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[RPSleon]

I really enjoy competitive online games; Black Ops Cold War is what im playing currently for that fix. But I find as im getting older and have less free time, i come away from sessions with an emptiness, like ive wasted time on something that, looking back, does not have any lasting value. What were all those sessions on COD4 all about, what do I remember apart from a good few outstanding plays?

In contrast, I never feel this way with single player story based games. They all feel so much like different experiences with new things to learn about. I feel Ive achieved something bigger in completing a single player game. I can look back on the time and reflect on different parts.

I would like to keep enjoying online games, so my question is does anyone else feel this way? And how do you come away from these games with a feeling you havent just killed time?

 

[dalekjay]

I don’t feel like that with online games, but I stick to fighting games only and gives a sort of satisfaction, what give what you said is when I don’t research the game and find out wasn’t for me because o have to count the minutes I have to play

 

[Kikorin]

Since I don't have much time to play too and I usually just play for a couple of hours at night, I rarely play online. The only game that I played online with constancy in last years has been Smash Bros., because there's an active community in my city, so I like to improve and then go to play offline with other players in monthly tournaments.

 

[mikefrails]

Call of Duty is, for the most part, soulless garbage so your reaction is normal.

 

[The_Mike]

If you even get to think that sentence in your head, then I don't think online games are for you OP

I probably spent around 1200 hours in MW2019 and never opened up the campaign.
Next to that I switch between mmos, with the latest being returning back to bdo.
When I'm bored with cod I play csgo or Dota2.

Love the online interaction in an unpredictable world with other people instead of a brain dead npc saying the same 3 lines.

Tbf, the new cod is shit because of sbmm which kills everything. Play something better.

 

[RoadHazard]

When I've gone up a division or two in Rocket League.

 

[Mistershine.]

Did you have fun? If yes then it was time well spent, if no then it was not well spent but wasted.

 

[Ogbert]

I use video games to switch off. I achieve things elsewhere.

 

[Vow of Silence]

I don't feel like that after playing Deep Rock Galactic.

 

[Halo is Back]

If I have fun and the game was not frustrating to the point where it hinders my experience.

 

[MagnesG]

I would just moved on to another game if I'm feeling that.

 

[cheezcake]

In most single player games you’re consuming content like you do movies and music. Mostly passively. You come away having enjoyed an experience that will be much the same regardless of whether it was you or someone else who played through it.

Competitive online games are a totally different beast. It’s more like sports, you need to either like the social aspect, or enjoy the drive to get better. Sounds like you lost the latter.

So either find a new game or just move on from this part of your life.

 

[DonJuanSchlong]

Simply, you never get offline, that way, you don't know what its like to not experience it. Throw that energy drink back, prepare to defecate on yourself, and keep on playing.


Serious note: I definitely understand that feeling. Do you pay solo or with friends? I feel playing online games with friends changes things. You can have the worst matches with your buddies, and you can even lose matches with them, but having fun with the homies is what does it for me. I don't understand people who strictly play single player games all the time, as once you beat them, there's not much replay value in them. With multiplayer, ever match will be different, no matter what.

 

[Humdinger]

I sympathize, OP. That's how I usually feel after playing online games, and that's why I stopped.

I think it has to do with the sense of progression and variety of gameplay you get in SP games, as well as the narrative. Good SP games give you a story that moves forward, scenery and gameplay that changes frequently, and a sense of progression as the story moves along and you open up to new capabilities.

I'll admit that MP games do offer some of this as well -- the action plays out somewhat differently each round; you unlock weapons etc. as you progress, and different maps provide some variety. But they don't have the same level of variety in gameplay and environments as good SP games have, nor do they have a story to motivate what you're doing. It's just contextless action.

At least in my case, it all felt very repetitive -- round after round of the same action on similar maps, then reset and go again. Hamster wheel, going round and round, round after round.

I did enjoy MP occasionally, when I'd be a part of a squad who communicated and worked well together. However, that became increasingly rare, and it required a time investment I wasn't willing to make. I have a lot of other things I'd rather put my time into.

p.s. Oh, I have to mention one other factor. In SP games, I feel like I am in complete control of my gameplay experience. I'm in charge of where I go and what I do, and at what pace. In MP games, especially the co-op or team-based ones, I often end up feeling as if I'm just a cog in the wheel or being pulled around based on where the group wants to go. I'm not temperamentally suited to enjoy that. I like to be in charge of the gameplay experience. I don't like the feeling of being tethered to a group and having to go along with what others decide to do.

 

[Thirty7ven]

I try to stick with friends mostly, so it’s a social thing when I’m online. Otherwise yeah, it’s just... draining.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Dont overthink it, if you had a good time so what. Fuck being in the top 10 dick game.

 

[Zannegan]

Play with friends. Play in a way that makes it interesting. Don't play if it's not fun or if it cuts into the rest of your life.

Honestly, I tend to feel like singleplayer, story-driven games are the bigger waste. The stories aren't worth a damn in most cases, and it just feels like I'm being ushered down the hallway of a lame haunted house. To each his own.

 

[Arun1910]

If you have fun then that should be enough. Like any game its subjective and down to you.

For years I loved CoD, mostly cause I had time. For a game like that I needed to be fully invested.

I can't do that anymore with online games so I stick to SP mostly now.

 

[Coolwhhip]

I don't see how single or multiplayer makes a difference, they're all vidyagames. As useless as can be and that's alrite. We're all in deaths waiting room anyway, do what you want.

 

[Inviusx]

Schedule your gaming session for after you're done with all the important stuff in your real life. So you're works done, you've eaten, cleaned the house, showered, spent time with loved ones and paid the bills. Then and only then will your game time feel rewarding and well earned.

 

[ViolentP]

With CoD specifically I know I am signing an aggravation waiver beforehand. TF2 on the other hand was fun, win or lose. I have never walked away though feeling that time was wasted because I game when gaming is what I feel like doing, so there is value in that. If I won or lost in that session is just a detail.

 

[ABnormal]

When winning or losing doesn't make much difference, and instead I feel satisfaction for the match and having had fun with friends. I experienced it only with Battlefield Bad Company 2 and something less with Battlefield one.

 

[Rikkori]

I don't anymore. Had the same sort of realisation around the end of WotLK in WoW and just stopped completely. Since then I pretty much stopped playing MP games except solo like a SP game. For me another element was that I was playing a lot of dota and realised most of the time I spent I actually didn't care much for it because you'd have someone lose a lane then rage and/or rage quit and that would be that for the game but you'd still have to finish it so more wasted and unenjoyable time spent etc. And then even games that went well & it was a great balanced fight even if won it just didn't provide much satisfaction. Felt a lot like snacking in a way.

For me a lot of what's great about gaming is how much upside there is but also very little downside. Which is something very rare in life. MP unfortunately at best was 50/50 but actually over time it skewed to even more downside like 30/70 good-bad. I'm done with it for good now and feel all the better for it.

 

[Arthimura]

I feel the same way.

When i play a single-player game, at least i have a story to remember and to talk about. When i play multiplayer games, i feel like i'm just wasting my time, unless i play it like a eSport, because in this case the game itself becomes a hobby and the skill i acquire makes so i don't feel it was a waste, because i have a objective result of the time spend.

However, nowadays there's no online games i like enough to play more competitively.

 

[Antelope]

I really enjoy competitive online games; Black Ops Cold War is what im playing currently for that fix. But I find as im getting older and have less free time, i come away from sessions with an emptiness, like ive wasted time on something that, looking back, does not have any lasting value. What were all those sessions on COD4 all about, what do I remember apart from a good few outstanding plays?

In contrast, I never feel this way with single player story based games. They all feel so much like different experiences with new things to learn about. I feel Ive achieved something bigger in completing a single player game. I can look back on the time and reflect on different parts.

I would like to keep enjoying online games, so my question is does anyone else feel this way? And how do you come away from these games with a feeling you havent just killed time?

This is the way I started feeling about Destiny. So I stopped playing. Online games become problematic when they substitute a hollow grind for meaningful gameplay loops.

As long as you are having fun, play. When you stop enjoying the loop, move on. You don’t owe the developer anything, they need to earn your playtime.

 

[Tschumi]

Well... In WoW.. my character, who was named Hal for short, won the HALbred of Smiting in ZG, which was the logical successor to his longtime ret 2H Blackhand Doomsaw... It took him.. months of ZG runs to get that. I cried. He, and my other toons, would go on to far greater things.. but that one sticks in my memory.

 

[nowhat]

That's easy, I pretty much only play online with my brother (who lives in another town, so we don't get to see that often). If we play Rocket League or Tekken, either of us wins and we can trash talk each other. If we play COD Gunfight OSP there are either epic wins (coming back from a 1-5 situation is great) or epic losses. At any rate, I get to spend some time with my brother.

 

[Northeastmonk]

This is why I don’t play simulators, RTS, or any other micro management ecosystem type of games anymore. It’s the reason to why I don’t play the Total War series, even though they look like good games. I also don’t play MMO’s because of this exact reason and I try to avoid a lot of F2P games.

I think it also boils down to how much you appreciate video games. There’s so many different genres and variations. If you don’t appreciate or enjoy those aspects then you might not feel good about your time. I swear some people who bash on gaming can’t manage gaming and RL or they refuse to do it in a way that suits their personal lives. Think about what you want to play, what you want to get out of it, and enjoy doing it.

 

[Leyasu]

I would rather spend a couple of hours playing than watching a film that I will potentially not like, No regrets when I play

 

[Knightime_X]

If you have something that needs to be done in real life then get that taken care of first.
If you put that off and just play online it CAN make MP session feel somewhat empty and less fulfilling.
The importance of said task may or may not have a significant impact.
This is one factor that contributes to that feeling for me.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Haters gonna hate haha

 

[cireza]

I don't. Waste of time.

 

[PotatoBoy]

You haven't achieved anything in either scenario. If you are playing games for a sense of achievement, you are sapping yourself of the energy you need to actually achieve your potential IRL. You should look at them as pleasant diversions to be experienced when you are weary. The sense of wasted time you get at the end of a long video game session means that your brain is still functioning correctly. If that goes away, consult a good friend or a good book (not a psychiatrist).

 

[Moogle11]

Unless it’s a coop game with real life friends I didn’t come away feeling I’d enjoyed it. Thus I haven’t played MP games aside from coop things with friends in ages.

No need to play games/modes you don’t have fun with. I’m not a competitive person and don’t play games for sense of accomplishment as I have plenty of outlets for that in my career, fitness goals etc. Games are just in the same boat as movies, shows and books for me-escapism and fun.

 

[Faithless83]

I really enjoy competitive online games; Black Ops Cold War is what im playing currently for that fix. But I find as im getting older and have less free time, i come away from sessions with an emptiness, like ive wasted time on something that, looking back, does not have any lasting value. What were all those sessions on COD4 all about, what do I remember apart from a good few outstanding plays?

In contrast, I never feel this way with single player story based games. They all feel so much like different experiences with new things to learn about. I feel Ive achieved something bigger in completing a single player game. I can look back on the time and reflect on different parts.

I would like to keep enjoying online games, so my question is does anyone else feel this way? And how do you come away from these games with a feeling you havent just killed time?

Because you're not playing Street Fighter or any other fighting game, where you can see yourself improving over time.
It's one on one, no other factors (expect lag) involved.
It always feels fresh (new player, new character and you learn a lot by watching it), you can spend 20 minutes and be happy with it and the skill ceiling is infinite.
What's not to love?

Oh, and being beaten to death is part of the learning process.

 

[CAB_Life]

I can only speak to MMOs, which keep you hooked with a drip feed of content updates, progression and mechanical overhauls, and new game modes and milestones in which to invest. Online match based games feel sorely lacking in comparison to evolving digital worlds. I've been playing ESO for over 5 years now and hardly a day goes by that I don't log in and find something to do. Played WoW for almost a decade. EQ for years and years before that. MMOs are the best $ per hour value you'll find in the industry.

 

[Warnen]

Something like destiny 2 I enjoy if I’m chasing something like an exotic quest or new skill, but if it’s just doing weekly shit to see a number go up it’s not fun.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I don't. Waste of time.

Same here. Played some multiplayer games back in the day but now I find single player games much more fun and worth of my time.

 

[Bombolone]

Camo grinds OP.

Weird I feel the opposite way. Maybe it's the isolation of the pandemic but playing a single player game right now feels useless? I don't know. When I'm online I am socializing, part of a bigger whole.
There's 'noise'
I'm struggling to go back and finish The Witcher 3 or Doom or GoT(NG+)
Artificial is the word I'm landing on. No matter what I do in the SP game, it's in a box. MP is more organic. People do people things.

Cyberpunk 2077 will probably see me jump back on the SP train again, but even now I'm second guessing the purchase.

I need to get on Tinder...

 

[TalentedMrJ]

Maybe it's time to step away for a while
Box up your console, store it in the closet, and use your free time elsewhere

Multiplayer is more enjoyable knowing there's another human on the other end

 

[-Arcadia-]

Interesting question. I kind of disagree in that if you had fun, the purpose was served, but I do see the point. Especially for people who agonize over playing competitively, don’t enjoy themselves, and are left with... what in the end? I suppose for the most successful, the accomplishment is there.

I think this is why Battle Royale games have taken off. They incorporate elements of single-player games, like open worlds, a heightened level of interactivity and reactivity in the environments, and actual narratives, as well as each match feeling like a story in its own way, with a beginning, middle, end, and plenty of twists and rises and falls along the way.

You get your twitch shooter skill-based play against other players, but you also get more.

There will always be a place for arena shooters, and simple competitive games, though. Just look at Chess. Something can be simple, but still highly memorable, and a great, fun display of skill.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

I just dont bother with online at all really. Havent done in ten odd years, no regrets.

 

[Fbh]

For me I exclusively play multiplayer games with friends. So it's always a mix of playing a game and just talking and catching up. Even more so since I moved to a more remote location so I don't really get to see a lot of them in real life very often.

 

[Lupin3]

I enjoy them when I'm playing. I don't have to think about it afterwards. Just a little bit of fun, then and there.

 

[MetalRain]

I think any game or even life in general is mostly a waste of time and money, it doesn't usually feel like time well spent, but sometimes there are good moments and that's why I keep coming back at it.

 

[diffusionx]

I'd rather spent some hours playing a stupid multiplayer game and taking my mind off things than just wasting away in front of the computer or watching YT, but that's just me.

Nobody can be productive 100% of the time.

 

[Griffon]

I only tolerate online games if I can play with friends or the game make it easy to make new ones in it.

Solo matchmaking is the sadest shit ever. Playing with toxic strangers you know you'll never see again.

I miss server browsers and the feeling of having a good regular place to hang out in.

 

[DESTROYA]

Easy fix , stop playing online multiplayer.

 

[ZippyTheOtter]

Takes a sense of community for me to get behind that stuff. So I'm MMOs and what not.

I think the most competitive shooter I got into was TF2, and even then it was on all talk servers where you got to know everyone.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

If I step on a scale and weigh more afterwards then I definitely spent my time wisely.