3 ms·
I sort of fit the mould described, so does my partner, but I think there's more to it. We're in our 50s, and started with Defender and Tempest, even Space Invad
by NeedMoreTea 8y ago
I sort of fit the mould described, so does my partner, but I think there's more to it. We're in our 50s, and started with Defender and Tempest, even Space Invaders in the arcades. :) Yes, I've definitely lost interest in MMOs, any social gaming, and 95% of anything that is on consoles or counts as an AAA title.
I think that's as much because most of those games contain tons of what I'd call cynical time and money sinks. Loot boxes, RNG designed to keep you playing "enough" so force you to farm. Building weapons and armour, delays or maps, even the whole gameplay around those $$ related additions. I don't like open world games that are so tightly on rails it's almost like playing an old laserdisc game like Dragon's Lair. The first couple of Call of Duty games were very much this. So dull.
We mostly play indie titles and can spend as much time as we ever did. We spend time because it's fun. If it's designed to take time, I'll try something else. Sometimes, they'll take far more hours than the alleged AAA titles. Factorio, Shenzen or some of the recent (and very welcome) resurrection of turn based RPGs like Divinity and Pillars of Eternity have all felt far more substantial than any major titles.
Of the majors I can think of Civ and Skyrim, and if Paradox count as a major Europa Universalis. That really is about it. Of the rest, I couldn't care less. I'd prefer Skyrim to be, or at least feel, more like the depth and complexity of Morrowind.
I think we both tend to play in shorter spurts - real life shows up that bit more.
How much of that is me aging, and how much the arrival of the ability to milk revenue from every game? :)
- techopoly 8y agoI've been playing games off and on a long time. I had pretty much lost interest in social gaming, but Fortnite came around and it was fun enough for me to keep at it. Now I have decent enough skill to at least compete with the presumably younger people that sink hours and hours daily into it. And interestingly, I find that I approach the game tactics with a bit more wisdom and circumspection than I would've as a younger man, which can be an advantage. Now, I wholeheartedly agree on your assessment of many games being cynical time and money sinks. It's really a shame. The coolest thing to me about a video game is the world it creates. And I'd rather not my time in that world be devoted to picking up coins everywhere. BioShock Infinite, I'm looking at you. Horizon Zero Dawn, on the other hand, does have some monotony, but overall the game is so enthralling you don't even mind. We need more games like that.