do you find it difficult to get into games? I’ve got Epic Games and Steam Games libraries chock-full of classic top-tier games along with many other newer games like Stray or 2077, and a bunch of indie titles. I just can’t be bothered to download and install them, much less try to get into the characters and storylines. Used to be I couldn’t wait to see what happened in the story, what new items you could collect, what new worlds the developers had created. Not anymore. I return to playing the same franchise for a quick FPS match or three and then I’m done.
Yup. My first console technically was a NES (technically Atari 2600 but I was really young). Been playing console and PC games ever since. I used to love games. Wanted to design them and even got a job as a game tester and GM for WoW (tester made me realize I didn’t want to work in the industry). I don’t know when it started but outside of a few instances I can’t get into games anymore. I think there are a few reasons (though they’re sort of overlapping).
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I’ve already experienced a lot of it. I’ve saved countless kingdoms, stop hundreds of bad guys from blowing up stuff, repeatedly discovered the mysteries of crystals/labs/villages. There isn’t a lot of “new” stuff.
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I don’t have consistent chunks of free time and don’t want to use all my freetime playing games. I can’t always invest in a long story and a lot of games take a while to get started.
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As I get older I value my time more. I’m not necessarily old but looking at life expectancy I’ve hit the midway point. That just causes me to evaluate my freetime differently. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean I am necessarily making the best of use of my time but stops me from spending 8 hours of a Saturday playing the new Spider-Man.
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I find my need to unwind and relax increases with age. After a long stressful day at work I don’t necessarily want to engage with complex systems or drawn out stories. I just want to start playing and not have to think. I also don’t want to be stressed. I find online competitive games to be stressful.
There are other issues like the market has changed and less games align with what I enjoy. Social aspect of games are mostly gone for me.
