Changes in gaming preference.

[acctingman]

I'm leaning toward console gaming now. Just bought a new PS4 Pro and started Witcher 3. Also, bought Madden and the new Spider-Man game. These games I can boot up and play for 20-30 min and get something done. PC games, not so much. I'm also a MMO'er and play World of Warcraft. I used to play 4-6 hours a day when it first came out. No way in hell I can do that now. I play with some friends one night a week for a couple hours and that's a huge stretch for me these days.

I think PC games take a longer investment time than console games, but of course, this is just my observations.

[Sir Slash]

Good topic. I still like the games I like but being older I have much less tolerance for games that are 'buggy' or have a steep learning curve. That stuff used to not bother me so much. That feeling even extends to some of the 'Let's Play' videos of games where the guy will talk and talk and talk and not play the dammed game, so I usually just shut it off. 

I don't mind re-starting a game to see what works and doesn't work or to try a new approach but if it's moving too slowly for me I find myself loosing interest rapidly. Also, I've noticed a tendency for me to judge a game positive or negative just by the look of the game than I ever did before-- something I should know better than.

[MengJiao]

Good topic.

   I've been working out what is of interest when you play solitaire.  At the moment I play some shooty stuff multiplayer (Post Scriptum -- if I get my microphone working again -- and War thunder (where a faint set of headphones can save your life)) BUT I'm beginning to work on what makes a good solitaire game -- paradoxically perhaps -- Elusive Victory works well, as do other games of slightly twisty complexity BUT I'm putting in more time on simplifying a lot of the mechanics since I sorta just want to roll the dice and see what happens next -- BUT I think my most recent discovery is that the game should be close to an equilibrium and not require capturing X, Y and Z in record time since with a lot of solitaire self-inflicted randomness that is always going to derail pretty badly.

[Gusington]

Like many above, I still like the same genres of games...mainly military themed, dark fantasy and horror, as well as combinations of those three like Warhammer TW. Also like many above my slowly atrophying brain just does not have the capacity for learning new systems. If a system is too complex I just can’t hack it anymore. I also HATE not being able to save anywhere in a game. Save slots have ruined some games for me.

[Huw the Poo]

I also HATE not being able to save anywhere in a game. Save slots have ruined some games for me.

I have a suspicion that I almost single-handedly sunk a game on Steam for this.  It didn't have a save option which meant playing large maps was totally unfeasible for people like me.  Added to that, the developer didn't give a shit when I emailed them, so I left a warning review which went on to become the highest-rated review for the game (and remains so, I believe).  The game didn't sell very well and very quickly ended up in all the bargain bins of the internet.

[Sir Slash]

That would've been a deal-breaker for me too.

[Huw the Poo]

The thing is it's an otherwise decent game and my review might well have been positive.  It's their attitude when I contacted them that pushed me over the edge.

Either way though, the lack of a save option would have featured prominently.  I don't give a toss how difficult it is to code; if you can't do it, don't make a game that requires it if you aren't willing to spend hours in a session.

[DoctorQuest]

I am still mainly a flight simmer from a gaming perspective. Probably always will be with my inherent interest in aviation. Like most folks with a real life my gaming time is limited and I stick with what I like.

I do occasionally work through a shooter or play around with the liked of Cold Waters (which is sort of a sim in my opinion).

[FarAway Sooner]

I still find myself drawn to the same types of titles (e.g., turn-based strategy), but I play a lot less.  Partly, that's just a function of a couple younger kids and less time.

But it's also a function of games getting awfully derivative.  Most of the games I see today are based on the hex-based wargame model that became famous in the 1970s or the Civilization-based 4x model that Sid Meier created in 1990 (if it wasn't already out there from Populous or some other such title?).

I play some tablet games, but the play-to-win twist on tablet strategy games turns me off. 

Maybe I just need to break out my first edition War at Sea desktop game and get back to basics?

[Huw the Poo]

Most of the games I see today are based on the hex-based wargame model that became famous in the 1970s or the Civilization-based 4x model that Sid Meier created in 1990 (if it wasn't already out there from Populous or some other such title?).

Nah, Populous was a pure god sim.  I don't recall any game being particularly Civ-like before Civ itself.  I think it was unique when it was released.

[sandman2575]

Simulators (DCS, X-Plane, SABOW) are out, no matter how much I want to fly them.

+1

No changes in game preference but I do have game paralysis now. I'll sit down to play a computer game and end up staring at my near infinite game list and can't decide what I want to play.

++++1

By the time I'm done with everything for the day, and the kids are in bed, I'm too exhausted to play anything deep.  I'd rather just fire up something fun for half an hour and leave it at that. 

++++++++1

I'm hoping the situation will improve as the kids grow up and stop giving a shit about me!

I'm not so optimistic...

[sandman2575]

The thing is it's an otherwise decent game and my review might well have been positive.  It's their attitude when I contacted them that pushed me over the edge.

Hey Huw, any chance you're talking about Naval War: Arctic Circle - ?

[PanzersEast]

I've given this some thought as I am in the same spot you are.  Although you may say age has something to do with it, I feel the biggest factor is experience.  The more exposure and experience you have, the less the desire to play.  When you are first getting into gaming, everything is new to you.  All of the genres, the different approaches to games... you find worlds and things you can build.  The investment is rewarding.  However, as time goes by and as you play more and more, the noticeable variations become less and less.  There maybe some new mechanics, however you will never obtain the same feeling unless it goes beyond the skin, theme, slight mechanic change, variation stage.

For example, if you played a lot of Masters of Orion 2,  that game was ground breaking at the time.  All that has sense followed has been more and more variation of the same and now you are playing MoO 5.0.  I think it feels the same and thus your attention is like, have been here and done this and interest is held less.  EU IV is a great game, however it is on iteration 4 now, I mean if you started from the beginning, you have played the same game a lot!  Never-mind the changes, the core theme is still there. 

So I feel yes age, but coupled with that is experience of playing...... it is the been there done that syndrome.  Compound all this with work-life balance and that makes things a lot tougher and adds a whole new equation......  as there now has to be a lot of value in the game as time is more limited.  There is a lot that goes into the weight of play here.....

[Stryker07]

LoL, I was thinking of NWAC when he said that too.

[Toonces]

I simply don't play computer games as much as I used to, for a variety of reasons.

But like some of you, when I do sit down to play, I find that I almost always go with one of the handful of games I already know how to play.  I'm not afraid to tackle a game like CK2 where it will take a while to finish, but I am very reluctant anymore to invest the mental energy to actually learn something new.  I think DCS is a perfect example of a game where I would probably really enjoy it, but every time I get an urge to play, the thought of having to configure the controllers, then learn how to fly the actual aircraft, and finally how to make it work in a single player or MP environment...Ugh.  I end up simply booting up Falcon BMS or WoFF and just getting on with it.

The last few sales have really passed me by.  I keep seeing games I want to buy, but then I don't, and I realize later that I really don't miss them.