Growing Out of Video Games

It's been my experience that too many people who "grow out of" or grow tired of vidya are usually playing too much to begin with. It's just a casual hobby for me and the only form of pop culture entertainment I consume other than anime. I only play for about an hour after work and then get up and do something else like work around the house or hit the gym. It's a way for me to blow off steam. If you're spending an entire day and/or evening gaming, it's probably a good thing it's losing its appeal for you.

It probably won't be anything I grow out of, just like my other autistic interests like Chinese cartoons and metal music, despite what people keep telling me. Sometimes I get tired of a genre so I'll switch to a different one for a while but I never have problems finding good, new games to play.
 
I have found myself playing games less as of late. Although that could just be because I’m in the midst of a lot of life changes.

Even then though, modern games for the most part just don’t interest me. Whether it be due to the shitty practices most companies are pulling, or just because whatever’s popular just doesn’t resonate with me.

As a result, I mostly play older games. Specifically stuff from the mid-90’s to mid 2000’s as that’s what I grew up on.

Not saying there isn’t more modern stuff I like. Stuff like Shovel Knight, The Last Guardian, the Souls games for the most part, ect. Just so happens older stuff is usually far cheaper.
 
I definitely have little interest in most modern releases. I hate playing online, and things like loot boxes can fuck right off so that excludes most AAA titles. I also find I have a lot less patience, and part of getting older is your reactions slowing, so my days of trying to complete ultra-hard games are over and I'd rather just play for the experience instead of the challenge.
 
I've felt like I've grown out of games until I happened across something that just really clicks with me, and I'm suddenly back into it.

A whole lot of games are just very bland and designed for the widest possible audiences in mind, with lots and lots of extra monetization and tried-and-true addictive elements thrown into the mix. It's easy to hear a lot about some random new big-budget game and how great it is, only to find that it's yet another generic pile of slop to consume until next year's product gets released, which will of course be hailed as the next greatest thing ever.

dont ask questions just consume product and then get excited for next product.JPG


Most games aren't exactly shitty, but just bland and full of tried-and-true elements that won't appeal to anyone who's been into gaming long enough that they discuss games on forums.
I've grown out of vidya years ago. Right now my backlog is yuuuge and I don't think I could ever finish it.

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I collect games these days on the off chance that one day I might be in the mood to play them, but it happens less and less.

My Steam account's like that too, because there are just so many games you can get for next to nothing thanks to bundles and how many free keys are just strewn around everywhere. Every now and then I find something I can really enjoy for an hour or two, and the search is still worth it because I truly cherish that hour when I've found a new game I really, really enjoy. I just experienced that with Transistor, a game I've known about for years but just now tried out. I probably won't beat it, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

But I try to give at least 20 minutes to most of those random Steam games. An incredible amount of them seem to have less content than some Newgrounds flash games from 15 years ago, but it's worth the hassle when I do find that needle in a haystack. Who knew Citizens of Earth was actually a good game? The developers and like five other people I guess, but that's a random game you probably have in that huge collection that's worth a look.
 
It's less growing out of video games and more that your interests change over time. This is especially true if you binge on something to the point of burnout. Interests can also come and go too. There are times where I will fall completely out of love with something only to get pulled back in unexpectedly later.

It seems the reason why a lot of games are more casual these days is because of life changes. People get older, get married, get jobs and have kids. A lot of people I have talked to said they have no time to play games anymore the same way they did when they were teens because of this. Theme park MMORPGs are appealing for this reason as nobody has the time or energy to invest in old school grinding and a game that acts like a second job anymore.

The good to shit ratio of games today is no different than previous generations. In fact shitting on the current generation of games is nothing new either. I remember back in the 2000's when games from that generation that are considered classics now were bashed back in the day for ruining gaming.
 
This is pretty much my sentiment as well. My amount of gaming hasn't really gone down as I grew older, but I do value my time gaming a bit differently. As much as I wish I could, I can't see myself putting another 100 hours into another run of Dragon Age: Origins like I did when I was younger. I play games that are more approachable a lot more these days, combined with multiplayer games that let me hang out with friends.
 
I still like video games, but it's really hard to find time to play when you're a father.

Mostly I enjoy setting up the PS2 so my son can play Burnout or a monster truck game. He's just a little kid and it's cute how he thinks you should stop at red lights in driving games.

I don't see stuff I care about on Steam anymore either. Ion Fury is the first new game I bought there since FTL was released. Most new games look like a time sink, or they're some sort of multiplayer online thing, or yet another pixel art indie platformer. Do they even make good singleplayer games like Portal, Half Life, or BioShock anymore?
 
I still like video games, but it's really hard to find time to play when you're a father.

The Lego Batman games were a perfect fix for this with me and my son. I brought one home one day because I didn't have enough kid games and thought he'd like it but we both got really into it. We've had some great times together messing around and trying to find all the collectables.

He's also getting into fighting games so we've played a lot of Street Fighter together. Don't know how old yours is but if he's at the age where he can play them, it's a fun way to spend 15-20 minutes going a few rounds.
 
I played video games since I was very young, it has always been my biggest passion, and then I got into Dota.
I used to play a shit ton of Dota and exclusively Dota for years until I got so pissed off and deleted it.
I realized I missed out on so many good games, so I play management games or strategy, and having a good time again.
 
Co-op shit with friends or timewaster decompression games that let me do dumb shit (mostly vehicle simulation games, etc) after a long day at work are almost all I play nowadays. Every so often I'll install one of my Steam library single player titles and play it just to say I've finished it, but that's it. And I have no idea how people play MMOs and put 4000 hours into League or DOTA at all.
 
I just avoid MMos, MOBAs, card game shit, Sports games, FPS, and phone games.

I have also not bought a Ubisoft or EA game in years. The last Ubisoft game I got was Rayman Legends.

Basically everything I play is from Japan. All the western devs that I used to buy series from like Heroes of Might and Magic, Diablo, Baulder's Gate, Creatures, Sim City, are all either dead, dying, or were bought up by a larger company that eventually killed them.
 
I play less games then i did few years ago, but mostly because i became more picky. I wouldn't get new game just because it is new or hyped. I'll check rewievs, see if thats my cup of tea, ask friends is this game worth it.

I was a big WoW nerd back when i had IRL friends to play with. Now i have no friends :C

I don't like new trends in game design, mostly in a way games reward player for victory. I see that the same addicted end-level screens from casual 3-match are in AAA games now. I don't want to be rewarded with cool animation, big-ass amount of resourses and cheery music, i want to be involved with characters and story. If story and characters are written good, i don't need any additional addictive motivations, i'll do anything to progress the plot and i will enjoy it.
 
I can't really see myself playing a FPS because you have to grind exp for new weapons/attachments/explosives or you can get owned by the 11 yr old who has unlimited access to their parents CC.

I just want a PS4 to play DS2 remastered, Sekiro, Disgaea 5, SRW, P5 and such
I haven't kept up with much gaming, Granblue Fantasy caught my attention and I've put more time into that than anything else except maybe disgaea (3165 hrs)

Normally yea I don't have much time to play vidya these days but I'll put any of my free time into it.
 
People weren't into games, they were into the social aspect. Whether mmos or talking with classmates in between gaming sessions at school. Now, who gives a shit? Everyone plays games. It's not a unique club, and on top of that, no game supports socializing.

Matchmaking and Discord ruined any reason to play games if not selfish fulfillment. Who are you gonna tell about your game completion, who isn't already sucking on the teat of a streamer? Who cares about premade parties if it doesn't up the chances of winning? Why talk to people in games other than yell at them to do better? You'll never see them again after 15 mins.

Half of my sudden interest in the Switch Lite and the FF franchise is cus it's individual games of either short-term arcadic nature or a story so praised it's worth the investment. Monster Hunter World was the perfect game to pick up socializing again, cus you could both solo and party up to no real disadvantage in either case. Everyone I knew bought it. Aaand everyone quit 3 weeks in.

All my steam wishlisted games are "coming soon" indies. And half of indies are now being jewed by Epic. So what's left to feel excited for anymore?
 
Co-op shit with friends or timewaster decompression games that let me do dumb shit (mostly vehicle simulation games, etc) after a long day at work are almost all I play nowadays. Every so often I'll install one of my Steam library single player titles and play it just to say I've finished it, but that's it. And I have no idea how people play MMOs and put 4000 hours into League or DOTA at all.

DotA for me is a mostly family game as I have relatives who play it, so its easy to put thousands of hours into it since I've played it since release.

For me, I haven't grown out of games but I've lost patience with a lot of them. Like, I no longer have any interest in paying for something that intentionally wastes my time to make me pay more. Also I agree games have gotten far more derivative over the years.
 
Games have been a hobby for me as far back as when I had an N64 or a PS1, whichever came first in owning one for me. As an adult, I don't get as much time to play as I would as a teenager or child since I got responsibilities like taking care of a family member who needs help and doing various errands for them.

As for the games I play, I can enjoy them until the burnout kicks in. Once that happens, I'd be needing some time and distance from it before playing it again. I could end up growing out of vidya, but that might require something like no longer getting joy out of them or paying more attention to more important things in life.

The problem is that gaming is a fucking time warp. I can't afford to come home from work and then get on my computer and piss away 4 hours of my night. It's just not worth it, mentally or physically. I need that time to decompress, get shit done around the house, play with my dog, etc.

On the weekends I'll boot up Mordhau for an hour or two and duel some nerds, but that's about it. I think that games can enrich your life like any other type of media, but only up to a certain point.
Games do tend to be a time sink, especially if its one you can reap enjoyment from. Having more responsibilities in life does make it all the more important to keep track of how much time is spent. And it does go with the burnout thing, you can only enrich your life with it up to a certain point. After that, whatever magic is there is gone and you don't get as much enjoyment unless you possibly took time off from it.
 
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