This forum is aging.. gaming getting old for you too?

[clok1966]

all you youngsters.. 50 for a few weeks now and still love gaming. With kids in the house i did alot less and didnt care, they are all gone now, back to my own free time. I still enjoy it just as much, but have found Real life wins the arguments in my head alot more now then when i was younger, i don't "fXXX off" as much as i did. If i had one complaint about gaming, why the hell does every game have to have 90 buttons? I really like Shadow of Mordor, but the combo buttons is .. wow so many things you can do, but how can one remeber all those. Consolation started this button madness.

 

[sourceninja]

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[renz20003]

I had my first child at 24, I'm 31 currently. I didn't play much the first year of her life but by age 1 I allocated game time in my day.

I have a 5 month old son now and game time is from 830-11pm every night. It's the only way to keep my sanity.

 

[flexy]

Is it really me "aging"?

For example, I just started Doom and I played "a little" and see already I can't for the love of me continue this, it's the same-old, same-old as seen already 1000x times and there is simply no motivation, it is simple BORING. The last time I was genuinely impressed with a game was discovering what you can do in GTA5, just driving around in the country side being amazed by the details etc..game itself was ok also....and Rise of the Tombraider isn't that bad either. But MOST other games just bore the shit out of me and I am not sure whether it's "age" or that the games are really non-inspiring, boring, rehashed etc.

PS: I understand that the "appeal" of Doom is supposed to be exactly that, that it's a classic shooter as classic as it can get..but I still can't see me playing this for the next days/weeks shooting zombies on e
nd. "Go there, find the etrance to X and disable the Y, and while doing so shoot 100s of zombies"...yawn..and this for the duration of the game through all levels...

 

[Naer]

No new game for me, i only play wc3 tft and cs;go cause these are the games i started playing as a teen. I don't understand the logic of pressuring game developers to make new concepts.I have yet to master these games or get highly ranked so why would i abandon ship only to have the hassle or a new learning curve

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'll be 46 in a few weeks and have gamed since the late 70s. I'm married but have no kids. I've lived through some great eras - I saw the rise and fall of arcades, various game companies, the great video game crash of 1983, the rise (and IMO, the current decline) of PC gaming - you get the picture. With all that being said, I am pretty much over gaming at this stage. I used to love complex, immersive MMOs that would consume all my free time and my brothers and I would literally crash every weekend playing these kinds of games.

Now? MMOs feel like having a second job and are boring and tedious. In other genres, it seems like games are just reskinned rehashes of earlier games. I honestly can't point to a single game I'm excited about. I've been primarily a computer gamer since the aforementioned video game crash of 1983 (various Commodores into the PC era) and regularly upgraded my PCs so I could play the latest stuff. I LOVED upgrading PCs and at one point had 4 gaming systems active for gaming events at my house. Now, I can't even justify upgrading my current system (see sig) and it is over 5 years old at this stage.

What happened? I think it is many factors, from unimaginative and uninspired games to just becoming old. I'd love nothing more than to be excited and love gaming again, but I don't see that ever happening again.

 

[simas]

I think you realize your time is more precious now and prefer better games if you do game on computer/consoles. plus your tastes change as you grow which is ok
- as others I found MMOs and playing online in general to be extremely boring, and too much 'work'.
- cyber-sport become annoying with the whole nerf this, OMG this is so OP, X sucks against Y and other trash talk of some loser somewhere. if I want a cybersport, I would play chess as that has unbeatable cybersport qualitied - fixed rules, publisher/vendor independence, plenty of strategy, great challenge involving your brains and not just micro APM BS.
- in attempt to add MP to everything (Mass Effect 3, Total War games lately), formerly good games turn to shit. WFT? why every week the game changes completely as this or that thing got 'rebalanced' - total war Warhammer, I am looking at you. also, why I had to even bother with shoot them up online in Mass Effect 3 if all I care about is first person story.

however, if you find your niche there are incredible experiences available - recently Witcher series for me (good, mature storytelling), whatever Bioware makes (as long as they forget the DLC galore and pushing people online if they do not want to), XCOM/XCOM2 . there are also duds - for me Fallout 4 was very boring and more like Sims after Nukes. I now have to build villages and babysit stupid sims in order to experience a role playing game, who thought that was a good idea?

 

[vshah]

i feel the same way about most games, but star citizen has me excited again.

 

[flexy]

What happened? I think it is many factors, from unimaginative and uninspired games to just becoming old. I'd love nothing more than to be excited and love gaming again, but I don't see that ever happening again.

I don't see a logical reason why "oldness" would be in the way of gaming, I am still enthusiastic about hardware and WOULD love to be enthusiastic about games, say, in the same was as I was enthusiastic about NMS before I played it. I really think it's not my "age" (heck I'd play games if I was 80 possibly) but indeed "unimaginative and uninspired games", respective that young people have lesser expectations?

Seeing that many of us played sine the early 80s possibly, we simply have more expectations.

And someone mentioned MMOs further above, I also don't think it's age, but that MMOs, in this case WoW really have more become chores, where "dailies" and other "tasks" have replace the exploration and fun effect. I am not playing WoW like some do where they set their clocks "to do
dailies" when they reset, doing the SAME stuff, again over and over again. As you say, WTF would someone want to play games that feel "like work"?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I don't see a logical reason why "oldness" would be in the way of gaming, I am still enthusiastic about hardware and WOULD love to be enthusiastic about games, say, in the same was as I was enthusiastic about NMS before I played it. I really think it's not my "age" (heck I'd play games if I was 80 possibly) but indeed "unimaginative and uninspired games", respective that young people have lesser expectations?

"Older" generally means more responsibilities, less time, and most importantly, less tolerance for unfinished crap like the stuff we've been seeing for several years.

I love hardware too, but it has been disappointing since at least Sandy Bridge IMO. I have no real reason to upgrade - what makes that even worse is that fact that an upgrade would be effectively free for me given my credit card rewards. I don't even think it is worth my time to build a new system at this stage.

Seeing that many of us played sine the early 80s possibly, we simply have more expectations.

Games were fun, simple, and imaginative back then. Now, all we get is COD 3424234234 and BF 10234.

And someone mentioned MMOs further above, I also don't think it's age, but that MMOs, in this case WoW really have more become chores, where "dailies" and other "tasks" have replace the exploration and fun effect. I am not playing WoW like some do where they set their clocks "to do
dailies" when they reset, doing the SAME stuff, again over and over again. As you say, WTF would someone want to play games that feel "like work"?

If you would've asked me in 2003 what the future of gaming would look like, I would've said MMOs would become extremely popular and played by almost everyone. Maybe VR will enhance MMOs and make them relevant again, but they definitely need to find some fresh mechanics and ideas.

 

[simas]

Here is an example from Witcher 3 that defines that games are for me - engaging, awesome interactive storytelling experience. in Vellen (not the start location but very soon thereafter) right below the river Pontar there is a very low level location with various mini villages, stand alone huts, etc. so I travel through that area on horse and see a 4-5 men trying to set a building on fire. ok, curious , I stop and try to talk to them - these are local 'human first' supremacists burning alive an elven 'witch' according to their words. are they right? wrong? no way to tell? no other side of the story to listen to other than curses from behind the door on all human kind. ok, I will be a hero and tell them to leave her alone, they kick my butt and I run away making the 'witch' die.

Not what I want, however I am way too low of the level to fight racists (or agents of justice, who knows). so I load the save before even getting to the area (so I never seen this fight, hut, situation, etc) , level elsewhere, and when remember oh, time to save the girl. to my surprise, when I come to the same location, I do not see the revenge seeking group, nor the hut, all I see is burned out shell. WTF?? I never been here, I never triggered the script, why this happened?? so tell me, why would a grown man with kids of his own would feel real guilt for not 'saving' an imaginary character in completely mad up world? or feel sorrow, joy, and other strong emotions from interacting with that world? and this is a trivial mini place one of many and many hundreds in Witcher that is very easy to miss and/or ignore, not even a quest or anything, witcher had dozens on dozens of situations where choices lead to consequences, frequently not what you expected them to be at all and still making sense. to me, getting a person involved that way is the true fun on the role playing games.
if computer gaming will continue to evolve into engaging experiences (i.e. I head very good things about Last of Us even if I care nothing about survival horror game), it would continue to have "adults" as its fans. Mass Effect series (second in particular), earlier Elder Scrolls before them becomes console targets, the list is few but fun and fun to revisit. I still remember first neverwinter nights or planetscape RPGs with Nameless one where it was fun vs mash the button/kill the mob/rinse/repeat of current 'action-RPGs' hybrids...
if this thread can offer other great experiences they had (recommendations), I would be interested to hear them

 

[Painman]

I'm in my 40's, I can no longer handle playing FPS games anymore, I played FPS games for about 25 years but just can't stand it now probably due to the newer generation of gamers online- I do once in a while log into Planetside 2 and Fallout 4 is a decent offline FPS game. I'm also into hockey and football and occasionally soccer however the hockey franchise (EA NHL) has progressively gotten worse and so has FIFA but PES has improved. I'm also a hardcore racing gamer so I still play those and I also like MMO's however haven't played one in about 3-4 years now and the new ones doesn't even look remotely appealing to me.

I'm not into RTS or mobile games, yech.

Yeah, I was super into competitive FPS back in the dawn of its day. Did the whole Quake clan thing, got burned out on it back in '00 or so. By that time I was 32.

I can't even begin to compete in that scene anymore.

I'll tell you what's funny though... my 58 year old brother in law just recently joined a 50+ only clan that plays some sort of competitive WWI fighter plane sim. Hey, good for him. Kids grown up and out of the house/through college.

I go through gaming and non-gaming phases now. I won't game at all for months, and then I get the itch again... Usually sandboxes these days... Bethesda crap, or X universe.

Too bad Star Citizen is an MMO. I religiously avoid those.

 

[cytg111]

Perfect. So when I miss that damn goal that I worked so hard for and those noobs get the rebound and score instead of me, its perfectly normal to imagine my head exploding? Because that seems like the appropriate thing to think about given the situation. They should call it "Rocket Rage".

I think that exact feeling is what is keeping you young, means there is still fire.

 

[Stringjam]

Too bad Star Citizen is an MMO. I religiously avoid those.

I have a feeling it isn't going to be "MMO" in the traditional sense - - I think the majority of characters in the universe will be NPC.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm seriously thinking about getting my retro gear out and revisiting the past and its games.

 

[Riverhound777]

I have an odd issue with gaming, I use to get into a game and couldn't get enough of it. I played Eve for years for example. But lately I want to play, but can't help but get bored of games really quickly. I wish I didn't, but I can't help it. Even AAA Great games, I played Fallout4 for like 2 hours and haven't touched it since. GTA5 was a bit better, but after a week I had lost the desire to start it back up. I've sadly been playing games on my phone more than my computer. I'm thinking about getting an Xbox 1s and Forza, but i'm worried that i'll just drop $300+ and get bored after a week or two.

 

[kalrith]

I'm 35 with a 7yo and 2yo. I took a big break from gaming after my 7yo was born and didn't really get into it until about a year ago. Now it's my favorite hobby, and I try to get a couple hours in every night after the kids go to bed.

 

[rasczak]

I know this is an old thread, but felt I needed to respond. I'm 43, and still play cs:go. I've played some iteration of this game since beta. I've also found a love of rpg's since the release of FFXV. I've found that with married life, and two kids I've still been able to find time to really enjoy games, especially now that I can enjoy them with the family more.

 

[gamerguy2]

My gaming tastes have changed with age. A 2-3 hour strategy game is 9 times out of 10 more entertaining than a movie. MMOs need too much commitment and shooters make me dizzy after an hour or more. They need some good persistent world strategy games. There used to be a couple. Age between 40-50

 

[Mamere782]

Grandma signing on. I still love PC gaming, but am very picky about what I buy, though I will admit if a game is on sale for under 10.00 I may give it a try. Old favorites: Gabriel Knight, Deus Ex, Undying, Longest Journey, Half Life, System Shock, RTCW, NOLF, Max Payne 1 and 2, Painkiller Black (also played Painkiller gold with six? Cd's to install), POP SOT, Myst. Newish games: Mass Effect, STALKER series, Oblivian, Witcher series, Fallout New Vegas, Skyrim, Metro 1 and 2, Only game I am looking forward to so far is Cyberpunk 2077 and a decent Morrowind upgrade (I know there are some already there, but not sure how good and/or bugfree they are). I like games with a decent story and an empathetic character. Of course I.ve played many others...these are just a few favs.

 

[Mai72]

I'll be 46 in a few weeks and have gamed since the late 70s. I'm married but have no kids. I've lived through some great eras - I saw the rise and fall of arcades, various game companies, the great video game crash of 1983, the rise (and IMO, the current decline) of PC gaming - you get the picture. With all that being said, I am pretty much over gaming at this stage. I used to love complex, immersive MMOs that would consume all my free time and my brothers and I would literally crash every weekend playing these kinds of games.

Now? MMOs feel like having a second job and are boring and tedious. In other genres, it seems like games are just reskinned rehashes of earlier games. I honestly can't point to a single game I'm excited about. I've been primarily a computer gamer since the aforementioned video game crash of 1983 (various Commodores into the PC era) and regularly upgraded my PCs so I could play the latest stuff. I LOVED upgrading PCs and at one point had 4 gaming systems active for gaming events at my house. Now, I can't even justify upgrading my current system (see sig) and it is over 5 years old at this stage.

What happened? I think it is many factors, from unimaginative and uninspired games to just becoming old. I'd love nothing more than to be excited and love gaming again, but I don't see that ever happening again.

Well what about Skyrim? I thought that was an amazing game, and with the mods it just got better.

 

[Mai72]

I just played Bioshock 1 and 2 again. Amazing games the first play thru. The second time was fun, but I've gotten use to the environment and graphics.

IMO, we have gotten spoiled and that is why much of it seems boring. Remember when in Madden the players would blow cold air? You could actually see the cold smoke! How exciting. Not so much anymore. The graphics have gotten really good. But, it doesn't suprise us as much anymore, because many of us have become jaded.

I think much of what we are talking about is relatable to real life. Remember being a kid and everything was amazing. The scratches on the wall. The plants and trees outside. EVERYTHING! It just seemed so amazing. Then real life creeps in. Responsibilities slowly chip away at our fun side, and slowly we all start to take things for granted. We become jaded and cynical. IMO, it doesn't have to be that way. When I play a game the first thing I do is I admire my surroundings within the game. Skyrim still looks amazing. I was playing Warfare UT black and I just admired the rockets and the vehicles that I was able to use in the game. That game is over 10 years old. And I had a blast.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Well what about Skyrim? I thought that was an amazing game, and with the mods it just got better.

I have an Oculus Rift. It has a ton of potential but the software isn’t there. I haven’t tried Skyrim VR but it does sound interesting.

 

[ericlp]

Pushing 50... almost there... no kids, no job, (tons of free time)... Just spend 3K building a new PC after selling a house. TV? I haven't watched tv for almost 10 years. TV is killer and I stopped getting depressed since I switched it off, don't get me wrong, I watch shows like walking dead, game of thrones, west world...Etc...Etc...Etc... I don't subscribe to cable or dish.

Anyway, after playing some games mainly FC5 and some others... I'm probably just burned out. I am looking at buying a roadtrek, or maybe just a big cargo van and pimping it up and traveling around (that means getting rid of the new computer) or just mothball it, and when I come back six months, newer better hardware will be out and my system will be outdated!

Hate to say it, but games are becoming a bit boring. It was great when FC 1 was cutting edge of an open world and couldn't stop playing it, as it seemed so great. Now they all pretty much look the same, yeah, better, but the style keyboard and mouse ... hasn't changed much. I was hoping to be in VR with realistic weapons that you could move around in. I guess one day ... we will get there. Contemplating getting into VR, but to be honest I'm really waiting for santacruz new rift type VR (without Wires) to come along (kinda like oculus go) but with 6 degrees of freedom and two controllers. Anyway..... I hate to say it, but, I'm waiting for the next shift in gaming. Not sure what it will be, but... maybe I'll just quietly bow out and wait for it to happen before I jump back into it again. I think possibly AI will be a big helping hand at developing the next gaming shift. Time will tell.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I'm 34, married, two kids (5 & 2), mortgage, car payments, career, the whole bit.

Most of my life revolves around my family or work at this stage, don't really have a lot of time to just sit around and binge on a game.

These days my gaming preferences tend very strongly to narrative driven single player experiences, especially games where you can make some meaningful progress in the story in a half to one hour gaming session. I avoid (online) multiplayer games and open ended sandbox games like the plague as I use games to get that escapist fix that most people get passively from watching TV. I need that sense of narrative progression that these types of games simply do not provide (and frankly trying to coordinate MP gaming with friends who might have their own families or their own schedules is just not feasible).

At the end of the day though, I'm never giving up gaming. On one hand, I really enjoy the hardware side of gaming and parting out a PC or upgrade now and again. I haven't found a better $$$/Hours Entertained ratio in just about anything else either.

I recently introduced my daughter (5) to Castle Crashers and we play cooperatively on the weekends and it's a powerful bonding experience to work together to overcome obstacles. I know she looks forward to it all week long, as do I.

I find it strange how much stigma is still attached to the "gamer" and how shocked and surprised people are when they discover it's a major pass time of mine (a "normal" working professional who wears button up shirts with slacks and has functional people skills).

I can easily see myself being that gaming grandpa as the years go by...

Enough for now, it's 11pm, way past my bedtime...