is my overall view of new games in series that I used to love. The most recent example of this is skyrim. I remember playing morrowind ages ago on my xbox. I had so much fun with that game. I had to have sunk hundreds and hundreds of hours in that game. I played through it countless times, with different races and different ridiculous playstyles. I played a monk once that just used hand-to-hand to kill things and I did all those pilgrimage quests and just had a blast. In skyrim, I can't be bothered to do that. I feel like I played more oblivion than I did skyrim, despite how much flak that game gets. Some people blame a decline in the gaming industry. I'm starting to think I'm just getting older, don't have as vivid of an imagination, and have other things that I value spending time on. Don't get me wrong, I still love playing games. Just not as much to spend as much time as I did when I was a kid, I guess. Dunno if anyone else feels the same way. AAA games in particular are becoming more dumbed down and marketed to a wider audience. Morrowind v Skyrim is a good example of this and why I would argue that it is the current state of video games that is the problem and not that everyone is "outgrowing" the hobby. If that was true, many of us would have quit gaming long ago I'm sure. And, like you, I sunk way more hours into Oblivion than Skyrim, because it was just more fun. People of all ages appreciate a good product, one that is thought provoking and interesting... and fun. That's not something you outgrow. Even my best friend makes time for new games if it grabs his interest, and he's even older than I am lol. I find the largest communities of older gamers tend to enjoy indie/niche games, often deep and complex TBS pbem games. Something that goes deeper than the shallowness of pretty graphics. | ||
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mango_destroyer
Canada3914 Posts
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GinDo
3327 Posts
I just feel that with SC2 ! have to play at least 5 games for it to be worth opening it up. I just don't have time for that. I'll probably get into the swing of things with HOTS. EDIT: I think the issue I have with SC2 is the fact that I was once pretty good, and now I suck and I know I suck. I feel my mechanics are simply not where they used to be. | ||
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Lysanias
Netherlands8351 Posts
That does not mean we can't enjoy games anymore though, i still love to play some in the evenings or weekends, but at a more relaxing pace and less hours. Also the type of games changed for me personaly, first FPS and race games where by far my favorite to play, these day's i enjoy the RTS type of games more specialy with a realistic history involved like the "total war series" Basicly it's all gotten a bit more mature i supose for my failing imagination. | ||
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selboN
United States2523 Posts
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2WeaK
Canada550 Posts
I only play story driven games during my summer/winter breaks, otherwise I lose interest in the game or invest too much time into it so that my studies suffer. Having this "dedicated" period of time to play those games makes that time much more precious and fun for me. I like playing a long awaited game that comes out mid semester at the beginning of my break, it's better because I'm not super hyped about it so I can enjoy the game for what it really is, rather than have really high expectations. | ||
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idonthinksobro
3138 Posts
On August 21 2012 13:33 screamingpalm wrote: You guys are too young for video games. :D Video games were a huge part of my life growing up. I had Pong when it first came out, the Atari console, and eventually PC. In those days, everything was innovative, new, and exciting. I think that leaves a different sort of long lasting appreciation for my generation than what the current state of the industry does. AAA titles do seem more targeted at a younger audience though, getting older just means your tastes get more sophisticated. We usually find more satisfaction in indie titles these days. i kinda agree on that, most games i play nowadays are indie games, i always make the mistake to buy AAA's. Diablo 3 for example - i wasted like 4 vacation days to play that game like crazy, turned out it was the most generic shit rpg 2012. After 2-3 weeks i had gear to kill diablo on inferno solo after that and the attack speed nerf i completly quit that bullshit game. On the other hand i bought the Binding of Isaac -> 80+h on steam and counting. Spelunky Pc Version 20+ hours last week. | ||
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K3Nyy
United States1961 Posts
I think I've just felt what everybody is talking about this year. I've had a lot of responsibilities lately so I have the same amount of time as I used to and I don't think I'll be able to play much next term either. Sigh.. growing up sucks. ><" | ||
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Irave
United States9965 Posts
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helokity
Canada47 Posts
The largest factor however is that most of my friends that I've played games with for the past 10+ years with including a lot of competitive leagues have mostly all quit gaming, therefore I have lost most of my competitive drive. The best memories are getting completely smashed on CS and DotA matches. I will never forget those ones. I still play games casually, but now I prefer to simply follow the scene and watch streams since I don't have my own purpose of playing any game if its not with my friends. | ||
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
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Heyoka
Katowice25012 Posts
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DethAdder
United States164 Posts
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Slaughter
United States20254 Posts
Now? Im 26 in a PhD program and even this summer before school started where I had little to do I couldn't mass game LoL. Had to have breaks in between matches even if we won and felt good about my play. WoW I no longer have my guild so the social aspect is mostly gone (By God was WoW an awesome game when you had a guild that was pretty close knit). Which leads me to kinda wander around and again going for small goals or bigger goals but in smaller bursts of working towards it. Though school has started today and I am already swamped lol so I doubt I will be doing too much gaming in the near future. I guess from this the MOST I got out of games was the social component of doing things with people I know or at least are familiar with. Which is why the TL Practice thing was nice for me since I could play with some TLers instead of just playing alone since I don't really know anyone who plays among my friends. | ||
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Millitron
United States2611 Posts
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, game devs made games that they would want to play, because if they wanted to play them, surely someone else would. This meant that since game programming was an educated person's job, games were being made for educated people, who wanted to think and be challenged. Now, games are made for the lowest common denominator, because they'll buy a new Madden or CoD every 6 months for 60$ | ||
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DannyJ
United States5110 Posts
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Kleinmuuhg
Vanuatu4091 Posts
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raga4ka
Bulgaria5679 Posts
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gaymon
Germany1023 Posts
/thread | ||
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appletree
Denmark109 Posts
At the end, I only open up SC2, or any other game, to exit it again, which saddens me, because I know what a huge part of my life it used to be, and with all the spare time i've now got, i'd liked if some of that could be put into something that I used enjoy. | ||
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Arunu
Netherlands111 Posts
On August 21 2012 16:36 Millitron wrote: I don't think I'm too old for gaming in general, but I also don't enjoy it as much as I used to. I think the big problem is that I'm no longer in the main demographic companies developed for. Back in the 90's and early 2000's, game devs made games that they would want to play, because if they wanted to play them, surely someone else would. This meant that since game programming was an educated person's job, games were being made for educated people, who wanted to think and be challenged. Now, games are made for the lowest common denominator, because they'll buy a new Madden or CoD every 6 months for 60$ Pretty much this i guess, i'm an old geezer compared to some who posted here. (32 yrs. ) There are some games that i still enjoy, but a lot of them lost their appeal. Campaigns have gone shorter, easier, way less immersion (although this may be due to the fact that i've simply gone older and am harder to " immerse" ). I do enjoy mutiplayer platforms but not in all games, singe player campaings really seem to turn into the " child" we care less about by developers. many games just feel rushed when i play them. I still put in gaming time when i get the chance but no where near what i used to do in early twenties. Can still get excited over upcoming games, can't wait for Rome 2 : Total war for example. | ||
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Perscienter
957 Posts
On August 21 2012 15:49 helokity wrote: The problem is that I've become disheartened with what the gaming industry has developed into from what I grew up with when I was in my prime. I feel as though games are being developed more and more for the generic casual gamer, with the ease of function, strong AI, over the top graphic overhauls on sequels, pay to win on newer titles, etc. I bet that was written in every decade since the first computer games were created by someone. The problem is the copyright and big brands not continuing good accomplishments. But someone always produces a good title. I also think you are forgetting all the sicknesses titles in 90s were suffering. Was Fallout even playable on release? Many games required months of patching and no Internet was available. ;-) I think there is a pop-cultural rule in our societies. On a long enough timeline, every franchise/construct is ruined and destroyed. You'll notice the same in your working environments. | ||
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Kaeru
Sweden552 Posts
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Andre
Slovenia3523 Posts
Maybe the RPG genre suffered a bit, but that's because a lot of the old developement studios went to hell. It's hard to look at it objectively, because the first rpg,rts,fps.., you play is always the sweetest. | ||
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akalarry
United States1978 Posts
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d3_crescentia
United States4054 Posts
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
 Play all sorts still like i was just 15, MMORPGs/RPGs/FPS/FIFA the only way i would see myself stopping gaming is if i ever had to choose between football and gaming! | ||
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insaneMicro
Germany761 Posts
Idk, I used to fucking LOVE games, especially StarCraft. Now it seem so pointless, but I also have a feeling that games have become shit in the last few years. I bought the new Diablo, but I only played it for like two weeks before it stopped being fun. Also I have a lot more RL shit going on than when I used to be the awkward kid at school, so there´s lots of reasons imo. | ||
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NIIINO
Slovakia1320 Posts
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Genjimaru
Canada515 Posts
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Blacktion
United Kingdom1148 Posts
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IskatuMesk
Canada969 Posts
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ThePlayer33
Australia2378 Posts
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FlamingForce
Netherlands701 Posts
And when that happens I can't help but wonder if I'll ever do that again..Games just seem to be getting worse and worse in terms of good gameplay and immersion. Alone, on my pc, nothing and nobody else on my mind then what I've got on my screen, I do miss that.. ^^ | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland26505 Posts
I find it sad that games like Deus Ex are increasingly rare, when given tech advances they should be coming out more frequently. I hate the trend to try and create a pseudo-movie vibe to most games in lieu of actual immersion too. There has to be a bloody string section accompanying everything you do it gets obnoxious. | ||
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bokeevboke
Singapore1674 Posts
1. You won't stop playing video games. (although gaming time will get shorter as more organised you get) 2. You play mostly multiplayer casual games. 3. You have to sacrifice something in order to play. (gym class, sleeping time, hobbies) 4. You play only when your friends are online, otherwise you will be disinterested. Most likely you'll enjoy being with friends rather than the game itself. 5. Any singleplayer game gets boring really fast. 6. You won't watch streams a lot. | ||
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_fool
Netherlands682 Posts
)Oh: I agree with the post above ^^. Except for 6. I watch streams whenever the missus watches tv | ||
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Tobberoth
Sweden6375 Posts
Gaming is just too much fun, and I will definitely buy at least one of the next generation consoles as well. And people whining about the direction of games need to get over themselves. There are still TONS of great games released, all YOU have to do is support the developers who don't do dumb shit like EA. Dark Souls is a perfect example, if you're one of the people who whine about the current direction of games and haven't bought that game, you're a hypocrite. | ||
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
On August 21 2012 18:29 Tobberoth wrote: I've had more of an upswing. I'm 26 and I work fulltime as a system consultant, but I still spend a lot of my free time playing games, though I played much less earlier. Not only do I have some games I focus quite a bit of time on (SC2, Dota 2), I also try to play a ton of new games at least for a bit, I switch these games a lot. Played a lot of Dark Souls recently, currently massing time in Sleeping Dogs... also dicking around with old games, currently playing Parasite Eve. Gaming is just too much fun, and I will definitely buy at least one of the next generation consoles as well. And people whining about the direction of games need to get over themselves. There are still TONS of great games released, all YOU have to do is support the developers who don't do dumb shit like EA. Dark Souls is a perfect example, if you're one of the people who whine about the current direction of games and haven't bought that game, you're a hypocrite. You should play Darksiders 1 and 2 when you get the chance. FUCKING AMAZING!!! | ||
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Nisyax
Netherlands756 Posts
- When I was 14 and school started at 10 on Thursdays I would stand up at 6:45 and play like mad until I had to go - When I was 16 I had my own CoD4 pub + private servers (together with a few others), pub server was basically full at prime times and apart from going out with friends basically all time spent went in playing CoD4. - When I was 18 after finishing school before going to university I would sometimes play WoW till 4 in the night with people I got to know better and better. Still talk to some of them today. - Now-a-days (21), I casually ladder with a friend, although we are masters (2v2/3v3/4v4), and sometimes do a few 1v1's.. barely any though (20/30 wins in the 2 seasons I've played). I like watching a good tourney however. I did buy the new CS:GO, but it shouldn't ever come above 10% of the hours put in CoD4 (around 2000 according to my old X-Fire). Starting Uni again and it should be top-priority (it wasn't always with school in the past  ) | ||
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Patate
Canada441 Posts
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WhiteDog
France8650 Posts
I always wonder if I can't play like I used to play because I am older or because the quality of the games and the community changed (like in lol, I can't make a game without angering myself because some moron always think he can insult his team mates for his own failure). | ||
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iPlaY.NettleS
Australia4404 Posts
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Sinensis
United States2513 Posts
Please, you're never too old for hobbies. I think more seniors should pick up gaming they would be less lonely than watching TV by themselves. | ||
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Zinnwaldite
Norway1567 Posts
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Capped
United Kingdom7236 Posts
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Pleiades
United States472 Posts
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Kurr
Canada2338 Posts
I haven't gamed much at all in the past year beyond Skyrim/Kingdoms of Amalur which I played for like a month each but once Guild Wars 2 comes out that will change for a while to come. | ||
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forsooth
United States3648 Posts
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mememolly
4765 Posts
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EscPlan9
United States2777 Posts
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haduken
Australia8267 Posts
However I haven't raged in games for like the last 2 years lols. | ||
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xrapture
United States1644 Posts
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QuackPocketDuck
410 Posts
whenever I get a chance no problems I lost all interest for none competitive-multiplayer games years ago anyway when I first discovered Quake.I can not expect myself to stay as competitive at sc2 for example if I go on long work related trips that keep me from playing. but of cause at the same time whenever I do get a break from work and i get to game straight for awhile obviously my skill catches up quickly Love for the game + 1v1 match aspect is what keeps me going Its sort of like asking an average social tennis player why they play tennis... | ||
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Silidons
United States2813 Posts
played gw2 beta hated it. i might buy dark souls to play with my friend and see if we enjoy it, but idk what to do lately been really bored. | ||
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TheIlluminated
Norway35 Posts
Getting older and reaching 20 some of that feeling faded away. Spent a lot of time with World of Warcraft vanilla and still got an awesome feeling playing it. It was still cool under Burning Crusade and WotLK, but each time they changed the game and catered to the masses. I don't want to come across as elitist, but personally a lot was ruined for me when everything was made simpler and attracted crowds of people new to gaming itself. Now you don't need to know much to game at all. Before you had to know how to tweak DOS, install Windows and drivers and get things up and running to a certain degree. Now everyone and their grandmother can play and the game defaults to that crowd. I'm 26. I haven't played a single game for several years that gave me an inkling of the same joy I had before. I'm the type that loves challenges and playing with "professional" players who wants a challenge (like WoW vanilla), now everything is easy-mode and spoon fed. Games do not give me the same joy as before. Watching GSL/e-sports is the same thing except for certain players I follow. It is time consuming and I usually feel that I could have spent my time in a better way. Altogether it is a combination that I am older with a different life/worries, my friends have changed as well and thus a lack of same interests and not to mention time management. Still long to recreate the same feeling I had before playing games, but I doubt I will be able to do so. | ||
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bailando
Germany332 Posts
but i guess i will switch over again to consoles one day. | ||
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nam nam
Sweden4672 Posts
That said, I still enjoy games when I have time for it but I make sure I'm fairly certain I will enjoy the game. When I was in university I didn't play many games at all but afterwards I picked it up again and it almost made me enjoy games more as I had a pretty big period of time where I could cherry pick the best releases during the time I hadn't played. Just make sure the titles you play isn't the "Generic title number 342," and you can still get a lot of enjoyment out of games despite your age. | ||
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SurroundSound
106 Posts
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JustPassingBy
10776 Posts
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The KY
United Kingdom6252 Posts
Starcraft though, Starcraft isn't a video game. It's life and death 0_0 + Show Spoiler + N...not really. | ||
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ClaymoreDog
United Kingdom14 Posts
It can also be very frustrating comparing myself to me 5 years ago, once upon a time I was very, very good at CS 1.6, then Eve-Online, Warhammer Online, and sort of tailed off after that as my free time decreased. Over the weekend I tried playing the CS:GO beta... disaster! Part of the reason I love SC2 so much is that I don't have a history playing competitive RTS, so it's been a massive challenge, coupled with constraints on time and commitments to other games with friends to improve. | ||
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RefusedAmen
Canada77 Posts
Being out of school and working full time, you can still game and it can still be enjoyable but the biggest difference between my life now and at 17 was responsibility. I have a girlfriend, a good job, career ambitions (which include studying for exams ontop of a 40hour work as well), family and friends. As you get older you learn to prioritize what's more important and when you have down time, you can game, guilt free. I've cut playing games for months because I had to focus on other things, once those responsibilities are dealt with, you can (and probably will) come back. I think i'll always be a gamer, but never in the intensity on when I was younger. And that's perfectly okay. I still watch streams like whoa. | ||
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shell
Portugal2722 Posts
SC2 is the game i find it harder to play, it's a big commitment since when you push the button you have to play it until the end and pausing is a bitch sometimes.. so i play maily SP games sometimes and watch SC2 streams Following the pro scene and streams is better then playing or atleast way more fun! And since i have work and money i can actually buy everything i want like MLG, GSL, IPL, TSL and NASL.. so that beats being a kid and asking dad for moneyssssssss hehe it's a bit time consuming sometimes tho.. | ||
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Sephy90
United States1785 Posts
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Shiragaku
Hong Kong4308 Posts
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peacenl
550 Posts
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jdsowa
405 Posts
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Niflheim
United States313 Posts
However, I do still follow the esports scene and watch tournament streams and check teamliquid ... I don't have cable and netflix gets stale at times so it gives me something to watch when I want to just relax | ||
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Thenerf
United States258 Posts
On August 21 2012 20:03 mememolly wrote: I watch more streams and tourneys now as opposed to playing, I haven't got the time to invest in getting good like I did when I was young so when I play now I get frustrated easily and have no fun because to me getting good is having fun. This. If I can't play games then I just watch them. I don't play video games constantly I just play them occasionally. P.S. I can't wait until retirement when I finally have the time to play EVE online. | ||
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Deleted User 135096
3624 Posts
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TSBspartacus
England1046 Posts
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playtech1
United Kingdom2 Posts
Gaming is still fun, but the nagging feeling that I should be doing something 'productive' takes away from it. Nearly all of my friends have all moved on from gaming and I grew up pre-online, so online gaming doesn't really feature in my world (SC2 being a notable exception). The change for me happened sometime in the past five or six years - finished Oblivion 100% when that came out. Have barely scratched the surface of Skyrim (although not sure whether that's age or getting sick of incessant kiting). Once kids come along, I fear it's game over! What I have noticed is that I now watch SC2 far more than I play any game. Easier to fit in and less taxing when you get home at 10pm after a day at the proverbial coal face. It is so true that when you're young you treasured each new game, whereas now I have plenty of money to buy any game I want, but no time to play it. Hopefully my wife will be understanding in my retirement... | ||
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Shiragaku
Hong Kong4308 Posts
On August 21 2012 22:36 playtech1 wrote: Once kids come along, I fear it's game over! Nothing against parents playing video games, but some of the most disgusting parenting I have ever seen were gamer parents who put video games over their kids. Basically, they maintained their gaming habits after the kid arrived. | ||
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andrewlt
United States7702 Posts
College was probably the most I've played multiplayer, with the exception of WoW. Even then, the guild I joined came from Everquest so the main people were in their 30s now. I have played almost no multiplayer at all other than WoW after graduating from college. After my WoW guild called it quits, I haven't touched a single multiplayer game since then. | ||
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IsKas
Canada23 Posts
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Jaegeru
United Kingdom676 Posts
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ZeaL.
United States5955 Posts
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nam nam
Sweden4672 Posts
On August 21 2012 23:08 Shiragaku wrote: Nothing against parents playing video games, but some of the most disgusting parenting I have ever seen were gamer parents who put video games over their kids. Basically, they maintained their gaming habits after the kid arrived. Then you should be glad you haven't seen many bad parents. | ||
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Probe1
United States17920 Posts
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Topin
Peru10110 Posts
On August 22 2012 01:22 Probe1 wrote: I'm exactly 25 and I have enough time for Starcraft. The key is to not watch TV. this! hahaha i just watch like 1 hour of Seinfield | ||
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JustPassingBy
10776 Posts
On August 22 2012 01:20 nam nam wrote: Then you should be glad you haven't seen many bad parents. I second that. Anyways, playing games for fun doesn't get the things done that were done by my parents when I was still a kid, and now that I am somewhat responsible for myself I get the urge to achieve something significant. Sadly, by today's standards, reaching master league does not fall into it. Nevertheless, I still value gaming as a nice way to either relax (rpg) or hone your competitive drive (rts). | ||
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Zerg.Zilla
Hungary5029 Posts
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peacenl
550 Posts
On August 21 2012 22:36 playtech1 wrote: 33 today! Taken the day off from a pretty demanding job to install my new 5870 for some crossfire and start working through my Steam library, which is about 80% unplayed. But instead I've done some cleaning, edited my wife's CV, logged into my work and cleared off some emails, laundry, etc. etc. Gaming is still fun, but the nagging feeling that I should be doing something 'productive' takes away from it. Nearly all of my friends have all moved on from gaming and I grew up pre-online, so online gaming doesn't really feature in my world (SC2 being a notable exception). The change for me happened sometime in the past five or six years - finished Oblivion 100% when that came out. Have barely scratched the surface of Skyrim (although not sure whether that's age or getting sick of incessant kiting). Once kids come along, I fear it's game over! What I have noticed is that I now watch SC2 far more than I play any game. Easier to fit in and less taxing when you get home at 10pm after a day at the proverbial coal face. It is so true that when you're young you treasured each new game, whereas now I have plenty of money to buy any game I want, but no time to play it. Hopefully my wife will be understanding in my retirement... Happy birthday to you! | ||
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Djzapz
Canada10681 Posts
I only like older games, albeit very few of them. Whether it's because they're better, or just because I'm attached to them, that's just how it is and I can't change how I feel. I personally think though that I don't like the newer games because they just don't happen to do it for me, and not because I'm biased against new stuff. BW is dead/dying and it's the only thing I really enjoyed watching. There's nothing I particularly like playing anymore, at least certainly not for long periods of time. SC2 bores me to death, so I'm slowly drifting toward becoming a reasonably skilled casual. Last weekend I played through Super Metroid with a SNES emulator and a PS3 controller and that was the most fun I've had gaming over the last few months. | ||
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sc4k
United Kingdom5454 Posts
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Littlemuff
United Kingdom301 Posts
One thing i found that helps is not reading or watching any clips of the game except ones shown on the website. Makes game so much more of an experience. | ||
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andrewlt
United States7702 Posts
On August 21 2012 22:36 playtech1 wrote: 33 today! Taken the day off from a pretty demanding job to install my new 5870 for some crossfire and start working through my Steam library, which is about 80% unplayed. But instead I've done some cleaning, edited my wife's CV, logged into my work and cleared off some emails, laundry, etc. etc. Gaming is still fun, but the nagging feeling that I should be doing something 'productive' takes away from it. Nearly all of my friends have all moved on from gaming and I grew up pre-online, so online gaming doesn't really feature in my world (SC2 being a notable exception). The change for me happened sometime in the past five or six years - finished Oblivion 100% when that came out. Have barely scratched the surface of Skyrim (although not sure whether that's age or getting sick of incessant kiting). Once kids come along, I fear it's game over! What I have noticed is that I now watch SC2 far more than I play any game. Easier to fit in and less taxing when you get home at 10pm after a day at the proverbial coal face. It is so true that when you're young you treasured each new game, whereas now I have plenty of money to buy any game I want, but no time to play it. Hopefully my wife will be understanding in my retirement... Haha. I can relate somewhat. Some of my friends have enormous libraries of unplayed Steam games. It is true that once gamers get into their late 20s and beyond with a decent job, playing time becomes the issue and not money. I have become more of a "casual" gamer nowadays. I still play the same amount of time but I have less patience for pointless, time-consuming grinds. My genres of choice (TBS, RPG among others) aren't as popular but there is still a lot of old games in those genres (especially on handheld consoles) I haven't played and would want to play. And gaming is incredibly cheap compared to other forms of entertainment and other expenses in life that I can afford to buy a lot of them. | ||
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antelope591
Canada820 Posts
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Al Bundy
7257 Posts
But yeah I agree that nowadays the quality of video games is declining so that may be a reason why people are getting bored. | ||
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Wrath 2.1
Germany880 Posts
I still like it. Playing HoN mostly tho. When I am too mad at that game I play LoL or sc2 (rarely). I often feel like things are way to fucked up for me, so I really enjoy playing games. | ||
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SiegeFlank
United States410 Posts
I miss the days where I could say "Well, I'm gonna play Fallout 3 this week" and that's what I'd do for pretty much the rest of the week. Just become totally immersed in a fun game and not have any other commitments to worry about. | ||
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pmp10
3390 Posts
It's not just that games are dropping in quality and moving away from what I'm familiar with. Not really a issue with free time either. The basic framework of challenge/reward has simply been reused so many time it has become too transparent and predictable. I still game but with only a couple of worthy titles per year it's just a matter of time before I find another hobby to replace it. | ||
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andrewlt
United States7702 Posts
On August 22 2012 02:23 Al Bundy wrote: In my opinion there's no such thing as too old for video games. This may look like anectodal evidence but the other day I met a 60+ year old SWTOR player. But yeah I agree that nowadays the quality of video games is declining so that may be a reason why people are getting bored. I don't think the quality is declining to the extent that people here state. It is more that the industry refuses to grow up. The stories, plot elements, risk/reward systems, communities, gameplay, etc. are all still heavily targeted towards the teenage to early 20s male. Once people outgrow that phase of their lives, is it any wonder that they find new games less and less appealing? The ones people still find appealing are the older games they played when they were still the target demographic. | ||
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Diizzy
United States828 Posts
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PraefektMotus
Germany129 Posts
The interesting thing is that if a game resonates with me well, I will have as much fun with it as I used to as a kid. I WANTED to finish Portal, Magicka, Legend of Grimrock or Machinarium. I had genuine fun with these games. That must mean I still like playing games, but enjoyable ones are so far and few inbetween :/. | ||
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Sbrubbles
Brazil5776 Posts
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clwzim
Brazil65 Posts
still feel fresh | ||
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maartendq
Belgium3115 Posts
It's not like I'm getting too old for it. I still enjoy video games a lot. It's just that priorities shift. Back when I was 15-16 I had zero responsibilities.. | ||
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Warzilla
Czech Republic311 Posts
This applies more for women, they usualy became more serious over time. | ||
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obesechicken13
United States10467 Posts
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Yakota
Australia112 Posts
I use to love game X Y Z. Im now 20-30. I have X Y Z responsibilities and dont have much time. I still like gaming but only pay game X Y Z for 1-2 hours a day. I do like gaming but i like my girlfriends punani more/ have kids/ work 40+ hours a week/ uni/college..etc We're all old! | ||
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PassionFruit
294 Posts
But I do still play some games weekly like Go :D. But not Sc2 anymore | ||
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imanoob
New Zealand27 Posts
amstrad cpc6128 yeah its bosss. now 23 years later after a long history of all nighters serial cable's parallell cables, bnc cable, driving for an hour to play games with my friends who were nearly 30yrs old then. too see games come so far from what they once were, yeah you guys remember tandys and amigas and commodore 64's. BTW now I play sc2 with my kids and watch them 1v1 each other. I am a gamer at heart and I always will be. | ||
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Phant
United States737 Posts
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Kavallerie
Germany89 Posts
I don't use console gaming at all. I think console games are only for kids (no offence to people over 18 who play console games). Soon enough, for those of you who have entered college or got a job, you will realize that gaming is not productive. Of course, watching TV is not productive too. You have to do more productive things (exercise, help your parents, spend time with your family and girlfriend/wife and kids). People who just game for 5 hours+ a day who are not progamers and are over 20 are just sad (this is just my opinion). | ||
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Vessel
United States214 Posts
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Enzymatic
Canada1301 Posts
On August 21 2012 13:12 TheRabidDeer wrote: If your grades suffer in high school, you definitely dont want to play in College when your grades REALLY matter. I can still play at 26, but it feels like I dont play as well as I did when I was younger. After the age of 18-19, reaction times start to slow down little by little each year.. Which explains that. You're always at your sharpest & your.. "Peak" around the age of 17-18. Hence why most of the top pro players are around 18'ish year old. | ||
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LarJarsE
United States1378 Posts
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J_Slim
United States199 Posts
I don't ever spend an entire day (or weekend) playing non-stop like I used to with Everquest growing up, but I still play games quite often. | ||
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laoji
United Kingdom382 Posts
On August 22 2012 11:58 Enzymatic wrote: After the age of 18-19, reaction times start to slow down little by little each year.. Which explains that. You're always at your sharpest & your.. "Peak" around the age of 17-18. Hence why most of the top pro players are around 18'ish year old. yes but that doesn't mean you can't be competative past that age...boxer/nada/white-ra/nestea etc etc | ||
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exKid
United Kingdom118 Posts
After every big release I find myself disappointed and thinking about all the things that are just terribly wrong with the game compared to older games. I'm not entirely sure if I have just grown up and become too critical of games while looking back with rose tinted glasses? or are new games really catering to the younger generation with shorter attention span and lower level of expectation? | ||
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prochobo
United States232 Posts
I've gamed my ass off since I was about 4-5 up until I was about 20. Since then, nothing has really appealed to me; everything is just a sequel to something else, which I find boring. E.g. Skyrim, Fallout, SC2, D3, CS:S, CS:GO (already bored after 2 hours), and the list goes on. Now I game about an hour a day just to pass the time. One current exception is Orcs Must Die 2 since I've never played the first one. I find the gameplay in that game unique, rewarding, and addictive. | ||
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Erethorma
United States12 Posts
On August 22 2012 12:14 exKid wrote: I'm 27, a mature student (MPhys), live with my gf of many years and still find plenty on time for games. The problem is, I feel for the most part I've outgrown a lot of them. I often get criticised by my friends for my disdain of most 'new' games as they are released and often wonder if they really are getting worse or if I am just getting older? After every big release I find myself disappointed and thinking about all the things that are just terribly wrong with the game compared to older games. I'm not entirely sure if I have just grown up and become too critical of games while looking back with rose tinted glasses? or are new games really catering to the younger generation with shorter attention span and lower level of expectation? I'm not that old but I feel the same way regarding the quality of games. I don't think that it's you're getting older. There's just not enough creativity going around now a days. A lot of games now a days just play off the same old repetitive formulas *ahem* COD (though COD 3 was and is awesome / ground breaking imo). | ||
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alexpnd
Canada1857 Posts
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Satire
Canada295 Posts
I am 27 - 4th year degree nursing student. I still find gaming relaxing, but finding the time is difficult. Subsequently, holding myself to the same standards I did in my early 20's and teen years is also a nagging feeling. It becomes difficult though when you have pushed yourself to become the best at the games you used to play. I never got into BW. My RTS of choice was Dune 2000, made by Westwood. (I miss them!) It was an excellent game, and in the end I was among a handful of the best players becoming the monthly WW tournament champion a total of 7 times. I was dominant for 4 months in 2000, and changed the metagame substantially within that time. Managed to finish a couple of ladder months without dropping a game until people adjusted. I eventually stopped playing that game because improving was no longer possible when my play time got cut due to RL circumstances. It was my first "true" online experience however - I still love that game. I had a year long stint with FPS games such as Unreal, Golden Eye, CoD, but never really could get into those games. Strategy has always been my favourite genre, followed by RPG. I remember playing the original Civilization when I was 7 for hours upon end. I just love those kind of games. WoW was probably my 2nd love and I dictated a lot of time to become very good at that game as well. The game was a true masterpiece, however, I eventually become bored of that as well. I have fond memories of playing with many friends, and even family members in raids and doing fun stuff together. WoW also affected me in a different sort of way as well in that I feel like it may have ruined grinding in other games for me. Since most RPG's are essentially a "grind" it has been hard to get into games that require any sort of grinding. Because WoW requires you to log in for long periods to get anywhere (at least to the same level I want to play at), I haven't played for the past 4 years. I still would love to start playing again, but am not entirely sure I could get enjoyment out of the game as I probably am just looking at it through the ol' nostalgia lens. I also have a theory that the grinding it WoW is probably what killed D3 for me too. I now play SC2 usually a couple times a month (by far the best RTS released in recent years - sadly), and whatever SP game I find interesting. Right now I am slowly playing through Skyrim. I play a couple of hours a month. After I finish that, I will probably buy some Civilization V and play through that. Gaming during school is very difficult for me. I find my priorities go towards school first, friends/girlfriend second (none of whom are gamers really), and finally towards games and relaxing third. The games these days are much better than the ones developed when I was young; however, the premise and core remains largely unchanged. This is probably why many people become bored with games over time. Also the responsibilities with being an adult can be pretty tough at times, but this is just life. It shouldn't stop you from enjoying things you used to enjoy. | ||
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Terranist
United States2496 Posts
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Dranak
United States464 Posts
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Satire
Canada295 Posts
On August 21 2012 12:54 Hug-A-Hydralisk wrote: This video "A Tribute To Everyone Who Is Getting Too Old For Video Games" is so true for anyone out of college getting into their mid 20s. Playing Starcraft II like we used to in highschool is out of the question so we only play it casually and when I say casually I mean an hour at least per day. Has anyone ever taken a two year break from not gaming at all? What is it like when you play again after a long stretch of time? I've taken a break from gaming for 4 years now (at least hardcore gaming). If you are not getting enjoyment out of games because of burnout, it in fact would be the solution. I know I enjoy video games a great deal still, although no game has me gripped in the same sense that WoW did when I wake up and be excited to boot up my computer to play again. | ||
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prochobo
United States232 Posts
On August 23 2012 03:53 Terranist wrote: nobody here is actually answering the OP's question. OK. No, I've never taken a 1-2 year break from gaming. However, I have taken a 1-2 year break from playing certain games or genres. I find that I suck balls when trying to get back into RTS, but I'm at about 80% when it comes to FPS. I haven't played CS for a very long time, but I am OK at CS:GO. | ||
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InFdude
Bulgaria619 Posts
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deepfield1
United States373 Posts
I have a full time job, wife, and a 2 year old daughter. I still find a few hours a week for gaming. I don't plan on giving it up. Most of my friends have the same sort of attitude.. we still game... just not as often. | ||
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NewbieOne
Poland560 Posts
On August 21 2012 12:54 Hug-A-Hydralisk wrote: This video "A Tribute To Everyone Who Is Getting Too Old For Video Games" is so true for anyone out of college getting into their mid 20s. Playing Starcraft II like we used to in highschool is out of the question so we only play it casually and when I say casually I mean an hour at least per day. Has anyone ever taken a two year break from not gaming at all? What is it like when you play again after a long stretch of time? Thank you! It was so moving. I'll be 30 in a couple of months. I've taken long breaks from both WC3 and SC2 but, in fact, I only came online when around 20... it already felt long past my prime at that point. Last played SC2 on 29 Jan or at least that's the date on my newest replay. I still play some games as they come out. Probably going to stick with SC2 otherwise as I can only afford to play one game other than just finishing campaigns etc. Right now I'm feeling old indeed, as in no longer having the youthful zeal and freshness, not even so much the reflexes as the spirit is not the same. A bit as though innocence lost. It just isn't the same. ...But I proudly wear the gamer's badge and I put in on the most professional of CVs and such. While I am regretfully unable to find the same unadulterated joy in gaming, I intend to continue and still play more games in the future. Unlike before, I actually might be able to focus on one single game right now and achieve some proficiency in it. Previously, I had been more of a finish and move on type, a primarily RPG player anyway, mostly in it for the storyline, less interested in whatever is remotely repetitive. My secret dream is one day to wind up at a local WCG or some such in a dark suit and with a lawyer's briefcase, where everybody is like half my age, and show the audience some. But it would take a while to achieve that level of skill, even with all my experience (last time I played SC2, I was high gold and after 400 games, so not really that able, if guys get to diamond in half that or less).Also, I'm unmarried, so some things are easier. But right now I need to finish my Ph.D. degree. Have even stopped working professionally to free up time for this, so all the more I should abstain from gaming for a while. I don't give up watching Day9 and other casts or VODs or participating in discussions at TL. | ||
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