What's wrong with me?

[MissAshley]

I'm feeling down. I read something that made me realize as much as I love the video game industry, I'm feeling more and more detachment towards video games themselves. Even worse, the most beloved existing titles and most anticipated future ones are those which ultimately resonate with me the least.

I was told I "very well may never find any game with more sense of wonder and euphoria anywhere on any console at any time than you will while playing Uncharted 2," and all I could think is "Uh, that game seems cool, but it's not really my thing. . ." This in turn, reminded me of when I first learned of IGN's enthusiasm over the then upcoming Conduit, and my subsequent disappointment when I watched game footage and realized it was just another FPS.

Lately, I feel I've been rejected somehow or a part of my identity has been removed. Not only that, I feel like the industry now caters towards the kind of people that used to pick on me for playing video games when I was a kid. . .And now, those people are "picking on" me again because I just don't care for the games they do, which coincidentally now represent the industry. How the hell did this happen?

As much as I hate to admit it, I know part of what's bothering me is a silly self-entitlement issue; that because "I was here before them" and "put up with a lot of crap," that somehow makes me more important. I know that's an incorrect way to think, though, because many of these people supporting games now were just like me when they were younger.

Yet somehow, not only did they grew up differently than I did, they wound up shaping the face of gaming. What is it that I'm not getting?

What's wrong with me?

 

[grimsprice]

Everything. You care so much about what other people think, or what other people like, or what other people are doing, that you don't have a you anymore.

You've lost that part of you that can never be taken by force. It has to be given up. V was right, we must never give it up. Its a small little space in our mind that embodies us. And its worth more than life. I'd die behind the chemical sheds before i let someone have it. Some call it pride, some call it dignity. I call it me.

 

[Worgen]

well eventualy you have seen almost everything ppl can put out for you, I recomend you go buy okami, it will help

 

[Jamis]

I think you're reading way too much into this. You are amassing your life to a bunch of pixels. Let me break this down-
1: I went to an orgy
2: I got my ass kicked by a member of the Yakuza
3: Felt the sea and wind against my face off the coast of Ireland.

I genuinely dont care if great games just halt production. I've lived 50 years in 20. I loved once, and was crushed. I've spoken with great minds, and fools. Games are just that: games. Stop using them as a form of life, and go live. Trust me, it's nice out here in the deep end.

 

[Mr.Black]

Ever heard of indie games?

 

[Neonbob]

A long time ago, a magazine did something on this.
You have what's called Game Abandonment Syndrome.
GAS is a hellish affliction, which will eventually be fought back, but it can take a long time to find that specific game which will cure it.
Just take some time away from games. Forcing yourself to enjoy games will just make it harder to get rid of.

 

[TaborMallory]

I'm sort of the same way; all these GotY! Must Buy! games just fly right past me. Although, there are still a select few games I enjoy greatly.

I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. Games and industries evolve, and sometimes it's for the worse.

 

[Valate_v1legacy]

Everything. You care so much about what other people think, or what other people like, or what other people are doing, that you don't have a you anymore.

You've lost that part of you that can never be taken by force. It has to be given up. V was right, we must never give it up. Its a small little space in our mind that embodies us. And its worth more than life. I'd die behind the chemical sheds before i let someone have it. Some call it pride, some call it dignity. I call it me.

And I call it a naked singularity and intend to harness it.

 

[madcap2112]

That's just the way our culture is. It's the same way with music, movies, whatever you wanna talk about. Individuals just don't matter. Gaming is a business just like everything else, and all the industry cares about is catering to the most profitable demographic. If you as an individual are cut out of it, they don't care; there's a hundred other people there to take your place and become the new sheep.

 

[Weaver]

I think you're reading way too much into this. You are amassing your life to a bunch of pixels. Let me break this down-
1: I went to an orgy
2: I got my ass kicked by a member of the Yakuza
3: Felt the sea and wind against my face off the coast of Ireland.

I genuinely dont care if great games just halt production. I've lived 50 years in 20. I loved once, and was crushed. I've spoken with great minds, and fools. Games are just that: games. Stop using them as a form of life, and go live. Trust me, it's nice out here in the deep end.

If I had to pick between getting herpes, getting my ass kicked by a felon, getting salt water in my face or playing a video game the choice is fairly obvious.

 

[Skizle]

Your in a gaming rut. It's common to get into one of these when you can't find a game to keep your attention. I recommend playing inde games or free online games to get out of it. Thats what worked for me anyways.

 

[grimsprice]

Everything. You care so much about what other people think, or what other people like, or what other people are doing, that you don't have a you anymore.

You've lost that part of you that can never be taken by force. It has to be given up. V was right, we must never give it up. Its a small little space in our mind that embodies us. And its worth more than life. I'd die behind the chemical sheds before i let someone have it. Some call it pride, some call it dignity. I call it me.

And I call it a naked singularity and intend to harness it.

You have a skill i tell you. Every single thing you say goes right over my head. But i can glow in the dark now! So all our problems are solved.

 

[jimtheviking]

I think you're reading way too much into this. You are amassing your life to a bunch of pixels. Let me break this down-
1: I went to an orgy
2: I got my ass kicked by a member of the Yakuza
3: Felt the sea and wind against my face off the coast of Ireland.

I genuinely dont care if great games just halt production. I've lived 50 years in 20. I loved once, and was crushed. I've spoken with great minds, and fools. Games are just that: games. Stop using them as a form of life, and go live. Trust me, it's nice out here in the deep end.

If I had to pick between getting herpes, getting my ass kicked by a felon, getting salt water in my face or playing a video game the choice is fairly obvious.

Exactly. Everyone else can play a game. You can only experience that stuff once.

 

[Jamis]

Shame so few people are willing to enjoy life. I'm so very sorry. Maybe someday you'll step out of your protective bubble and its succession of work/sleep, melding your cubicle and your bed into one form. I hope that day comes for you. Everyone deserves a life.

 

[Sneaklemming]

Yet somehow, not only did they grew up differently than I did, they wound up shaping the face of gaming. What is it that I'm not getting?

What's wrong with me?

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you were a Nintendo kinda person. (Ocrina of time rates highly on your list?)

So hopefully this will help:

It could be worse, you could be a PC Gamer

 

[Woem]

Spoiler

I'm feeling down. I read something that made me realize as much as I love the video game industry, I'm feeling more and more detachment towards video games themselves. Even worse, the most beloved existing titles and most anticipated future ones are those which ultimately resonate with me the least.

I was told I "very well may never find any game with more sense of wonder and euphoria anywhere on any console at any time than you will while playing Uncharted 2," and all I could think is "Uh, that game seems cool, but it's not really my thing. . ." This in turn, reminded me of when I first learned of IGN's enthusiasm over the then upcoming Conduit, and my subsequent disappointment when I watched game footage and realized it was just another FPS.

Lately, I feel I've been rejected somehow or a part of my identity has been removed. Not only that, I feel like the industry now caters towards the kind of people that used to pick on me for playing video games when I was a kid. . .And now, those people are "picking on" me again because I just don't care for the games they do, which coincidentally now represent the industry. How the hell did this happen?

As much as I hate to admit it, I know part of what's bothering me is a silly self-entitlement issue; that because "I was here before them" and "put up with a lot of crap," that somehow makes me more important. I know that's an incorrect way to think, though, because many of these people supporting games now were just like me when they were younger.

Yet somehow, not only did they grew up differently than I did, they wound up shaping the face of gaming. What is it that I'm not getting?

What's wrong with me?

Let me first of all tell you that there's nothing wrong with you. There's two things you can do from where I see it. And these things can be permanent, or a temporary solution until you regain your trust in the gaming industry.

The first thing is to know that you can be a gamer without playing games. I consider myself a gamer although I rarely play a game. The most recent games I played were Quake Live (and according to my profile that was 19 days ago) and the indie game Eschalon [http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-i], which was about 3 or 4 months ago. Despite this fact, I follow all recent development in the gaming industry, I'm an active member in this community, I urge people to play golden classics and I try to be the best gamer as possible, without actually playing games.

The second thing you can do is to play the golden classics of your time. Don't play the new games if you don't like them, and just replay the old games you liked so much. This can also include downloading games from Good Old Games (gog.com) if you didn't have some of them, like Fallout 1, Stonekeep, Under A Killing Moon, ...

 

[The Cheezy One]

play an original title
portal
okami
etc.
rather then shooter #4587
also, ModWar2 is looking fairly orignial

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I take it you where a nintendo fan? Yeah at this point it's either move on to better things or live in a state of denial.

 

[Eric the Orange]

I think you're reading way too much into this. You are amassing your life to a bunch of pixels. Let me break this down-
1: I went to an orgy
2: I got my ass kicked by a member of the Yakuza
3: Felt the sea and wind against my face off the coast of Ireland.

I genuinely dont care if great games just halt production. I've lived 50 years in 20. I loved once, and was crushed. I've spoken with great minds, and fools. Games are just that: games. Stop using them as a form of life, and go live. Trust me, it's nice out here in the deep end.

Dude that's kind of patronizing. There's more than one way to live a life, to say yours is the "right" way is fairly narrow minded. If someone wished to half-ass there life and experience nothing and make no impact that's there choice.

Plus that doesn't really answer the the question. The question basically is "Why don't developers make games that I like anymore" and your answer is "games aren't important". That's more dodging the question than answering it.

 

[sumanoskae]

Shame so few people are willing to enjoy life. I'm so very sorry. Maybe someday you'll step out of your protective bubble and its succession of work/sleep, melding your cubicle and your bed into one form. I hope that day comes for you. Everyone deserves a life.

Remember that for some people art is life. It is possible to care enough about an art form that it becomes a central part of you're life, I'm sure that for Shakespeare, Leonardo DaVinci and Edger Alan Poe their art meant something to them. For me, video games have become an integral part of my life.