As I get older and grumpier (which some people did not think that was possible, but I got skills) I find myself changing in the way I play and look at games. I love them, but I don’t feel the need to rush out and get something on the first day or to play it over and over trying to get 100% completion. I just don’t have the time anymore or the energy.
How sad is this: I rented Metroid Prime 3 and I loved it. Very fun. But when it came time for a late night gaming session, the thought of flailing my arms about trying to aim my plasma cannon just didn’t appeal to me and I sent it back, unfinished, but satisifed in the amount that I had played. A similar thing happened last night with Super Paper Mario: I enjoyed it for the first 13 levels, but doing it for 19 more was not making me happy and even as I was playing it, I felt that impatient twitch, not caring about damage I took, just wanting to get through the damn thing. So I sent it back to GameFly.
I would normally feel guilty about this, but you guys saw the giant list of games I have to play. Add to that the fact that my GameFly Queue has 50 games on it and I keep a list of others I want to add to it, so honestly, as long as I get the gist of the game, I am content. Now, don’t get me wrong: every game I own I will beat and if the game drives me enough, I will beat a rented game as well, I just want to play so many games that I don’t have time to beat ALL of them. When a game comes in the mail, I always look at reviews to get an idea of how long the game is, so I know how to budget my time. To make matters worse, Call of Duty 4 sucks up a lot of my time. Last night, I literally had to force myself to stop and play some Resident Evil 5. (BTW: if anyone has it on the PS3 and wants to play online with me, PSN ID is Starkiller81).
It is getting to the point where I don’t even see the point of buying most games, as renting them is just easier and cheaper. Infamous looks awesome, but once I beat it, will I go back and play it again? Maybe, but likely not. I am getting married soon and in this economy (that was for you, Eddy) wasting money is just not an option.
Do you guys sense your gaming habits changing as you get older or am I just a miserable old coot?
Nice read, Anthony. I was thinking about this issue just last night. I sent back Killzone 2 after only playing through a few levels because I was satisfied with how much of it I had played. I also did the same recently with a few other games. It’s sad that I don’t take everything to 100 percent completion as much anymore, but I will beat every game I own at least, typically.
I think they do change as you get older. We change as people, so it should be reflected in our gaming habits. Iv gotten to the point where I think most games should be played with other people…single player doesn’t always have as much flare to it anymore.
Anthony, I will play RE5 with you after my exams so come 10th of June we’ll kick zombie (sorry, uh, whatever they are) ass! I call Chris! Or COD4, either way’s good!
[quote comment=”6675″]Anthony, I will play RE5 with you after my exams so come 10th of June we’ll kick zombie (sorry, uh, whatever they are) ass! I call Chris! Or COD4, either way’s good![/quote]
Sounds like a plan!
I think its a gamefly thing too. Because I do the same thing with the games I rent
I’m the same way. I don’t know if any of you remember, but I was chugging through Twilight Princess a while ago, and just gave it up. I got to the Temple of Time, and I felt fine not finishing the game (Link wins, spoilarz!).
I did beat Wolverine, though, and that was a lot of fun. Definitely a rental, because it’s waaay too short for a full price purchase.
Although I’m only 15 i use to get so much more excited at simpler games, i miss that a lot. Games like Banjo Kazooie which i played well through my childhood. Now its all fps but i like to look back on the simpler more exciting games
[quote comment=”6683″]Although I’m only 15 i use to get so much more excited at simpler games, i miss that a lot. Games like Banjo Kazooie which i played well through my childhood. Now its all fps but i like to look back on the simpler more exciting games[/quote]
When a 15 year old gets nostalgic, that makes me feel even older,lol.
Well, I’m still a youngin’, but everyone I know who’s a gamer and is older than me is starting to get that feeling of old age in terms of gaming. Because of that, I’m trying to make a real effort to enjoy my freedom and time for games, and when I have a family, to maybe keep the gaming tradition alive in my family.
[quote comment=”6685″][quote comment=”6683″]Although I’m only 15 i use to get so much more excited at simpler games, i miss that a lot. Games like Banjo Kazooie which i played well through my childhood. Now its all fps but i like to look back on the simpler more exciting games[/quote]
When a 15 year old gets nostalgic, that makes me feel even older,lol.[/quote]
Sorry Anthony but you’re about to feel even older 🙂
I remember getting Call of Duty: Finest Hour, now, I’m 15 and I just recently took a trip down memory lane with that and Star Wars: Battlefront. Those are good games!
But as for me, I see me dropping videogames pretty soon becuase I am gonna get a job (hopefully) in the near-ish future, I am a smart guy so guess what that means, A.P. Courses. So basically, with a certain female I plan on throwing into the works aswell… Gaming will only be habitual during the summers for me 🙁 But on the bright side I have CoD 4 and EVE Online, along with teaching myself some Visual Basic (Dad does programming with it so I figure I can get some help if I ever get stumped).
So unfortunately, when I get busy, I gotta take away from something, and since 6 hours of sleep is the lowest I’ll go, videogames are on the chopping block.
I think basically it means that I can’t just play everything I want to, which kind of sucks. In college, I rented, played and beat nearly everything, simply because I had the time to. Now, I have to really be invested in a game to even finish it.
Eddu is right and it is the realization of what all this means that is really hard to deal with.
I felt kind of the same way about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was fun for a day or two, then one morning I just stared at the game’s channel and thought, “I don’t want to play this anymore”. I haven’t touched it since. Plus, I still have Splinter Cell: Double Agent, which I got for Christmas last year. I haven’t even taken the plastic off the game. 🙁
This is a super Interesting topic. One of you boys should author “The Psychology of Gaming: Generations of Growth” or something along those lines…
It is amazing to me thinking about having simple games when our minds were simple (a SNES from age 6 on) and progressively growing alongside the gaming industry as it progressed itself into more complex and involving games; I shutter to think what my kids will have at their hands at age 6… Will there be a side-scrolling run/jump/duck for them? Ofcourse not. How will this alter their gaming experience, or even more so, considering myself a ‘gamer’; how would this effect an entire LIFE of a potential ‘gamer’?
As the majority of games reach crudely realistic levels which are designed and created for a largely adult audience, will the new generations be left behind?
I may be a share younger than you, but I also find myself feeling old (especially being the oldest of 4 sibblings). The best I can hope for is maintaining my SNES for years and handing it down to my children.
(p.s. Congratulations Anthony on getting married!)
It’s funny that you mention the idea of sidescrollers not being in our kids’ gaming repertoires. I’m writing a feature on a similar issue right this moment.