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Gaming was like breathing. It was the biggest part of my life as a teenager, one of my priorities as a college student, and eventually one of my most expensive “hobbies” as a young professional.
Then all of a sudden, after thousands of hours spent playing across genres and platforms, boredom hit me hard for the very first time in my early thirties. Some of my favorite games soon gave me the impression of being terribly long. I couldn’t help but notice all the repeating tropes and similarities in game design between franchises.
I figured it was just a matter of time before I found the right game to stimulate my interest again, but time continued to go by and nothing changed.
Is it that games have failed to innovate, or that real life is ultimately more engaging?
(Score: 2) by TheFool on Monday January 07 2019, @09:18PM (7 children)
I share most of this guys feelings, but instead I've found that I just play the games I like differently rather than tossing them entirely.
For example, these days you can find "randomizers" for many games. A randomizer will do like it sounds - randomize some element of the game to give you a very different experience each time. Super Metroid is kind of the classic example. Because of how the mechanics in that game are, you can (mostly) move all the items into random locations and still complete the game, although it's likely going to require a few tricks. There is even a Super Metroid + A Link to the Past randomizer [speedga.me] now that combines the two games into one. The item pool is randomized between both games, so you'll find SM items in ALTTP and the other way around, with a few modified doors to take you between the games. Quite fun if you know both games well enough that it's not just confusing.
Even if you aren't doing something like that, you can do other things like challenge runs or speedrunning. It's the same game data, but you are playing a very different and probably much harder game. And if you aren't taking it too seriously it's a fairly low-stress hobby.
Is it productive? Well, no, but as a result I don't really watch TV or movies. I can't imagine it's worse than killing time with Netflix or something.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 07 2019, @09:25PM (6 children)
I have a PS3 - I used to spend hours and hours waiting for it to update - I thought that Sony misinterpreted the mission statement: "Owner wants to waste a ton of time using the device..." Now I just watch it collect dust.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @11:30PM
I discovered Steam Sales and GOG. That's when I stopped playing my PS3 and not too long after that the PS4 was released. I bought into VR when I could and it's been a blast. Though, I still have more Non-VR game time through the week than I do VR game time. VR is lots of fun, but you can get tired of having a hunk of tech strapped to your face. Usually, I just get tired from standing, ducking, and turning. So, I end up quitting and playing something not as physically intensive. It's probably good that at least some of my game time is spent active like that, though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday January 08 2019, @03:05PM (4 children)
Our PS3 (bought second-hand long after release, to access some platform-exclusive titles) saw a lot of service as a video streaming server (BBC iPlayer). It also gets used for streaming old downloaded content from a RasPi home server via dlna. It can probably still play games, but it's been a while since anyone put a disc in it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 08 2019, @04:56PM (3 children)
We used our PS3 as a media center back in the 200x years, got tired of listening to the fans, even the new ones drew an unreasonable amount of power for what they did - replaced it with a NUC running Kodi/Ubuntu - never looked back.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:21PM (2 children)
We found that sitting the PS3 horizontally helped with the airflow, and reduced the fan's rpm to a quieter setting. But with young kids in the house, it's nice to have a room quiet enough to hear fans in the first place!
But in all honesty, it's only used for perhaps a dozen hours a month, so I've not found the need to invest the time/money in a replacement solution.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:26PM
A clarification (as my two posts appear contradictory): The PS3 did all our video streaming at first, but we've now got a Freeview box that does live and catch-up television, so the PS3 is only used for streaming off our local media server.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:39PM
Back in the day, we also had some kind of Western Digital streaming device that was semi-competent, but ultimately underpowered and frustrating. I also had a Kill-a-watt device that cooled my enthusiasm for the PS3 - If I Recall Correctly:
2007 42" flat panel TV 70W
WD media center widget with hard drive 10W
1st Gen PS3 250W standby, 350W playing hard
2nd Gen PS3 200W standby, 300W playing hard
Kodi on NUC with 2TB external drive 20W while playing back video
the 2nd Gen PS3 was quiet enough, but at $0.1141/kWH (coincidentally, about what we pay around here) every watt consumed 24-7-365 costs a dollar, so you're looking at a $200 annual standby cost for the PS3 vs a $20 cost for the NUC...
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday January 07 2019, @09:25PM (5 children)
The modern games really do suck. A lot. And the main reason for this is that they've shifted their goals from creating great games to pushing the right buttons to convince players to shell out cash for loot boxes and other microtransactions. The general big-budget nature of modern video games coupled with the marketers and other non-gaming suits controlling game companies pretty much guarantees that no great new concepts will be coming forth anytime soon. This was really exemplified with the botched announcement of Diablo Immortal, which is apparently turning the fairly fun Diablo RPG game franchise into a microtransaction-based mobile game aimed at the Chinese market.
I do still occasionally play older games, though: After 5-10 years or so, they're often released for free, and the ones that anybody cares about after that long are usually pretty good.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 07 2019, @09:45PM (4 children)
The "freemium formula" really bores me - no matter how slick the production graphics and sound, if it's a "grind and wait for your shiny, or pony up cash to get it faster" mechanic, I'm done - it's all too familiar and insulting to play.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @10:27PM (3 children)
The "freemium formula" doesn't bore me. I boycott it. I do not play games with that kind of gimmick. File Diablo 3 away in this category. They went from focusing on the game and making it fun, to how can we monetize this. It bit them hard. With the announcement of their mobile exclusive, it shows that they haven't listened. You can't convert a good franchise into a cash grab without getting a lot of push back from your fans. I avoid mobile games for pretty much all the same reasons. The mobile game economy is literally built around people paying for virtual money that is spent. So, you can buy more virtual money to spend. PC gaming used to have real DLC, usually extra maps with stuff, an actual serious attempt at giving the customer some more fun game. Now, DLC is synonymous with, we want you to pay more, so we can keep cashing in on our game. Here's some gold color this, or worse yet a feature that should have been in the game, but we released it anyways. So, pay us money for it. If you are going to treat your "customers" like beta testers, at least release it as Early Access or something.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 07 2019, @11:01PM (2 children)
I played Hearthstone long enough that it started to resemble this formula for me in the end... they buried it well, but eventually that's what it boiled down to. I also got the sense that as a non-paying player I was used as loser fodder for the payers, not enough to completely discourage me from playing right away, but eventually...
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @11:24PM (1 child)
I played Gwent first, so when I got to Hearthstone, I noticed the (I am cannon fodder.) feature, almost right away. Gwent was pretty fun and I hadn't felt the need to purchase anything. I played it to death in beta, and they changed up the formula on full release. The new full release is much more polished and fun as well. I just have lots of other games, that don't have that kind of gimmick in it to play.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 08 2019, @02:40PM
Occasionally I would trade dust for a good card and push my ranking up high, I forget how it went but some Rogue special card I got allowed me to compete up many levels higher than I normally did. Still fun to play at more or less any level, but ultimately just a waste of time - as intended.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @09:46PM
I suspect the big reason is that you have a lot less free time now. Back when you were a child, you had something like 10-ish hours of free time each day. Now you probably have closer to 2-ish. I guarantee if you took a month long holiday from work, after a couple of days you'd go back to those video games you used to (and still) love so much out of boredom.
The other thing possibility is that it's a question of control over the environment. Back when you are a child, you had little responsibility and could only really influence and control things in a game. Now you have disposable income and can buy things on your own, set your own schedule, and maybe even tell other people what to do at times. Having the escape-ism fantasy of power is less compelling as a result.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday January 07 2019, @09:53PM (2 children)
Heavy Metal isn't as heavy as it used to be either.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Monday January 07 2019, @10:00PM
Even metal decay over the ages. They just don't breed the like they used to. When was the last time (insert new music star name) bit the head of a bat etc? Oh Ozzy ...
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 08 2019, @01:37AM
Judas Priest's newest album Firepower is great metal. They still know how to rock it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ledow on Monday January 07 2019, @10:23PM (2 children)
The type of games I enjoy hasn't changed.
Look at Factorio. It looks like an old DOS game. There's nothing in there that's unnecessary. No fancy-3D effects or rotating cameras where they aren't required.
I'm (still) waiting for Half-Life 3. Half-life 2 was the last game that actually impressed me. Everything else since is HL2-with-knobs-on. Like before it, everything was Quake-with-knobs-on.
But the type/aesthetic/level of games I like has stayed still. I don't care about high-end graphics, everything autoaim, trading cards and items, churning to earn worthless points in order to proceed, etc.
My game library is split across emulators of all the console systems I've ever owned (everything from ZX Spectrum to N64), Steam and GOG. There's nothing quite like booting up some old DOS-based game.
Note that I have not bought a games console for myself after the Super Nintendo (Famicom). I got into PC early and the last console I ever really used personally was an original Wii.
People lost the art of making games that you can just sit in front of, play, and not feel like you're just grinding. Indie games are the solution, not anything mass-market.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @10:57PM
If you ever get a chance, Little Big Planet is a seriously fun game. Though, best played with a friend. It was / is a Play Station 3+ exclusive.
The right VR game could impress as well. I'm pretty easy to please though, just give me fireballs in both hands and we've got a winner. Some of the environments are just plain fun as well. Even informative, like the Mars Rover one. You go warp around to different spots in the same area with plaques that have cool info. Stuff like, the size of the curiosity rover, along with a 3D model of it. Lots of fun to be had with a VR headset. Fallout 4 / Skyrim weren't designed with VR in mind, but they sure are fun to play in VR anyways. One of the funnest games I've played in VR is a tower defense+fps game that is free. They didn't have great graphics or the like, but it was a really fun game. I'm not really sold on 360 movie / cinema experiences, but it just could be that I've not seen the right thing yet. I would probably be all over a Planet Earth like 360 film, though. That would be amazing.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Webweasel on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:59AM
Cant recommend Factorio enough. I just spent 93 hours getting to my first rocket launch (On my fifth attempt at getting the hang of the game). The game is paced excellently (When you feel its getting to big, you get construction bots and blueprints which suddenly open the game right up). In all my play time, I have not found or seen any bugs at all.
Then you have a look on youtube and see what other people have done and it blows your mind. 2000 Science packs a second factories that look like CPU's when zoomed out on the map. People building full CPU's and displays from the logic combinators and logistics network. Doing ballet with trains. It's utterly insane what some of these people come up with. Left me feeling rather humble.
The best bit? You get to the rocket launch (end game technically) and you realise, actually all you have done for 90 hours is learn how to make a starter base. Now its time for a megafactory.
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 4, Interesting) by cmdrklarg on Monday January 07 2019, @10:28PM (5 children)
It's a combination of things for me. Some has to do with waning reflexes and eyesight. Also can't sit in a chair a long time without having to get up and move a bit (not a bad thing I guess).
I used to play more when I was still married vs. divorced. I think now that a bigger time-waster is perusing dating sites (a waste of time for certain). I know the ex-wife thought video games was a waste of time (that's the idea, duh!).
Most new games don't appeal to me. They seem to want to dump the single player content and concentrate on PVP (which I hate). Tried Fortnite, just wasn't fun trying to compete with people a third my age who play all day long. The idiotic Fallout 76 has zero appeal to me, and I love the Fallout series.
They also seem rife with pay to win and microtransactions. They won't get a cent from me.
I've been playing Borderlands 2 and the Pre-Sequel lately since getting the DLCs cheap during the Steam sale. Borderlands 3 is coming soon, and I am hoping they have gotten a damned clue and stuck with the formula of the first two games, and say no to microtransactions.
The game I spent the most time playing was the MMORPG City of Heroes, which was murdered in cold blood by NCSoft (a pox on their souls). It was fun playing superheroes, and made some friends. Great community there too. Been waiting for the spiritual successors for several years now, hopefully will see them this year.
Real life more interesting? Not really... I hate going out to social gatherings alone; I'd rather stay home.
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @11:10PM (4 children)
Ever since I read about Fallout76, I knew where they were going and have stayed way far away from that horrible beast. I've played through and finished Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3, and Fallout New Vegas. Am currently playing Fallout 4 and having a blast in VR. Fallout76 is Bethesda's attempt at getting on the gravy train. They want money that prints money, the same way some stupid mobile games have done. I could almost forgive them for making Fallout Shelter a microtransaction game, but that wold require me to accept microtransactions and that isn't going to happen. When an independent developer can make a jewel of a game like Terraria, and not have DLC / microtransactions. A stupidly huge developer like Bethesda/Blizzard can make their games without it as well. I can give them DLC that introduce more story, so long as it's substantial and not something that should have been in the original game. Otherwise, loot boxes and microtransactions will remain the hallmarks of games that I avoid like the plague. I will also be vocal to friends / family members about the insanity of loot boxes and microtransactions.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Informative) by Freeman on Monday January 07 2019, @11:15PM
I did play Fallout Shelter and spent $0.00 on that thing. It could have been an excellent game, if they'd not gone down the microtransaction hole. As it is, it's a fun sim like game, that is "beatable" without paying any money. I say "beatable" as you can unlock all the buildings, without paying money. The game isn't really "beatable" as far as I can tell. It's just more of the same once you unlock that last building. I assumed, the Nuka Cola factory building would produce Nuke Cola, so you wouldn't have to buy any with real money or get them through quests. I was wrong. It's just a building that gives food+water. So, I'm even less impressed. I wish it wasn't so much of a cash grab.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday January 08 2019, @03:13PM (2 children)
The first games that got that kind of treatment from me were those on the original Steam platform: I objected to the principle of having to connect to the internet to play the game. When loot boxes and micro-transactions came along, I was already out of "mainstream" gaming (or had my head in the sand).
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 08 2019, @04:16PM (1 child)
Steam, doesn't require that you be connected 100% of the time. You can download your game, then play it in offline mode 99% of the time. Some publishers have built always online into their game. Even single player games, like Assassin's Creed.
Though, really, GOG is the game platform for you, then. All of the benefits of an online collection of games, with the legal right to make a backup of each game's installer offline on your own media. You may not be able to resell it, but you're guaranteed access just as much as the old school purchase of a CD/DVD game. With the added benefit of not needing a CD/DVD in the drive to play the thing. Seriously, take a look at the GOG platform. GOG Galaxy, is really nice, but 100% unnecessary. You can download each game separately through the website interface. Then backup the installer executable on physical media.
Possibly the greatest feature from GOG is that they try to add cool things to their list of downloadables. Like (optional to download), manuals, wallpapers, sound tracks, maps, walkthrough, etc. Some of the extras are original (created by or for GOG).
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by kazzie on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:17PM
I believe Steam has changed it's connectivity rules somewhat since first launched, but that's the impression I first formed at the time.
I am a lover of GOG's approach and catalogue, and have several of their games. Their integration of patches for old games to run on newer operating systems is a particular boon.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday January 08 2019, @01:04AM (5 children)
Go here: https://steamdb.info/graph/ [steamdb.info] or here: https://steamdb.info/stats/gameratings/ [steamdb.info]
That is a link to the games with the most concurrent players followed by the ones with the highest ratings.
By default, they only show the top 25 and you can page to the next 25. Also, you can change it to a higher page count.
(note: SteamDB uses statistics from steam, but is not an affiliate of steam. They also have a record of how low individual titles go on sale for.)
Now, these are pretty good ideas on what are the best games, but do use some common sense. Some of the most played are the current fad. Some of the highest rated might refer to a previous revision before a controversial change might have happened. BUT, it should give you a good starting point.
I actually saw Civilization III, IV, V, and VI all in the top 250 currently being played yesterday. That shows how well the series has been received over time. (Personally, I though III was ok, I enjoyed IV, really liked V, and really don't care for VI.)
Some very good indie titles are in that top 250 as well... I noticed Factorio, Oxygen Not Included, Transport Fever, Darkest Dungeon, Hollow Knight, 7 days to die, Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together(multi-player version) And these are games I recognized that I personally play. I also noticed Terraria, and Kerbel Space Program.
Right at this moment, it takes about 1,000 people playing the game to be in the top 250. Weekends are higher. But especially some older games, if you have a few thousand people still playing your games years after release, you did something right.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 5, Interesting) by stretch611 on Tuesday January 08 2019, @01:13AM
I forgot to mention... I am a gamer, but the last 10 years only linux has been installed in my house.
In my parent post, every single game I mentioned except for Civ III & IV are playable in native linux. (I believe that both III and IV can be played in WINE, Civ V and VI both have native linux builds.)
As a matter of fact, the linux gaming site that I frequent, just had an article yesterday: 132 of the 250 most highly rated games on Steam support Linux, even more when counting Steam Play [gamingonlinux.com]
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by pipedwho on Tuesday January 08 2019, @03:44AM (3 children)
If you're on steam, check out Portal. Great FPS concept without the actual shooting. Well, you get a portal gun, but you don't blow things up with it. Very clever concept and great gameplay.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:07AM (2 children)
Actually, I noticed Portal 2 on the top 250 games currently played.
I bought both Portal and Portal 2 during a steam sale at least 2 years ago for less than $5 for both. However, I have more games in my library than I actually have time to play and have yet to get around to playing either Portal.
Yes, I am a gamer and I have a problem...
According to Steam... 437 games (371 native linux games), 556 DLC.
GOG... 128 games (does not break it up by OS, but many of these are old DOS and Windows Games.)
and Humble Bundle where I probably bought 90% of my library through "pay what you want" bundles does not give counts, and I am not about to try and count them manually.
According to my Steam Playing Time stats: (in order)
RimWorld
Factorio
Prison Architect
Oxygen Not Included
Civilization V
Transport Fever
Rise to Ruins
I do recommend those titles... especially if you like colony management/base builders.
However, I am better off not admitting to how many hours I actually spent on those titles... I do acknowledge my problem even though I refuse to do anything about it. =)
As long as I am making recommendations, nowhere near the amount of time as the others, but probably destined to make it there eventually:
Don't Starve and the multiplayer version Don't Starve Together (Survival, top down)
Rise of Industry (logistics management, similar to OpenTTD, but quite different)
Sky Force Anniversary and Sky Force Reloaded (Arcade type shoot-em-up, will never hit the amount of hours, but a nice change of pace)
7 Days to Die (Survival, FPS, Zombies)
I actually reviewed 10 titles on Steam [steamcommunity.com],
Positive reviews for: Rise of Industry, Oxygen Not Included, Titan Attacks, Factorio, Creeper World III, Rise to Ruins
Negative reviews for: Railway Empire, Poly Bridge, Master of Orion (remastered), Q-Bert: Rebooted
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Webweasel on Tuesday January 08 2019, @11:02AM (1 child)
Hmm, that's at least 4 of us playing Factorio. Anyone up for a Soylent multiplayer server?
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday January 08 2019, @09:58PM
I'd be willing to play multiplayer.
Despite Factorio being an indie game, and the fact that Soylent News probably isn't in the top 100 websites, I think we can probably find more than 4 people. :)
The fact is that Factorio is one of those games that just draws the technical crowd in. ( My Factorio Review on Steam [steamcommunity.com]. )
If you are one of the technical types that reads Soylent News regularly and you do not have Factorio, get it...
https://factorio.com/ [factorio.com] or
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/ [steampowered.com] or
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/factorio [humblebundle.com]
It does not go on sale. The developers have stated this plainly. (and the steam forum has a complaint thread from some moron during every sale event.)
So it will cost $30 now, and $30 during the next big steam sale as well. That is half the cost of most AAA titles from large publishing companies and you get a game that you will spend a lot of time playing.
The only way I know how to get a discount is if you subscribe to the Humble Monthly and get 10% off every game. (Or, invent a time machine and go back 6 months before they raised the price from $20.)
There is a demo available. (Though I'm not sure how all the recent tutorial changes have affected the demo.)
There are a ton of youtube/twitch streams on Factorio as well. (Current Factorio version is 0.16 though 0.17 is due out in a month or two; but even older version are relative for gameplay; recent versions have mostly added better graphics, nuclear power, and artillery weapons.)
AND FACTORIO WORKS ON LINUX TOO!!! (quite well actually.) It even works on Macs. (though they were looking for a new Mac developer in the last month after their existing one took a different job.)
Right now, I have 1,234.5 hours of gameplay on Steam. I was going to wait for 0.17 to play more, but I am willing to play multi-player in the meantime. Hopefully those other two people will join, and maybe some lurkers and new players as well.
(I know this sounds like a paid advertisement... but it isn't. No affiliate links used either, I get nothing out of this comment other than the possibility of introducing people to a great game, and maybe the chance to be a part of some network play with others,)
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 5, Interesting) by crafoo on Tuesday January 08 2019, @01:24AM
Maybe you are becoming more creative and are seeking out creative outlets and hobbies. Games don't really provide much room for creativity. There are some strong exceptions to this, but in general most games are restrictive and actually fairly simple systems not capable of much creative expression or even customization.
I've seen people put down games (mostly) as they age and take up hobbies where they can create things or ideas and share them. A few even got into making games or modding games. Some woodworking, metalworking, drawing, things like that. I think it's just natural growth.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday January 08 2019, @02:25AM
Perhaps a good place to start is to ask yourself, what basic drives did/does a game fulfill for you? And how have the changes in your real life satisfied those drives with something more substantial? And, if you want ideas for genres that might appeal - what drives are currently not as fulfilled as you'd like?
A few possibilities:
For a lot of people the sense of accomplishment or advancement is a major appeal. We're wired to get a rush out of accomplishing something, and especially as kids and young adults the scope and obvious impacts of our real-life accomplishments tend to be small. Most games though offer a steady drip of accomplishment and reward to get your fix.
For some, the joy of mastery is the reward (I think a lot of racing/flight/music sims fall here)
For some, pure escapism into a more entertaining world.
Or the mental challenge.
Lots of reasons, and lots of genres to cater to different aspects and combinations of them.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Tuesday January 08 2019, @02:53AM
No, that is not quite it. Second Corinthians, chapter Eleven, asset forfeiture bankrupcy:
, or, originally,
Peoples play games to avoid being bored. After a while they realized they are still bored, but are giving money away for the privilege. κατηργηκα τα του νηπιου; Suckas!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday January 08 2019, @06:45AM (1 child)
A lot of what the author reports rings true with me. Searching my own feelings about it, I realize the things I enjoy most about games now are not the graphics or adrenaline factor. Rather, it's attention to detail, depth, and story. Playing GTA V, I realized the character development and fine writing that went into that made it worth playing. The many pop culture references in it, and the attention to situation appropriate patois made it immersive.
The Fallout games (haven't played 76 yet) have been quite good at that, too, mixing humor with pathos. One moment you're snickering at silly tribes in Zion, and the next you're in a ravine looking at the wreck of a school bus filled with child-sized skeletons. It breaks your heart a little, and that gives the experience dimension that makes it rise above a mere game.
There have even been games that I dislike overall, like the Assassins Creed series, but its ability to capture the essence of classical Istanbul with snatches of Turkish spoken in the background gives you windows into worlds that you would otherwise never see or imagine.
But those games seem a bit rare. More aim at the kid- and teen market who like fast, dumb, and loud.
It's too bad, because the medium seems capable of high art in a way that we've only scratched yet.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 08 2019, @07:06AM
I will now quietly puke in an secure undisclosed location. Phoenix666 just said "shiny". All is lost, all is lost. I would append my user name, but the shame is too much. Phoenix! We trusted you, man! We followed you! We preferred your submissions to aristarchus's. And now this? Words have I not.
(Score: 2) by Valkor on Tuesday January 08 2019, @08:30AM
A rooted Nintendo 3DS. Hardly any load times, and access to the HUGE library of all Nintendo handheld games. Since it's small enough to go in the laptop bag, it's there for those brief ten minutes I'm not being micromanaged by some asshole or another. I'm currently playing a pir8 copy of Dragon Quest that has the proper orchestral score and proper English dubs and subs. In the slot I have a legit copy of Monster Hunter.
I ran in to the same issue as OP, and I identified the problem as being I'm too damn busy to wait for shit to patch and load. By the time PoE or Warframe finishes patching I'm already off reading or do something actually productive (heaven forbid). I gave it a think and decided a portable with zero load time and very low operating costs was the ticket. Without getting weird, I limited my search to just mainstream stuff and picked a 3DS XL because I mostly wanted to play Nintendo games, so, duh. Turns out it also does some libretro stuff pretty well, too. I've always liked portables but haven't gamed on one in fordamnever.
I would not suggest a Switch for this purpose, at all. It has updates and other crap, and I'm not sure just how much that blocks you from enjoying your collection, but I know for a fact on the 3DS a pending update won't prevent you from playing. Games still have load times; Monster Hunter Generations will give you enough time to stretch between some levels. Also I'm not sure how robust the Switch is, can it survive a backpack?
I had a PSP2000 for a while and it was pretty nice. That might be a good route nowadays, but Memory Sticks or whatever Sony calls them are $$. They have OK survivability and load times can be very quick but vary wildly. I have no clue how rooting these things goes, it's probably trivial like it is with the 3DS. The PS Vita might be an option, but UMD is so cool :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 08 2019, @10:20AM
In 1980s, when computers got really popular, the most important argument for introducing these somewhat clunky machines into offices was that it saves time. Well, here we see that it's not true, just requirements got bigger and time consumption by work vs rest of life has generally increased.
So we're still in 80s and we want to play a game. We put a tape into an XC or Datassette, set a counter and load. Load times were quite large, let's say 2-15 minutes, but that was not an entire time between thinking "Let's play" and grabbing the joystick.
Before game there sometimes was a cracktro. Sometimes skipped, sometimes it was outstanding and was not skipped. Watching these better ones, it was quite impressing for many players that something like this could be done by a small group in their free time as a hobby.
And the rest of time was for a game.
Now the times changed a bit: There is just no time for it. Most of time is accounted for job, after work you must still think about it as you have some problems to solve for tomorrow or you'll get fired, and of course the amount of work is bigger because computers save time :). Work mostly done by fighting with these stubborn computer systems.
Generally, there is an acceleration in work time and it increases since 1980s. Today some corporate workers just have to use medicines which by wonder are not (or are close to be) on a forbidden drugs list, to sleep 2-4 hours per night as there's no time to waste.
So with this acceleration people just have no time for anything, gaming, hobbies, etc. To make people not go postal, we have different pre-programmed entertainment in the Internet. Show users this, users smile. Show user that, user pissed off and clicks. Now show ad and make the user buy. Usually it's marketed with slogans like "user's have choice", but in fact it's designed to fill the remaining time by advertisements and is the illusion of choice Internet users had even 15 years ago. If something diverts from a carefully crafted screenplay there, you just see the fear and panic of organizers of these. You just see this through the cable.
So now we even don't watch these intros. We know that nobody made these in their free time to show what can be done with a system - it'll be just another ad.
And... Is there even a time for games?
In a few decades I think the work tempo will be accelerated enough that we'll exceed body's capabilities, so the medicines will be an everyday habit for everyone.