Growing up - and away? My increasing disinterest in video games.

 I find it very difficult to admit to myself, but I've become disinterested in video games.

 I hate to use the term, but I've been an avid "gamer" for as long as I can remember; then came college. Along with school, I've lost nearly all free-time and money - both of which are unfortunately required to play most non-casual video games. Actually, I shouldn't even be writing this right now because I have five other things I could be doing right now. 

I still retain a nostalgic love for the video games of my childhood, and I do continue to play some typical "skill-based" video games; modern shooters and some sports games. These games remain appealing to my busy lifestyle for a few reasons:

 Short and simple is more my style.

1. Socially rewarding - At this point in my life, it's much more rewarding to play a game with another person.
   
2. Simple game mechanics - Video games are my relaxing time. A challenge is fine, but I don't want stress or overt difficulty. Don't tell me to learn. My brain is bombarded daily with information that I'm expected to retain; arguably more important and valuable information.
   
3. Story is nearly non-existent - I have plenty of other things to remember. Also, if I don't remember what's going, it probably wasn't a very good story anyways.
   
4. Conducive to short play sessions - Last week I played video games for 4+ hours which is more than I've probably played in over three months combined.
   

 I find it very difficult to admit to myself, but I've become disinterested in video games.

 I hate to use the term, but I've been an avid "gamer" for as long as I can remember; then came college. Along with school, I've lost nearly all free-time and money - both of which are unfortunately required to play most non-casual video games. Actually, I shouldn't even be writing this right now because I have five other things I could be doing right now. 

I still retain a nostalgic love for the video games of my childhood, and I do continue to play some typical "skill-based" video games; modern shooters and some sports games. These games remain appealing to my busy lifestyle for a few reasons:

 Short and simple is more my style.

1. Socially rewarding - At this point in my life, it's much more rewarding to play a game with another person.
   
2. Simple game mechanics - Video games are my relaxing time. A challenge is fine, but I don't want stress or overt difficulty. Don't tell me to learn. My brain is bombarded daily with information that I'm expected to retain; arguably more important and valuable information.
   
3. Story is nearly non-existent - I have plenty of other things to remember. Also, if I don't remember what's going, it probably wasn't a very good story anyways.
   
4. Conducive to short play sessions - Last week I played video games for 4+ hours which is more than I've probably played in over three months combined.
   

"   I'm hoping my detachment from video games isn't permanent. I miss them. "

Sorry to hear that...

I feel you on not having enough time - I am literally just now getting back into video games this point in the semester - I, too, have played more video games the past few days than the last 4 months combined. (Well, almost - probably a couple of hours short.)

Take a break from gaming for as long as necessary, if you get interested again, you'll be back.

If not, well there's plenty of other stuff to do, no?

" I feel you on not having enough time - I am literally just now getting back into video games this point in the semester - I, too, have played more video games the past few days than the last 4 months combined. (Well, almost - probably a couple of hours short.)

Surprisingly, even though Borderlands GOTY edition (Steam sale!) is looking to be insane-crazy-long, I've found it very short-session friendly. I've played about 2 hours or so a day with it so far.

"

"

didn't mean to sound dismissive in my previous post.  i went through the same experience during my college years.  for what it's worth, there will be a video game's story that brings you back, assuming that you ever were one of us video game junkies to being with

"

You, my good man, might need to consider arcade collecting. You might find that you haven't grown up and away, but rather that gaming has changed for the worse, it has become Hollywood popcornflicks.

I've bought current generation games full price and gotten sad and depressed over how I wasted my hard earned money on it. On the arcade collecting side, I've spent over $400 on many a PCB and felt value for every penny, of those hard-earned money (yeah, gone through a lot of unemulated undumped games).

Bought Borderlands GOTY at the last Steam sale for the sake of the DNF ticket and to finally try it out, but if it doesn't do that much for you - and you return to games with tried and true old school gameplay and have the time of your life again - you're not alone.

Now if you excuse me, I'm going to pop a credit into my cab and have another round of Raiden Fighters 1, which is my latest PCB purchase :]

Not having time to play sucks. With the crazy hours I'm working now, I only have time to play a few matches of whatever shooter my friends are playing between the time I get home and have to go to bed. My interest isn't declining, but neither is my backlog (I STILL haven't finished Bulletstorm, Dragon Age II, or Crysis 2... And I've had them since launch.).

" Not having time to play sucks. With the crazy hours I'm working now, I only have time to play a few matches of whatever shooter my friends are playing between the time I get home and have to go to bed. My interest isn't declining, but neither is my backlog (I STILL haven't finished Bulletstorm, Dragon Age II, or Crysis 2... And I've had them since launch.). "

 @npeterson08:

I'm in the same boat as you. I hardly play anymore, but when I do, I'm very, very selective over what game that I play. I think that in, say, a few years from now I'll be completely done with gaming. Even though it make me a little sad, I've come to accept the fact that I need to move on from a hobby that no longer interests me.

I can quit anytime. Really...I think I can. Yeah, most certainly I can. Maybe?

"  @npeterson08: I'm in the same boat as you. I hardly play anymore, but when I do, I'm very, very selective over what game that I play. I think that in, say, a few years from now I'll be completely done with gaming. Even though it make me a little sad, I've come to accept the fact that I need to move on from a hobby that no longer interests me. "

YOU SIR HAVE TURNED YOUR BACK ON THE BROTHERHOOD OF GAMING AND ALL IT STANDS FOR!

I hereby sentence you to death!

But seriously,it happens i had a long non gaming year then i got back into fallout/witcher/diablo/GTA IV and now i can't stop playing games,i wish i didn't have to sleep and/or go to school. 

There was a period of three or four years where I hardly played any games at all. One day you will come back into the fold and we will welcome you back into our loving embrace.

Something something something, gotta do what you gotta do, something something life goes on, something something something, never too old for fun, so on and so forth.

" I can quit anytime. Really...I think I can. Yeah, most certainly I can. Maybe? "

" @Claude said:

" I can quit anytime. Really...I think I can. Yeah, most certainly I can. Maybe? "

I'm sorry, but you're too old to leave now. You can start playing golf or bowls if you have video games at home. "

" @ShaunassNZ said:

" @Claude said:

" I can quit anytime. Really...I think I can. Yeah, most certainly I can. Maybe? "

I'm sorry, but you're too old to leave now. You can start playing golf or bowls if you have video games at home. "

Busted. "

Losing interest in one's hobbies is a sign of depression.

It's not that you've grown up or lost your vg mojo, but rather games are continuously getting worse. I'm always been one for long, immerse games vs. short and simple. I need a game that will reflect my intelligence level, not something I can play with my dick.

Not a fan of people relating "growing up" with losing interest in video games. More as a general complaint and not specifically targeted to the OP, but it really doesn't help remove the stigma that video games are somehow childish.

As a more direct response to your post. I think a lot of people lose some degree of interest in their original hobbies during university, because they get into a highly social life style where studying, partying and generally being around a ton of people your age are the main focus. You'll probably find that when you start working and getting into a more structured lifestyle with a steady partner and kids you'll really come to appreciate gaming again as a great way to escape day to day hassle.

Video games are at an interesting stage right now, especially for those 25-35 year olds who grew up gaming. Personally, I don't really watch TV so video gaming time for me is what other spend sitting on the couch watching TV.

I totally identify with your views on enjoying games with limited story (ie. FPS) and games you can play with friends, although I'm not much of a sports game fan myself.

Being 33 and about to have a baby, I can see my time being at a premium soon, but I'll always love video games and use them to blow off steam. I actually think my gaming time will go  up as my children grow up and I can engage in activities with them, both on and off the screen.

My buddy and I run a site, www.realmenplayvideogames.com, and it's all about guys who don't necessarily have all the time in the world for games, but still love them. Sounds like you might be joining us one day soon!! The nice thing about video games - they just keep getting better and better and will always be around when you're ready to play them ;)

i feel your pain OP. as a 30 year old gamer i still game a lot but im engaged so i know the day is going to come soon when i have kids and i wont have the time to play an rpg again.
i see myself playing only sports games and such in the near future. even these days its bad. an rpg or something with a 30 hour campaign takes me 6 months to play through on average

" It's not that you've grown up or lost your vg mojo, but rather games are continuously getting worse. I'm always been one for long, immerse games vs. short and simple. I need a game that will reflect my intelligence level, not something I can play with my dick. "

I don't really feel like playing games that much anymore. Its not due to growing up or anything like that, at first it was the work I had to do for college which meant I never got to play but now I think I am a bit depressed and need to do something new. I just dont seem to enjoy it as much or do it for very long.

I feel sorry for you

Trust me, as a college student myself I feel your hurt. I dont even have my ps3 up at school anymore because of how little time I have for games. I only play games on weekends early in the morning, or late at night. If I am lucky I will have a few hours free during the week, and when I do I end up playing games that dont require a lot of time to play like super meat boy. Money isnt an issue. I have a good stash from the summer that I dont use on school for games, but I still have to pick and choose the games I do want. 

" @ConstantRa1n said:

" It's not that you've grown up or lost your vg mojo, but rather games are continuously getting worse. I'm always been one for long, immerse games vs. short and simple. I need a game that will reflect my intelligence level, not something I can play with my dick. "

I agree with you 100%.Nothing baffles me more than when gamers claim that modern games are more mature and that the reason they can't play older games is because they don't have the time to deal with the challenge.Personally, I find games to be becoming far more IMMATURE and I don't have the time to spend the sometimes ONE HOUR LONG introduction just so I can start playing the game.Modern videogames have become much more emotional, and it's leaving me behind. They're built to make you FEEL like you're achieving something, FEEL like your a tough guy, or FEEL like you have relationships. I used to play games for the pure analytical thrill of besting a series of digital challenges. It's a whole different hobby, now. "

" @JazGalaxy said:

" @ConstantRa1n said:

" It's not that you've grown up or lost your vg mojo, but rather games are continuously getting worse. I'm always been one for long, immerse games vs. short and simple. I need a game that will reflect my intelligence level, not something I can play with my dick. "

I agree with you 100%.Nothing baffles me more than when gamers claim that modern games are more mature and that the reason they can't play older games is because they don't have the time to deal with the challenge.Personally, I find games to be becoming far more IMMATURE and I don't have the time to spend the sometimes ONE HOUR LONG introduction just so I can start playing the game.Modern videogames have become much more emotional, and it's leaving me behind. They're built to make you FEEL like you're achieving something, FEEL like your a tough guy, or FEEL like you have relationships. I used to play games for the pure analytical thrill of besting a series of digital challenges. It's a whole different hobby, now. "

You should play Demon's Souls. "

Either you will come back to playing more games, or you won't.

find some time to play. i kind of know what you had to do. i don't have a lot of work for college but sometimes i wouldn't play for like a week because of an essay to write.

So bizarre that you posted this - you took the words right out of my fingers! I've been meaning to post a blog about this same topic since forever now. I'm about to finish my junior year of college, and ever since freshman year ended I haven't really been interested in playing many games (especially single player campaigns). I only play the occasional match of Fifa with a friend, or a shooter of some kind. Mass Effect 2 stands out as a game I bought with a ton of excitement because I knew I wanted to continue that storyline. And, like you, I still visit Giantbomb multiple times a day to see what's new in the world of games.

This reminds me of when I quit World of Warcraft. I spent tons of time on the same WoW forums I frequented when I played, and only over time did I stop visiting them. I'm uncertain as to whether or not this will happen to me with gaming, if I will simply drop it like an old habit as I did with WoW forums/news or if gaming is an interest that will endure after I graduate. Regardless, I know how you're feeling. As a lifelong "gamer," it is an odd thing to have happen.

" Either you will come back to playing more games, or you won't. "

I had this happen to me during the PS1/n64 era, I was busy with school and the friends I had weren't into games and money was tight.

I didn't play games for several years and still came back. In a not so good for my life way. Everything in life gets boring eventuall, there's always the warm caress of the video game for those dark days ;).

"

didn't mean to sound dismissive in my previous post.  i went through the same experience during my college years.  for what it's worth, there will be a video game's story that brings you back, assuming that you ever were one of us video game junkies to being with

"

I think there is definately an ebb and flow to it, especially as you get into college and beyond, meet your spouse, get into your career, etc...

 I was a die-hard 8+ hour-a-day gamer for most of my teen age years, had spurts of unemployed early twenties where I would play for 16-20 hours at a time, and fell back off to maybe an hour or two a day during my later twenties as I went out drinking and such. 

 During college I would have little bursts of game time with other dudes I met there (lan-partys and such), but I was so busy with working, internships and school-work that I didn't have much free time for it.

 But I can happily say now that I'm fully settled down, married, have a job in my field, etc, that I'm a totally obsessive gamer again. I probably put in 3 or 4 hours a day on most weekdays now unless we've got something going on, and that number will go up exponentially when something really exciting (to me) comes out. Case in point, the new Mortal Kombat, which has kept me from getting more then 5 hours of sleep since sunday night.

 You passion for it will probably come back, it's just one of those things that needs to fit into your life.

School, college, University, shitty early jobs all sucked making it impossible to really enjoy gaming fora number of years. Used to be a PC gamer during those times but now I opt for my consoles mainly for ease. Real job, better money. Come home, grab a beer boot up the old 360 with the other hand and just relax. If you loved gaming in your teens its just a temporary phase. Once your settled into a job and have more time / cash you can go back to it. Only thing standing in the way these days is the wife but that can be remedied with another TV. Kids on the other hand.....ill probibly be back at the same point of you before long :(

 @Tonic7: Quite the coincidence, It's good to know others relate to the way I've been feeling. If you get around to publishing that blog you mentioned, let me know and I'll be sure to check it out!

@PenguinDust: I'm still unsure whether I'm truly becoming disinterested in playing video games, or if I'm being influenced by my lack of time and money. Similarly to you, I'm more interested in learning and chatting about games than playing them; and I'm fine if that's all my future holds when it comes to video games.

@mesklinite said:

"This. Every now and then a game will come out that will suck the life out of you. "