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Do I just not like gaming anymore?

V

Vault Dweller 111

Member
I really don't want this to be true, but the evidence is piling up. I love talking about games, reading about games, getting excited for games, following development, all that jazz. But when it comes to playing them..... It just hasn't been happening for me lately.

Take Fallout 4. Probably my most anticipated game of all time. When it came out, it was awesome. I played every possible moment that I could spare, I was having a great time, for about a couple weeks..
"Finals are coming up, I'll get back to it afterwards."
"It's the holidays, no time for video games."

*Literally have two weeks of absolutely no responsibilities*
"ehhhhh...."


I want to want to play it again, but I always just find something else to do, and now that school has started again, it's not hard to find excuses to not play video games. I'm not even close to being done with the game, but returning to it doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

This isn't just Fallout 4 either, the last year and a half or so I've beaten way less than half the games I've bought. In fact off the top of my head I've only beaten The Witcher 3, which was when I was home for the Summer and could do nothing except play all day, and I had a great time. I also beat Bloodborne (Bought, but haven't beat the DLC yet.) but it did take about 5 months. And I was definitely taking some lengthy breaks in between.

Lately if I do have a controller in my hand I play for maybe an hour then just put it aside. I've grown up with video games, all the signs that I'm not really into it anymore are there. But I don't want it to be true.

I'm hoping Uncharted 4 breaks me out of the funk. The way TLOU did. I bought a Ps3 for that game, which then made me buy a PS4 just for Naughty Dog. Between the original and remastered version of that game, I think I've beaten it 10 times. It's rare for me to even finish a game these days, 10 times is unheard of. Hopefully ND can snap me out of it once again.

I do have one theory as to why this is, I'll put it below if anyone is interested.

TLDR: I love everything about video games. Except I never really want to play them. :(


Crazy Theory:
I'm not 100% sure of the timeline. But I think this lines up pretty well with me joining Gaf. Now I love being here, don't get me wrong. But when I'm hyped for a game, or actually playing a new game I just find myself in the OT constantly. I don't read spoilers, but I do get a pretty good feel just for how the game plays, and feels. And of course, every single thing is nitpicked, so when I come upon that thing in the game, I notice it and pay more attention than I probably would. I am also just more critical of games in general because, let's admit it, we are pretty elitist around here.

No obviously there's some holes here. If Gaf did this to people then we probably wouldn't be the most popular gaming website in the world. And of course I could just try to avoid discussions about games I like, or am interested in. But that kind of stuff is part of why I like it so much, so not ideal. Probably just a coincidence, but hey, I said it was crazy.
 
D

desmax

Member
Sounds like fatigue.

You should stop playing for a while, and go back to it when you feel like it.
Trying to force it it's just going to make it worse
 
O

Ouren

Member
Just take 'er easy
don't force yourself to play things you dont like!

These days I game fairly light, but have avoided burnout
 
T

Tecnniqe

Banned
Well its the open world fatigue for the most part i assume.
Everything is OW with crafting and building and whatnot.

Smaller games thats in a smaller world and more linear helps me get out of the AAA gaming fatigue.
 
D

Deadpool_X

Banned
Why not just take a break for a bit? Read a book. Get some exercise. Spend time with friends. Just get away from gaming for a month or two.

Game Fatigue hits everyone sooner or later. When it hits, it's best to just get away from it all for a bit and do something else. Focus your energies elsewhere, and when you come back, you will enjoy gaming again.
 
F

Frustrated_Grunt

Member
I went through this a couple times, and I believe it's normal for any hobby. It helps to diversify your interests and come back to games after a little while. You'll fee reinvigorated to play new games, and you'll be a more well-rounded person because of it.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
Have you tried playing with friends, especially ones which you haven't seen for a long time? I'm starting to hit the fatigue and I don't really want to play right now, but I'm anticipating the moment I'll travel to my friends and will be playing all night and day.
 
D

dragonzdogma

Member
perhaps you need to play something a bit lighter (light hearted) try playing super mario world 3d or some cool wii u game. Or you could try to stream a game your good at ,and wait for people to watch you play via twitch. Honestly these are some of the things that have kept gaming fresh to me.
 
fvng

fvng

Member
I take breaks for months. I also stopped playing open sandbox games that take forever to finish. For me 9-12 hour games are best
 
R

RealityCheque

Banned
Take a break. Do other things that you enjoy and you'll come back refreshed.

Same thing happened to me and it lasted nearly 2 years. It was a good thing.
 
I

IvanJ

Banned
Take a break, consider other avenues of entertainment, then try to come back after a period of time and see how it goes.

It was the same for me and music. Back in the late 80s and all through the 90s I was a huge music freak, that was my #1 hobby. Buying CDs, watching videos, going to concerts, reading about music.... Then one day I just quit, I guess it was too much... And to this date I haven't gone back. The only music I listen to is a random song on the radio once in a while.

I moved on to movies, sports, videogames...


So maybe do the same, see if you start missing gaming after 6 or 12 months. Perhaps you come back, perhaps you never do.
 
C

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
I think there are two things going on here:

1. Browsing NeoGAF requires very little investment. Almost all video games require a lot more investment. You load up a thread, get a tiny dose of videogame-related endorphins by reading a few posts, and can stop within seconds. Loading up a game, by contrast, is going to be at least like half an hour or something. Even booting it up will take a few minutes, while getting to a forum post takes a couple of seconds.

2. You couldn't be bothered to finish Fallout 4, or a bunch of other games that were probably not that good. You did finish Witcher 3 and Bloodborne. I think this really is a quality issue, at least to some degree.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
dragonzdogma said:
perhaps you need to play something a bit lighter (light hearted)
Click to expand...

This is actually a very good advice. Sometimes, playing something simple, straightforward and non-complicated helps. Note that I'm talking about the structure and tone of the game, not about how easy or challenging it is.
 
D

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
We've all been there. You're just in a lull, which is normal and healthy. At some point in the future some game will come out that will totally engross and engage you and you'll be back into gaming full swing. There was a period of about a year where nothing really caught my interest and I couldn't be bothered to pick up a controller. Then I played The Witcher 3 and literally couldn't be separated from my TV.

That game will come with time. Until then enjoy your free time and watch some TV shows or catch up on some reading or something.
 
Duxxy3

Duxxy3

Member
I try not to push myself to play anything. Just whatever feels right at the time. Sometimes that's nothing at all (nothing at all).

For whatever reason all I've wanted to play the last few months is Gears of War games. So that's basically all I've done, with some small breaks in between.

I bought a dozen games that I wanted to play in that time, but none of them really grabbed me. No big deal. This is just entertainment.

Basically... don't force it.
 
S

SalvaPot

Member
If you don't enjoy it, don't play, as simple as that. The game will stay there waiting for you if you ever feel like coming back.
 
V

Voliko

Member
Try something you usually wouldn't play, branch out. Play some old games instead of the hyped up new releases.

I rarely play the giant RPGs anymore, just not a good time investment to me.I realized there was no worthwhile reason to. When a game starts feeling like a chore instead of being fun or a challenge, it isn't worth playing.
 
J

johnnydrama

Banned
The same thing has been happening to me for months. The last game I truly enjoyed was The Witcher 3. Since then I've somewhat lost interest in playing games and I've been pretty much forcing myself to play games since last September.

I've realized it's pointless and pretty much quit gaming till I feel like coming back and playing games. I now spend my free time watching TV, films, reading, and working out. Honestly I'm rather enjoying this because I've played over 100 games since 2012 and I'm just worn out. It's okay to take a break and do other things.

I'm still excited for Quantum Break and Uncharted 4, so I hope I do feel like playing games by April.
 
A

adamantypants

Member
I go weeks without playing games pretty often. There was even about a year where I didn't play anything (yet I continued buying games). Play when you feel like it and don't force yourself to. It's a hobby and it should be fun.

alr1ght said:
Just post on gaf instead of playing games. That's what we all do.
Click to expand...

Yep. Average hours of GAF for me is maybe like 20hrs a week, mostly at work. Average gaming time is like 4 hours a week. Though my girlfriend was out of town this weekend and I think I put like a dozen hours into MGSV.
 
E

Eklesp

Member
I do this all the time. Sometimes I won't play any games for months and will just read or work on some new project. Doing this makes playing games way better. There are some games coming out in the next few months that I am really excited for and I don't feel like playing anything right now.
 
L

LPride

Banned
I don't know why but Ive seen this exact same thread hundreds of times across dozens of forums. Playing video games is a hobby, and I don't know why so many people in this hobby feel the need to expand this into a identity.

I took pretty much the entire PS3 generation off from video games, mostly because that generation was Really Really Bad, and now that good games are coming out agin Ive started playing again. Your interest is going to wax and wane depending on what titles are en vogue at the time (Please, no more waist high cover shooters, and walk and talk dialouge segements! 2006-2013 was a bad time for gaming) and the circumstances in your life. Just relax.
 
A

adamsappel

Member
Last year I was a 2.5 hour nightly BF4 player, loved getting the newest games (though they often languished in backlog because of all the BF4 playing). Then I got a bad case of the flu and spent a week or so too sick to do anything. And it felt like my interest in gaming evaporated. I couldn't get back into Battlefield, spent a couple nights with Battlefront, but now I play nothing. And I do miss it, but when I have the opportunity to play, I don't.
 
V

Vault Dweller 111

Member
DownGrader said:
Have you tried playing with friends, especially ones which you haven't seen for a long time? I'm starting to hit the fatigue and I don't really want to play right now, but I'm anticipating the moment I'll travel to my friends and will be playing all night and day.
Click to expand...

Funny you say that. Many of my friends own consoles and would identify as gamers. We used to play Halo 3, and CoD online together constantly. And even though we have the means, we just never play online together anymore. We had a brief stint with Destiny, but it didn't last long. My friend bought Battlefront on a sale just so we could play together, we never did once. We haven't consistently played online together since MW2 days, we all talk about missing the 'good ol days' but we can't seem to get them back.



Thanks for the other responses. Hopefully the urge comes back for Uncharted 4. I'll still be hanging out here in the meantime.
 
C

Chase17

Member
Regarding your crazy theory, I can kind of see where you are coming from. Earlier this year I had a similar feeling. Negativity surrounding everything just kind of killed my desire to play games for a bit. Luckily, I'm passed that now.
 
N

Nakazato

Member
I feel to OP the only game that I really want to play is street fighter I have tons of unoped games I just lost the passion to play
 
Strangelove77

Strangelove77

Member
Sounds like you're playing long ass games. Maybe that's the problem. As good as a game might be, long games wear some people down.
Statistically most people don't finish most games despite their length, so probably even less people finish these 50-100 hour RPGs.
 
M

Mass_Pincup

Banned
Vault Dweller 111 said:
Crazy Theory:
I'm not 100% sure of the timeline. But I think this lines up pretty well with me joining Gaf. Now I love being here, don't get me wrong. But when I'm hyped for a game, or actually playing a new game I just find myself in the OT constantly. I don't read spoilers, but I do get a pretty good feel just for how the game plays, and feels. And of course, every single thing is nitpicked, so when I come upon that thing in the game, I notice it and pay more attention than I probably would. I am also just more critical of games in general because, let's admit it, we are pretty elitist around here.

No obviously there's some holes here. If Gaf did this to people then we probably wouldn't be the most popular gaming website in the world. And of course I could just try to avoid discussions about games I like, or am interested in. But that kind of stuff is part of why I like it so much, so not ideal. Probably just a coincidence, but hey, I said it was crazy.
Click to expand...

That's the reason. Ever since I learned about GAF I play less then before. I buy more games though.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
OP, you listed 5 games, all 5 of which had 8 figure budgets and all 5 of which are on one platform, and really all 5 of which are in loosely the same genre
 
_Spr_Drnk

_Spr_Drnk

Banned
I've gone through phases all my life. Sometimes it's just as much fun to read about games than to actually play them, not a big deal.
 
H

HeeHo

Member
I gotta say from personal experience, the bigger the breaks in between your gaming sessions, the better it feels to finally pick up and play.

As an example, I remember games being a lot more fun as a kid, but that was because I would rarely ever get a new game, so when I did it was big friggin' deal and the session seemed awesome because I wasn't constantly gaming like I try to do now.

I actually want to clear my backlog just to get back to those precious moments again.
 
V

Vault Dweller 111

Member
Chairman Yang said:
I think there are two things going on here:

1. Browsing NeoGAF requires very little investment. Almost all video games require a lot more investment. You load up a thread, get a tiny dose of videogame-related endorphins by reading a few posts, and can stop within seconds. Loading up a game, by contrast, is going to be at least like half an hour or something. Even booting it up will take a few minutes, while getting to a forum post takes a couple of seconds.

2. You couldn't be bothered to finish Fallout 4, or a bunch of other games that were probably not that good. You did finish Witcher 3 and Bloodborne. I think this really is a quality issue, at least to some degree.
Click to expand...
Damn. You may have nailed it.

Gaz_RB said:
Fallout 4 just wasn't that good, dude.
Click to expand...
:(





Glad this isn't uncommon. Really appreciate the insight. That's why Gaf is great.
 
G

Goose_Se7en

Banned
I think you're perfectly normal OP. Maybe it's just fatigue and I wouldn't read too much into it. It happens to me from time to time.

Wolfenstein TNO really got me jazzed and I loved playing it and it was something I did every night until I platinumed it. Now I turned to The Old Blood and it's great but I just don't really feel like playing that or any games.

I'll probably dip back into The Old Blood before The Division comes out. What would be weird (I think) is if all you did was play games. It's OK to do other stuff when I don't feel like gaming. Jessica Jones was awesome.

I've caught up on some Netflix shows, read Snyder's Zero Year (Batman) amongst other consumption stuff.
 
J

JumpCancel

Banned
You do something enough you can find it draining, even if it's something you love.

Accept it, don't force it and do other things with your time. When you want to play you will gravitate back to games. In the meantime just enjoy the time you've got and fill it with other things.
 
B

Breakbeat

Banned
You're growing up, and video games aren't growing up with you. This is a problem that so many of my friends and other people I know have gone through - it has to do with content proliferation, utilization of time, and how tastes change with age.

I recommend going through and playing more tightly-paced, linear games that are closer to 6 - 10 hours in length. You can binge those and they feel extremely gratifying in comparison to 50 - 60 hour slogs.
 
N

Neoleo2143

Member
It's worth playing something soft and lighthearted, constantly having a hardcore experience is exhausting and not taking breaks prevents us from really reflecting on those deeper experiences. I usually go back to playing a kirby game in these cases, not too long, satisfying gameplay and I have a smile on my face the whole time.
 
F

friskykillface

Banned
That happened to me the last two months , just couldn't be bothered to play anything

But now I'm slowly getting back after buying the elite controller , it's pretty fun to use plus the garden warfare 2 beta is great :D

I'll get to the Black Friday games I bought eventually
 
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