perfectionism ruining game experience

[Crises^]

I'm not sure if that is a real word but here goes i have noticed i have this problem in games where i have to do every challenge and collect everything in the game and end up being side tracked from actually enjoying the game.

Does anybody else experience this?

For instance gt3 getting gold in every license, spent like 15 hours getting gold in the s license even though i hate doing the licenses and it stresses me out. and in css i played that game for like 5 hours a day if not more for like 3-4 years just to get better i cant stand being just ok or good i have to do everything perfect in a game hence why in fps games this is a problem remember getting a score of like 43-3 in css before and being enoyed i died.

Does any body have any way they counter act this and try to shut it out of there head and just enjoy the game?

 

[scnj]

I'm like this, but I usually try to focus on the storyline and finishing the game for my first playthrough. It's difficult to get out of that mindset though.

 

[Crises^]

yeah i dont mind it happening to me in fallout because the side missions are real cool but i think i have like 4000 hours logged in on css its a very bad addiction to the point i had to uninstall the game and not talk to any of my friends online or i would just end up back playing non stop all the time, I failed my uni course because of trying to improve all the time in css

 

[Scars Unseen]

I used to, but not anymore. I remember back in the SNES days... I leveled all 14 characters in Final Fantasy VI to level 99. Oh, the mind numbing grinding. Thankfully, I managed to divest myself of the need to do everything in games before I started playing MMOs.

 

[Evilsanta]

Yesum.

Sara and I have to 100% everything.

Hell, we're fifty plus hours into New Vegas and haven't been to New Vegas yet. XD

Not the same game but i hade the same thing with Fallout 3. I havent even finished the game yet and when i play it i mostly run around in the wasteland lisening to "I dont want to set the world on fire" while i blast super mutants with my gauss rifle.

 

[SuperNashwan]

Computer games can have addictive qualities, that is just a factor that comes along with any experiecne that consitently gives you rewards. Like any addiction, it can take on a compulsive edge, to the point where its no longer about the fun of just doing it - its about compulsively doing it all just in order to stave off the anxiety of NOT doing it all. Thats not to say you are addicted - just that its part of human nature to want things and be attracted to reward, but also that it can have this other side to it.

My own experiecne with it has shown me its like a microcosm of life issues, that in some tiny way my body is trying to suggest learning to let go of things, not to be a slave to impulse. Learning that with something small and relatively meaningless like a game is a nice set of training wheels, because there's plenty of big stuff in life that can benefit from relaxing your hold a little.

Try this. Play the game, and deliberately DONT try for perfection. Just kind of wander through and do whatever. Pick up half the objects, leave achievements unmet. If you start to feel anxious or depressed, its possible you are holding on too tightly to things and that perfection holds a lot of meaning for you. Deliberately go for half achievement for a week or so, and let yourself get past the anxiety - you might start to find that the game becomes a little more fun than it was before.

 

[Crises^]

Thanks SuperNashwan ill try that just started playing zelda twilight ill try not to get most of the heart peices or somthing gonna kill me but i will try

 

[mexicola]

Yeah I got it too, though not to the extent described in OP... But, for instance, in RPGs even though I find a story interesting often I stop myself from enjoying it just so I could complete every single side quest no matter who boring it is. Otherwise I just can't shake the nagging feeling in the back of my head "You missed that one and now you can't go back, that's FIFTY gold pieces that could have been yours!".