A lot of game’s in fact I’d say 80% or more end up losing their fun and become more like “work” when trying to complete them. I don’t recall ever feeling it to this level before. Not sure if it’s because I’m getting older and valuing my time more or what. Anyone else feel this way or noticing it a bit more than years ago?
Yep. As I get older I have a much lower tolerance for grinding or advancement that requires repetitive, boring activities.
I totally resemble this remark. I have a personal rule that I force myself to take a break…usually at least a week…from any game that gives me that feeling. Sometimes I get back to it afterwards, but more often I’ve found something more interesting by then and it ends up on my “tried, was meh” list.
I think it’s totally fine to stop playing a game and move onto something else when the time is right. There is nothing saying you have to “beat” every game you play.
When the fun stops, I stop. Winning a game isn’t a life achievement for me. Work is hard. Let it have more tangible benefits for me.
Running repetitive, time consuming missions in Anarchy Online brought this home for me.
I like to complete games. Until some bundle purchases, I actually completed most games but… I will stop for awhile and go back rather than force it. I do this more now than before because I have so many options. Decades ago, I probably only had a handful of games at any given time that I hadn’t completed and still enjoyed.
At least some games try to be GAAS or at least be much larger and longer than they should, because they have discovered that it increases the probability of people buying DLC or microtransactions.
Totally with you.
Its a design issue not the players.
Too many game systems these days are being designed around retention and so handing out the content in smaller and smaller bites to extend the games play time.
I hate that. Just give me enjoyable decisions and a good game. I would sooner have a short but fun game.
Amen. I don’t generally understand the criticisms that a game is “fun but too short.”
This is also why by default now I play games on whatever their easiest level is.
You want me to challenge myself? First prove that you’re not going to waste my time.
I get tired of a lot of games, especially RPGs because they give me too many encounters, or expecting players to grind. Druidstone is a nice break from that. I usually get tired of the UBI formula quickly because there is too much filler content and I get bored doing the same type of activities over and over.
My tendency is to want to finish games, and I do press on for longer than I should many times. I do quit more than I used to though.
It can definitely be the case if the concept of the game isn’t fully explored, but most of the time, the game is packed with filltier to pad out the length even when the devs ran out of ideas or a story to tell. I think we’re finally nearing the level of maturity of other media, where filler can be identified for what it is. Probably because the kids who grew up playing video games are now grownups without infinite time.
The circle of gaming. Well, really a bell curve, with the Y axis being investments in time, and PC gaming right in the middle and highest point.
Board games -> console games -> PC games -> console games -> ios games-> board games -> crosswords (or Sudoku in my case).
PC games, especially strategy games, are designed for hundreds of hours of repetitive gameplay. At some point you’re like… ugh, really? Console games move at the speed of light by comparison, and then phone and board games are just orders of magnitude less involved beyond that.
I’m struggling to play any PC or console games right now beyond the well-worn paths that i’m used to. Even games I should enjoy just… looms like a mountain of potential investment.
If, otoh, it’s about completion, oh, man, who cares. #let it go. Be free! The games i’ve played to completion over the last couple years I could probably count on one hand. Games are about enjoyment and if the game hasn’t hooked you enough to care to see the ending don’t feel bad about setting it aside. And AAA games designed to keep you hooked for hundreds of hours like AC: Odyssey and so force you to play a lot of nearly repetitive content, and 99% of the time have herpy derpy endings anyway not worth the grind to reach.
This thread interests me, and I was wondering when we’d see it’s like on these boards. Because I’ve seen similar sentiments lots of other places, stuff like “as I got older I enjoy games less” and folks all chime in with “oh thank god, I’m not alone”. But for me, I think I’m getting more and more ensnared with games as time goes on. They continue to amaze me what they’re able to build into them, and all the variety and depth of experiences so many have to offer. Now I’ve definitely got my own niche, stuff I like that is often far out of the mainstream but so far I haven’t found myself feeling like they’re work, or that I’m not enjoying the experience. But of course that’s just me.
I think i had my peak “omg games!” moment again a few years ago, right around when there were tons of really imaginative indie games, lots of extremely well done console games, and tons of PC strategy games that i liked.
I feel like AAA games right now seem like endless retreads. Stuff like Tacoma and What Remained of Edith Finch and Firewatch were like these older millennials doing really cool things with video games… but now those devs are even older and drifting away from gaming, the video game community turns out to be crap, and now is filled with 14 year olds dabbing to Fortnite.
For me anyway it actually does feel like suddenly i’m close to “growing out” of gaming because gaming is going back to its Games As Toys Nintendo origins. Which is fine! Nothing lasts forever.
Let me provide an example of my feelings: exhibit 1, Red Dead Redemption 2. I don’t know how many threads I’ve read about how slow this game is, or how hard it is to control, or how nothing really happens, or it’s totally repetitive, I could go on. But I found the game utterly entrancing, I was completely sucked in for the 2-3 months it took me to complete (100%, if you were curious). They did everything right, for my money. But for lots of folk, it felt like work. Why not me? No idea.
I loved RDR 1 but haven’t got RDR 2 out of principle. Sigh.
Best game I’ve ever played. Not exaggerating, but YMMV of course.
May I ask what the principle is? Curious.
I feel this way about WoW now. I don’t have a problem with how they unlock flying now, but the thought of grinding dailies to unlock it just doesn’t interest me.
I will usually play a game through to completion of the story, but don’t really worry about the collectibles and the like.