Gaming funk

Deathwing

Deathwing

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a c i d.f l y a c i d.f l y Yeah, that's frustrating too. Some would argue that the RNG is necessary for game diversity, otherwise you have chess. I kinda agree with them? But I also think that's a bit reductionist. I think presenting diversity via RNG instead of a plethora of choices is a failure in the game design itself. But as you said, probably best avoided altogether. Shame, I really liked slowly filling out a collection.

On the topic of the thread itself, I have Divine Divinity 2 installed and instead of playing for the last 2 hours, I farted around on the internet and did some work and house chores. Which is what I did all day at work. :rolleyes:


This next part is going to be kinda rambly.

To be fair, to call this a "gaming funk" is a bit disingenuous. Someone else mentioned analysis paralysis recently, maybe another thread altogether. But I think there's some personal guilt fucking everything up. At least for me. Essentially, I don't have nearly enough time to: work at the level I'd like to, maintain my house and yard as it should be, spend time with my wife and son, and then game in the manner we all know we'd like to.

Obviously only one thing can be cut from that list, but I'm scared to do that. I already have an example of that, he's my dad. I love him, he's 68, and I don't think he'll ever retire. His examples of relaxation is gardening and watching a show on PBS once in a while. He's the best example I know of someone with a Puritan work ethic without actually being Puritan.

I can honestly say I'm more happy doing other stuff when I have a game I'd rather be playing instead. Maybe that's addiction talking, idk( j00t j00t ?). But what I do know is that I really hate the trend I've gotten into as an adult. Don't like this friend? Not my friend anymore. Don't like this game? I don't play those type of games anymore.

Cutting out gaming because it feels like the responsible thing to do(because I won't actually play a game when I have time to game) still feels like the wrong decision. And I think this is ultimately what leads to "gaming funk". A bunch of adults that want to really play some games, but are worried of the costs(if only subconsciously), so will fart around on the internet instead because thats a lower cost than being heavily invested in a new game.

Sorry for the diatribe, but I'm willing to bet some of you are wrestling with the same choices.
 
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j00t

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i don't know if that's necessarily addiction, though it COULD be? the aspect of addiction that really sticks out is hobby vs compulsion.

it's definitely an interesting question... i hear you though, i'm in sort of the same boat. i'll sit and look at wow, fallout 4, skyrim, witcher 3, neir automata... games that i DO enjoy playing... games that are, by their own rights, good games... and then i'll just think, i don't have the time to really get into any of these. i WANT to, i just don't have the time. but then there are times when i have an entire day free to do nothing but game and it's like... 8pm and i haven't played anything because i'm just "meh" about them all.

i'll buy a game that i want to play, i'll play 2 hours of it and never touch it again, all the while thinking "i wish i had something to play"
 
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a c i d.f l y

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Blitz said:
One thing I am noticing is some of you guys play games, watch them, read about them non-stop. Doing something other than video games will help. Still won't make you immune to just sitting on the internet, wasting time in your life another way or ending your "gaming drought", but it should help to not let it consume the entirety of your entertainment time. I personally can't imagine watching people on Twitch and then also playing games. At least not too often.

I've been forcing myself to finally play through some of these single player games that aren't purely progression based: MLB The Show Diamond Dynasty (RPG/Progression mode), EQ TLP, WoW etc. Actually realizing after an hour or so I forget that I bought these games because they were universally received as "good".
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For a video game site, I think I spend the least time actually reading or talking about video games. I spend most of my time in the Movies or FSR thread. If I go into gaming it's usually specifically the WOW thread, or when E3 happened and reading about new games.

If anything, I spend too much time doing nothing.
 
goishen

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There are plenty of games out there for you to play and drop at the first sign of something else happening. Rhythm games being one. You might also wanna try searching for Arcade Games.



It's not what I would choose for myself, but then again... I don't have the time constraints that you have.
 
Crone

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Deathwing said:
a c i d.f l y a c i d.f l y Yeah, that's frustrating too. Some would argue that the RNG is necessary for game diversity, otherwise you have chess. I kinda agree with them? But I also think that's a bit reductionist. I think presenting diversity via RNG instead of a plethora of choices is a failure in the game design itself. But as you said, probably best avoided altogether. Shame, I really liked slowly filling out a collection.

On the topic of the thread itself, I have Divine Divinity 2 installed and instead of playing for the last 2 hours, I farted around on the internet and did some work and house chores. Which is what I did all day at work. :rolleyes:


This next part is going to be kinda rambly.

To be fair, to call this a "gaming funk" is a bit disingenuous. Someone else mentioned analysis paralysis recently, maybe another thread altogether. But I think there's some personal guilt fucking everything up. At least for me. Essentially, I don't have nearly enough time to: work at the level I'd like to, maintain my house and yard as it should be, spend time with my wife and son, and then game in the manner we all know we'd like to.

Obviously only one thing can be cut from that list, but I'm scared to do that. I already have an example of that, he's my dad. I love him, he's 68, and I don't think he'll ever retire. His examples of relaxation is gardening and watching a show on PBS once in a while. He's the best example I know of someone with a Puritan work ethic without actually being Puritan.

I can honestly say I'm more happy doing other stuff when I have a game I'd rather be playing instead. Maybe that's addiction talking, idk( j00t j00t ?). But what I do know is that I really hate the trend I've gotten into as an adult. Don't like this friend? Not my friend anymore. Don't like this game? I don't play those type of games anymore.

Cutting out gaming because it feels like the responsible thing to do(because I won't actually play a game when I have time to game) still feels like the wrong decision. And I think this is ultimately what leads to "gaming funk". A bunch of adults that want to really play some games, but are worried of the costs(if only subconsciously), so will fart around on the internet instead because thats a lower cost than being heavily invested in a new game.

Sorry for the diatribe, but I'm willing to bet some of you are wrestling with the same choices.
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You nailed it. If you hadn't said it, I probably would have never agreed or said this was it, but this is it.

Similar to some of you, I have the field service life, and so I'm gone and in hotels a lot. On those hotel nights, it's easy for me to force myself into something, because the guilt is gone. Until now I wouldn't have ever called it that though. Forcing myself into something is probably the wrong word as well, but I'll get back to the hotel room and immediately get into something. When I'm home? Kids are exhausting, so typically by 8pm, when the kids are down and asleep, I just watch TV with the wife and veg out. I also feel guilty if I play games at home, because like you I feel there is always something else that I could be doing that is a better use of my time. But that's what leads to reading the forums, or fucking around on the internet because doing that doesn't make me feel guilty even though its the same waste of time.

Although another argument being is that entertainment we get from the games isn't a waste of time. I think relaxing, and de-stressing is important, in whatever form that comes.
 
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Deathwing

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Crone said:
You nailed it. If you hadn't said it, I probably would have never agreed or said this was it, but this is it.

Similar to some of you, I have the field service life, and so I'm gone and in hotels a lot. On those hotel nights, it's easy for me to force myself into something, because the guilt is gone. Until now I wouldn't have ever called it that though. Forcing myself into something is probably the wrong word as well, but I'll get back to the hotel room and immediately get into something. When I'm home? Kids are exhausting, so typically by 8pm, when the kids are down and asleep, I just watch TV with the wife and veg out. I also feel guilty if I play games at home, because like you I feel there is always something else that I could be doing that is a better use of my time. But that's what leads to reading the forums, or fucking around on the internet because doing that doesn't make me feel guilty even though its the same waste of time.

Although another argument being is that entertainment we get from the games isn't a waste of time. I think relaxing, and de-stressing is important, in whatever form that comes.
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Yep, I end up feeling bad for not doing chores yet feeling like I need to relax from a long day at work(or even just dealing with my family).

My favorite vacations have become "staycations". I hate that word but it's effectively the same concept. I have never been a fan of traveling(I bought a house for a reason...), but now I find myself the most relaxed if I spend what would have been my work hours doing chores and time with the family so evenings are completely free. Fucking true relaxation there.
 
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Blitz

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a c i d.f l y said:
If anything, I spend too much time doing nothing.
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This was my biggest issue for a long-time, and still is to some degree. I don't think anyone is necessarily immune to this though, it's just so damn easy to visit all of your daily sites, do nothing meaningful (thanks to the internet), and just waste hours. In reality, it takes no brain power and it's easy to mindlessly surf the web.

"Check Slickdeals, Check TradeRumors App (sports rumor app, nothing better to waste time than to read theoretical sports articles!), check a couple of sub-Reddits, check FoH boards, mentally masturbate, rinse wash and repeat." Information overload is a tiring thing.

I've also just come to realize that there will always be something to do. A perfect world for me is getting everything I want to do done, and then truly relax... But we all know that never happens. I've tried my best to just come to the realization that my "relaxing" is doing simple tasks that I don't "hate"; reading, exercising, chores/errands, playing progression-based games, finishing TV shows etc.

I've always been a procrastinator, so it's kinda screwed up (and I imagine there is some psychology to point to) that I'm most content when "completing" stuff, shit even when it's just a TV series etc... I should probably get on Adderall.

Ps. This is a really solid thread. It's been neat to read. Yes, "neat".
 
a c i d.f l y

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If I wasn't so successful at procrastinating, I wouldn't keep doing it.

Adderall during college was amazing. Wrote my best papers with its assistance.
 
Crone

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Deathwing said:
Yep, I end up feeling bad for not doing chores yet feeling like I need to relax from a long day at work(or even just dealing with my family).

My favorite vacations have become "staycations". I hate that word but it's effectively the same concept. I have never been a fan of traveling(I bought a house for a reason...), but now I find myself the most relaxed if I spend what would have been my work hours doing chores and time with the family so evenings are completely free. Fucking true relaxation there.
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That sounds like me when there's been a few times where I'll be traveling for work and it'll be a light day, so I'm back at the hotel by lunch. I spend 6-8 hours playing games, or whatever, and then after that much time I'm like ok, I think I'll study (finishing bachelors and should take priority). So backwards in my brain. Takes 6-8 hours to finally have it kick in that I then, and only then can do something else? Maybe at that point I'm bored with everything I could be doing online and therefore just decide to do school?
 
Frenzied Wombat

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It's called getting old. As you age, enjoying the things you always have throughout life starts yielding diminishing returns, both because you've seen it all before as well as the fact that you no longer have to work hard to achieve that enjoyment. When I was a kid/teen I had to expend effort to buy a game-- it was a special occasion that involved me taking the bus through town to the computer store with weeks worth of saved up allowance or summer job money. The effort made the reward all the more sweet. Now I literally just visit the playstation store and effortlessly buy something with money already banked. The fact that games over the years have moved from focusing on quality writing/story to graphics hasn't helped, and neither has the fact that the only two innovations in gaming over the last few decades has been MMORPG's and 3D shooters, with the latter making gaming variety very stale, despite some amazing games like Last of Us and GoW.
 
goishen

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I don't really think that's it though. The fact of visiting a physical location when you're younger doesn't somehow make the games any more or less fun.

I think it's more your latter point, where it's all about graphics. Nothing there about story/etc. When we were young, that made sense. Nowadays? Pffft. You can throw just about anything at my AMD RX480 card and it won't even break a sweat. Not to mention anything above that.

Now, instead of looking for graphics... 'Cause let's face it, they have those down pat, I'm looking for story. That's one reason I'm so excited about Laura Croft coming this fall.
 
Deathwing

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I've yet to experience a game, old or recent, that comes anywhere close to the narrative ability of movies, tv, and books. There's some cool stories, no doubt, but find me a game that really got to me like the Chain of Dogs or Memories of Ice. Or the first three books of Ice and Fire.
 
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Deathwing said:
I've yet to experience a game, old or recent, that comes anywhere close to the narrative ability of movies, tv, and books. There's some cool stories, no doubt, but find me a game that really got to me like the Chain of Dogs or Memories of Ice. Or the first three books of Ice and Fire.
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Old school rpgs have definitely surpassed books and movies in terms of story for me. Usually when they have had an equivalent or more amount of reading material, and not the modern bullshit of 500 hours of useless voice over quest dialog about fetching bear asses.... Also, a lot of RPG games involve 20 hours of bullshit before the story gets anywhere, and a lot of games today front load the story, that goes no where until the last 5 hours. That kind of shit makes it hard to invest in a game, where you can sink 60+ hours into something and get nothing from it. That risk also applies to books. Movies, 2 hours and you're done, so it's much less in terms of time/risk/enjoyment.

In vanilla wow there were moments of clarity where the story was amazing (like the alliance side Onyxia story), and WoD actually had one of the most engaging storylines of any expansion, while the rest of the game has been everything but. However, the gameplay has somehow been enough to keep me engaged for 14 years. More or less.

Therein is the reason I fail to get into bullshit like PubG or other games of its ilk, it just feels so shallow in the areas that interest me. If I had the time to invest, or cared, I'm sure the nuance of the gameplay would come to me after a hundred hours, but, just, why. I have thousands and thousands of hours playing Doom 2, Duke Nukem, Quake, 2, 3, Unreal, UT, etc. I'm pretty much done on FPS without a single player story. I spent 1000 hours in Skyrim, eking out every modicum of subplot because the world sucked me in, 250 hours in Fallout 4 for similar reasons. Gameplay of both wasn't exactly challenging, but the storylines sucked me in. Side note, I don't want to have to practice a game in order to stay relevant enough to gain enjoyment from it. Got dang kids with limitless time and focus, with shit matchmaking systems, doesn't make it any fun.

I also haven't smoked weed in a really long time, which helped a lot in not giving a fuck about getting my ass kicked, and mindlessly playing enough to pick up the muscle memory to be able to compete at a decent level.

It's a lot of complicated variables, and it all boils down to burnout. I'm sure if I just stepped away for a few months entirely, scratched a few things from my list of time sinks, or a game of sufficient quality comes around, it'll be easy to dive right back in.
 
Frenzied Wombat

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goishen said:
I don't really think that's it though. The fact of visiting a physical location when you're younger doesn't somehow make the games any more or less fun.

I think it's more your latter point, where it's all about graphics. Nothing there about story/etc. When we were young, that made sense. Nowadays? Pffft. You can throw just about anything at my AMD RX480 card and it won't even break a sweat. Not to mention anything above that.

Now, instead of looking for graphics... 'Cause let's face it, they have those down pat, I'm looking for story. That's one reason I'm so excited about Laura Croft coming this fall.
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It wasn't the act of visiting the store, it was the overall level of effort in obtaining the game, which could include waiting on your mail order or visiting the few gaming stores in the city. The philosophy applies to pretty much everything though. Things you work for are more enjoyable than the things that require no effort. This is one reason why rich people rarely enjoy things they buy as much as that person who saved up years to buy the same thing.

Deathwing said:
I've yet to experience a game, old or recent, that comes anywhere close to the narrative ability of movies, tv, and books. There's some cool stories, no doubt, but find me a game that really got to me like the Chain of Dogs or Memories of Ice. Or the first three books of Ice and Fire.
Click to expand...

Planescape Torment, Wasteland, and a few others come to mind.
 
Deathwing

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Frenzied Wombat said:
It wasn't the act of visiting the store, it was the overall level of effort in obtaining the game, which could include waiting on your mail order or visiting the few gaming stores in the city. The philosophy applies to pretty much everything though. Things you work for are more enjoyable than the things that require no effort. This is one reason why rich people rarely enjoy things they buy as much as that person who saved up years to buy the same thing.



Planescape Torment, Wasteland, and a few others come to mind.
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Good games and good stories, just doesn't compare. Obviously this is subjective. For me, if you take a great book or movie and try to cram a game in there, the narrative suffers. Even if the gameplay is great and interferes in no direct way. The frame of mind I have to be in to enjoy a good games(lots of numbers and depth) seems to clash with the one for enjoying a narrative.
 
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