Completely burnt out/falling out of love with videogames

These past few years I’ve been feeling less and less invested in gaming, and when I do game, I feel like I’m getting less and less out of it, in terms of enjoyment, mental stimulation, immersion, etc.
really
I used to be able to sit down and play for hours at a time, feel like I was having fun, get excited about playing stuff, would actively discuss games with others etc, now I can barely focus on anything for more than 30 minutes and I seem to spend more time staring at my various libraries and installing stuff i know I’m never going to open than I do actually playing games.

The only kind of games I feel I actually engage with anymore are stuff like Enter The Gungeon and Toho, stuff that is actually meant to be played for 20 minutes at a time. This’d be fine, I have other things I enjoy doing, but my gaming (or rather, trying to but not really bothering to) habit feels like its getting in the way of me doing those things as much as I’d like.

Like I enjoy reading, I work out, I’m working on a website, I have a bunch of music I want to listen to, shows to watch, projects to do, and I do them, enjoy them, wish I could do them more, but end up frustratingly bouncing between games instead of doing them, and I’m not sure why.

I don’t think I’m depressed, and I can’t think of what else has changed other than I’ve got older. Is anyone else feeling anything similar?

I’d like to play games again properly or stop entirely, because this is just dumb. Sorry if I’ve missed a thread already open about something similar, the last discussion I could find in search was a necro’d thread from 2015.

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Do you have any other hobbies that could distract you for a similar amount of time, be it something like playing sports or working out or even watching Video/Movies/Films ?

I get the burning out, it do take breaks from gaming from time to time but have other things I like doing too and rotate around them

For me I have a very large Steam account but what I really like doing is to level up my Steam level with trading cards.

This may not be you jam of course but you may want to look into other activities that can take some of your time.

I know others have taken to something like Gardening, but not sure this is something you may want to try but you never know :wink:

Something which has worked for me to stay engaged with a game is to play along with a let’s player. I’ll play until I get bored then I’ll watch them play through up to where I am. I mostly use Christopher odd because he’s a good combination of not being an insufferable hyperactive zoomer and being so bad at games that it frustrates me in to wanting to keep playing.

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Sometimes you grow out of hobbies, and that is okay.

It’s a part of getting older. The things I liked as a kid, I mostly don’t associate with today.

Not a psychologist, but I would venture that a general loss of interest in hobbies suggests depression. It sounds like you have a number of irons in the fire though… I wouldn’t worry too much.

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Gaming industry, has been reaching a corruption level of unwanted/unwarranted
Even bigg IPs, have gone through various squanderings, to point of basic failure
We do at least see, the odd glimmer of lesser developers, pulling major [wanted] upset(s)

Fortunately, we still have older games, to fall back on [from better times / “golden era”]
Obviously some games, do NOT have viable means to its MP mode [ex. Gamespy era]
Singleplayer Campaign(s) / LAN support, are still a thing, to make use of

It doesn’t hurt, to take time off, from the [steam/GoG/etc.] account

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I’ve had my times of major burnout
Whether its localized to a singular game, or just idea of gaming “.”

Whether being burnt from a game, because of multi-hour trauma [RAID / Campaign segment]
Or having outside activities, being enough ringside distraction, from ANY game logged

I feel you. I have a Wall of Shame unplayed Steam games that looks at me disapprovingly each time I buy and not play.

Like what @compy386 said, sometimes you grow out of things. What you are feeling may be the gnawing sense of adulthood that guilt trips you into doing more productive and useful things. It may be in your best interest to listen. You wont be young forever and society mandates that you level up in a different way. Respec and do a hybrid build of yourself.

Its fine to put the controller down. Its part of life. If it helps, the computer gaming industry like what @GoldenAngel1997 said, isn’t the same industry that we experienced back then. Studios close, new ones open to take its place. You find that your favorite game dev studio isnt the same hero you look up to anymore and completely lost its way. Sometimes you can only look at them with shame. This is also ok. You’ve had fun with indie games. Too bad TotalBiscuit isnt here to Recommend stuff for us. You have to slog along and try something or at least watch a trailer.

This may be a coming of age realization for you. Dont fear, your games that you liked did not really go away. Its still there, waiting for you to fire up DosBox or a VM.

Welcome to adulting in the real world! Its a grind out here for sure, do try to find a career that you will enjoy doing day to day.

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  • take a break
  • challenge yourself to something new
  • work out
  • touch grass

This.

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Hi, i hear you and can identify, but on different passions in my life.

There are some good ideas and thoughts above. If you are interested, Hacker News has similar threads, often about falling out of love with programming or technology, which provokes a lot of thoughtful kind comments and discussion.

Not to minimise what you feel, but we often aren’t alone in how we feel about our passions, and how as we change as people our attitudes to our passions change. When they have dominated our lives, they form the basis of friendships, routines, our conversations, and our ego about who we are as a person.

I’ve learned to manage my severe depression which has been most of my life, the last few years have added severe anxiety and a suicide attempt. And there are a few things contributing to that, but my sense of ego about who i was and being scared to let go and move on were big factors in making it worse. Not being comfortable to move on was hard.

I might suggest:
Be kind to yourself.
Being bored and quiet for a while is ok. Steve Jobs spoke about the importance of boredom.
If the feelings get too much, if you feel like they are effecting you in negative ways, get some professional help early. I waited way too long to ask for help, hence the suicide attempt, but a few months of talk therapy was transformative.

I’ve let go of some things, and rediscovered some past passions. Like hanging out here and learning from cool and smart people about all sort of subjects. Good luck.

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I have been unemployed, and so I have purposefully not been playing video games as to me that is a luxury that cannot be enjoyed while looking for work. I work in IT so I should be doing other things on the computer, specifically training or something to improve my employment situation.

The longer I go without playing the less I feel the need. This also isn’t the first time in my life I went without gaming, I didn’t have a gaming PC for a good 7-8 years before.

But I have allowed myself to play Bitburner, which is a coding game (there’s even a free web version). This has been surprisingly enjoyable while teaching myself Javascript and is a great example of “gaming” that serves a far greater purpose.

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Try amateur radio. Especially qrp and contesting, pota( parks on the air)

Getting the license is very easy for us tech minded.
And there are so many facets to the hobby.
From morse code to digital packet communication.
Or chatting with the astronauts on the space station.
So many to list.

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Working in tech, it’s difficult to spend all day staring at a screen at work, then come home and continue to stare at your own screen.

Still trying to find balance.


Pick up an instrument, music is fun!

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Speaking of, I just a got a ukelele for my kid and its not actually being used so… :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: :thinking: :laughing:

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It is hard staring at a screen all day, and then try to do the same in the evening for fun or learning. Sometimes it helps to go work in a different location, but often I just want to do something else, anything else. Working from home has really made this worse.

I think this might be why I would often rather build a computer in my spare time than work on one!

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In recent years my gaming has become more and more restricted to playing Quake single player maps because those are quick and I already like and know the gameplay. I try playing some other games, new and older ones I used to like, and I don’t have as much patience for them any more. Still, I’ve always kept my gameplay sessions to no longer than 2 hours at a time.

I feel you, is scary because you can’t tell if you’re just growing out of it or if a part of you is dieing and you need to do something about it.

What has worked short term for me in the past is to try games completely different than you’ve tried before. Your boring adult tastes might just be different and you don’t realize.

For me, I realized as I got older that the enjoyment I get out of gaming is playing with / interacting with others instead of the games themselves being the draw. Finding that level of understanding helped me to not mourn the loss of my inner child as much :joy:

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I don’t game, but i play homelab IT admin on the weekends. This month I’m throwing clay at a 4 Saturday pottery class. Next month will probably be more Saturday pottery. Then maybe I’ll go back to crochet or perhaps a LoRa project. Gotta mix it up else I’ll lose my mind.

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Is this a complaint? Sounds like a good thing, you’ve grown beyond the idea that a passive, time-sink leisure entertainment activity is a hobby. I believe many people confuse pastimes with hobbies.

There are many people that are envious of your situation and wish they could feel the way you feel.

I know why. You’re experiencing the call of the Faustian spirit but lacking in a goal.

a mindset or attitude characterized by the pursuit of limitless ambitions, desires for power and knowledge, and a willingness to take risks to surpass human boundaries.

image

Motivation, growth-mindset, call it what you will, there’s an innate sense in Mankind to strive to do great things. It’s that same spirit that put a man on the moon or drove the invention of TCP/IP. Nothing is too small as long as it is creative and not consumptive.

This is good, do these things. Become extremely good at something. Become the best!

I don’t think it’s wrong to play video games and they can be just as valid entertainment art-forms as any other, but recognize them for what they are: leisure activities that simulate accomplishment in your brain’s reward centers for achieving in-game tasks.

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I second this, amateur radio is really cool. Way more interesting than I realized and getting better with all the cool digital stuff you can do now.

Lots of good advice from others in this thread. Some bad advice too, be careful.

My choice at the present in amateur radio is qrp operation.
5 watts and under.
Which means you need to use a well built and tuned antenna.
It can be frustrating, but when you make a dx( distant contact) and realize how far your signal traveled on such low power, its damn hard to describe the thrill and satisfaction you get from it.
Miles per watt!
From pennsylvania to california is about 2500 miles.
So a half watt radio signal spotted at that distance equates to 5000 miles per full watt.
Distance from usa to france approx 4,750 miles
5 watt ssb equates to 950 miles per watt on ssb.

But there are so many modes.
Youll run into a few entitled turds, but not many.
But its a great hobby to make some good friends.

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You are older now. If you are not enjoying it, find something more fulfilling to do. Birdwatching is a great new hobby to explore!