Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
 ·Site5.com
 ·AT&T Midwest
 ·Comcast
| Struggling with GIC (Gaming Identity Crisis)
First, a little history.
I have been playing PC games for years, since back in the late 80s when games like Ultima and Wizardry were out. For years I have kept up with my computer upgrade wise and playing the most fun games out there.
However, something has happened as of about 3 months ago that I can't explain. My drive to play games has went into the crapper for the most part.
I used to play WoW and I found that fun, but I dropped out of it as of about 2 months ago. The thought of getting back into it is just not appealing as it doesn't fit my PVP style of playing. Just not enough to do in the game anymore.
Other multiplayer games like Battlefield 2 and TF2 are fun, but even those games are not as engaging as they once were. BF2 tactical combat is a blast but I can only take so much. TF2 is fun in spurts, but I can't stand playing for a long period of time.
I have gaming consoles like the PS3 which provide entertainment as well. Rock Band and GTAIV are fun to play, but once again, in spurts.
Maybe the issue is that before, I could play WoW for hours and hours on end. Then I could play BF2 for 3-4 hours at a time. Now, it seems that no game can hold my attention for more than 45 minutes if I am lucky. So I find myself going from console to PC, dialing up games to play on my spare time trying to figure out what I want to do.
Maybe I am just reaching a certain age where gaming is not as fun as it used to be or I am being too picky about my games.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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winterforge
Premium
join:2000-07-23
Seattle, WA
clubs: 
| This has happened to me also. Just take a few weeks off and do other things. Watch movies, read a book, invent the next generation paper clip, etc. Eventually you'll start to miss gaming again and will load up some random game and be sucked back in again. Or take time off and wait to start playing again when a new game comes out like Star Wars: Force Unleashed. |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast
| said by winterforge  :This has happened to me also. Just take a few weeks off and do other things. Watch movies, read a book, invent the next generation paper clip, etc. Eventually you'll start to miss gaming again and will load up some random game and be sucked back in again. Or take time off and wait to start playing again when a new game comes out like Star Wars: Force Unleashed. Just seems that I am disappointed with gaming as a whole right now. Maybe you are right and I have hit a funk so to speak. The only game that is even remotely interesting right now is EvE Online, but I am not motivated right now to learn more about it. The learning curve is steep and every day is a new learning experience in that game.
I logged into my guilds wow vent yesterday and talked with some friends I haven't talked to in months. It was good to chat with them, but the idea of getting back in that game was just painful. So its obvious the human aspect isn't something I am missing that much. Its the games themselves thats turning me off.
You are right, maybe go back to movies and playing the Wii until something new comes about. A break may do me good. Maybe I will play more hockey. 
I certainly hope I am not becoming disinterested in gaming as I get older. I just turned 36 yesterday, and I can remember just like it was yesterday when I stopped playing with my toys when I was a kid. I was a big transformers geek, and the day when I just couldn't play with them anymore really was a stark realization that I was getting too old. Today, it feels that the same thing is happening with video games. |
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IamGimli
join:2004-02-28
Canada | reply to Nightfall
Consult a specialist if you start watching soap operas and listening to country music |
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Shatter
join:2006-07-24
Waterford, MI
| reply to Nightfall
Haha, I doubt its the age thing. Im almost 35 and just quit raiding in WOW last month and started playing AOC. I raided in EQ1 for 4 years, then played SWG hard core for 2.5, then played WOW since beta. I think its just that you dont have a game that excites you, for me AOC took over for WOW and when AOC came out I was ready to leave WOW, I was bored with it. Why dont you look at Warhammer online or even Stargate Worlds Online as possible options coming out later this year. I think you just need to find a game you like and enjoy again, the down side is that may be hard to find. |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast
| said by Shatter :Haha, I doubt its the age thing. Im almost 35 and just quit raiding in WOW last month and started playing AOC. I raided in EQ1 for 4 years, then played SWG hard core for 2.5, then played WOW since beta. I think its just that you dont have a game that excites you, for me AOC took over for WOW and when AOC came out I was ready to leave WOW, I was bored with it. Why dont you look at Warhammer online or even Stargate Worlds Online as possible options coming out later this year. I think you just need to find a game you like and enjoy again, the down side is that may be hard to find. AOC was interesting, but the grind kinda killed it for me. I really didn't feel like grinding again so thats why I stopped playing AOC. I figured I would wait until I saw what the end game was like.
Glad to hear I am not the only one who got bored of WoW. I am ready for Warhammer Online to come out but that is a ways off.
Finding a game that excites me again is probably what I need. Maybe I am forcing myself into gaming so to speak. Thanks for your input. |
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renton
Come On You Spurs
Premium
join:2002-01-05
North York, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| reply to Nightfall
I'm in the exact same situation. I quit playing WoW in January after about a year and a half of playing. Since then I tried a few games, Oblivion, STALKER, Portal. I just don't find them interesting enough. I just play them because I have nothing better to do. Could it be the age? I'm also 35, 35 and a half actually. My last hope is Spore  |
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armyman12b
join:2008-04-22
Glendale, AZ | reply to Nightfall
There is a such thing as " outside " |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI | said by armyman12b :There is a such thing as " outside " Whats that? |
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armyman12b
join:2008-04-22
Glendale, AZ | reply to armyman12b
and then when you go out you'll realize how much it sucks than you'll get back to games !! ( shame on you age doesnt matter sounds like you need a challenge !! ) |
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armyman12b
join:2008-04-22
Glendale, AZ
| reply to Nightfall
its people like you who have been around for a day or two whos opinion matters and holds weight to some of us noobies . your many years of experience means " been there done that " to alot of the games and with todays industry most games are becoming cookie cutters of another your bored with it , so how about trying to make the games ? i hear there are alot of mods out there ? why not try that . |
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Abu
join:2001-05-17
Miami, FL | reply to Nightfall
It's not you, it's the games which are available right now. |
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Shatter
join:2006-07-24
Waterford, MI
| reply to Nightfall
WOW was probably the easiest MMO for me to quit of all the ones Ive played. The game has been turned into a childs game and even end game raiding isnt worth it anymore cause you can just badge your way to better gear for less time. PvP isnt about skill, its just time = gear and arenas are the dumbest idea for an MMO. I dunno, the whole game is watered down now that I cant justify putting any time into it anymore. |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast
| said by Shatter :WOW was probably the easiest MMO for me to quit of all the ones Ive played. The game has been turned into a childs game and even end game raiding isnt worth it anymore cause you can just badge your way to better gear for less time. PvP isnt about skill, its just time = gear and arenas are the dumbest idea for an MMO. I dunno, the whole game is watered down now that I cant justify putting any time into it anymore. That was my complaint as well. The leveling part of the game was fun. The end game content is lacking. They have made no real improvement to the PVP system. No additional battlegrounds for instance. The world really doesn't change. Doing the same in game content and raiding the same things over and over again was just too repetitive.
The straw that broke the camels back was the change to S4 arena. I had a group of scrubs we would PVP with and arena with. These guys were friends, but we would have fun playing together. It would take us weeks just to get one piece of PVP gear. With the changes, we wouldn't be able to get 3/4 of the gear because we were just playing for fun. On top of that, we would get matched up against groups that had full S4 that would just obliterate us. Meh....
I am glad I am not playing that game.
However, I do miss the interaction with people I met in game. Thats the only thing however. |
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Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to Nightfall
i go through what i like to call gaming cycles. i figure about every 6 months i grow tired of gaming for a few months, so i play the minimum possible (raids when i played MMO, scrims/matches when playing FPS games) while spending most of my time doing other things (both on and off my PC)
i also go through game type cycles. i'll have an RPG craze for a half year, then completely lose interest and go back to FPS (my prefered/main game genre). then half a year later i'll go to RTS or RPG again for a few months, then back to FPS for a while.
by cycles i dont mean some new game comes out so i play it until i get bored. i'll wake up one day with no interest to play my current games whatsoever, while finding another type much more fun.
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Somnambulator - t3h 5133pw41k3r
SEyE TF2 Server
~Choosy moms choose Jif~ |
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Forlin
join:2007-11-21
Anchorage, AK
| reply to Nightfall
It's definitely not an age thing. My friends and I have been gaming since the 80s too, and I'm the youngest at 39 - by a good way, most are well into their 40s and fast approaching 50.
None of us has lost our desire to play good games.
But I have noticed something else. Burn out. I've seen this happen to people in my old WoW guild, and it didn't matter what their background was, how old they were, what real life commitments they had. Too much of something, even if that something is fun, can burn you out.
The solution is simply to take a break for a few weeks or months. When you come back, you find even old games are fresh because you no longer go through the mechanical motions. You actually take time to enjoy them again.
For WoW I recommend playing opposite factions after a break, and getting a few of your old guildees to do the same. If you haven't played Horde or Alliance, leveling becomes fresh again. Creating a small PvP guild for the other side is fun, and stopping to gear up at 19, 29, 39, 49, 59 means you get a break from the grind.
We just spend a week at those levels getting the gear we need for the next 10, and then move on. Doing Horde instances has been great, and I'm actually enjoying WoW like I did when I first picked it up. |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA | reply to Nightfall
It could just be age, but maybe you're depressed? |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast
| said by Phil :It could just be age, but maybe you're depressed? Nah, its not depression. I enjoy playing hockey, spending time with my wife, relaxing, cooking, etc. I really have a strong desire to exercise a little more so I am going to do that in the next month or so. If I was depressed, I think I would be a lot more down than I am.
I am just disappointed with video games right now. None of them can hold my attention for long. I have discovered that MAME is very interesting to me so I am playing a lot of retro games right now. |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Well I find your topic interesting as I am in the same boat as you. Lately the only game I've been playing is TF2 which I can play anywhere from 30 minutes to 1-2 hours. When I do play for longer than an hour it is usually because I'm playing on a fun, relaxing server with other mature players.
Maybe get involved with other players your age (it's not so much age as it is maturity level)? |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast
| reply to Forlin
said by Forlin :It's definitely not an age thing. My friends and I have been gaming since the 80s too, and I'm the youngest at 39 - by a good way, most are well into their 40s and fast approaching 50. None of us has lost our desire to play good games. But I have noticed something else. Burn out. I've seen this happen to people in my old WoW guild, and it didn't matter what their background was, how old they were, what real life commitments they had. Too much of something, even if that something is fun, can burn you out. The solution is simply to take a break for a few weeks or months. When you come back, you find even old games are fresh because you no longer go through the mechanical motions. You actually take time to enjoy them again. For WoW I recommend playing opposite factions after a break, and getting a few of your old guildees to do the same. If you haven't played Horde or Alliance, leveling becomes fresh again. Creating a small PvP guild for the other side is fun, and stopping to gear up at 19, 29, 39, 49, 59 means you get a break from the grind. We just spend a week at those levels getting the gear we need for the next 10, and then move on. Doing Horde instances has been great, and I'm actually enjoying WoW like I did when I first picked it up. I have played both factions to 70 multiple times. I have 2 70 horde and 2 70 alliance. I started playing when it first came out. I took a break in November of 2006 and started back up in April of 2007. I played up until about 2 months ago. Point is that I have come back to the game after a break and maybe I will do that again. Maybe I won't.
As of right now, WoW is dead to me. I am playing EvE a little here and there and having fun with that. |
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