Burning Out on GamesJanuary 3rd, 2008 by Monique
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Lately I’ve felt like I’m not a gamer anymore. I don’t own the latest generation consoles, unless the Nintendo DS counts, and the last time I actually paid for a computer game was when I bought The Burning Crusade. Most of the gaming things that come out of my mouth are about the days of yesteryear, beginning with a “remember when” and ending with “yeah, those were the days.” At a fresh twenty-one, I’m somehow washed up and burnt out on gaming, but unable to fully let go.
And it sucks.
I think the best piece of business advice has always been to hook ‘em young. Organized crime, cigarettes, video gaming—it doesn’t matter what as long as you start them young. Get them while they’re crawling in their crib and they will never leave. Something about old habits dying hard. I was a picture perfect example at seven years old, propped up on the old leather couch shooting ducks from the sky or saving princesses in various castles. Thirteen years later, all that’s changed is a keyboard for a controller and instead of ducks, I’m killing Lady Vashj.
The problem is I’m not having fun anymore. At all.
And what do you do when it’s not fun?
If you’re me, you probably keep playing. Because you’re addicted to gaming. Because maybe it’ll get fun again. Because maybe it’s just been too long and too much time to just go cold turkey.
Because maybe the princess really is in another castle.
I was reading an article for my general sociology class last quarter and it said people are addicted to possibility. People love the chance of something happening, even if it’s a thousand to one, all they have to know is it’s possible. If you give a dog a bone when he sits, it will take months of him repeating the action without reward to undo the association. This addiction to possibility, even when proven to be rare or simply nonexistent, is what forms broader addictions—wider addictions.
Pretty soon it’s not just about a bone anymore.
Video games are sort of like that. Bad games lurk everywhere. We’re bored constantly. Designers fuck with us and companies laugh behind our gullible backs while giving us fucking terrible controls, bad voice acting, and shitty plots. Still, we search for the diamond in the rough. Maybe Resident Evil 3 was lackluster, but couldn’t Resident Evil 4 shine? (Well okay–in this case, it did.)
It’s for the thrill of the chase. I keep playing World of Warcraft because I want have that thrill of downing 4H world first again—or maybe that time we ran that Strathholme in fifteen minutes and two epics dropped and we felt pretty in our tier 3. But I didn’t find that as a Blood Elf, and I’m not finding it as a Night Elf even if I look pretty. Chances are, I won’t ever find it again. I won’t ever have my Human Paladin again.
But there’s a possibility. And it forms the addiction, an inability to let go. It’s like how I played Mario Sunshine because I loved Mario, and wanted to experience a game like the first few someday. It let me down, but from what I hear, Mario Galaxy won’t, and that’s something, right?
Right?
So, it’s just a flip of the dice. Heavily weighted, imbalanced dice, but dice nonetheless. 
I guess I’m just tired of rolling them and getting snake eyes. I want Left 4 Dead to come out and not disappoint me like Hellgate: London did. I want Warhammer to come out, and actually make WoW look like the terrible casual grinding game it has become. I want a breath of fresh air in a stale environment, and I want it now. It’s why I took so rapidly to Indigo Prophecy and it’s why I’m waiting with baited breath for Resident Evil 5. I want a game that evolves and changes with the times—a game that is so supreme it is essentially timeless.
I don’t want to be reliving 4H world firsts forever, or craving The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for months to come. I want to be experiencing new and even better feelings.
I want gaming to grow up like I have.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:19 am
There will never be the feel of getting Nefarion down again- 4th or 5th on the server, 10 minutes right after the 3rd or 4th guild got Nef. We all know the feeling of being on the cutting edge, and working with that massive team to make it happen. The knowledge that you did something special and reserved to those who could play well both in a team and as individuals.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen again in a mass-market MMO; the slack-jawed “two hours per week” people who believe breaking crowd control is The Way To Play and that getting BG epics Really Takes Skill have gotten ahold of the business, and their desires will drive the genre, because there are a lot of them, and they outnumber people of quality.
I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a game tuned against “casual” gametimes but hardcore difficulty(I have the technical capabilties for a small-scale multiplayer game), but it would be a long project, and the art just couldn’t happen from me, even in little pieces.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:29 am
I guess I am not the gamer I once was - not only because I just don’t have the time I used to, but because I am no longer willing to take a chance on games I don’t know that I’ll love. I already have my established franchises, of which I will buy anything as soon as I can (Civilization, StarCraft, and a few others). Outside of those, it takes a mightily impressive demo to get me to take the plunge.
And because I am only a PC gamer, they need to justifyi themselve snot only in gameplay but playable framerates as well. I don’t care how fantastic Crysis is, I can’t play it until I get a whole new box because 5 FPS isn’t fun.
That said, this whole growing up thing means I can actually afford an awesome killer PC now that I am out of school, finished uni, and in a job. So I might just get one and see where it takes me - I’ve never had a truly top-of-the-line computer before.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:08 am
I felt the same a couple of years ago (2003-2004). There wasn’t really much of anything interesting being released (another PC gamer here - so dunno about consoles) and the old games just weren’t doing it anymore. I was just about to throw in the towel and give up - when all of a sudden the sky burst open and there came the Guild Wars E3 for Everyone Alpha event. Just a tiny taste of the incredible PvP experience it offered was enough to get me back into gaming straight away - it made me hopeful for more quality games in the future, it’s a shame I had to wait all the way until 2007 for those quality games to actually arrive though. (Note: I did not like Guild Wars much after release)
Last year’s C&C3, SupCom, Crysis, World in Conflict, UT3 and The Witcher were real eye-openers for me. They made that old ‘remember when’ and ‘those were the days’ mindset vanish completely - and make way for the ‘gaming is awesome’ mindset yet again. No longer do I feel like UT dominates anything out today - because there finally is a worthy successor! Tiberium Wars proved to be a very entertaining C&C game. World in Conflict couldn’t stop making me smile in multiplayer, it’s awesome! Crysis really demonstrated just how much games have advanced since those ‘good old days’. And The Witcher is testament to the fact that big-name studios aren’t everything and PC RPGs are still were it’s at.
No, in terms of how many games I purchase and like - I’m more of a gamer now than I’ve ever been before. It’s even the first time I’ve had a top-of-the-line rig to play all those games on. The only problem is that in between work and blogging I don’t have a whole lot of time to actually play all those games…
So yeah, my gaming-burnout has come and (hopefully permanently) gone. Gaming is good
January 4th, 2008 at 4:10 am
I think, to a certain extent, the way the industry works has changed so dramatically, so fast, that it’s seriously impacted games. Whereas before you had a few studios taking a risk on a media that could go anywhere, do anything - and now you have a bunch of massive corporations going ‘how can we maximise profits and minimise spendings?’ ‘what’s our target demographics?’ ‘how can we appeal to niche group 20?’
There are still good games, but there’s just so MANY games. It’s like television - once upon a time, everyone watched the same thing at the same time. For gamers, once upon a time everyone owned a Nintendo and played Mario. A lot of the social aspect is gone, regardless of the multiplayer. I think that’s part of the reason games for the wii, the casual games, are so popular. Because they’re meant for groups of people, to play in a spare hour. It’s fun, it’s social.
I hate the grind. I simply cannot bring myself to run the early level Alliance quests in WoW anymore. Because seriously, who needs to spend that much time, rehashing old storylines?
On the other hand, the explosion of games has meant we have so much more choice and variety. Anything from EA Sports game 45, to obscure indie game with weird title. So, there are good games out there, but how can you find them? Marketers are clever: they make you want Hellgate, they make you want the franchises, they make you want Assassins Creed.
I haven’t really been a hardcore gamer since I left home though. Never had money for consoles, always had to borrow other peoples. Had my own memory card, and used to just go from person to person
And I did so much stuff in Uni, groups, socialising, went to the US, traveled to about 20 different places. There’s no way I would’ve exchanged that for WoW. Why go to freaking Azeroth when you can go to Florida/Vienna/California/Canada? I know which make for better memories XD
Nah, I save the games for those rare occasions when I have nothing better to do.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I have a friend like this. We used to drink beer and play video games (Morrowind stole months). Nowadays, 10 minutes of game time is all he can take before he just wanders away, great games included. However, he loves to spend hours searching for and downloading the newest pirated crapfest and hours more finally getting it installed and working, only to again lost interest after about 10 minutes or gameplay.
When he shows up I anticipate him not being interested in any cool games I have, but instead hopping on my computer and seeing what’s brand new and hours away from hitting ‘play’.
It’s rather strange but less so with your article’s perspective.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
As someone that finds myself in such a level of gaming.
I realize i am about to undertake the great leap forward in life, prehaps a child is the best thing for me. Seriously i have no money for any more upgrades to my horrible computer, its at the point where 1.8 ghz and a geforce 5500 are something people laugh at.. sigh.
My xbox 360 i tend to enjoy the causal games and do serious think about getting a wii, i just havent had a chance to really play one.
I hope to find more games i enjoy in the future, i really am in it for the community , that and the story, graphics, and everything else take on important roles, but if i’m on my computer and playing a game like guild wars or WoW , i want a group , not a single player experience.
I find it hard to discover the joys of gaming anymore.
Maybe one day i will find a mature group of people to game with again, but i doubt it will happen.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Very well said. You are pretty much right with everything you said. Games are too commercial right now and that is affecting them. With something like WoW’s success, you start seeing more and more games following the same grind ideology.
I am looking forward to StarCraft 2 right now… but that’s because I am loathing for the days of fun I had with the original one. Will they come back? I *hope* so…but don’t think so.
January 4th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hey, I found this article randomly using stumble. I know how you feel, I dont think I have actually seriously sat down and played a game in… weeks. And Im on my break between semesters. Everything just kinda feels old and rehashed. Anyway, I have a game you may enjoy looking at(I dunno if you enjoy MMOs or not, but heck, why not?)
Check this out:
www.infinity-universe.com
I found it about a year ago, and have been following it ever since. It is in developement, being written by one programmer, with all of the models and artwork coming from the community. Meaning no corporate sponsors or publishers to bugger everything up. I even took the initiative to learn 3D modelling for this project. It wont be out for awhile, but I expect it to make quite the splash when it does. I wont give you much more info than that, Leave it up to you to discover
January 4th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I am burned. I no longer want to play anymore. I like the very creative innovative games. I loved Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Sadly Singstar. Apart from those I dont find myself attracted to the gaming industry anymore. I feel like Halo has ruined life as we know it. The Multiplayer syndrome has swept the gaming world. Play online, against other people, with fantastic graphics and thats it. I have a Wii and the games for that are alot of fun. I feel like the games I loved when I was younger like Unreal, Mario, Starcraft, all had something that made me want to play more. In middle school we used our schools LAN to play Unreal and Starcraft against each other. I find myself playing more and more games from only certain creators like Hideo Kojima Its sad i think that all the creation has left and been reduced to the who has the best graphics war
January 4th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
It’s been somewhat similar for me, but I quit WoW well before BC in a BWL clearing guild most of the way through AQ. One night my brain just snapped while doing a useless MC run when I realized that nothing would ever match that first Rag kill, or even the first Strat clear. I’ve felt withdrawls, and I still often miss it, but I know that it will never be the same.
I’ve played games since, but there has been nothing that could capture my attention. There have been gems, Portal and Darwinia for instance, but I can’t obsess in the way I used to. Part of it is probably having a baby, some of it may just be getting older. Also getting into a field that I absolutely love (photography) has assuaged my obsessive tendencies.
Lately my biggest gaming joy is working my way through NES/SNES/Genesis/etc. games on an emulator, both games I loved and classics I missed as a child. My daughter heard the overworld theme from Legend of Zelda, sitting on my lap, before she was a day old. I think that her getting to an age where we can play together will be what gets me back into really loving games again.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I’ve found myself starting to feel this way lately and have been kinda freaked out by it. Gaming is something I started doing because it was something I did for fun with my friends, from both real life and those I met through games. Nowadays I feel as though I’m stuck doing something that I really don’t enjoy anymore, at least not to the extent that I used to. Playing games like Diablo II and WoW was something me and my friends did for fun after school. Now I feel like I’m invested in something and it would be a huge waste to just stop.
I’ve thought about quitting WoW for a while now and I always come back to this same notion: that I’ve put too much time into the game to not see it through. What the hell is wrong with me? See it through? That doesn’t even make sense. The more I play, the more stuff I have to look at and say, “Then why did I bother getting all this stuff?” I’d like to believe I just did it because it was fun, but I can’t be sure that I did anymore. I’m like an addict wondering why I do the things I do, yet I still continue to do them out of sheer habit. I find myself logging on and looking at my character screen and saying to myself, “I don’t even feel like playing this right now. Why am I going to click that Enter World button? So I can go do some daily quests that I’ve done a ridiculous amount of times? Maybe I’ll level another character.” But why? So I can do the same quests that I’ve already done, see the same scenery along the way, do the same things over and over again in a mindless grind to the level cap, so I can get there and see all the same stuff and so the same things I already do on my other character? What the hell?
I find myself looking to upcoming games and hoping that something will unite us gamers in a way that reminds us all of why we ever got into this whole thing in the beginning: To have fun with our friends and meet new people and interact together with something that is fun and harmless and isn’t just a product being pushed without a single care as to the quality of the thing. I look forward to the days when we all really play something again.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
You sound like veruca salt with your “i want it now” bit.
January 5th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Thanks for helping to ruin the gaming industry by pirating games btw. same with music and movies, which leads to arguements within the industry then WGA strikes, and then that effects the entire US economy. Seriously, if you dont have the respect to actually BUY the games, just get the hell out of gaming.
January 5th, 2008 at 3:58 am
Yeah, I completely agree. I’ve been having a hard time just getting preoccupied with games anymore. They just kind of bore me now. Then, the few games that do rock (Monster Hunter R.I.P.) get shut down. Sad sad world.
January 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
R3unbreakable–YEAH MAN. I am single-handedly pulling the USA into the recession. I hope you aren’t an economics major. In general, I pirate a game then buy it if it’s a good game (see: Oblivion). If it’s a piece of shit game, then it’s a piece of shit game, and I won’t buy it (see: the HG:L beta I played [which was buggy but fun, and I read that the bugs DIDN’T get fixed!]). QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
To everyone else–thanks for the comments. It’s nice to know I’m not alone, and also that it can be reversed.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I gave up gaming seriously several months back (now I am what I used to consider a tourist) due to the same feelings. However, I have rediscovered pen and paper games, and am amazed at how much fun I am having. Maybe it’s the switch to a new scene, but I think it’s because I always looked for PC games that recreated the group/community feel that was so much fun in my pen and paper/board game youth. That’s been lost in the grind it out, play forever to get anywhere spirit of the current market.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:43 am
With all due respect; these are GAMES, not chains around your neck if you can’t find something stimulating to play, (And since I find no mention of “Portal” in your lamentations, I wonder if you are even looking) Then screw it!
The one thing that defines a “gamer” is desire. You wake up and your fingers itch. That fucking Hellspike column in God of War burns in your mind, demanding you solve it. You consider skipping breakfast/school/work, to get that fix. A small obsession, that is what gamers are based upon. And if you are no longer feeling that obsession, then don’t worry about it. It will either come back, or it won’t.
But I propose that the problem lies with you, and not the developers.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I stumbled upon this particular blog entry or whatever you want to call it. I want to say that I feel exactly the same way. Same age, same childhood games. I’ve boughten games, and yet to complete them.
Maybe its because we’re growing up? I guess life called, and apparently I’m needed.
I just wanted to say this was a good read. And I love your site. I shall be frequenting it more …frequently.
Take care,
Kathie
January 6th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Yeah. I feel like this too from time to time. But really. Just look around for a few minutes and I’m usually back at it. So many amazing games and people who work so hard for what they love.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
The biggest change in my gaming experience has been the anticipation of buying games. Its changed from getting all my friends to pull our money to buy one game, and sitting around the one computer which was fast enough to run it. To owning every new game that comes out. Though I have considerably less time to game, I still buy all the games i think look cool. And there are some horrible games I’ve bought that should never have been published let alone conceived in someones mind. I still have fun lanning with all my roommates and the strange people that live on my couch with their laptop. I’d have to say my group of friends has been what really keeps me gaming.
And to all the pirates out there I’m buying enough games for 3 of you.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:13 am
I feel you. For me the zest of gaming is lost in the “madden 07 to madden 08″ although i never played either, its just a metaphor now. games don’t evolve as much as they capitalize… halo was big… slue of shooters. Splinter cell… slue of sneaky games. WoW (although its not anywhere near the first mmo out) Millions of mmo’s MILLIONS.
i want something new.
i want a game that challenges the very way I think.
but i guess in the end its all just 1’s and 0’s
maybe i should read a book.
January 7th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Well, If’ it helps, just remember you are not alone. This happens to everybody at some point in time with something they love. The absolute best thing you can do is just stop doing it for a while. Maybe a month, maybe a year, however long until you just aren’t even thinking about gaming. Go back to it, and it’ll be a hell of a lot more fun. IANAD, but I believe it medically has something to do with an over use of the pleasure giving side of your brain, IE you play the game, you get a release of endorphines and have fun, it’s the same basic principle around a lot of drugs, the longer and more you do it, the less and less pleasurable each individual experience will be for you. However, unlike many drugs, if you take a break from gaming, you’ll be able to lower your tolerance level enough so gaming is fun once more! yay science!
January 7th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Try Phantom Hourglass on DS, amazing game!
Rune Factory is also very good
January 7th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Or…..if you might like to read a book, check out Hotel Dusk, another awesome DS game
I’m an “older gamer” too (25) and the DS is my platform of choice atm, I love my Wii, Fire Emblem, Mario, Metroid n all are great, but my DS is where my passion lies….and with the ability to add homebrew apps with a device like the CycloDS Evo it just can’t be beat….I have AIM and VoIP on my DS!
January 7th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Just to give you an example of how Phantom Hourglass and the DS will MAKE you think out of your normal game mode (sorry for the triple post :p)
In one part you find a map that has the location of some treasure you need.
The map you find is an upside down version of one yuou already have.
The game tells you tp ‘presss it against the other map’ or somethnig like that.
One is displayed on the top screen and the other on the bottom.
It took me a minute to realize it wanted me to actually CLOSE my DS to “press” the one image onto the map I carry with me.
That was a great DS moment right there, and I’ve run into a few like that already at about halfway through.
January 7th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
All that you described happened to me too.
Then I found independent games and never looked back.
Here’s a couple of links to get you started:
http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/
http://www.tigsource.com/
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/
I also have a DS. Although the game mechanics are innovative, I find it’s games way too immature or easy to be fun. When I started with indiegames it was like I had found a new world of awesomeness. There are thousands of titles out there and they’re often free or low price.
January 8th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Try working full time at electronic arts, sony, or any other game comanies like I do. Games are dead now for me. Playing the same game for 8 - 12 hours a day 5 - 7 days a week. It’s a fun job and plenty of hours. But I can’t handle it anymore. I am quitting soon. I have realized that I like games more than work. I wanna a job that I hate. So I am even more excited to come home and turn on the tv and veg out on some video games.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I had this happen to me for a bit. It happened with WoW, so I switched to a game called Puzzle Pirates (I like puzzles, even if they’re somewhat childish). Then I got bored of that, so was reduced to the suggestions forums. I did it on Puzzle Pirates until I got banned from a hacker, then shifted onto the WoW boards and threw my ideas out to never be seen again. Finally I got tired of that and created my own game (at least in theory). You can check it out at http://www.freewebs.com/akamiidea. Sorry it has to be freewebs, but it’s all I can manage for now. Maybe this year I can upgrade it to my own domain.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I know how you feel, but ive been playing games since i was 2(first game was frogger on the atari), im now 20 and feel like i myself have advanced past what game developers can currently offer, ive been passing time playing mario bros on my NES i dug up, and remembering the old days, its a hard realization, and im fighting it, but gaming is getting less and less fun for me, i could elaborate so much, but not really on a comment my words seem to fail me in reading this =/
January 8th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
(And since I find no mention of “Portal” in your lamentations, I wonder if you are even looking) Then screw it!
Notice I mentioned Portal a while back (with Darwinia, as “gems”). It’s probably the most enjoyable new game I’ve found in at least 5 years (ignoring the addictive and awfully wonderful WoW). Short, but amazing design, very fun, and hilarious. Certainly, there are some new good games, but I’m just not as into the scene as much.
Right now I’m working on Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Evil game, It combines being very evil and very hard (and slightly hard for long enough periods to become difficult). But a great game.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Thank you for writing this wonderful article…now I know I am not alone. Like you, I do not own a next gen console (I do own a Wii, but the dearth of good games sans Galaxy and Super Paper Mario is leaving me for more). When my suite mates were addicted to WoW, I realized that is where people are placing emphasis on games today because it sucks such large numbers of people in. So what did I do without roomies to play Halo with? I broke out the SNES. Something about the games for that system were just so enjoyable. Mario was Mario, TMNT: Turtles in Time is still the best local multiplayer game and the Final Fantasy series was at its peak (not to mention other great rpgs like Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and SuperMario RPG).
One commenter mentioned loving the new UT because it was a proper successor: it went back to its roots. Perhaps more games should do the same.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I guess the bottom line is that yes, we all felt like this at one stage or another but dont worry too much about it.
The gaming industry is still growing and changing and going through its phases, and if you read all these comments, everyone had just one new game that recaptured what they found special about gaming. All it takes is that one game to bring you back… What intrigues me is that everyone had a different opinion about what game ‘brought them back’. Thats definitely a good thing since it shows that games aren’t necessarily getting worse and worse, they are just moving away from your personal taste. That means that soon they’ll swing back the other way and something will be produced that will make you fall in love with the whole thing all over again!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
That was beautiful. I can’t believe I didn’t think to write this myself. I don’t know whether or not to be ashamed that an article about video games could touch me so much, but it did.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Interesting article, it made me realize that I was also beginning to drift into this stage of boredom with my games. I was trying to wait for the past holiday season for a new game for my DS but found that I couldn’t, so I brought out my old Sega Dreamcast of all things. I started playing Sonic Adventure and Jet Grind Radio, as well as Shenmue. It was as others before me had posted, “A trip back in memory lane.” Sadly after playing for a couple weeks I grew tired of games again, and brought out the good old PS games, the many Final Fantasy games, the overlooked Lunar series, and even Parasite Eve and Xenogears (yeah I like RPGs). I was so entranced by playing just the Lunar series again, I barely wanted to stop on christmas eve!
Over the holidays I had received the new Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. Both are very excellent games that are unique in how they are played and have revived my love for gaming. The next gen systems do hold a certain allure, but the games available are not interesting enough for me to spend so much money on (aside from Super Mario Galaxy and the other ‘gems’).
I do agree that the industry seems much more eager to earn a few bucks than make something innovative and fun. I wish there were more original games like Okami but there don’t seem to be many developers that dare to take too many risks since the cost of making a game have risen so much compared to the old SNES days.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
You’re such a noob.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I think a lot of people feel this way, but I’ve noticed a lot of younger ones feeling it about more recent games. I know a guy a couple years younger than me who pines not for Ocarina of Time but for Majora’s Mask. To tell you the truth, Link’s Awakening is what makes me feel nostalgic and fuzzy inside. I think it isn’t so much of a failure of the games industry but of your memories and perspective of growing up.
January 10th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
You have thoroughly said what i’ve been feeling ever since the Wii hit the fan, and done it more clearly than i ever could. I have all but given up on console and handheld gaming, and find my self only playing maybe three out of the tons of games i’ve bought, and only PC games. Valve, BioShock and Lotro seem to be the only games that haven’t disappointed me out of tons of things i was really looking forward to. You are right that we’re addicted to possibility. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is going to follow in the footsteps of Half-Life and BioShock and turn the genre on it’s head, then shake it til all the loose change falls out. Spore is going to set the world on fire. Lotro will take me to Minas Tirith. Subversion is going to be the next Darwinia, and StarCraft II will be sort of interesting, right?
Right?
January 11th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Not just possibility, either, I believe. I think, sometimes, that gaming is like being hooked on cigarettes, quite literally - we game more and more and the more we game, the more we want to game, until our schedules are eaten up by a scourge we chose and love.
And when you finally find something worth playing, you’re still playing: you’ve just stopped playing out of desperation and started playing for the high.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:05 am
That empty void from gaming is because you’ve furfilled your needs as a gamer and want more from life. Its Maezlo’s hierachy of needs, as you finish one level, you move on to the next. Try adding some mature things you’ve always dreamed of doing but have never bothered with. Time only moves foward, although you can look back…
January 18th, 2008 at 1:56 am
The problem is WOW. I was feeling the same way but just kapt playing WOW played for 3 years. I recently bought a PS3 and haven’t touched WOW since and have no need to. I forgot what real gaming was all about. It’s not about getting your epic 2h Axe, it’s about playing the game and loving the story and the feeling you get when you actually beat the game. With WOW you can not win you just play forever.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:15 am
TBC ruined wow, yet I still play… I don’t have fun all I do is whine. I hate myself.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I agree with what dashen just said. I was truly addicted to WoW from day one until about the time I hit 70 in the burning crusade. I was just tired of trying to keep up with the guild and the gear so I finally took a break. I find now that I never want to go back to WoW or the in depth gaming again. I’m finally finishing up my 4 year degree in college after 6 years and I have reignited my love for playing guitar. I dont remember being this happy since I acquired my first piece of might in MC hahahaha. damn that was a long time ago.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I miss Omikron: The Nomad Soul and Deux Ex and even with much searching haven’t quite found anything that gave me the buzz that those two games gave me.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’m right there with you…I work for a video game retailer, and yet I can’t find a single damn game to play and keep me interested. It’s all too repetitive for me. I just picked up Puzzle Quest. Was pretty freaking cool for the first couple days, now it’s been about a month since I’ve touched it. Yes your items and spells keep evolving, but it’s just the same mechanics over and over and over. It’s the same thing with WoW and everything else for me, it doesn’t take me too long (well with WoW it was admittedly a couple years) to see where the repetition lies in a game and after that it’s useless to me. I realize there is a high percentage chance that I will be stoned for this but even FF12 couldn’t hold me. I Played about 30 hours of it because I kept telling myself that it was going to pick up and hold me, but I just couldn’t.
I’m still waiting for a game like FF7 or FF10 or come along that grabs my attention with the STORY so i don’t even care about the game play so much. Stop trying to evolve gaming and start trying to evolve the stories. Voice acting and scripting has come a long way (see Resident Evil) but it still doesn’t hold up. Now I realize that normally people aren’t trying to script out 10-20 hours of one storyline, but it still seems feasible to me, call me stupid.
I was very near buying a PSP, I had it on the counter, cash in hand, and I wandered over to the games to see what looked good. I never bought it. I looked over the large selection and the only thing that grabbed my attention was Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, and that’s only because it has Symphony of the Night on it!
I still check out games from work and play them to see how they rate, and my good friend has a PS3 and we’ve been working out way through that library, but I’m still not being bitten. So I’ve moved on. Now most of the time I was spending gaming I’m usually just hanging out with friends and family, because at least there (usually) the mechanics aren’t too repetitive.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:37 am
Maybe it’s time for you to leave the consoles alone and start exploring ARG instead.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I know what you mean, I used to play videogames 4-6 hours a day, but these past few years there haven’t been any games out that hold my attention
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
You grew up, congratulations.
Now maybe you’ll have enough free time to save a real princess.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:24 am
I still play WoW. I’ll give you 50 bucks for your account. Dooo iiit.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I’m 34, gaming since 1981. I’m not bored. I’m having lots of fun. You’re spoiled. Goodbye.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I fell into the trap of playing WOW and only focusing on it. (To the point of ignoring my consoles and my other pc games). I’m definately burnt out on WOW, so I’m giving my consoles their love again. And maybe shop around for PC games of my style since I have a good spec pc. (Which oddly enough I had gotten for the purpose of making lotro really pretty, and then I played it for about a week). MMO’s don’t really hold me. What drags me back in is the lack of many things you can play with friends(especially friends who don’t live where you do). (Or atleast back when I started that was the case) And then what kept me was the concept of losing the thing I’d spent so much time on and having nothing to show for it. I was completely broken of it for a few months, then I heard blizz was probably deleting accounts that hadn’t been used for 6 months and panicked. Ugh.