216: The Curious Case Of Me Jammin' Buttons

[LeQuack_Is_Back]

Hmm. I still have those moments that make me glad I started gaming, but they haven't been as common lately.

 

[Zerbye]

Slackenerny - I think I'm in the same boat that you're describing, and I agree on your two main points. Familiarity I think is the biggest issue, the appeal to games to me was entirely placed on novelty. I don't get the same joy out of playing my favorite old games of yesteryear, but they pleasantly tweak a bit of nostalgia when I briefly fire them up. Dramatically new game mechanics, especially genres, are hard to come by nowadays. But when I come across something truly novel to me, my gaming passion is renewed to the fullest...the last time I distinctly remember this happening was playing Burnout 3: Takedown. After playing driving games for over 2 decades, you could now spectacularly take out your opponents with extreme prejudice. My gaming fire burned bright and obsessively, and this "new" combination of unrealistic speed and road rage was perfect. To me, this was a shining example of how games could still be novel, even after some 30 years of gaming had jaded me to many of the "new" tweaks to existing gameplay mechanics. There is untapped potential out there, it's just much rarer to come by these days.

 

[oMonarca]

More importantly, there is almost no time for those 6+ hour gaming sessions that you could play when you were younger. And I think it?s those sessions that are the key to the experiences we crave. Even if I get my hands on a great game (e.g. the first third of BioShock), I can only play in one or two hour sessions. It breaks the immersion, and so the game becomes more about the game mechanic (nothing special) and less about the story experience (which was special).

QTF, man. Since I left college and started the "adult" life, gaming became much less about story. Now I get my story enjoyment from books and the occasionally excellent TV show (like BSG) and just play, mostly, multiplayer games.

The reason I still love games is no longer for the immersion, but the for the opportunity to have fun with my friends.

 

[asiepshtain]

us seasoned veterans have probably seen it all before.

I'm also a 30 year old gamer, I've been a gamer since I can remember myself, learned English from sierra games and math from little quiz apps my dad programed. And this quote above got me thinking. I know I spent a lot of time on video games over the years, a LOT.
Could it be that because how time heavy this hobby is we have actually logged in a much greater number of hours then a movie-buff has watching movies or a musician has listening to music.
I can't do the math here, as I don't know whats the average game time compared to other hobbies, but it feels right.

 

[Slackenerny]

Since I left college and started the "adult" life, gaming became much less about story. Now I get my story enjoyment from books and the occasionally excellent TV show (like BSG) and just play, mostly, multiplayer games. The reason I still love games is no longer for the immersion, but the for the opportunity to have fun with my friends.

It's interesting to hear you say this, as I'm exactly the same way. Even though my childhood is littered with the joys of deep story-based gaming, I almost always play on-line multiplayer games like TF2 and L4D now. I can play for an hour and have a great gaming experience with my friends or just in a pick-up game. This type of gaming gives me the most reward with the short time I have available.

 

[Slackenerny]

But how long will this last for us (the oldies)? When I have a child... is my gaming essentially over? I have two friends that have recently had kids. One still games pretty regularly (we enjoy some L4D or Gears together at least twice a week) and the other's Xbox is a paperweight. Only time will tell.

I do hope that I will be able to continue gaming. I am actually looking forward to the day when my kid is old enough to play something like Gears or L4D and we can play together. Until then we can race and crash in something like Burnout Paradise... I hope.

While you definately have less time to game with children, it's a lot of fun to share it with them. I'm very proud of my 3 year old daughter earning an OCD achievement in World of Goo while I was washing up. She's got some leet mouse skills.

 

[latenightapplepie]

Great read. I really can't empathise with you much because I'm still a young'un, but that article was still really good.