I want to game....but I can't.

[Chardok]

I don't know what happening. Call it growing up, call it prioritizing, call it....I dunno, something else, but lately, since I've bought the hosue and have been doing things like, tending the yard, growing the pumpkins, chasing away varmints, playing with Ricky outside, and then the next thing I know, it's 9:30 PM, and I literally cannot summon the energy to play video games. I don't sleep, I just veg out. Last night, around 9:30, I fired up the old xbrick, went into the marketplace with every intention of buying Beyond Good and Evil HD and playing it til midnight or something. but....as my finger hovered over the purchase button, I thought to myself "I just...can't. I cannot get emotionally/mentally invested in a new thing right now." I saw I had a message from Losonti, just before hitting the "Shut console down option", and I went about watching 2 more episodes of Family Guy before simply turning in for the night. (Sorry about that, Los)

*sigh* This sucks, because I still really really love gaming and games, and I WANT to play, I really do...anyone else experience something like this?

[Sarevok]

I think you may have gaming fatigue from playing too many games.

Try playing a different type of game from what you are used to. Like a city building game or even a clever puzzler like Osmos.

[Magellan]

I know the feeling, but mine is simply temporary.

I've bought a bunch of new games in the past couple of weeks to add on to my already ridiculous backlog, but the work is piling up in the last 3 weeks of the semester and I can't keep putting it off, so at this point I'm just preparing for the summer. I just simply walk by my games each day.

But in your case, I'd suggest a simple title with no story, maybe a racing game that you can play in small doses.

[Alferd Packer]

All part of growing up. I like playing games, but I don't like it enough to spend time away from my wife or skimp on a good night's sleep.

[Lagmonster]

Speaking as a guy with a house, kid, and career who's been gaming since I discovered you could shove dimes into a copy of Pac Man at the local Ponderosa restaurant...

You get over it. It feels like switching gears when you suddenly find yourself not slaved to the same old habits; I almost imagine that cigarette smokers who've kicked their addiction must feel the same way at 10:15 am when they realize they have no reason to go outside.

After a while, you adapt. If your love of gaming is strong enough, as was mine, you come back to play new titles that you can get invested in rather than just because 'is a new game'. And you start hating the flaws in the games you do play a lot less. If something is bugged or wierd, you just stop giving a shit because your time isn't worth it, so you play around it or you just give up and let it go.

[CaptHawkeye]

I've been losing interest in games lately myself for all the same reasons. I have more important things to do and frankly the ever increasing trends in the game industry do not appeal to me. I'm hoping the indie market gets bigger over the next few years because main-stream gaming has been pretty underwhelming to me since 2007.

After a few years of basically low level play i'll probably get back into it when the industry either changes or I get bored of whatever i'm doing at the time.

[Magellan]

Wow ... now I just feel bad for comparing myself to you guys. But at least I have a better heads up of what's ahead.

[Sarevok]

I've been losing interest in games lately myself for all the same reasons. I have more important things to do and frankly the ever increasing trends in the game industry do not appeal to me. I'm hoping the indie market gets bigger over the next few years because main-stream gaming has been pretty underwhelming to me since 2007.

After a few years of basically low level play i'll probably get back into it when the industry either changes or I get bored of whatever i'm doing at the time.

Out of curiosity Hawkeye what kind of games are you looking from indie developers ? Would you play an indie game if it were a FPS rather than a 2D side scroller or puzzle game ?

I ask because I was a jaded gamer myself who grew tired of same types of big name games every year. Now I am working on my own game. Which is a shooter because I love FPS games. Instead of making yet another tower defense or Super Meat Boy game I thought why not try improve something I enjoy playing myself...

[CaptHawkeye]

World of Goo was an example from a little while ago. Jutland was also an example of more games i'd like to see though admittedly I think the developers are assholes. Combat Mission Battle For Normandy and Overgrowth are games i'm interested in from small time developers which may or may not be the same as true indie devs. I'm a milsimmer so those kinds of games appeal to me and are the examples I know. I'm sure others could name far better examples.

I would love to see indie FPS games. Since I think the indie scene has too much "quirky side scrollers" image associated with it. They could make more ambitious games if they really wanted to. Since good game mechanics don't have to be tied in with the things that make games expensive these days like graphics, effects, advertising campaigns, terrible story writing etc.

[Stark]

I think you may have gaming fatigue from playing too many games.

Try playing a different type of game from what you are used to. Like a city building game or even a clever puzzler like Osmos.

He just described in detail how his growing commitments and changing interests affect the way he spends time. Do you think 'a different kind of game' is going to make him ignore his child?

Even Zak has ditched his gold subscription to concentrate on his career and study. I don't think it should be considered unusual at all, and it's hardly a problem that needs fixing.

[Broomstick]

*sigh* This sucks, because I still really really love gaming and games, and I WANT to play, I really do...anyone else experience something like this?

Yep.

When it happens to me I put the games aside for a week or three and concentrate on real life for awhile. Eventually I want/have energy to play again and return.

[Connor MacLeod]

I go through cycles of "not playing games" for weeks or months at a stretch where I might do something else (like waste an hour or two posting on here, catch up on the rare TV shows I watch, bake, or whatever.) It's literally months since I touched a console, and the rare times I did play a game it was on my computer (because mainly I can multitask some of them - I don't play very many modern games but rather play shit I aggregated over my teenage years.)

It's normal to go through phases where you just either aren't interested or have other matters to occupy you. It doesn't mean you're going to give up games forever, it just means it will probably take a backseat until time/interest renews. After all it's a fricking hobby, not a boat anchor. (Same actually applies to watching shows, posting on this forum, or messing around with my 40K stuff. I've been putting that off for over a week because of lack of interest even though I'd resolved to try and keep a semi-regular schedule. Go figure.)

[Citrakite]

I get that feeling sometimes but I just got back to Wow and it's like i have my crack, MMORPG's.

[Akhlut]

Yeah, I know how that goes. I work 8 hours a day, cook dinner, play with my son, and hang out with my wife. I'm usually then just wanting to veg out for a while (or vag out GIGGITY GIGGITY GOO!).

I'd say if you want to play games but can't summon the willpower, I'd say start playing games that don't require nearly as huge a time investment and that can safely be put down without then wondering "what the fuck? I don't remember the plotline" if you put it down and pick it up 6 months later or whatever. I find that Paradox games work really well for this, though I'd strongly suggest getting older ones with expansions so that they're properly patched and playable. Also, only get those if you like grand strategy games.

If you want to get back into the habit, as it were, pick up small games that don't take much time and are fun as hell. The Force Unleashed, for instance, is awesome because you get to play a guy with Force powers and you get to absolutely obliterate everything in your way and there's not too much plot to get confused about and you can put it down for a while and pick it back up without losing plot-critical details. Sports games are also good for this, if you're into them (I know I got a lot of hours in playing NCAA Football '11 as Hawai'i).

So, in short: play games that don't require as much commitment and try to build up a habit of playing games again to get back into the swing.

Plus, remember, you don't have to play games like you did when you were five years younger. If you get a good 2 hours in instead of 4 or 6, then that's not a failing.

[Connor MacLeod]

If he's REALLY that worried about his inability to play games (and I dont think it's as bad as he may fear) then maybe a bit more planning could be handled for that. Say, deciding to stay up an extra hour or so ahead of time on a certain day (like a Friday) just to play a game. Prior to that you could plan on going to sleep earlier during the week, especially if you know you'll be so busy you'll just be too tired to manage it spontaneously. Saturdays can be good for that at times too. I've done that whenever I've been particularily busy or my free time has been inconsistent (or I just get too damn tired to care.)

[Broomstick]

For awhile, I concentrated my gaming time on when I first got up and ate breakfast, sometimes getting up an hour early to game (while going to sleep early enough to get sufficient rest). I've know a few other people to do that, including a current guild member who lives in England but joined our American guild because our playing times comes in his early morning hours, which works out better with his schedule. There's something to be said for the first hour or two of the day being something you enjoy, though of course that's just one possible solution among many, and not for everyone.

[Zablorg]

I find I get this attitude very often. Granted, I play all of... two games, but I think it's the same sort of thing. What I tend to find though, is that once I actually get in there and start playing, I really do have a nice time doing it.

But of course, as others have said, not wanting to play is fine too. I guess with what I just said, my "solution" would be to just... do it, regardless of any intuitive resistance you feel towards the idea, but that actually sounds like the least fun thing you could possibly do, so pff.

[Sarevok]

For awhile, I concentrated my gaming time on when I first got up and ate breakfast, sometimes getting up an hour early to game (while going to sleep early enough to get sufficient rest). I've know a few other people to do that, including a current guild member who lives in England but joined our American guild because our playing times comes in his early morning hours, which works out better with his schedule. There's something to be said for the first hour or two of the day being something you enjoy, though of course that's just one possible solution among many, and not for everyone.

Out of curiosity Broomstick when did you get into gaming ? IIRC you were already an adult when videogames took off in 80s. Did you play back then ? Or did you start with WoW because of it's social component ?

[Losonti Tokash]

No worries Chards, I just wanted to see if you wanted to play Brotherhood since I remember you having trouble finding people that had it.

[Broomstick]

For awhile, I concentrated my gaming time on when I first got up and ate breakfast, sometimes getting up an hour early to game (while going to sleep early enough to get sufficient rest). I've know a few other people to do that, including a current guild member who lives in England but joined our American guild because our playing times comes in his early morning hours, which works out better with his schedule. There's something to be said for the first hour or two of the day being something you enjoy, though of course that's just one possible solution among many, and not for everyone.

Out of curiosity Broomstick when did you get into gaming ? IIRC you were already an adult when videogames took off in 80s. Did you play back then ? Or did you start with WoW because of it's social component ?

I got into gaming with Dungeons & Dragons in the 1970's - the old paper and dice game because that was before the PC had been invented (Jobs, Wozniack, and Gates were all still in high school at the time). I got into computer gaming with text-based games also back in the 1970's, the first being a sort of Star Trek played on a mainframe (still before PC's), things like Twonky, and so forth. That would have been around 1977 or '78. When the arcade games like PacMan, Space Invaders, Tailgunner, Asteroids, and all those came out I played them (when I could shove past the male assholes in the arcade - needless to say, gaming females were vanishingly rare back then, and it wasn't at all unusual to get harassed.) I started playing Warcraft with the first game that came out, later called "Orcs vs. Humans". I joined WoW not because of the social aspect but because I'd liked the earlier Warcraft games.

So yeah, I've been playing computer, strategy, and RPG games for quite awhile now.

[Chardok]

Well, it's good to know I'm not alone. I managed last night after yardwork and chores to squeeze in an hour or so of Red Faction. It was kind of nice to just break stuff! I think maybe I'm coming out of my funk, and Los's mention of AC:Broho reminded me that I'm pretty close to finishing that game...I may just dive back on that and get me some multiplayer time in, as well! Thanks again, everyone.

[Dendrobius]

The thing I found was that the games I want to play are no longer around, or I just don't have the amount of time required to invest into them anymore.

- Space combat games like X-Wing, Wing Commander, etc? Gone.
- More "hardcore" small unit tactical games like Raven Shield, SWAT 4, etc, where you can get 4 buddies together and do some quality coop? Gone. (Yes I know there's ArmA2, but that's more a battlefield sim. I love it, but it really is the more, the merrier, not small unit stuff)
- There are some good flight sims out now (DCS: Black Shark, DCS: A-10, etc), but I just don't have the time to learn how to fly these things properly.

[Covenant]

I got a PS3 and I swear I haven't touched the thing in months despite the fact it kicks ass. It just isn't kicking the ass I want it to, and as a busy person, I budget my time differently. I still play games, I just do them on the computer now via steam.

It passes. You never "grow out" of gaming if you really enjoy it but, man, life gets in the way. It's like reading. Been a while since I've sat and read a real book, but I still enjoy it. I just have stuff I want to get done.

[Broomstick]

^ This.

I love gaming. It's one of my longest-running hobbies. But life interferes with my hobbies. If you have a healthy relationship with gaming (that is, you're NOT obsessed) there will always be times when what's going on in reality will overshadow the gaming.... which is as it should be.

And sometimes it's a good thing to take a break and concentrate on other things for awhile.