Help, losing my love for video gaming!

I don't what's wrong with me...

For all my life I've been an avid video gamer and all I can think about was just that, 24/7. Back when I was a kid I used to beg my dad to either buy or rent me a game when I got out of school and that would tide me over til the next time. Hell, I even devoted most of my teenage years to MMOs and put social life on the back burner.

I even had monthly subscriptions to gaming magazines back then.

Now, I'm 23 and couldn't finish any game or at least play 30 minutes if my life depended on it. This has actually been going on a few years now, more so I've even bought GTAV, the game everyone is raving about, to try to rekindle my love for gaming. Needless to say, I got bored of it quickly.

So what's wrong with me?

reply to post by Versus


I understand.

To me its cause games are dumbing down. Focuses on good graphics and shock tactics yet simplfy everything else.

It why most the games I play the most are 5-10 years old. I rarely by new games.

reply to post by crazyewok


Possible. To be honest, most of these games with high end graphics does give vertigo and that's very off-putting.

Just recently though, tried playing FFT, got more than halfway and could not continue.

for me the ultimate games are those where substance is over style, most modern games are just repeats of winning formulas according to the accounts department and there in lies the problem

play games like the ultima series where you are truly challenged on your moral views as they affect how the game plays out will draw you in even with crappy graphics

Strange but I have had a similar problem and I got right back into gta with no worries!

reply to post by Versus


Bioshock: Infinite might restore it?

reply to post by crazyewok


Badda bing! I think crazyewok is probably right. I'm an old school gamer and I find most of the games coming out are dumb, boring, and without any real challenge. And if most of the games have a more challenging mode, it's not an improved AI. The AI is still dumb. They just make it so that the AI can one shot you and has a bzillion health. Whoopee! That said, I've found some enjoyment in playing Warframe and The Secret World. Both of them kind of tickle the right portion of my brain.

Also, know what you mean about the vertigo. Thing is, I'm not sure if it's that the graphics have improved so much because I didn't have that problem with games 2 years ago and really, the graphics from 2 years ago aren't that much better than today. Most games are still using older engines. I have another friend who was a hardcore gamer, too, but he gets so crippled by vertigo while playing games now that he can only play for about 30 minutes at a time. Sound familiar?

Try turning off v-sync and motion blur if the ability to turn them off is available. I have slight problems with vertigo while playing Warframe and it's almost always when the motion blur gets kicked in. Also, presuming your a pc gamer, are you playing in full screen?

As a gamer since early childhood, this has happened to me three times for many months at a time in the past. I'm currently stuck in another after a month of inhaling three games. (Replays of ones I already have, by the way.)
I call them hiatuses, not sure what the cause is in my case. Definitely not depression. I miss playing every day though. Gaming is kind of a part of my identity.

I don't think it has anything to do with "dumbed down" games. I've tried every thing from NES games to PC games. As short as those NES games are, I couldn't bring myself to beating them.

I don't want to admit I'm old and growing out of gaming just yet though...

reply to post by Versus


yup I hear ya...

It seems all games are FPS these days... always shooting and killing... bleh

Give minecraft a try

reply to post by Versus


Hmmmm so it's all platforms? Are you having the vertigo problems with all the platforms? I've had problems with some PSP games like Lumines that actually made me quite ill. Was a shame because I really liked Lumines, too. Aversion can develop when you have a kind of a nauseating effect associated with doing a specific action. In your case, if you experience vertigo (which has a nauseousness associated with it), you may have simply developed an aversion to gaming.

If it's any consolation, I'm in kind of the same boat as you but gaming has been a truly life long hobby for me. I've been gaming for over 30 years but the last two, I've just about dropped off the gaming planet. I still load in hours on a game from time to time but then I go back into "blah" mode. The things I've considered are: 1. vertigo issues, 2. sense of pointlessness, 3. avoidance of gaming communities (let's face it, there are a lot of idiots and jerkwads out there and I just don't wanna deal with them right now), 4. lack of challenge--sure more people are playing but when I have a 20:1 kpd on a regular basis in tf2, it makes me want to weep (I don't play tf2 anymore btw), and 5. the inclusion of what feels almost like propaganda in games--I play games to escape the world for a bit, not to have it shoved in my face. Those are the primary reasons for my off and on departure from gaming over the last couple years.

P.S. and 6. mind bleeding redundancy in games.

reply to post by Akragon


Sandbox games aren't for me.

Dude, I know exactly what you mean. I was pretty much a 100% hardcore nerd gamer in my younger days, but lately game´s havent touched me like they used to do.

But I bought two games that ignited my gaming interest again like in the "good old days"

The games was Braid and Fez, most notably Fez. They are just fantastic and reminded me so much of how fun it was to play games on NES and SNES. You should really try them out. They are dirt cheap too!

reply to post by Versus


You know OP, I'm 39 and I thought it was just my old fogy-ness showing itself or something, not to mention personal events a couple years ago...but I've been the same way? I used to have an MMORPG going at all times plus whatever the latest shooter was. All stuff I really enjoyed.

Same here on gaming now though. I've tried to get into other games but it's just not there anymore. The draw and 'I care because..' kinda vanished somewhere along the last couple years.

Graphics are better than ever, and game play doesn't seem different. Better, if anything. I just got Hitman Absolution and it's a really GOOD game ...but, it has no draw like Blood Money did before it. I even tried getting into Star Trek Online ..which ought to have been a great fit for a guy like me, who really came into the Genre with Anarchy Online. Some similar mechanics there....but no dice. I dumped it a few days ago.

Gaming used to be so much more fun. I'm glad it really isn't JUST me that's seen a change?

Eww Minecraft.
Just wait for Watchdogs, you won't be disappointed.
Or you could give up staring at a screen, go out in the real world and get some game

reply to post by Versus


Gamer girl here having started out with D&D as a kid. 2 years ago I withdrew for the most part from the world of gaming because it was getting ridiculous how much time I could lose for nothing really. There are alternatives that most people don't know about that allow you to use your head, actually read a book and develop your true imagination in a way that is truly enhancing and cultivating.

You might want to check out such an alternative. You can either play alone or with other players. All you need is dice and a pencil. The author has made available a free pdf version for people who want to try it out.

Cheers

penandforge.ca...

penandforge.ca...

reply to post by WhiteAlice


I mostly get vertigo with FPS/TPS games, ala GTAV.

You might have a point 2 and 4. I seem to concern myself with real life accomplishments now a days.

Also the ironic thing is the money I get every week goes to games that I don't even play. Though, I guess that shows my eagerness to get back into gaming.

Like someone else posted I had put my gamer apathy down to my age and also ever changing demands of life.
But I'm not sure that's all there is to it.
I'm hoping something rekindles with the next gen.........

reply to post by OmegaSynthesis


That's probably part of my problem. As crude and disgusting as it sounds, I've been concerning with womanizing for the past few years and all I could think about was girls! But no more as I realized that's not a lifestyle I want to pursue anymore.