Title mostly describes how I’m feeling now.
When I was younger, my main worry when deciding what game to buy and play next was that the game wouldn’t be able to keep me entertained until I can buy another game.
Now I have a backlog of almost 100 games that I own and haven’t played yet (although some come from bundles, not all are worth playing). My new concern when I’m playing a game is whether or not the time I put into the game is well spent.
I used to really like the idea of games where it would take me 100s of hours to get to 100% completion, but now I tend to almost avoid playing them entirely even if I know I don’t care about completion anymore.
I don’t think I’m alone in this, but what I’m really wondering is if this is a result of getting older? Or is it because the gaming space itself has changed?
I think you’ve nailed it by outlining the worry of kids without an income of their own - if you can’t buy what you want whenever, game length is a plus, but when you’ve got disposable income, summer sales, the odd free game, and new good titles coming out all the time, brevity’s more valuable than each game being a forever-game.
forever-game
I have sworn off of these. Destiny 2 was a soul sucking time sink. My entire life had to revolve around it or else I would miss content in the game. That’s great for the people who enjoy that, but it’s just not for me anymore. Like OP, I really just want games with concise stories that end when they should.
Yes. Also, I don’t need a game to drive engagement. I don’t need (or want) some tangible reward for playing every day. I don’t want to compete with anyone - I mean I can enjoy pvp in some games, but I want success to be purely based on skill, not who has collected the most kills to buy specialized pvp gear without which someone can’t even compete.
If I have to grind to earn “fun,” I’m out. Some games can be fun to grind. I’ll play Diablo just to watch destruction fill my screen. But for example around the time WoW added daily quests, I realized I had to be done with the game. I loved Team Fortress and every few years I’d reinstall it and play some more, but now there are rewards and stuff that changes the balance of the game making it “impure.” If the game isn’t fun to play without earning rewards that unbalance the game in your favor, is not worth playing at all.
I’m “in the middle” of Horizon: Forbidden West. Then Jedi Survivor (or whichever the new one is) came out and other responsibilities ate into my time and now I don’t remember where I am, what I was doing, and I frankly barely remember how to even play.
I enjoy the games. There is so much to do and the worlds are so large. They are well written, the voice acting is great. But I just don’t have time to engage with it all. And heck I don’t have to experience every iota of content, but I have to grind all the systems to become capable of finishing the game and I just can’t.
other responsibilities ate into my time and now I don’t remember where I am, what I was doing, and I frankly barely remember how to even play.
This is my biggest issue with long games. I feel like if it’s getting too long and I want to try something else, I can’t come back to it in the middle and pick up where I left off. I have to either consume the game in one chunk, or accept the fact that I’m never going to finish it… which makes me not even want to start it half the time.
Due to the way I approach a lot of media (eg. games, TV, comics, etc.), I almost never play more than one game at a time. The only exceptions are the occasional multiplayer game which is rare.
Shit, I often don’t even mix media. I’ll be in TV mood and ignore games and comics, then be in a comic mood and ignore TV and movies and games, then a game mood where everything else is on the back burner. But in each of those cases, I finish things up and almost never jump out in the middle.
This has the nice benefit of not forgetting where I am (well, not any more than usual, which can be a fair amount when it comes to my brain), but the disadvantage of potential burnout.
Totally agreed with everything you said. I’m currently towards the end of Jedi Survivor, and I have really enjoyed it, but I would probably recommend to people who aren’t Star Wars fanatics like me to wait until it’s less buggy, because it is quite distracting. At least it isn’t crashing for me.
I would love to play Forbidden West, but it’s not on PC. :(
If you’re enjoying yourself while you play, then the time was well spent. Like you said, try to remember that nobody is making you play every game you start to 100% completion, that’s an entirely self-imposed rule.
That said, for me personally, the length of a game is generally irrelevant to whether or not I will enjoy that game. If I enjoy a game, I enjoy that game. If it’s long, it’s long. If not, cool.
As a dad of two young kids, I am 100% with you.
Best example for me: Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
I loved the first game but I had significantly more spare time back then. I picked up TOTK on day 1 but I just couldn’t connect with it because it’s too big. The map is too big, there’s just too many options it overwhelms me now. I maybe can spend one or two hours a day playing and I really enjoy it now if the game just takes me by the hand and guides me. These massive open world games are not for me any more I’m afraid.
Yep, kids changed it for me too. Picked up RDR2 on sale and just can’t get into it. I have like an hour to play a game at a time, and I don’t want to spend 20 minutes riding a horse to a destination.
I always check howlongtobeat.com before investing in a game. 10-20 hours is perfect. 80+ sounds terrible to me.
I am a student and can’t get into rdr2 either, because I know that I have to play for a few hours to get to a big, epic, story mission. I gave up after the first two missions. For me, the game would’ve been better if it didn’t have an open world, bur rather, you just get send from mission to mission. Like Call of Juareze Gunslinger (which is also western themd), where it’s just a bunch of story missions. Nice 5-6 hour adventure iirc.
As someone who loved BOTW, there’s no way I’m playing TOTK. Just for so many reasons.
I hate crafting and building. I can’t deal with such a massive world right now. And I think what it really comes to is that, while I can enjoy periods without narrative, I’m just not the kind of person who thrives in a “make your own fun” situation. Sandbox games never appealed to me, and TOTK is even more of a sandbox than BOTW was.
I think I was just lucky to be in the right frame of mind when it came to BOTW.
Welcome to the Patient Gamers world. Now that I’m in my late 30s with responsibilities, I’ll take a short linear game (e.g. Mafia Definitive Edition) with a compelling story over long, repetitive games (e.g. Assassin’s Creed). Quality over quantity for me. Since I don’t have a lot of time, I want to spend some quality time with the game.
I don’t really see how what you’re describing relates to patient gaming – isn’t patient gaming moreso to do with waiting until games drop in price, then getting them patched up with all their DLC?
I have to say, it’s also a subculture of it. When I used to participate in r/patientgamers, a lot of people (myself included) realised that we didn’t care about the latest releases because of our responsibilities (and maturity), and many of us preferred short to long.
But it’s not homogeneous.
I’d say it’s parallel to or supportive of patient gaming.
Like, that commentor has less time to dedicate, so they’ll go for games with plots they may have heard were good/engaging which may not always be the latest, pricey, AAA content. They may also return to a game they’ve already bought because they enjoyed it so much.
In researching games that they’re interested in, they’re already making value decisions based on content, so it makes sense that they may add in value considerations based on pricing as well.
I have a system.
For every hour of play a game offers, I’m willing to pay $1.
this is a really terrible system. there are a lot of fantastic games that are short and more than $2.
I’m not sure why this became popular. I’ll easily spend £8 to watch a 1.5 hour film so why would I limit myself on a game I could enjoy if it’s short. I just play games I think I’ll like. I’m not picking up a 100 hour multiplayer because it’s better value
