Printable View
I've been there.
It's a path with no return. We get older, things get older with us.
Managing time becomes more and more important, and gaming is often reduced to concentrated bursts.
My tip:
Embrace the arcade games you talked about.
The ones with an ending are supposed to last 30 minutes max. Long campaigns will wear you down overtime and might eventually make you hate video games.
Moreover, we need challenges, goals, milestones. Games with an arcadey feel are perfect for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baloo
don't worrie about it. I at one time stopped playing games entirely for at least a year and didn't buy any games or hardware for even longer period asI got into different things. I got a ps3 in summer of 2007 for oblivion and I loved it but my retro games I didn't care for until in december 2009 I found a goldstar 3do boxed for cheap and decided to buy it and also buy some games(star control 2!). I started looking on youtube and completely found back my hobby. it's now as bad as it ever was and I barely play my ps3 anymore. not that I don't like it but my retro stuff I keep getting back to. In fact I have even got a girlfriend of mine into playing snatcher and shenmue now. and I try to buy whatever retro consoles for friends that I know love gaming. I'm spreading the word of sega greatness :)
This was what I was up against. I'm older with more money but far less time than ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kollision
At the risk of being controversial - most of my gaming is done on a Genesis with a Game Genie set to infinite lives. I don't want to be invincible, but I don't I have the time to replay a game until it's memorized. I'm content with just playing it through. This feels more like an arcade experience than seeing a Game Over screen.
I can still play some games for hours, but my favorite hard core games kick my cheese now unless I dedicate too much time getting back in the "groove". I'm pretty sure I am just out of practice, but I have also toyed with the idea that the miniscule lag on my LCD TV is causing the difficulty to go over the top. I used to only play Shadow Dancer, Streets of Rage 1+2 and others on the hardest difficulty, without shuriken, etc, now I only play them on the default settings if I play them at all.
That isn't all, a couple of years ago I was keen on documenting every statement made about every game console from 1988-1985, but I fizzled out around 1992 and haven't even tried to start it up again. I can't even remember why I wanted to do this, nobody uses sources for video game history, they just continually recite what they have heard like a brat kid with his fingers in his ears going "LALALALALALA". I think realizing that is what made me lose interest in documenting facts and cataloging recommended games along with the reasons for their recommendation.
Then there is the fact that video game news is more often about Facebook and Mobile apps than it is about Console or PC games, so I already know I won't be a gamer in the next generation. That isn't a bad thing though, when the Dreamcast was still kicking I averaged my annual gaming costs and multiplied it over thirty more years, it added up to something around $40,000 by the time I would be fifty years old. Over the last ten years I have maintained my average annual spending of around $1000-2000 a year, but on retro gaming.
Now that has wound down as well, I can't even think of games I would want for my birthday or Christmas anymore. I used to spend my birthday in man cave mode in a marathon gaming session of some new game, now I'll have to go to the tower of awesome and pretend one of those games is new again.
I tend to go through phases like this. Just recently I was spending all my spare time watching TV & movies or listening to music while on the net and then just yesterday actually I was looking at my dusty old 2600 collection stuck away in a corner and thought you know what I havn't touched that in years. Once I got it set up and the TV tuned in (shows how long ago it was I played on it that I have a different TV) I spent the whole afternoon playing it and had so much fun that I think I am going to play on it again today.
same with me :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Crackdown
I see some videos on youtube from dreamcast and I've been playing it for weeks again.
Don't fret Baloo. Like others have said, it all goes in phases.
After the Sega CD era I moving on to other things in life. Phantasy Star IV was the last 16-bit game that I "couldn't put down"
When the Saturn was released I saw Sega was just as retarded as they'd been since the days of cardboard Genesis game boxes and 32x etc. The Playstation controller and other factors provided no interest in that console. I was loosing interest in gaming. The N64 provided some novel new experiences and then I finally got a used Saturn package deal with some great games. Other things started to dominate my time and I again lost interest. I still played my Saturn but I didn't "follow" videogaming at all.
I was so "out" of gaming that I never even knew of the Dreamcast's existence until I moved back east and went to a friend's house and he had just gotten a Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure and Soul Caliber. I still couldn't care less though. Not long after that, I got internet access at home and signed up for eBay and started discovering unknown (to me) Saturn imports. That was early 2000 and it certainly rekindled a desire to play and "discover" games. Strikers 1945 Part II fully got me back into shoot 'em ups, which I hadn't cared about since the days of Gaires. While I never have the time I used to have to play games, the games I do choose to play provide great enjoyment and satisfaction. I feel I've matured into my "own" type of gamer. While it is fun to debate and share opinions with you all on Sega 16, besides this site I pay very little attention to gaming media.
If gaming doesn't interest you right now, devote your time to things that do interest you.
Thanks for the responses guys, glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.
I was never a fan of the Mega Man games too much, though I really enjoyed Mega Man V for the Game Boy. I have a couple of the NES ones but they're too hard for me to really get into. I love platformers but the games are just so damn frustrating that when I can't finish a level I simply lose the patience to play.
I think I'm going to just focus on arcade and pinball for now, and hopefully someday find my way back to console gaming. But this long campaign stuff just doesn't do it for me anymore, especially on the new systems. Buying a 360 was probably the worst purchase I've ever made, what a waste of $300, I barely play it :S
@ZZBadnusty, I do devote my time to a lot of other things actually, particularly listening to music, which I really enjoy. Modding here and talking in IRC and on Reddit and other forums I also really enjoy. I also love to write. Being a part of the community here on Sega-16 is an honor, and this thread really shows it. :)
I lost virtually all interest in video games from 2002 until 2008. I wouldn't think of it as a phase that never comes back, though. I got overly saturated with gaming and expanded onto other hobbies. But then I found the fire again. Some people beat 150 games per year, but do little else with their lives. I'm just happy, and so should you, that gaming is but a part of our lives. It's a passion, and it comes with ups and downs. You'll cycle back to it eventually.
I agree with the comments regarding difficulty in games. Whenever I find myself in your position, and I feel like gaming, I just play easy, fun games that bring pleasure. After all, isn't that what gaming is all about in the end?
whenever i dont feel like "gaming" but just want a fun experience i just pop in some devils crash MD and play some demonic pinball until i loose then turn it off satisfied
Hey, why not dip your toes into XBLA and XBLIG?Quote:
Originally Posted by Baloo
There are some gems there to be found, you'd be surprised.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baloo
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kollision
Yeah, XBLA has many great arcade games that are short and sweet. Pac-Man CE, Afterburner: Climax, Radiant Silvergun and Pinball FX2 are excellent titles with a lot of replay value and little commitment to time. Might I suggest Culdcept Saga on the 360 as well; It's an update to the often praised Dreamcast title.
I can understand your dilemma though, once you've experienced the sweet nectar of Saturn gaming, it's hard to look elsewhere. :p
If I didn't have an HTPC or any of my more mature consoles, I would probably find plenty to play in XBLA and Indie games. There is more available there than I am willing to look into.
I get that sometimes, but I end up smacking myself
You should embrace this, and take it as an opportunity to get into something else. The games will always be there to come back to, and at some point down the road you'll have the desire back. Too much of something is never a good thing. You need a break, that's all.