Question Gaming Burnout.

[Colif]

When playing games becomes an obligation, I start to back away slowly. Its one of reasons I don't play MMO. I don't have to be anywhere at a certain time.

Backlogs. Its a collection, it doesn't mean you have to play them all.

collecting games reminds me of collecting potions in games, often you have way more than you need by the end.

 

[ipman]

I keep meaning to reduce my Steam library, but then think I may want to play that. I could really get rid of about 80% of them. I should have a purge one day. Some are just too clunky or I played a few hours after buying the complete set, and got bored.

I got the feeling that many gamers were burning out during lockdown(in terms of the speed they were going through each game) and it seemed like game companies couldn't supply the demand for new games and new ideas quickly enough.

I just have enough sometimes of games that seem similar; just different character, different location/story, but basically what you are doing is similar gameplay in each.

I think it's randomness and playing against AI that keeps me interested.

So in GTAV Franklin just goes out for a drive, and anything can happen. You can never play through those scenarios again.
Also the randomness and AI in SofW, I think it's great when Talion calls his bodyguard because he's under attack, but an enemy captain turns up, dispatches the body guard , and goes for Talion. All that ambush, betrayal, stuff.

 

[Ryzengang]

I got to the point to where I don't give a rip about a backlog. Especially after we started getting a bunch of free games on Epic. I don't even think about it being some backlog that I'm obligated to play through. I don't have enough time for gaming to waste on making it a chore. If I buy or obtain a game that I don't end up enjoying, I'll just ditch it for something I do enjoy, and I don't feel like I'm required to go back to it. I can't even count the number of games I've never even tried, and I never will. When I see a decent free game, I'll snag it in case I need something to play later, and then I never do.

I definitely agree with you, but my backlog still bothers me even if it isn't logical. In terms of actually playing games I do share a similar approach, though. If I don't like a game or it feels just kinda "meh" to me, I have no issue dropping it rather quickly. I don't feel the need to finish games or return to ones I didn't like. For whatever reason, it's really just my core backlog of things I haven't played but want to that bothers me.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I definitely agree with you, but my backlog still bothers me even if it isn't logical. In terms of actually playing games I do share a similar approach, though. If I don't like a game or it feels just kinda "meh" to me, I have no issue dropping it rather quickly. I don't feel the need to finish games or return to ones I didn't like. For whatever reason, it's really just my core backlog of things I haven't played but want to that bothers me.

There's nothing wrong with having a backlog of games that you want to play. I just don't get people looking at their entire library as a backlog that they feel like they have to get through.

 

[Zloth]

Given that gaming is a hobby & general interest in your lives, do you ever find yourself having gaming burnout?

No, not really.

Can't decide what game to play?

Very rarely. And it never lasts very long at all.

Can't get motivated to finish a game?

That happens plenty. If I think it's going to get better, I may hold my nose and continue. If not, I go play something else. I might give it a second shot, but probably not.

Finding a level frustrating? But you're still playing?

Assuming it isn't late at night (in which case: go to bed!), and I didn't find any help on the Internet, then the game is telling me something: "You suck. Lower the difficulty lame'o!" Humility is a critical skill for gamers.

 

[Brian Boru]

my backlog still bothers me even if it isn't logical

Found a quote I couldn't pin down:

A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.
—Arthur Schopenhauer

So if you want to play good games…

 

[Colif]

Shame the knowing which games are good is based on opinion. And that never works. Not everyone likes the same things. Herd mentality might appeal to some but repels others. Hype makes me question the games more.

There are too many games. Not a Graham's number amount but enough to make trying to play them in one lifetime improbable. If more reviews stuck to the subject of the game you wouldn't have such a hard time trying to find the good games.

Spoiler

Graham's number is so large that the observable universe is far too small to contain an ordinary digital representation of Graham's number, assuming that each digit occupies one Planck volume, possibly the smallest measurable space.
But even the number of digits in this digital representation of Graham's number would itself be a number so large that its digital representation cannot be represented in the observable universe.
Nor even can the number of digits of that number—and so forth, for a number of times far exceeding the total number of Planck volumes in the observable universe.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Shame the knowing which games are good is based on opinion. And that never works. Not everyone likes the same things. Herd mentality might appeal to some but repels others. Hype makes me question the games more.

There are too many games. Not a Graham's number amount but enough to make trying to play them in one lifetime improbable. If more reviews stuck to the subject of the game you wouldn't have such a hard time trying to find the good games.

Thankfully, we have good tools to make our own judgment on games before buying them. Someone just started a thread on that. When I hear about games, I research them with reviews, and especially gameplay videos. Like when Elden Ring came out, everybody in the world was gushing over it. After doing my research, I came to the conclusion that the game is just not for me, and I didn't buy it. I don't have the time or money to waste on herd mentality when it comes to gaming.