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I used to play way too many video games. I broke the habit by refusing to buy games that didn't fit a very particular set of criteria: They have to be... - si

I used to play way too many video games. I broke the habit by refusing to buy games that didn't fit a very particular set of criteria: They have to be... - single-player, - story-based campaigns - with a target completion time under 30 hours - and a Metacritic score above 85%. This way, I can play 5 to 10 games per calendar year without a dramatic dent on my social or professional lives. I've been doing this for the last 3 years and my annual gameplay time is probably somewhere around 100 hours. Some tricks: Convince yourself that all side quests are for losers without better things to do. That may or may not be true, but it's helpful to avoid spending way too much time on any particular game. Aim for the ending credits & then when you get there, stick the game back in its case and put it on the shelf. Don't leave it in your console. Don't even try the multiplayer versus modes. Just don't do it. Pretend that menu option isn't even there. Those modes are intentionally addicting. And if you really prefer multiplayer, or if you simply can't avoid that attractive menu option... then set an alarm before you start playing. Press snooze when it goes off, finish your round, and then STOP PLAYING. If the snooze alarm goes off, turn the console off mid-round. Try to find great co-op games & schedule time with a friend to play them. This lets you overlap human-contact time & gaming time.

jhickner 15y ago
Wow, those are almost the exact same criteria I've adopted since having kids. My list of games that have hit the bar in the last 10 years or so: - Half-Life Series - BioShock Series - Fallout Series - Deus Ex Series - Elder Scrolls Series Those are the ones that immediately jump to mind. I'd hate to have missed those. There are plenty of awful games out there, but there are also some wonderful storytellers advancing the field first mapped out by games like zork.
- llambda 15y ago
  The Elder Scrolls is probably the last modern D&D-like RPG I really look forward to. Since Baldur's Gate it just hasn't been the same. But Morrowind was pretty groundbreaking and Oblivion was great. I have to admit I'm looking forward to Skyrim!
- bendotc 15y ago
  I looked at "Elder Scroll series" and "Fallout series" and wondered how these met the 30 hour rule. Then I remembered that the advice also suggests skipping all side-quests. If you're only playing the main-quest stuff in those games, though, you're missing out on the best content. I'm not a big fan on limiting game play in this way, but I also recognize that different things work (or don't) for different people.
AndrewDucker 15y ago
Borderlands got 84%. I'd still highly recommend it for all of the other reasons you like games for.
- estel 15y ago
  Borderlands is also infinitely better when played with three other real people.
  - AndrewDucker 15y ago
    I've not had friends who wanted to play it, so I've been enjoying it single player. I'll have to see if I can cajole some people into it.
alinajaf 15y ago
I seem to have naturally gravitated towards this since I enjoy playing games and simultaneously feel like I should be doing something better with my time. Additionally, if I don't personally rate a game as more than '90%' I trade it in.
Too 15y ago
> Convince yourself that all side quests are for losers without better things to do. That may or may not be true, but it's helpful to avoid spending way too much time on any particular game. Aim for the ending credits While I agree that side quests usually are waste, what is the purpose of your playing? Is it because it's fun or because you have to finish? One could argue that the main quest is also a form of side quest and only for losers without better things to do...
- ChrisCooper 15y ago
  I think his point is that you'll still have fun playing the main story, but it'll take far less time away from you, and still leave you with the satisfaction of completion. If you go for finishing side-quests, you may not feel satisfied until you've finished them all. That can take considerably longer and be considerably less worth-while than the main game. (e.g. saving princess and defeating nemesis vs. collect all 500 random blue hidden items. Both fun, one takes far less time, and is more "worthwhile".)
  - archangel_one 15y ago
    Fair point, although it depends on the game; I enjoyed the sidequests in Oblivion more than the main quest and would submit that most players would be really missing out if they didn't finish them. Of course, that's quite a different thing to timesinks like "find all 400 hidden widgets" which can get pretty tedious...
    - mortenjorck 15y ago
      Assassin's Creed II has some good examples of worthwhile and non-worthwhile side quests. I cannot imagine completing the game to one hundred percent, but half of that is activity which reveals more about the story (tombs, "truth" encodings), while the other half is just numbers (collecting feathers, weapons, and paintings, although I admit to having taken interest in the last one having been an art history minor).
- dkersten 15y ago
nzonbi 15y ago
Back in the old times, I used to play games, and loved gameplay innovations. I discovered that certain brands were the ones continually delivering innovation: Nintendo, Koei, Sid Meier, etc. With time, It was becoming more and more difficult to find innovation. Until a point in which I mostly lost interest. Except for some occasional incredibly polished games based on established gameplay mechanics, or the rare little innovations that pop up somewhere. I think that what may open up the space for innovations again, are new interface paradigms, like immersive virtual reality, or AI. What stops these innovations from being realized, are non-viable budget requirements, and a market flooded with worthless games.
- ido 15y ago
  Are you from 5 years ago? There has been a huge indie golden age in recent times & I'd argue we never had it as good as now in terms of innovative games.
  - joelanman 15y ago
    Totally agree, try Braid, Portal 1 & 2, Limbo, Minecraft, Karoshi, World of Goo.. Outlets like xbox live arcade and ios app store make it easier for indie developers to reach a large audience.
  - sukuriant 15y ago
    Some people ignore indie games, sadly... But you've just mentioned them, so perhaps this person will take a look at them and see what they've been missing :D Because yes, indie games are awesome.
- danso 15y ago
  KOEI? Maker of Romance of the 3 Kingdoms/Dynasty Warriors games 1 through 17?
chopsueyar 15y ago
Can you list the games you enjoy, please?
- snprbob86 15y ago
  Xbox 360 games and series that stick out in my memory: Batman, Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Splinter Cell, LA Noire, Assassin's Creed, GTA, Dead Space, Bastion, Red Dead Redemption, Shadow Complex, Splosion Man, Braid
emp_ 15y ago
The thing is, if you have control you can play ANY game without getting sucked in, they focus on the people without this type of self preservation.
latortuga 15y ago
If you haven't played them, the Uncharted series fits your criteria rather well.
- snprbob86 15y ago
  Yeah... I've really been wanting to play those, but I really don't want to buy a PS3 for just 3 games :-P
ramanujan 15y ago
Videogames don't cause cancer, but I wonder whether we'll look on them as being sort of like cigarettes or alcohol in a few decades. There are enough "Wives of Warcraft" stories out there to suggest that normal models of human volition break down when presented with highly addictive material. In related news: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.html http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.htm... South Korea Cracks Down on Gaming Addiction He was pleased last week when the government ordered what it calls a "nighttime shutdown" for gamers: the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directed the operators of the three most popular games to block people under age 18 from playing games between midnight and 8 a.m. starting in September. Another rule will significantly slow down the Internet connections of young players if they engage for too many hours into the night, rendering the more graphics-intensive games unplayable, and several other bills are pending in the National Assembly that could restrict kids' gaming habits even further. "It's a great idea," says Yoon. "Video-game addiction is having bad effects on our generation. The kids have to study and grow up eventually."
- w1ntermute 15y ago
  > "The kids have to study and grow up eventually." Studying addiction is just as much of a problem in South Korea as gaming addiction is. South Korean children spend a ridiculously high amount of time in class, most of it used very inefficiently. Taking away what scant leisure time the children have and devoting it to more studying is going to have a net negative effect, not a net positive one.
- socillion 15y ago
  Games really are not addicting. They are compelling, and can easily be used to escape life when it really sucks. Honestly, books, TV, and music can easily be used for the same purpose. Why are these kids being allowed to play games at those hours? Sounds like bad parenting to me. There are people who spend vast amounts of time watching, training for, and playing games like football. I haven't ever heard someone say that is unhealthy and a bad thing, even if football is all they ever talk about and use their free time for. Where is the boundary between Football, Chess, D&D, SC2, Quake, and WoW? When does it transition from a healthy interest to a waste of life? Why is the line drawn there?
rottendoubt 15y ago
What I do is give my brother my password for Steam and not keep a copy for myself. When I am busy, I just log out of Steam and I can't play any games until I ask my brother for the password.
DLWormwood 15y ago
Your tricks list reads like the constraint list of your typical professional game reviewer. Depending on the game, many gamers complain that reviews are lackluster or misleading for missing much of the game content. That said, while I understand the desire to play as many different games as you can in your limited time. Some of us prefer to spend less money or effort looking for games and really savor those that have long playtimes and replay ability.

jhickner 15y ago

Wow, those are almost the exact same criteria I've adopted since having kids. My list of games that have hit the bar in the last 10 years or so: - Half-Life Series - BioShock Series - Fallout Series - Deus Ex Series - Elder Scrolls Series Those are the ones that immediately jump to mind. I'd hate to have missed those. There are plenty of awful games out there, but there are also some wonderful storytellers advancing the field first mapped out by games like zork.

llambda 15y ago
The Elder Scrolls is probably the last modern D&D-like RPG I really look forward to. Since Baldur's Gate it just hasn't been the same. But Morrowind was pretty groundbreaking and Oblivion was great. I have to admit I'm looking forward to Skyrim!
bendotc 15y ago
I looked at "Elder Scroll series" and "Fallout series" and wondered how these met the 30 hour rule. Then I remembered that the advice also suggests skipping all side-quests. If you're only playing the main-quest stuff in those games, though, you're missing out on the best content. I'm not a big fan on limiting game play in this way, but I also recognize that different things work (or don't) for different people.

AndrewDucker 15y ago

Borderlands got 84%. I'd still highly recommend it for all of the other reasons you like games for.

estel 15y ago
Borderlands is also infinitely better when played with three other real people.
- AndrewDucker 15y ago
  I've not had friends who wanted to play it, so I've been enjoying it single player. I'll have to see if I can cajole some people into it.

alinajaf 15y ago

I seem to have naturally gravitated towards this since I enjoy playing games and simultaneously feel like I should be doing something better with my time. Additionally, if I don't personally rate a game as more than '90%' I trade it in.

Too 15y ago

> Convince yourself that all side quests are for losers without better things to do. That may or may not be true, but it's helpful to avoid spending way too much time on any particular game. Aim for the ending credits While I agree that side quests usually are waste, what is the purpose of your playing? Is it because it's fun or because you have to finish? One could argue that the main quest is also a form of side quest and only for losers without better things to do...

ChrisCooper 15y ago
I think his point is that you'll still have fun playing the main story, but it'll take far less time away from you, and still leave you with the satisfaction of completion. If you go for finishing side-quests, you may not feel satisfied until you've finished them all. That can take considerably longer and be considerably less worth-while than the main game. (e.g. saving princess and defeating nemesis vs. collect all 500 random blue hidden items. Both fun, one takes far less time, and is more "worthwhile".)
- archangel_one 15y ago
  Fair point, although it depends on the game; I enjoyed the sidequests in Oblivion more than the main quest and would submit that most players would be really missing out if they didn't finish them. Of course, that's quite a different thing to timesinks like "find all 400 hidden widgets" which can get pretty tedious...
  - mortenjorck 15y ago
    Assassin's Creed II has some good examples of worthwhile and non-worthwhile side quests. I cannot imagine completing the game to one hundred percent, but half of that is activity which reveals more about the story (tombs, "truth" encodings), while the other half is just numbers (collecting feathers, weapons, and paintings, although I admit to having taken interest in the last one having been an art history minor).
dkersten 15y ago

nzonbi 15y ago

Back in the old times, I used to play games, and loved gameplay innovations. I discovered that certain brands were the ones continually delivering innovation: Nintendo, Koei, Sid Meier, etc. With time, It was becoming more and more difficult to find innovation. Until a point in which I mostly lost interest. Except for some occasional incredibly polished games based on established gameplay mechanics, or the rare little innovations that pop up somewhere. I think that what may open up the space for innovations again, are new interface paradigms, like immersive virtual reality, or AI. What stops these innovations from being realized, are non-viable budget requirements, and a market flooded with worthless games.

ido 15y ago
Are you from 5 years ago? There has been a huge indie golden age in recent times & I'd argue we never had it as good as now in terms of innovative games.
- joelanman 15y ago
  Totally agree, try Braid, Portal 1 & 2, Limbo, Minecraft, Karoshi, World of Goo.. Outlets like xbox live arcade and ios app store make it easier for indie developers to reach a large audience.
- sukuriant 15y ago
  Some people ignore indie games, sadly... But you've just mentioned them, so perhaps this person will take a look at them and see what they've been missing :D Because yes, indie games are awesome.
danso 15y ago
KOEI? Maker of Romance of the 3 Kingdoms/Dynasty Warriors games 1 through 17?

chopsueyar 15y ago

Can you list the games you enjoy, please?

snprbob86 15y ago
Xbox 360 games and series that stick out in my memory: Batman, Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Splinter Cell, LA Noire, Assassin's Creed, GTA, Dead Space, Bastion, Red Dead Redemption, Shadow Complex, Splosion Man, Braid

emp_ 15y ago

The thing is, if you have control you can play ANY game without getting sucked in, they focus on the people without this type of self preservation.

latortuga 15y ago

If you haven't played them, the Uncharted series fits your criteria rather well.

snprbob86 15y ago
Yeah... I've really been wanting to play those, but I really don't want to buy a PS3 for just 3 games :-P

ramanujan 15y ago

Videogames don't cause cancer, but I wonder whether we'll look on them as being sort of like cigarettes or alcohol in a few decades. There are enough "Wives of Warcraft" stories out there to suggest that normal models of human volition break down when presented with highly addictive material. In related news: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.html http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.htm... South Korea Cracks Down on Gaming Addiction He was pleased last week when the government ordered what it calls a "nighttime shutdown" for gamers: the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directed the operators of the three most popular games to block people under age 18 from playing games between midnight and 8 a.m. starting in September. Another rule will significantly slow down the Internet connections of young players if they engage for too many hours into the night, rendering the more graphics-intensive games unplayable, and several other bills are pending in the National Assembly that could restrict kids' gaming habits even further. "It's a great idea," says Yoon. "Video-game addiction is having bad effects on our generation. The kids have to study and grow up eventually."

w1ntermute 15y ago
> "The kids have to study and grow up eventually." Studying addiction is just as much of a problem in South Korea as gaming addiction is. South Korean children spend a ridiculously high amount of time in class, most of it used very inefficiently. Taking away what scant leisure time the children have and devoting it to more studying is going to have a net negative effect, not a net positive one.
socillion 15y ago
Games really are not addicting. They are compelling, and can easily be used to escape life when it really sucks. Honestly, books, TV, and music can easily be used for the same purpose. Why are these kids being allowed to play games at those hours? Sounds like bad parenting to me. There are people who spend vast amounts of time watching, training for, and playing games like football. I haven't ever heard someone say that is unhealthy and a bad thing, even if football is all they ever talk about and use their free time for. Where is the boundary between Football, Chess, D&D, SC2, Quake, and WoW? When does it transition from a healthy interest to a waste of life? Why is the line drawn there?

rottendoubt 15y ago

What I do is give my brother my password for Steam and not keep a copy for myself. When I am busy, I just log out of Steam and I can't play any games until I ask my brother for the password.

DLWormwood 15y ago

Your tricks list reads like the constraint list of your typical professional game reviewer. Depending on the game, many gamers complain that reviews are lackluster or misleading for missing much of the game content. That said, while I understand the desire to play as many different games as you can in your limited time. Some of us prefer to spend less money or effort looking for games and really savor those that have long playtimes and replay ability.