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[Boss Doggie]

So I'm gonna sweep this idea that apparently when you have a job, you somehow can't play "deep" or "long" games. Screw that.

I'm a librarian. Now before you say anything, no, librarians have it hard especially in the academic setting. You truly haven't faced the fury of a holier-than-thou graduate thinking he is above rules for his precious dissertation. Or those incapable of following basic rules. And such and such.

So after an intense mental stretching and an hour's worth of commute, what do I do? Play the shit out of the likes of Bayonetta, Vanquish, fighting games, etc. It actually eases my tension for the day, and actually gives me a fulfilled enjoyment. Yeah I might not be able to finish a level because of the short time between relaxation, sleep, and work (until weekends/breaks), but that's a different problem altogether and mostly relies on time management.

And even before, back when I studied, I played very long RPGs with an hour or two's worth of gameplay, with said games reaching 200 hours plus.

My point is I disagree on the views of "I don't have time to play this game because it's long" or "it's hard". It feels like even if you have the time in the world, you wouldn't enjoy it to begin with because regardless of how long the game is or how hard it is, its essence should give you satisfaction and joy from playing on the game's merits. Like if you play the game for the sake of "completing" it, then it's more like you're checking a checklist of "oh I played a game" rather than, well, playing the game.

It's hard to explain in some ways but maybe some posters could get me.

 

[PhilipDoesMatter]

Yeap. When I had my little boy, I thought my time with videogames was done. It was not. I work all day, get along with him until he sleeps, and deep dive in a good game. I've finished plenty of big games in these two years.

 

[TannerDemoz]

So I'm gonna sweep this idea that apparently when you have a job, you somehow can't play "deep" or "long" games. Screw that.

I'm a librarian. Now before you say anything, no, librarians have it hard especially in the academic setting. You truly haven't faced the fury of a holier-than-thou graduate thinking he is above rules for his precious dissertation. Or those incapable of following basic rules. And such and such.

So after an intense mental stretching and an hour's worth of commute, what do I do? Play the shit out of the likes of Bayonetta, Vanquish, fighting games, etc. It actually eases my tension for the day, and actually gives me a fulfilled enjoyment. Yeah I might not be able to finish a level because of the short time between relaxation, sleep, and work (until weekends/breaks), but that's a different problem altogether and mostly relies on time management.

And even before, back when I studied, I played very long RPGs with an hour or two's worth of gameplay, with said games reaching 200 hours plus.

My point is I disagree on the views of "I don't have time to play this game because it's long" or "it's hard". It feels like even if you have the time in the world, you wouldn't enjoy it to begin with because regardless of how long the game is or how hard it is, its essence should give you satisfaction and joy from playing on the game's merits. Like if you play the game for the sake of "completing" it, then it's more like you're checking a checklist of "oh I played a game" rather than, well, playing the game.

It's hard to explain in some ways but maybe some posters could get me.

I don't get how you started the thread on time-sink games but immediately start talking about fighting/action games?

You can definitely play these games, but it's 10x harder with a busy life seeing them through to the end.

I'm playing FFXII atm and loving it, but I'm worried I'll never see the end in between a 50 hour working week, spending time with my girlfriend, keeping the house in order, socialising and other hobbies such as music.

 

[Zhao_Yun]

I actually play more games since I started working than when I was still a student. As a student I was never able to draw a clear line between studying and free time, since you could always do more research for your papers, read more papers, revise more, etc. There were times when I felt bad for playing a game in the evning because I could have done more for uni instead.
Nowadays, it's much easier for me to draw a clear line between work and free time, so once I am home from work I can play without any bad conscience.

 

[WhatNXt]

Everybody has different professional and social demands on their time. I make time for the games I care about - I don't think my girlfriend realised how much Zelda games are like big milestone releases for me - I'm not normally so insistent on having lots of time with a game - but I don't think I could do that with every game, or any game. Other things would probably suffer.

I've never played Skyrim and I still haven't played Witcher 3, I'll be picking up Skyrim on Switch and I hope to play Witcher too - but my day to day is filled with quick blasts of dive-in dive-out games like Rocket League

 

[Gu4n]

It depends per game, but when I have actual agency over my progression -- say, Breath of the Wild or Final Fantasy Tactics as recent examples -- nothing beats picking up a great time-sink. As long as individual session contributes to the larger adventure.

Persona 5 gave me considerably more problems because the plot progresses pretty much only once per month.

I actually play more games since I started working than when I was still a student. As a student I was never able to draw a clear line between studying and free time, since you could always do more research for your papers, read more papers, revise more, etc. There were times when I felt bad for playing a game in the evning because I could have done more for uni instead.
Nowadays, it's much easier for me to draw a clear line between work and free time, so once I am home from work I can play without any bad conscience.

This is very true.

 

[franklyshankly]

The games I have trouble playing aren't the ones you mentioned but ones like Witcher 3 or persona 5 where I can play for an hour and all I'm doing is taking to people and making little actual progress in the game.

Fighting games you can play several full matches in the same time frame.

 

[Furyous]

Just play in 20 minute increments.

I'm multitasking:

Driveclub
SFV
No Man's Sky
Strider
Deus Ex MD

20 minutes here, 20 minutes there, and voila! I'm having fun. Strider is almost done so I'm happy. Driveclub is just random fun even though grinding events is hard work.

This is done working a 40+ hour week so it's possible.

 

[mindsale]

Also good for people *at* their jobs. During a four year Hearthstone run I played 90% at my desk.

Stardew Valley portably will be a dangerous proposition.

 

[CecilRousso]

If a game is good enough, you find time to play it somehow.

 

[Bloodporne]

So after an intense mental stretching and an hour's worth of commute, what do I do? Play the shit out of the likes of Bayonetta, Vanquish, fighting games, etc..

Intense, time-sink games

(I agree with the rest I guess...?)

 

[jacobeid]

Alternatively, they are difficult for me. Recently I've been playing more mario golf on my 3DS than anything because I don't have long enough sessions to get into anything else.

It's all time management skills but right now long games are hard for me.

 

[Talka]

I need to be in the office 60-70 hours a week (8am-8pm, and I work most Saturdays).

I've started and given up on probably a dozen RPGs over the past few years. It just doesn't work. I've got too little time left over after friends, dating, exercise, etc.

I'll find a four-hour stretch of free time every once and awhile, but too much time will have passed since my last gaming session such that I won't remember a game's plot or I'll have just stopped caring.

BotW was the last game I beat, and it dominated my free time in an unhealthy way... had 3 straight weeks where every free hour was gaming, with absolutely no other socialization whatsoever.

I mostly stick to games that work in 30-60 minute bursts. Lots of Overwatch for me.

 

[RecRoulette]

(I agree with the rest I guess...?)

lmao, I had the same thought when it came to fighting games.

They're like the opposite of a time sink.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I don't get how you started the thread on time-sink games but immediately start talking about fighting/action games?

You can definitely play these games, but it's 10x harder with a busy life seeing them through to the end.

I'm playing FFXII atm and loving it, but I'm worried I'll never see the end in between a 50 hour working week, spending time with my girlfriend, keeping the house in order, socialising and other hobbies such as music.

see that's what you should avoid - never think of "I need to finish this"

Just see it as a game you want to play. The game will flow freely.

(I agree with the rest I guess...?)

lmao, I had the same thought when it came to fighting games.

They're like the opposite of a time sink.

I put etc. I just listed them first because they're my faves

 

[texhnolyze]

Yeah, I still play 100 hours RPGs every day. I've been working for 5 years since graduated.

 

[LiK]

Tons of dudes on GAF with families and full time jobs have suck literally 100s if not 1000s of hours into Destiny. They don't mind the grind or the repetitive nature of it. It's comfort food for them. Something to return to after a long day.

 

[tengiants]

lmao, I had the same thought when it came to fighting games.

They're like the opposite of a time sink.

Those listed games all have high skill ceilings and because of it are massive time sinks.

 

[NintendosBooger]

Yeah, I have a side-hustle, so no real time to kill for long video games. Breath of the Wild is probably the biggest I've finished in recent memory. I'm trying to make enough money so I can eventually just play video games all day.

 

[Bloodporne]

I've managed to somehow waste endless amounts of time on the Souls series despite my previous gaming habits going completely against that pretty much.

Basically, when I did have the time to blow on lengthy games, I was busy playing games in quick hour bursts and now that I have a mega adult full-time job, train martial arts up to 4 times a week and do all kinds of other shit while also being married, I suddenly get into 100+ hour epics.

 

[franklyshankly]

Tons of dudes on GAF with families and full time jobs have suck literally 100s if not 1000s of hours into Destiny. They don't mind the grind or the repetitive nature of it. It's comfort food for them. Something to return to after a long day.

See Destiny I can do just fine because I can play a few matches of crucible or a few strikes at a time or a quick nightfall. Each activity (outside raids) is broken up into digestible pieces you can complete relatively quickly.

It's the stuff where one task can be hours of uninterrupted play time that is harder for me. Can I do it? Of course, but playing an entire play session and feeling like I didn't really get anywhere makes it harder to want to keep going. It's mostly a mental thing really.

 

[DrFunk]

I'm a librarian as well (federal) and I work a 40hr work week. I...*kinda* agree with you. I managed to finish Persona 5 in 2 months (April - June) and I agree, it is possible. But it takes dedication. Some nights I don't even think about playing games because I'd rather just *sit* and do nothing.

For what it's worth, I'm 25 hrs into Yakuza 0, despite buying it back in January >_>

 

[Freeman76]

The only necessity is balance. A deep game will probably be the only one you have time for with a job and kids.

 

[FamousLastX]

I'm a librarian as well (federal) and I work a 40hr work week. I...*kinda* agree with you. I managed to finish Persona 5 in 2 months (April - June) and I agree, it is possible. But it takes dedication. Some nights I don't even think about playing games because I'd rather just *sit* and do nothing.

For what it's worth, I'm 25 hrs into Yakuza 0, despite buying it back in January >_>

Pretty much in that same boat currently. Usually work 50-55 hours a week, and I absolutely adore playing Persona, but a lot of times, I'm just like you and just want to come home and relax and sit on the the couch and not really do anything that requires attention or action. Had it since day one, and still probably have another 30 hours or so to put into it I'd estimate before I get to the end. And that's not counting all the other lengthy games that I have in my backlog. Hope to get to the ones I really care about eventually at least, but not sure when that's ever going to actually happen.

 

[AEdouard]

Tons of dudes on GAF with families and full time jobs have suck literally 100s if not 1000s of hours into Destiny. They don't mind the grind or the repetitive nature of it. It's comfort food for them. Something to return to after a long day.

Yeah. Elite Dangerous is that for me. Also went through W3, MGSV, DS2,3, Bloodborne, etc. And I have a full time job and two kids. I do work 10 min from home and don't do crazy hours. Helps a lot.

 

[matmanx1]

Tons of dudes on GAF with families and full time jobs have suck literally 100s if not 1000s of hours into Destiny. They don't mind the grind or the repetitive nature of it. It's comfort food for them. Something to return to after a long day.

This man speaks the truth. I was one of those dudes. Lately I have taken that same approach with the Agnarr Everquest Progression server. It is fairly chill gaming but still takes hundreds of hours to really see all that the game has to offer.

 

[ArjanN]

lmao, I had the same thought when it came to fighting games.

They're like the opposite of a time sink.

Those listed games all have high skill ceilings and because of it are massive time sinks.

I think more accurately is that you can play those games in smaller sessions and still have fun, they're definitely still time sinks in the sense of ovarall playtime.

 

[Piers]

Xenoblade 3D felt so comforting to play on the tube back from work. Grinding or simple quests were easy enough to do.
Maybe less relaxing is when passengers look over my shoulder and see something like…

😨

 

[Zolo]

Xenoblade 3D felt so comforting to play on the tube back from work. Grinding or simple quests were easy enough to do.
Maybe less relaxing is when passengers look over my shoulder and see something like…

😨

At least it's not Senran Kagura or some 'compile' game.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I agree with the OP. Demanding games are still the best, as far as I'm concerned, regardless of circumstance.

 

[Voidwolf]

It's definitely possible but between my full time job, non-work related responsibilities, chores/errands, and my gf it took me a little over 3 months to finish BotW and get all the shrines. And honestly, I could probably go back to it and keep exploring without picking up the DLC and still get another 30-50 hours out of it.

I've been playing Prey since release (May 5th) and I still haven't finished it, I've put about 30 hours into it and have made lots of progress so far though. But all I've done up to this point I would have accomplished in about a week or two back in the day.

I had been holding off on getting Horizon but it went on sale last month and I just couldn't help myself despite knowing I should not be playing more than one big game at a time anymore. I think I put nearly 10 hours into Horizon, maybe even a little more, but I had to put it down and focus on Prey. Then I'll return to it and that to try to finish it before Metroid comes out in Sept, Destiny 2 in Oct (PC) which will take away even more of my limited gaming time and then Battlefront 2 in November which will dominate it in the foreseeable future (Star Wars fanboy here). Oh and I still haven't gotten around to getting Nier: Automata. Before I'd buy a game I wanted and sink countless hours into it, now I have to plan everything and it kinda sucks. That said, I'll keep picking up games like these because they really are the most satisfying.

 

[Vanguard771]

It's all about sacrifice. If you want to play time consuming games you have to take time from other activities.

 

[patapuf]

People that say that usualy also have alot of social commitments that come with the job or that are getting a higher priority simply due to stuff that happens when you get older (like having a family).

 

[Boss Doggie]

It's all about sacrifice. If you want to play time consuming games you have to take time from other activities.

People that say that usualy also have alot of social commitments that come with the job or that are getting a higher priority simply due to stuff that happens when you get older (like having a family).

here's the thing though - when people say about "playing less time consuming games" I often wonder if they're only checking the "I need to play and finish a game" checkbox rather than well, enjoying a game. Again, you can have a really intensive game and still play chunks of it. It's not like games nowadays prevent you from continuing from where you stopped.

I mean, surely people can play in bursts of 1 or 2 hours or even just 30 mins?

 

[Gestault]

Time-intensive games can be (and are) still worth it, but maaaan, you notice badly designed games and deliberate time-waster content so fast. In some cases, the game is brilliantly designed, but it's just playing off the same psychology you see in a casino, which to me personally is almost worse. Either of those types of game go straight in the trash and I find something better to play.

It's not like I have any sort of lavish income, but the buying price of a game has basically nothing to do with whether or not I'll play it; It's just whether it's worth the time. My normal routine doesn't leave a lot of "extra" hours. I have no problem putting 200 hours into a game over the course of a couple months, but those hours need to scratch the right itch. Whether that means fun, or discovery, or any of the other things I'm getting out of it. Sometimes your animal brain just wants to play Cookie Clicker.

Recommendations are important, but funny in their own way. If someone tells me some trashy JRPG "might" be worth if after the first fifteen hours, and those characters end up being the same tired, pandery tropes I've been seeing since my pre-teens, and the setting and art is dime-a-dozen mass produced Japanese swill, I'll politely nod but make a mental note that I'm not gonna get a lot from that person's opinion.

 

[bluenote]

I know we like to think we had so much extra time as a kid, but did we really? During the school year, you are at school all day (much like work, but a little bit less time). At least for me, I would get home at 3:30 or 4:00 and play with friends for a bit. Then it was dinner time at 5:30 or 6:00. Then, I had to help clean up the dishes, etc. Then it was time for homework, and a little free time. Then, it was bedtime at 8:30 or so. So, not a whole lot of time for gaming during the week.

Weekends were better, but then sometimes you had chores to do, or have to go with your parents shopping or visiting friends, etc.

Summertime was completely different, but other than that, did we really have all this extra time to game when we were kids?

I'm talking grade school, but even in highschool you had a ton of homework during the week, social obligations, etc.

 

[Synth]

It's all about sacrifice. If you want to play time consuming games you have to take time from other activities.

Exactly this. It's not that I don't have the time to play a 100hr game. It's more that I could have played ten 10hr games in the same time window. If I only have 100hrs of game time in say a month, then I probably won't choose to dumb the majority of it into a single game when so many catch my interest.

If a game is good enough, you find time to play it somehow.

Except knowing how good a game is usually requires actually playing (and buying) it first. With longer games, they'll often not ramp up for numerous hours also. It's like comparing watching a movie to a TV show. A disappointing movie is often no big deal because it was only 2hrs. But a disappointing TV show may take a whole season before you realise it's not really going anywhere.

I know we like to think we had so much extra time as a kid, but did we really?

No, you had less games, and less awareness of all the games you weren't playing.

 

[Greddleok]

I agree.
I just don't watch TV any more. Games are a more enjoyable use of my time, even if it is limited.

 

[texhnolyze]

here's the thing though - when people say about "playing less time consuming games" I often wonder if they're only checking the "I need to play and finish a game" checkbox rather than well, enjoying a game. Again, you can have a really intensive game and still play chunks of it. It's not like games nowadays prevent you from continuing from where you stopped.

I mean, surely people can play in bursts of 1 or 2 hours or even just 30 mins?

The problem is that that kind of people, while having limited time to play, want to play basically everything.

 

[UPRGTCTZN]

I have a 7 year old to look after, work a couple of hours here and there and I study electrical engineering (which is really timeconsuming, my previous full time job was a walk in the park in comparison.). Still enjoyed bloodborne, dark souls 3 and horizon lately.

 

[Isaccard]

I dare yah'll to try raiding with 2 y/o twins then get back to me

What's your secret pls help

 

[inki]

I have a wonderful husband that allows me to come home, we have dinner together and usually watch a TV show, then I go play VG's for a couple hours, then we watch some TV before going to bed.

He doesn't play games (VERY rarely), I don't really enjoy that much TV, we meet in the middle and he understands and doesn't push me to do more of something I don't enjoy (channel flipping looking for something to watch is a special kind of hell for me) . It works out pretty awesome.

 

[jshackles]

I agree completely - it's a silly notion that needs to die off. Gaming is just a hobby, and my parents had time for hobbies when I was growing up too.

I'm a father of two (although they're older now) and I work 40 or more hours a week in addition to everything else I do such as being a moderator here or administrating Enhanced Steam. I've still had plenty of time to finish some great games this year, some of them quite lengthy. I just finished putting nearly 50 hours into The Zodiac Age. I play handheld games over my lunch break at work.

It's all about finding the right balance in your life and what works for you and those around you.

 

[Voidwolf]

I know we like to think we had so much extra time as a kid, but did we really? During the school year, you are at school all day (much like work, but a little bit less time). At least for me, I would get home at 3:30 or 4:00 and play with friends for a bit. Then it was dinner time at 5:30 or 6:00. Then, I had to help clean up the dishes, etc. Then it was time for homework, and a little free time. Then, it was bedtime at 8:30 or so. So, not a whole lot of time for gaming during the week.

Weekends were better, but then sometimes you had chores to do, or have to go with your parents shopping or visiting friends, etc.

Summertime was completely different, but other than that, did we really have all this extra time to game when we were kids?

I'm talking grade school, but even in highschool you had a ton of homework during the week, social obligations, etc.

I don't think this will apply to everyone, I quickly realized in middle school that I could just do well on my classwork and ace my tests and quizzes and skip most of my homework as that usually only made up a small portion of our final grade. I'm also the kind of person that doesn't need to take notes or devote much time to studying to pick things up. So I had a lot of time to play games, especially in high school, and most of the time hanging out with friends meant playing local multiplayer at someone's house. Plus like you mentioned, we had summer vacation every year, unless you're a teacher that makes enough money to not need to work a second job over the break, that just doesn't exist as an adult.

 

[Forward]

There is a difference between a long game, and a time-sink; a vast difference between actual stuff to do, and a grind/based fetch quests.

Even when I had all the time in the world to game, I'd play the former rather than the latter, with the only exception being the occasional high quality Loot Pinata game.

 

[DrFunk]

I'm just jealous at how fast Shinobi can beat a game. Following him on Twitter, it's like he completes a game in 2 weeks, despite having a job and little ones o0

 

[horkrux]

I know we like to think we had so much extra time as a kid, but did we really? During the school year, you are at school all day (much like work, but a little bit less time). At least for me, I would get home at 3:30 or 4:00 and play with friends for a bit. Then it was dinner time at 5:30 or 6:00. Then, I had to help clean up the dishes, etc. Then it was time for homework, and a little free time. Then, it was bedtime at 8:30 or so. So, not a whole lot of time for gaming during the week.

Weekends were better, but then sometimes you had chores to do, or have to go with your parents shopping or visiting friends, etc.

Summertime was completely different, but other than that, did we really have all this extra time to game when we were kids?

I'm talking grade school, but even in highschool you had a ton of homework during the week, social obligations, etc.

In high school I usually got home at 2pm and didn't have to go to bed until 9:30. Outside of homework, I could do whatever the hell I wanted most of the time
And don't even get me started on grade school here in my country... sooo many hours of cancelled lessons aswell as a low number of lessons per day in general until they were mandated to keep as at school until 1:20. But that didn't happen until my last year there or so.

 

[Skoen]

The Witcher 3 became something like a 4 month long season for a show considering its length and that I didn´t want it to end.

There was something oddly satisfying about playing a story based game a few times a week and having it live side by side with you for such a long time =)

 

[TheSpoiler]

Fighting games are actually pretty good for people who don't have a lot of time. They ARE time sinks but not really. If you segment your time off for training and focus, you'll get better than someone dicking around endlessly for hours on end. I've improved over the past week by giving myself milestones to each in terms of practice and I wouldn't have done that without having time constraints.

 

[Forward]

Fighting games are actually pretty good for people who don't have a lot of time. They ARE time sinks but not really. If you segment your time off for training and focus, you'll get better than someone dicking around endlessly for hours on end. I've improved over the past week by giving myself milestones to each in terms of practice and I wouldn't have done that without having time constraints.

In Nippon Japan, fighting game jobs YOU!