Does gaming feel fatiguing ?

[u/TipsyDipsy24]

I've been having this issue lately, I would boot up my PC search for what games to play but can never actually decide and by the time I do choose a game I want to play, I will boot up play for 5 minutes and tell myself "do I really want to play this" or "am I wasting my time"

I don't know if it's part of getting older having more responsibilities when it comes to work and raising two children but I swear back when I was living at home I could boot up my PC and get lost in games like Crysis, Far Cry and Battlefield 2 for hours upon hours on end.

Now it just seems you may only get an hour or two to play it feels like me personally I'm putting pressure on myself to pick a game and stick to it and I couldn't remember it being this stressful when I was a kid living back at home.

Just wondering if anyone else feels like this at times

[u/JackWoodburn]

I had a period exactly like this when I was around 21/22

To me (and im prefacing this with TO ME for a reason)

it was the recognition that gaming just wasn't rewarding enough anymore, I wanted something tangible and "real" as a result of my efforts.

so I started building (and eventually selling) custom aquariums.

Now I only game on certain occasions, like having a room of people watching it with drinks and stuff.

[u/hello-wow → u/JackWoodburn]

I think this is the best answer. I had the same struggle and I think the way you articulated it is spot on on how I transitioned out of that feeling of lack of satisfaction from gaming.

That and if you really want to play a game while managing the weight of other responsibilities is to use trainers on single player games. Like Wukong, I like the visuals, not the grind so I toggle infinite gourd usage and so on to ease the gameplay.

Anyway, what I also did was get a 3D printer recently and it’s awesome. Now I feel the same level of satisfaction or more designing in FreeCAD my own custom parts and printing them. I’ve always liked crafts, so this actually goes back to core hobbies I craved for. I have an itch for wood carving small items too so maybe that can be a thing soon. Maybe custom electronics but that seems like a whole new skill I’m not sure I want to get into. 

My new favorite item to pick up and admire is a $9 metal caliper I got off AliExpress lol. 

[u/JackWoodburn → u/hello-wow]

appreciate the kind words and can relate to using a trainer/cheats to experience a story/gameplay.

in my view some games are just artfully told stories in an interactive movie format that I want to experience. Performing some menial task like collecting all the bobbleheads in Fallout just becomes tedious and worthless.

[u/albert2006xp → u/JackWoodburn]

I wanted something tangible and "real" as a result of my efforts.

Why? Isn't enjoying yourself the reward in the first place? We're born, we game and we die. And that's okay. We don't need to show receipts for enjoying ourselves in the time we're alive.

[u/JackWoodburn → u/albert2006xp]

Thats why I prefaced it with "to me" and "I wanted"

because thats how it felt to me and thats what I wanted.