Ben-DutkaAs we get older and our lives change, our schedules change. Our available hobby and luxury time change.
So, have you been faced with time constraints that have forced you to change your gaming habits? Personally, I think certain games, like the hardcore RPGs, are increasingly the domain of younger players. And when I say "younger," I mean mostly college and young adult. The bottom line is that as much as I could feasibly lose myself in something like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , it just isn't possible from a timetable standpoint.
And although I was once a die-hard JRPG fan, I don't think I'd be able to be one again. Well, I could , but I really wouldn't be able to play anything else . The games in question are simply too long. Thankfully, with the marked decline in quality in most JRPGs this past generation, I'm not too distressed about that. Besides, I embrace variety more than ever before these days. It's just that, as I've said before, time is a significant issue. Therefore, I have no complaints about games that are "only" 7 or 8 hours. Everyone whines but what's wrong with that? Works out good for me; I might actually be able to complete it in a decent amount of time.
It took me months of on and off playing to finally finish Assassin's Creed III , for example. Granted, I did basically everything and spent a good 37 hours, but there was a time when 37 hours would be finished in a matter of two or three weeks. That was back in college where, as far as I could tell, nobody ever had anything to do. Has something like this happened to you? Have you been forced to alter your gaming habits due to various life circumstances? I'll bet this happens a lot.
I have a bigger backlog than I did when I was in high school and even college but my habits haven't changed that much. I still pre-order and pick up the games I'm looking forward to and fortunately I'm usually able to make the time to play through them not too long after buying.
You fellas wait to you have kids.
I have games sitting in the plastic wrap from Cyber Monday shopping.
Now that I traded in BF3 and the 360 for a PS4 I have 5 months to attempt finishing my SP collection.
Yep my daughter just turned 1 month old and holy shit I miss playing for hours. Not only that but lately Ive been playing The Last of Us multiplayer and as I'm playing through it I'm just thinking to myself "Please don't wake up and start crying" because its not fun loosing Survivors 🙁 lol
Last edited by MeXiCaNFiGhTe12 on 6/24/2013 12:23:28 AM
I like to say that my hobby has changed from playing games to buying games. Every time I see a good deal for a game I'm interested in through PS+ or Steam, I just can't seem to stop myself from getting it. That's probably why I have dozens of games I haven't played even a little bit.
This never would have happened when I was younger: I was too poor to get all of them and had enough free time to continually work my way through the ones I did get.
lol, me too, I get more excited about buyin the damn things!
Yes, same here. Why the hell is that so? I've done that many times.
Sort of like my problem about downloading porn, but not watching it. Everyone does that, right? I mean…the PS4 will at least do it for me…and know my tastes!
In the past 6 months I started a gaming youtube channel, and so I devote lots of my time towards that now (that also being a reason I haven't been active in the comments recently, although I do visit here every day still). I used to be a bit of a trophy whore, but that has changed now and I'm lucky if I can even finish a relatively short game in a couple weeks. It's nice to change my gaming hobby into something I can share on the internet, but unfortunately that takes a lot of time.
I do have some downtime at my school when I've finished preparing lessons, so I can usually catch an hour of handheld gaming at my office. That helps with getting a gaming fix 😉 Playing the new Fire Emblem now and it's lots of fun!
I still get my gaming in but definitely not as much. I don't do the long gaming sessions like I used to. I think it just comes with growing up and having less time.
I spend a lot more time writing about games on here with you guys that I actually do playing them. Yeah my habits had to change, I can't plunk time into slow games like I used to. But when something like a Skyrim or a Fallout comes I devote all my free time to it, but I got no wife and kids so I'm still okay.
Though, as much as it pains me to say it, I've gotten a little twitchy. Putting 2 hours into a JRPG and getting nowhere doesn't feel so good, but I don't have much more time than that. Putting 2 hours into an action game feels like I accomplished something.
I'm 28 and this is the first generation that I actually have a back log of games. I'm not sure if it's because there are way more games I want to play, or because I'm in a point in my life where I can afford to play everything I want. I put about the same amount of time I always have into gaming, maybe with just a few less all night marathons, so it's not because I've been playing less.
my first backlog gen too, I used to only ever play 1 game at a time too.
@mk ultra, I can get almost everything I want, but I'm not quite there yet.
@ World,
Same here.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not made of money, I can't afford to do everything I want. Just have enough money to buy a game on day one if I really want it. I kinda come off bad in that comment. And that't only because I have no kids or pets or anything that eat up my money. I'm about to start school though so that will certainly change next gen.
I am a 39 year old gamer who has been married for twenty years and has a 16 year old son and a 14 year old son. On top of that, I teach at my church and have a full time job, so yes, time is limited.
A few years ago, I just finished my 10th Platinum Trophy and had several more on the way. Three years later, unfinished games fill my trophy list and I have only unlocked one more Platinum and that was a game I did with my son.
I still LOVE gaming but my habits have sure changed!
nope my gaming habits are the same.. only difference now is instead of platinuming a game in a week it might take me a month.. but I still get it done
I used to buy and play a wider variety of games. I used to try out more genres and more risky games. Granted, I still like playing games on the fringe, but I'm VERY picky now. I do research on reviews and ensure that the genre is one that I have interest in. With school and work, I can't just invest 40 hours a week into gaming anymore.
Hell, I'm still not finished The Last of Us! and otherwise I wouldn't put it down.
Yeah. It happens. We grow up. The passion doesn't die, but the time does. I could play more, but I'm just not willing to play video games while my son is awake. He's too young still to play himself, and I have every intention of spending time with my children for as long as my children are still interested in spending time with me.
I play during nap time or after bed time. Throw in household chores and that time gets pretty slim.
But yeah. Kids makes a difference. It's too important to me to try to have the best relationship possible with them to keep up the games.
If only each day had 27 hours…..
My habits have changed over time. I used to come home and play games and it seemed like I had alot of time to after work. Now days after work its almost like I have no time at all except later at night. I also have school to deal with too. So yeah my habits have changed a lot. I sure didnt get to spend the time with Skyrim I wanted to and I pass on games I typically wouldnt. But overall I still enjoy every genre that has not changed. If a game interests me I will try and pick it up.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 6/24/2013 1:53:32 AM
Absolutely. I haven't played a game where I finished it within 3 days. Just like The Last Of Us. Heck, I started ACR 5 months ago and I haven't finished it. I miss long days where I would just play for hours at a time.
Yep married and a kid. 25 games still on the shelf unfinished. 8 still in shrink wrap.
always has and always will.
funny enough its always the times where allot of really big games that are coming out that where the busiest.
no games coming out now and not much next month, and were so quiet at work the boss has told me to take a few weeks off.
maybe ill FINALLY be able to finish off castlevania lords of shadow.
god i hate how long that game is, i keep playing it for hours on end quite frequently and it just goes on and on and on and on and on!
really want to finish it before the sequel comes out, but then kinda pointless doing that since i already know what happens.
HATE it when developers do that, i mean why do they have to spoil the whole game?
One of the first comments you made where I completely agree with you. Maybe not the very first line as my actual habits haven't changed much, but definitely the rest. Lords of shadows is one of the games I'm working on but haven't finished yet, and E3 just gave away the epilogue for me. Thanks!
Last edited by mk ultra on 6/24/2013 6:50:44 AM
Comforting (in a way) to see that I'm not the only one whose gaming habits have changed. Too busy with work, married life and graduate studies. Plus I have a baby on the way and I travel often for work (out if the city, sometimes, out of the country). That's why i bought a vita and have been playing some old school JRPG!
Definitely changed my gaming habits. With a 6 yr old and a 2 yr old plus the misses..I just don't have the time I used to. I usually wait until everybody is sleep or if I'm home alone. First generation I've ever said I have games that I haven't played yet.
You hit the nail on the head here Ben. I think you touched on this subject a few months ago too.
I used to be able to spend 20-30 hrs a week in video games, but these days I'm lucky to get more than 5 hrs in a week. I really don't know what I'm gonna do when FFX HD comes out. I dumped over 80hrs into that game… TWICE! But now I have kids, a house, and a real job… and subsequently very little time for video games.
I have really come to appreciate the shorter games. Games I can finish in under 10 hrs. The big long epic games scare me now, because when I start playing them I know I'm gonna be at it for months.
Tell me about it. In fact, I'm leaning so strongly right now against getting the Xbox 1 just because there's no way I'll have time to really take advantage of being a multi-console owner this generation. In the next few years, I'm going to get married, buy a house and have a kid or two. That's on top of a demanding career and non-gaming interests (I sat down to read books yesterday for the first time in MONTHS and oh my goodness it was fantastic).
I would argue, though, that actually a game like Skyrim has its appeal in this new, time-scarce life many of us are now leading. I've really enjoyed having this enormous world I can visit whenever time permits and slowly invest myself in it here and there. If that means I miss some other games I'm not as interested in, so be it.
All this being said, your point is very well taken. Having a game I can beat in a week, or even a weekend, is hardly a disincentive.
It makes me kind of sad that it´s very unlikely that I play to 100% completion games like GTA, FF`s (if SE ever come back to the basics), even GT and so on.
Games that I grew up with and that taught me things like being very meticulous, perfectionist (in a good way), loyal, smart (anyone becomes smarter when managed to beat: emerald and ruby weapons in FF7, Omega and Ultima weapons in FF8, Ozma in FF9, Nemesis in FFX, Trema in FFX-2, Yiazmat (it took me 8 hrs for that battle!!!), Omega Mark XII, and Zodiark in FFXII, and Long Gui in FFXIII).
Also taught me to be suspicious of every thing that surrounds me. No, seriously, because of Final Fantasy I´m very often thinking ahead of others.
And I just realized that it doesn´t make me kind of sad as I said, it makes me real sad. But
Yep, it's how life has become. I'm trying to tell myself that I need to be more selective rather than eliminating whole genres. While RPGs are beasts to get through I do still really like them and do they tend to work very well for me on a handheld device. They're like a book so to speak that way.
I look at my backlog and I'm thinking there's a good number on the chopping block. That is games I wont play or franchises I'll probably avoid from here on out so I'll just cut my losses and stick to the games I like most.
Immediately games I own on the ex-list feel like
Dragon Age 1 and 2
Metro 2043
Titan Quest
Torchlight
NFS Most Wanted
Star Wars Force Unleashed 2
I got them all for dirt cheap and had a chance to spend a little time with each to get a feel.
One of the many reasons I'm hoping for a great remote play feature for Vita/PS4 is because RPGs, or any long game, will be a lot easier to take on if I can move around a bit while I play. I desperately hope the next Fallout and Skyrim games incorporate it, or better yet a full-on crossplay.
Life happens, and when it does some things have to be pushed to the sidelines. It's not because we don't love them anymore, it's just that things like work, house keeping, family, and the like take precedence over our hobbies. With all that being said, I was super happy to have an open Sunday afternoon (which is very rare these days) to sit down and work on my backlog.
There's gamers in Wyoming? WOW! Stereotypical assumption would be that you're too busy with ranchwork to play videogames!
/sarcasm
I think it's great that I can pay £35 for a game and get an entire month or 2 of single player gaming out of it before I complete it. If I finish in 8 hours which is roughly a week of gaming for me then I feel I've wasted my money.
Lack of time has forced me to change my gaming habits, yes. Specifically, having kids (currently have two, a third one on the way) DEFINITELY cuts your gaming time down. Marriage, not so much, but kids is the real time killer.
As a result, I can seldom actually sit down and play something on my PS3 in front of a TV – I NEED to be mobile at all times, which is why 99% of all gaming I've done in the past four years have been on my PSP. It's also why I'm now terrible at fighting games, my favourite genre aside from JRPGS – no time to play them and get good. It's also why I REALLY hope Remote Play on Vita works properly with the PS4, because it's doubtful I'll be able to play PS4 games with any more regularity than I play PS3 games now – my best, if not only hope, is to play them on Vita.
Now that I have a son, alot of my time is either spent working or taking care of him. I rarely have more than 2-3hrs of free time but i try to fit a small gaming session every once in a while when i can. Can't fully remove gaming from my life 😀
My biggest changes in my gaming habits have come in the last couple years.
I'm 28, and I am halfway through with getting my first college degree (Nursing).
Between school, changing my role at my full-time job to a part-time one, and picking up a second part-time job to fill in the gaps, time is pretty limited on when I can game.
I still buy the games (and consoles) that fit my fancy, because I know that once I get my degree and start my new career full-time, I will be able to slowly chip away at my backlog of games a little bit at a time.
Last edited by JROD0823 on 6/24/2013 6:41:57 PM
I've learned to choose my spots. I know there are only certain games I will buy at all, and even fewer are D1P. I tend to like games that I can pick up and put down for stretches. I STILL haven't beaten ACIII and i got that as a D1P. Open world/RPG's like Skyrim and presently Ni No Kuni are cool because I can buy them, play them for months without needing to buy a bunch of other games, and by the time I get toward the end there are wonderful wikis that I can lean on. I'll usually mess with a Sports game / Shooter that i can do sparingly while I do my RPGing
Action games that take 10-15 hours like "Max Payne 3" or "The Last of Us" I'll wait for until the price drops because I know I'll only run through it rather quickly and never visit it again. I love Open world and RPG's in my heart of hearts though. If I can sink 100+ hours in over the course of 6-12 months, I'm happy and I've definitely gotten my money's worth from the Game.
Last edited by broox9 on 6/24/2013 10:22:51 PM