I have family, friends, work, normal life. But I grew up with video games and I would like to have fun with them as before. But now is no time for play. When even I find the time. All games are basically the same, i play it for a little while and start to repeat (FPS - just go ahead and shoot after all, RPG - go there to bring it, kill it, talk to the team ....), still the same cycle.
Also, the problem is to have fun in the game when your random teammate / opponent is the level (or more) better. I understand that I destroy they game statistics. Sorry but I also want to enjoy the game. Maybe I'm not good (not the worst, but not the best :) ) at it, but it's just a game (sorry, I know that for many people it is something more). When I die I will start again, when I loose maybe next time it will be better. I hate when we losing, some jerk starts to get upset, cursing ... It's still just a video game !!! Not real life !!! Video games are indeed an integral part of my life (for more than 20 years), but for me they are meaningful only as entertainment, distraction from everyday worries.
Do you have any idea how to rekindle the passion for the game?
Go play Undertale, Kerbal Space Program, or a Minecraft modpack.
Or maybe talk to your doctor? "Losing the spark" is a descriptor often associated with chemical depression.
I disagree with your second point, but also.. wtf? I enjoyed what little I've played of Undertale so far.
I found undertale extremely boring and lazy and relying on silly tropes and puns.
But thats my personal opinion, Im allowed to voice it ^.^
(Also tumblr made me hate anything to do with that universe... If you ever google Toriel, be careful how far you scroll down)
Multiplayer is a chore these days. Back in the day, just being able to play on a network against other real live human beings was an honor. Considering that the only other multiplayer you would do was against people you immediately knew and were willing to let into your living room. Being able to connect with new personalities and play types from all over the world was intense in itself. I was grateful that such a thing existed. Now it's just the standard. People are ungrateful for what they have, and disassociated from the people on the other side of the monitor. They throw a fit at people the same way I threw a fit at falling in a hole on Super Mario Bro's 1. As if the people they're playing with are the reason they lose.
The bar was raised hugely when multiplayer could be done over the internet. Then it dropped when people lost respect for their teammates. I could blame modern sports for the heroes we look up to and how our role models have paved this way of thinking. Perhaps it's just humanity. Pointing the finger is easier than taking responsibility.
The problem for me is that, when I take away multiplayer, what I'm left with is basically what I started with. The bar being even lower. Liken to 8 year old me sitting in the living room by myself trying to beat Megaman. It's just not as fun as when you tried it with friends.
So what we have now is a bar lower than its' peak, and you simply can't enjoy it to the same degree that you remember. Maybe that's nostalgia. I'm not sure.
The only option left for someone like me is to try to find a group of friends to play with that all have the same goal. As you said, to have a good time. That's extremely hard. The multiplayer community is packed full of people that want to be cooler than the next guy, and the result is a hostile place that nobody wants to be in. I tried for a long time in Warcraft to create a group that could have a good time, and I found about 6 people that are good, honest, caring people, but there's always people out there trying to ruin your day.
Even when I watch channels of people that have tried for something like this I see the same thing. It's no wonder that the top gaming channels are all people playing single player games or with very few friends. Because people want to watch people having a good time, and that's so rare these days.
Play games that are easy to play and naturally awesome.
Like Hammerwatch.
Way more fun than spending 10,000 hours in a game like...Path of Exile, where you just have to hunt and hunt and hunt in some arbitrary "league" for randomly-generated rare items....you catch my drift.
Play to have fun. And yeah, play by yourself or with cool people on voice chat.
It's normal to tire of hobbies.Take a break. I went through a year were I didn't game at all. Came back back to it fresh.
Play something out side of your comfort zone. Instead of a FPSs or RPGs give some strategy, sim and racing games a try. Even if you don't like them it will expand your horizons to learn what you do enjoy.
If you are playing games every day stop. Just play them on the weekend or whatever day you have off. They will stop being routine and become a treat.
I think our brains just rewire for responsibilities. I do remember a time when i couldn't play with toys anymore
No matter how hard i tried. Maybe this is the same thing with video games, you just get to a point where it's like "well what's the point". I don't know.
Was in your same situation as well. CSGO has really killed enjoying fps for me. So with the steam Christmas sale I decided to try out sims and strategy games more. Turns out the experiences are much more rewarding.
Kerbal Space Program and CIties Skylines for example. Can put a podcast on in the background or on the second monitor and just play.
I don't feel like that, I still enjoy a lot of other things, from spending time with my wife, drink beer with friends, work in my workshop..... a lot of things. I will try some games that you suggest.
That's what i do lol
You really, really talking the truth, more 20 years ago I enjoy playing games on our Sega Mega Drive 2 with my brother. Than was the LAN party, when we meet in someone house and play all the day. That times gone, everyone have own families (i am not exception). But as i told before games are still part of my life, and I wanna play it. Problem is find the real unique game or group of people who just wanna enjoy games.
Maybe, but I still collect it. And still watching at the game scene and try new game.
I took a break, for many, many months and i definitely didn't play every day (don't have time for it). Reason why I start this thread is, when i find the time I don't know what to play.
@Distractor_Beam is right, I want to add that the scope and growth of MOBAs and FPS titles from big names like MLG and ESL have also given us expectations, and made us forget that the person who plays like an 8 year old could just be a 40 year old dad trying to roll into it. I think the bar is low, as you say, but also high and that makes for an often lackluster experience.
I regular Heroes of the Storm and can definitely say the game comes with a lot of expectations that ruin even the 'Quick Match' experience for both Vet and new players.
@Sys0p has the right idea, you should try different genres if you're not as entertained. The competitive atmosphere isn't always that great, especially alone. I would also suggest playing with your family, or at least trying to. My dad used to play RTS with me when I was a kid, even though he hardly understood how to play the game lol.
One last thing- how you play and how you feel about playing will really play its part on your experience. If you think so much about losing- you will care about losing. These days, I just try to have fun while still being a 'team player' when necessary, and try not to think too much about scores.
XIP281, I absolutely understand. At 41, after work, kids, and wife, I just want to relax. I want to be engaged and focused in the game, but if it feels like work, it's not fun for me. I like Left 4 Dead 2 because I can simply jump in with others and jump out whenever I want, and there is very little taxation on my brain. It's action packed without being tedious... I hate farming for resources. I hate micro managing. I hate heavy cinematics and quests where I have to keep track of where I am, where I'm going, and keep track of a stupid storyline. I hate crafting recipes. I get smacked down when I say anything negative about games like Star Citizen, but I just want to fly around and blow stuff up. I don't want to live an alternative life in space... jeez, real life is enough of a pain in the arse for me. It's different now than it was for me when I didn't have a family and a job, and I don't expect for the magic of carefree youth to ever return.
Look I am not saying - "I am not play other games than FPS and RPG" I use to play a lot of racing, simulators, indie stuffs ... not saying - "I don't like when I am worst part of team" I am almost somewhere around middle (of course I have good and bad days when I am n. 1 and next day last of all). And yes we often play Wildstar or Sonic & Sega Allstar racing or some other casual game with my wife.
I am just telling you simple example: Came home after long day from work, take a dinner together with my love, take a shower.... normal stuff when you came home. Tomorrow I must wake up at 5:00 morning, because it is normal working day. So you don't go to the drink with friends, do not wanna watch TV, wife wanna read book. And I wanna relax with some good game. But from all of my collection I have nothing to play.
Look at all AAA titles:
Assassins creed - really like first two, last playable was Black Flag, Unity = deep shi......t, Syndicate = same missions round and round and round again (same to all Ubisoft product)
Call of Duty - 6-8 hours single player, good game, but after that what multiplayer? Where is COD II - I play it 8-10 times
Battlefield - after 3 is same, Hardline is not Battlefield - single player = bad movie
Borderlands - I love this games I preorder Borderlands II Ultimate Loot Chest Edition, but Pre-Sequel is another big disappointment and I was die-hard fan
Need for speed - I can not remember last good game
Batman - I am PC gamer (WB ruin every game like F.E.A.R. 3)
And when you wanna play multiplayer and meet some asshole. Sorry but I don't need it.
Your 4-6 hours in month what you find to play is disapointment.
(Exception = Fallout 4, but in this game I lost track of time, not good if you play to 2-3 at morning and 5 you wake up)
Where is games like first Crisis, Metro 2033, Half-life (I know HL3 never will be, but I still hope)
What happend, games are not good as it should be, lot of gamers are bunch of assholes.....
Just give me good suggestion or maybe some good group of people, who just wanna play games
Thats my man, exactly what I want.
Are these all multiplayer games you're playing? You might want to try some single player experiences. Also, you could be coming down with depression, as @thedmbarlow said. Losing interest in your hobbies/passions is a sign of it.
Video games aren't just for kids.
That's a copout. Imagination is very important. Are you not reading fiction anymore because your brain "rewired?" Have you stopped watching narrative fiction movies and TV? What about music; has your brain rewired to think less of it?
"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere."
- Carl Sagan
Maybe look into playing some classics? They might be just enough of a departure for you.
Hmm, most of the games without story are multiplayer and online, but they are usually complex.