On being in-between games

Much has been written over the years about how a particular game had gotten under the author’s skin, forcing them to play it until the wee hours of the morning and daydream about it when they are forced to engage “real life”. Indeed, the best games are often referred to as “addicting” and “compelling”, feeding the audience’s culture of obsessiveness. But for us enthusiasts, those that feel a need to hop from game-to-game to be a part of the current zeitgeist, there are times when we feel the exact opposite. It’s that feeling you get when you’re looking for the next game to play, or maybe a new release has come out and you get your hands on it. You dabble a bit but nothing about the game grabs you. That’s not to say that the game you’re playing is bad, but maybe it has a bit of a slow start or you’re not feeling the style or gameplay at that time. So you try another game, maybe something in your backlog. Still, you’re not feeling it. What’s a game player to do?

As you’ve probably guessed, I’ve been feeling this way for the past little while. I played a bit of Pillars of Eternity, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and the Rainbow Six: Siege beta, and nothing has really piqued my interest to go further. It’s a strange feeling when my primary hobby is not providing the level of engagement I usually expect from it. Of course, this isn’t a situation where I need to take an extended break from games, but it is a feeling I get at least a couple of times a year and it doesn’t seem to have a name that I'm aware of. For the purposes of this post, I’m going to refer to it as “gaming ennui”.

I suppose there should be some sort of formal definition for gaming ennui, so here is my layman’s attempt at describing it:

Gaming ennui – A temporary state where a video games enthusiast experiences a lower interest in their hobby.

Admittedly it’s not a perfect definition, but I think it captures the following points succinctly:

1. It is a temporary state. I’m talking a few days or even a couple of weeks on the high end. For those that lose interest in games for extended periods of time, gaming ennui does not apply.

2. It refers to video games enthusiasts. It doesn’t really concern more casual game players as they are more likely to lose interest in games regularly.

3. It focuses on interest. This one is crucial because I wanted to exclude situations where outside influences reduce time and engagement with games. As many of us get older, life experiences and responsibilities will get in the way of enjoying our hobby, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that our interest in games have waned. Gaming ennui is specifically about those times when we can play games but simply don’t want to.

In my previous bouts of gaming ennui, I honestly never thought much about it. I’d mostly keep trying new games until something grabbed me or went back to an old standard to re-calibrate myself. Occasionally I’d take a break and spend more time on other things I enjoy, maybe catch up with friends or find a new TV show. But this time is a bit different. I want to keep up with this blog on at least a weekly basis, and going through gaming ennui has put me in a bit of a panic mode. Do I write about the graphical upgrade that The Vanishing of Ethan Carter got recently, even though the underlying game did nothing for me? Do I discuss my newbie confusion when trying to navigate Pillars of Eternity? Oh god oh god I can’t write anything compelling! It’s given me new-found respect for the Giant Bomb crew for being able to keep up and have something interesting to say about games 52 weeks a year.

So what’s a game enthusiast to do? I think for now I’ll keep dabbling here and there and hopefully something grabs me. This seems like a good time to branch out into more obscure games, and with the October Playstation Plus collection dropping in the next week or so, there should be plenty of odd titles to try. So, fellow Giant Bombers, what are your thoughts on gaming ennui and what suggestions do you have for getting out of the funk?

I'd go for switching things up. For instance I have somewhat limited time for games. As such I've literally been playing the witcher three for months. I love it it's great but I needed a change of pace. So I played until dawn and now I feel ready to jump back in. If you normally play big long games try something mobile or multiplayer. Or take a break for a bit from games, that's okay too and they'll always be waiting.

I do wonder what causes the need to take a break from gaming. Since the great thing about games is that you could always try playing a different type of game that you haven't played in a while. For example if you've been playing a ton of action games why not slow it down a bit with a tactical RPG. But like a lot of people I've had moments where I was just uninterested in playing any games at all. No clue why this happens but the best cure was just to enjoy something else. Whether it was just to read a new book from the library or a bunch of videos on websites like this one. Eventually I'll pick up a controller again after the mood to not play passes. But this part of my post is kinda just going over what you said already huh.

Maybe your just overthinking it a little. This gaming ennui is something everyone faces and it can't really be cured with a specific solution. I would expect the basic answer like mine would always be to do something else for a while. Hm now I'm curious to see what the rest of the replies will be.

@sagesebas: @riostarwind: I get what you guys are saying with trying new games until something clicks, but it's tough seeing your backlog sitting there and not being interested in anything in it. I'm thinking I might be better off playing an old favorite like Heroes of Might and Magic III to get myself back in a gaming mood.

Wow, what a weird coincidence that I was discussing this just yesterday. I mentioned that finishing Witcher 3 and MGSV gave me a sense of ennui such that I was completely uninterested in starting a new game. Coming off of those required a bit of a break before I could appreciate anything else normally. Doing something else entirely has been the fastest approach for getting out of it for me.

I've felt the same thing with books before, where you're glad to have reached the end but also sad that it's over, and sort of adrift in a sea of options

I just tonight finished up getting 100% in MGS V tonight and after playing it for 200+ hours I'm left kind of wondering what to play...

@demoskinos: Ugh, the comedown after playing a 50+ hour game is like the video game version of a hangover.

@mrroach: I know I'll probably finish witcher 3 right around fallout coming out and as much as I want to play that. It seems so daunting

I am never "in between games", personally. I've always got a pile of stuff I want to play. I'm not the kind of guy who is generally playing the latest new releases. At any given time the game I'm playing might be between a year and a decade old, and that gives me a lot of scope to find what I want to play. I can agree though that there is a distinct comedown after finishing a game I was really into. I just don't give myself the time to feel it, I just dip right on into something else. I've got a lot of games, and not enough time.

'Gaming ennui' hits it on the head. It's not a case of availability or accessibility; it's that moment where you're staring at a smorgasbord of gaming delights, and you're just not hungry. As others have mentioned, I find the best way is to try something fresh, whether it be within the realm of gaming or not. Even if it's something you wouldn't normally be interested in, just the perspective offered might be enough to break the temporary disillusionment.

Generally I pick one game and play only that game until completion or I have had my fill. It often leaves me feeling a bit directionless after I finish a game because I had such a singular focus and I usually end up taking a week or so off. For me what gets the interest going again is playing a bunch of smaller, highly segmented games. I might play a few levels of Pushmo and then take 4-5 runs at Rogue Legacy before finishing up with a few games of Hearthstone. Basically something where I can get that emotional arc of playing and finishing a game but compressed into a concentrated burst.

@darth_navster for me what you call probably appropriately ennui is a form of a burnout. I get it fairly often at least once every couple months or so, and it happens much more frequently as I get older.

Nothing cures it for me other than some time away/off from playing games. I'll mess with one of my other hobbies, or get ahead on chores, exercise etc until the urge comes back. Usually a week- 10 days is enough. Anything really as long as long it's something that gives me something keep me engaged mentally, even if that is say editing the wiki about games, just as long as I'm actually not gaming.

@demoskinos said:

You know what I found to be a great palate cleanser after that amazing madness? Super Mario World. This may or may not be because of my sudden pangs of nostalgia watching the last few Mario Maker streams, but it's been a real treat for me.

Too much dopamine too often. Go do something else with your free time for part of a day like hiking a new location or taking a one time class for something interesting. You'll probably get an urge to play games and you'll know exactly what it is you want to play.

Yeah as others have said, I think taking a break to do something non-game related generally helps with this. I get this ennui fairly regularly myself (like now for instance) so I defo get where you're coming from.

Perhaps it's to do with the relative fantasy/escapist setting of the vast majority of games? Like, I'm reading a book by Ian McEwan at the moment which is very much set in reality, and it's so refreshing because it brings me right back to Earth.

As great as games are for transferring you to these alternate worlds, the inherent limitations of the medium make it difficult for them to give convincing representations of the actual world in which we live (there are exceptions obviously), and after a while that inhabiting of these fantasy/alien worlds can become extremely draining. Every time you start a new game you have to learn its lore (well you don't have to) and this requires a lot of effort on your part. At least with those mediums that set themselves up in the real world, none of that background lore is required as it's already assumed.

Anyway, keep up the writing man. I'm enjoying reading it!

This. I feel like this is the problem that a lot of people who complain about the "too many games to care about any," problem encounter. They know that if that once they finish a game they've invested in that they're just going to go back to square one with one of the many other games, so they don't feel compelled to get into anything. Of course you could say the same to someone who gets one game at a time, but they don't have other games vying for their attention so they invest more easily into whatever game is at hand.

I am totally having this issue with Pillars of Eternity. I've played enough fantasy games to get the gist of the tropes (elves, innkeepers, dungeon crawling, etc.) but to have to learn the particular nuances of one particular setting can be a slog in the early going. And like @kmfrob said, a game set in the real world becomes all that more compelling for this reason. To that end I've been thinking of starting Life is Strange, but I'm waiting for my wife to get in the gaming mood as I think that it would be a great game for us to share.

I went through a phase during the Xbox 360 lifecycle that I put games down for the better part of a year. I switched to another hobby and watched movies and tv on my 360 instead of playing games.

I kind of am like this in general now. I used to play like everything that came out, always something. Now I just am pretty selective. Most games don't get me going. Occasionally one comes out that blows me away or I put a lot of time into though (Witcher 3 and MGSV this year both got played for more than 100 hours and they deserve that play time). Otherwise I just check in on a lot of releases through Giant Bomb.

It is just how gaming has become for me. Some of it is money but mostly it's interest in games that come out. I have other interests and ways to spend my time. For a bit I felt weird about it but now it just is how things are.

Your well termed gaming ennui typically finds me once I've beaten a very long game or a rash of smaller ones in a short period of time. Specifically, seeing the credits roll on the TV might as well be the denouement post-orgasm. One more crossed off the list, a sense of satisfaction and completion. But how rare is it that you simply pop that disc out and throw another in and continue playing? This is compounded by all the other little steps of ritual someone may do after beating a game (i.e. putting that game with your other completed games, writing a review of it, etc.). Often times my free days are wasted because I beat a game at 11am and I can't bring myself to play another game for the rest of the day.