I wish I could focus on playing a game for hours upon hours. But honestly, as much as I love games, I just can't sit down and play them for huge amounts of time without taking breaks. It makes me sad, because time continues to be limited in my life for things like games. With some holidays coming up, and no hopes for a girlfriend in sight, gaming time should be in big supply. But how am I supposed to get myself to finish all these games? It's frustrating how many games I love and how complete I want to be with games in a series, but I just can't sit down for more than an hour or two (at most) and play the same game. It's tough!
Am I getting old or something? I just don't see how people can devote consecutive hours to sitting down without getting worn out. My friends laugh at me because I talk games all the time, but I'm so behind in what I'm playing because I can't seem to finish anything quickly. This goes for board games too: I love any type of game...but I can't seem to focus for 4+ hour play sessions of Through the Ages or some other time-intensive game. It sucks!
Do you game in large quantities? Are you some crazy Diamond-Tier SC2 player who is laughing at his huge flat-screen monitor right now? Am I in the majority or the minority?
Extended gaming sessions: How do people do this regularly?
I wish I could focus on playing a game for hours upon hours. But honestly, as much as I love games, I just can't sit down and play them for huge amounts of time without taking breaks. It makes me sad, because time continues to be limited in my life for things like games. With some holidays coming up, and no hopes for a girlfriend in sight, gaming time should be in big supply. But how am I supposed to get myself to finish all these games? It's frustrating how many games I love and how complete I want to be with games in a series, but I just can't sit down for more than an hour or two (at most) and play the same game. It's tough!
Am I getting old or something? I just don't see how people can devote consecutive hours to sitting down without getting worn out. My friends laugh at me because I talk games all the time, but I'm so behind in what I'm playing because I can't seem to finish anything quickly. This goes for board games too: I love any type of game...but I can't seem to focus for 4+ hour play sessions of Through the Ages or some other time-intensive game. It sucks!
Do you game in large quantities? Are you some crazy Diamond-Tier SC2 player who is laughing at his huge flat-screen monitor right now? Am I in the majority or the minority?
I've had pretty much no time to game since summer. I'm in med school and there's just a ridiculous amount of work to be done during the semester, don't really have time for much else....
I am going to try and find at least some time for gaming though. It's such a good stress reliever for me.
But yeah, apart from Christmas I'm not sure when I can really find some good time without falling behind in school. I really do envy the people that have time to play games everyday.
I used to play games for at least three hours a day and devote entire weekends to playing games. But now that I'm in collage, I can't do that without falling behind in a class or two. Now I almost never play on a weekdays, and I only play for about six hours on weekends. (Except for last week where I pretty much blew my weekend playing Fable II.)
Responsibilities be damned.
I know how you feel. It's probably because you feel like you're "wasting time" and should do something important, even if you have nothing important to do. I used to be able to play marathon sessions too, but now I tend to do shorter sessions and mix up my games more frequently. It works out alright for me.
@TheSilentTruth: Responsibilities be damned indeed. I would rather play games all week than go to the grocery. Play a grocery game, even.
@Tordah: You are on the mark. I definitely feel like I'm wasting time, even though its a hobby I love and enjoy. Why is that? Are all these years of people telling me video games are worthless really getting to me? I sure hope not. I still want to be that cool dad that plays video games...
i can't do it anymore either because of school.
The most I can go on a good day is around 4 hours, depending on the game.
@TheSilentTruth: Responsibilities be damned indeed. I would rather play games all week than go to the grocery. Play a grocery game, even.How awesome would it be to play a grocery game and have the food delivered to your house? I know you can shop for groceries online, but it's so boring!
I just stay up super late playing games, I figured since there are no real obligations at night for me that its the perfect time. I normally don't have to be up very early though (normally around 11 or 12) so I guess if thats not the case then you can't really stay up all night.
Personally I tend to play through campaign modes bit-by-bit, it's very rare I'll sit down and just speed through it all at once, I like to give that kind of stuff time to sink in. There are also a lot of games that I think are best taken in moderation, that being said I've tore my way through a lot of Reach and WoW in the past couple of weeks.
I'm unemployed and only have class three days a week. I generally spend Friday nights doing stuff with friends (movies, hang outs, etc) so it frees up many hours for gaming.
Do I feel bad about it? Yeah, if I think about it after the fact.
But since I'm participating in NaNoWriMo, my gaming time is going to take a dive.
Holy shit that sounds fun, it's also ingenious. Once you have the first shitty novel in the bag and done, you actually know the scope of having to write something so large so you can then write a serious 50,000 word work.
@Gamer_152: I wish all games worked under a little-at-a-time structure. Valkyria Chronicles is killing me right now because it isn't a game I can play in small bits; I really need games like that. Puzzle Quest 2 fits that structure, but it isn't as good a game. I need a nice balance, which is hard to come by.
@Gaff: When night comes I have to sleep. Those things would certainly help if I could play the "stay-awake" game, but I need the sleep more.
@VelvetLore04: When I was unemployed out of college, I felt like such a slob that it made gaming hard. I never found a good medium for playing games and doing other productive things. I hope I can figure out that balance at some point.
" @VelvetLore04: I just looked up what nanowrimo is... Holy shit that sounds fun, it's also ingenious. Once you have the first shitty novel in the bag and done, you actually know the scope of having to write something so large so you can then write a serious 50,000 word work. "I have been doing it for three years now. I figure since I kind of want to enter the writing field once I'm done with college, this is a good way to get better at it.
Simple solution is simple. Buy one game. Stick with it. Squeeze as much enjoyment out of the game as you can. Get as good as you can at it. Don't buy a new game until you're really done with it." I wish I could focus on playing a game for hours upon hours. But honestly, as much as I love games, I just can't sit down and play them for huge amounts of time without taking breaks. It makes me sad, because time continues to be limited in my life for things like games. With some holidays coming up, and no hopes for a girlfriend in sight, gaming time should be in big supply. But how am I supposed to get myself to finish all these games? It's frustrating how many games I love and how complete I want to be with games in a series, but I just can't sit down for more than an hour or two (at most) and play the same game. It's tough! Am I getting old or something? I just don't see how people can devote consecutive hours to sitting down without getting worn out. My friends laugh at me because I talk games all the time, but I'm so behind in what I'm playing because I can't seem to finish anything quickly. This goes for board games too: I love any type of game...but I can't seem to focus for 4+ hour play sessions of Through the Ages or some other time-intensive game. It sucks! Do you game in large quantities? Are you some crazy Diamond-Tier SC2 player who is laughing at his huge flat-screen monitor right now? Am I in the majority or the minority? "
As for 'hardcore' gaming. I'm 'hardcore' about Battlefield and World of Warcraft. Albeit World of Warcraft not so much anymore. Really just play it 'hardcore' for the first couple of months after a major content release (aka Expansions).
I'm in the same boat. In the last year, I've purchased something in the neighborhood of 25 games and have finished maybe two of them (Starcraft 2 and God of War 3). It's just all these cool, kick-ass games come out that people are talking about and, between grad school, a full-time job, and maintaining myself, I can't find the time to play anything except during my train commute or on weekends when I'm not hanging out with people.
And switching to XBLA/Wiiware/PSN games after a long day of work doesn't seem to be helping either. I still haven't finished Super Meat Boy. Or Shadow Complex. Or Puzzle Quest 2. Or Cave Story. Or...you get the idea.
@melcene: I actually have created this crazy rule for myself that is similar: if I beat a game, I don't play anything else for the rest of the day. I have found that having time to decompress has improved my gaming experiences overall.
I had a similar problem, where gaming got so out of hand, that it turned into somewhat of a chore. For a brief period in time, holding down a job and still living at my parents more or less gave me unlimited funds for whatever money can buy. It was all hookers, drugs and nerd media all the time. The good life. Then again, a stack of shrinkwrapped games taunting me to move on from what I'm playing isn't as awesome as it sounds. Should have done more hookers and less gaming in retrospect." @Seppli: Unfortunately, that isn't how I roll. I have gotten to the point where I have to play multiple games to keep things fresh. I get burnt out on games pretty easily (PQ2 would kill me if I wasn't mixing it up right now, for example.) Plus, my list of games to play is quite large, and I need to keep pushing through. The list of games I haven't played it kind of ludicrous at this point... "
My advice... do more expensive hookers. You got expensive legal brothels around your parts I hope?
@melcene: I can only read one book at a time, so I can kind of understand where you are coming from. I just had to adapt my gaming style around how much I want to play, I guess.
I know what you mean i'm not as bad as that because if the mood is right i could play games all day. But with work and having duties to do when i get home i often just down feel like playing for very long knowing i will have to stop soon. So its almost the reverse if i can't get a good gaming session in i will not even try or play something very simple for a few hours. Having the psp or DS and game for a bit while i get ready for bed has worked wonders at time. But in still does not help kill my backlog of games that is starting to build.
@The_Dude said:
"I just stay up super late playing games, I figured since there are no real obligations at night for me that its the perfect time. I normally don't have to be up very early though (normally around 11 or 12) so I guess if thats not the case then you can't really stay up all night. "
I'm more in your camp depending on my work schedule I don't go to work until the afternoon so the night is mine most of the time.
9 times out of 10 I'm only ever playing for like 1-2 hours before having to do stuff for school or be out with friends.
When I was younger and didnt have to work to help feed the kids, I could spend 10-12 hrs a day easy on one game. Not now though...probably the longest run I've had recently is around 4hrs cuz I had the flu and couldn't go to work. Now it is just a bunch of little 1-2hr bursts in between the kids, wife and work...
This is why I need to be self employed and work from home...lol
I can't not play games in long seasons. Unless I know I can spend at least 2-3+ hours with a game I just can't start because I feel like I will just get going and need to stop. Which ruins my enjoyment with a game as I like to get lost in it, so breaking from it ruins the experience for me.
But with craigslist having no erotic section now, that is going to get harder!" @Truitt said:
My advice... do more expensive hookers. You got expensive legal brothels around your parts I hope? "
For me its a mood - sometimes I will want to play a game for a long time and sometimes I want to mix and match. But games like Civ 5 I can go on and on and on anytime.
Most I've ever played consecutively was about 6 hours a day.
Which I did for every day for two months last summer :P
My suggestion would be to sometimes plan your days around playing a game and just trudge through it. I know that's what I do when I have a mission to play a game, I get it and play as much THEN so I play in long sessions as opposed to bite sized chunks, because I feel like that's how the game was meant to be seen. Of course that's why I get my school studying and whatnot done before hand so it's just me and my games....like love was meant...i mean..what?
I've been playing alot of videogames today. I used to get bored after an hour and now it's the opposite for me. I can't do anything else for hours though that's like boring work. However videogames aren't boring. I only play the game I feel like playing though, not anything else or i'll get really bored.
i think it's because of games aren't that great compared to back in the day. the longest i played a video game was 17 hours from wow. i think it was because there were so many things that i could do in that game. games aren't that great with things to do. it is kind of like do this through out the game.
" I've had pretty much no time to game since summer. I'm in med school and there's just a ridiculous amount of work to be done during the semester, don't really have time for much else.... I am going to try and find at least some time for gaming though. It's such a good stress reliever for me. But yeah, apart from Christmas I'm not sure when I can really find some good time without falling behind in school. I really do envy the people that have time to play games everyday. "Holy shit are we the same person? I could have typed that same thing word for word.
Honestly this thread has put me at ease a lot. Like it makes me mad that I had no time to play anything but a few games of Go on my phone yesterday, but otherwise I just have to come to the understanding that I have other things to do with my time. I would kill for some gaming holidays to be written into the calendar, though.
I didn't really get clear on your problem. First you say you don't feel like playing games for hours, but then you mention not having enough time to even try? Or, mix of both?" Honestly this thread has put me at ease a lot. Like it makes me mad that I had no time to play anything but a few games of Go on my phone yesterday, but otherwise I just have to come to the understanding that I have other things to do with my time. I would kill for some gaming holidays to be written into the calendar, though. "
Anyhwey, I usually get like that. I sit down and watch a movie or TV show after which I realize how boring it is to not have control over things. Works for me every time. And if not, stop playing games for a while, and you'll definitely miss them quite a lot afterwards.
" @JoyfullOFrockets: It does sound a little confusing. My problem is that I frequently don't have time to play games, and when I do have extended periods to do so, I can't get myself to sit down for long periods of time. There are very few games that I seem to lose track of time on, and there are cases in which I wish I would. That way, I could get through games more efficiently. "Well, for someone like yourself, I recommend avoiding stuff like RPG's and strategy games, since they take way too much time to properly get into. Focus on shooters, action adventure games, racing, etc.
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