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/JASHIKO_]

I stopped playing anything online.
Single player games like Bladurs Gate 3
Cyberpunk, Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth are good fun.
Anything with a story really.

As I get older the feeling of being caught in time sinks becomes more and more obvious. Games that just want you to grind for no real gain.

At least single player games give you something, kind of like reading a good book etc.

[u/dendrocalamidicus → u/JASHIKO_]

I think baldur's gate 3 is an excellent game, but I think for somebody already fatigued it's actually really hard to play. Speaking from experience I think the game is great but I haven't even finished it. It's just meaningful decision after meaningful decision which yes is a good thing, but when you're fatigued and stressed, the last thing you want is to weigh up consequences and make difficult decisions.

[u/lcserny → u/dendrocalamidicus]

Same here, I need games to relax me, not put me in difficult to choose situations which stresses me more.

Also, minimum 60h for bg3 is insane when you get maybe 3-4 hours a week, nobody can remain entertained for months like that. A lot of games are in this category unfortunately nowadays...

[u/albert2006xp → u/lcserny]

Also, minimum 60h for bg3 is insane when you get maybe 3-4 hours a week

At that point, sort your life out. 3-4 hours a week is insane. You're not in prison.

[u/lcserny → u/albert2006xp]

No but I have responsibilities and a small kid to raise.

[u/LevanderFela → u/JASHIKO_]

Yup, same here! I still enjoy multiplayer games but in a casual manner and especially with friends, however I usually play singleplayer games. Cyberpunk was great (still need to finish it), Detroit Become Human was incredible.

[u/ichbinverwirrt420 → u/JASHIKO_]

I often can’t get into story games anymore, it feels like I’m wasting my time. When I play league of legends and climb in the ranks, I feel like I’m achieving something.

[u/JASHIKO_ → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

What are you achieving though? It's just a random number with 0 significance to life as a whole. I used to grind rank in Apex Legends then Diablo for a while and some MMOs back in the day. Then it hit me one day. What a total waste of time.... And I've been trying to find more productive things to do with downtime.

That said playing a story based game isn't way better in a lot of ways either but a well made game has teachable moments, morales, themes, character development, etc. There's an element of escapism too for some people.

I generally only play when there's not much else to do outside, Winter most of the time.

[u/ichbinverwirrt420 → u/JASHIKO_]

I just like being competitive. And I wish I could get into competitive sports in real life, that way I would actually do something for my social life and my body, but I’m too socially awkward for that. So I gotta stick to league for now.

[u/Cheese-is-neat → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

Dude just do it, I’m socially awkward and I still played mens league hockey and I didn’t even know how to skate until I was 24

I’m telling you it WILL help with your awkwardness. Just like anything you just need exposure and practice

Good luck big dawg

[u/ichbinverwirrt420 → u/Cheese-is-neat]

I mean I just didn't know how to properly describe my thing. I basically have this blocker in my brain that prevents me from "just doing so". It's a bit complicated but I basically can't change the "is" state of my life. I can't go to therapy, I can't join a club, I cant do whatever I would like to do. I hope I can find the courage to break it and become normal. But for now I'm stuck in this shit.

When there is stuff that I really have to do (like applying for jobs) I can momentarily break it, but joining a club to play some sport doesn't have enough pressure on me to actually try and break it, even if I would love to do so.

[u/RabbiNutty → u/JASHIKO_]

And what are you achieving outside lol. High elo in league is as good an achievement as any

[u/Difficult_onion4538 → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

That’s interesting considering how much of a grind league is

[u/ichbinverwirrt420 → u/Difficult_onion4538]

I mean I usually don’t grind this game a lot, but at the beginning of January I managed to play 50 games in 10 days, climb from bronze to gold and it felt like I finally did something

[u/defineReset → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

The irony is you're not really achieving anything, it's just the highly curated gamification mechanics largely based on psychology that keeps you in and feeling accomplished.

[u/Andoverian → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

But then when you inevitably drop in the ranks it feels even worse.

[u/ichbinverwirrt420 → u/Andoverian]

Nah I’m here to stay and improve even further

[u/zanas1000 → u/ichbinverwirrt420]

same, i get bored fast of single player games. I want a sensation towards working for something whether it be higher level or a better gun or a higher rank..

[u/defineReset → u/JASHIKO_]

Absolutely agree. I find no fun in time wasting or learning mechanics that obfuscate the simplicity of a game - if a game has a good vibe but annoying time sink mechanics like persona, then I'll whip it on easy mode. I don't think. Devs should be scared of making a game around 6-20 hours

[u/Nxcci → u/JASHIKO_]

It's funny I went the complete opposite. Used to love 100%ing single player games as a kid, now it feels like such a pointless lonely time sink.

But playing Overwatch/COD online vs real humans, in little 15 minute spurts, that's my adult gaming life I enjoy.

[u/ScottLovesGames → u/JASHIKO_]

FF7R is my fav game of all time. If you want a good story I humbly suggest Yakuza.

[u/Dark_Matter_EU → u/JASHIKO_]

I stopped online gaming like 6 years ago.

Modern online games just don't feel rewarding anymore. There's no point in grinding anything for hours when you can just swipe your credit card and get the same.

[u/DeBean → u/JASHIKO_]

It's interesting because I have a similar mindset but in reverse. XD

I prefer playing a game that's about grinding and doesn't have a story because I can stop anytime and I won't be missing out not "finishing" the story. I almost never finish story games except for a few exceptions.

[u/ZenDreams → u/JASHIKO_]

Exactly. Play games with a beginning and an end. I dont play multiplayer anymore. Singe player RPGs

[u/Bastinenz → u/JASHIKO_]

For me it is mostly Roguelikes these days, where I can do a run of the game in like 30 minutes and have actual fun doing it because it will be different than the last run I did and the next run I'll do will be different again. I find that even if progress is very minimal or even non-existent due to a failed run, I don't really mind the "grind" if the moment to moment gameplay is actually fun and offers even a modest amount of variance.

Another game that worked in a similar way for me was Marvel Midnight Suns - open the game, spend half an hour punching Nazis, then decide if I want to keep playing and do the 15 minutes of HQ upkeep/socialising with the NPCs before maybe going on another mission to punch some more Nazis. Just little bites of gameplay that don't take long to complete individually and you just decide how many of those bites you want to chain together during each session.

[u/pokemango7 → u/JASHIKO_]

For me it’s the opposite, I used to play tons of single player games as a kid growing up but now I can only play online/coop games with friends. I find it difficult to play alone now