Reflections of a grumpy, middle-aged gamer

Started by Toonces, May 15, 2020, 07:57:32 PM

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Sir Slash

I also watch the YouTube videos of games I don't have time to play. Then I can't remember if it was me or somebody else that played them. The way to tell for sure is if it's a loss against the game, then it's usually me.

I used to, 'binge-buy' games more when I was young than now. Rarely comes the game I feel like I just have to have anymore. Good example is the Combat Mission DLC's. I want to twitch buy them right away but I then tell myself, I haven't even come close to finishing the ones I own now. And, then I tell myself, 'Maybe the prices will drop'. Then I laugh out loud.  :2funny:
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

JasonPratt

This overlaps with a realization I had a few days ago while traveling, that many of us (myself included) are effectively acting as art supporters. We don't use a lot of the things we buy; we buy them partly out of appreciation that someone is willing to make the effort for an art we appreciate in principle (even when not always in practice).
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Martok

I definitely understand where you're coming from, Toonces.  I think it goes without saying that it gets more difficult as we age; it's certainly not impossible, but we do tend to have to work harder for it.  Learning new games just isn't as easy as it used to be for me, especially when they're more complex ones. 

"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
"I like to think of it not as an excuse but more like Pavlovian Response." - Sir Slash

"At our ages, they all look like jailbait." - mirth

"If we had lines here that would have crossed all of them. For the 1,077,986th time." - Gusington

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ComradeP

Good thread Toonces.

Though I'm only in my 30's, I have had difficulty with truly diving into something new for a couple of years now. That is, more complex games.

I could spend some time on learning the system, hoping I'll enjoy it, but if I don't like how the system works after a day or two of gaming, I probably won't touch the game again.

Though simulations can become more complex now that computers become more and more powerful, mainstream games have tended to go in the opposite direction towards "streamlining" and if there's one thing I'm not particularly fond of, it's removing gameplay options for no clear reason. Since many PC titles are not PC-only but also become available on consoles, there are some serious limitations packed into those games to make sure they work on slower systems (consoles). I have no desire to play such games, or to spend the time learning whatever quirky mechanics were added in the latest part of a fashionable series.

Most of the gaming I do at a friend's place comes from collections of various arcade or 1980's/early 1990's games. Plenty of lives and no quarters.

Most of us have been gaming for so long that we've seen and played most of the "classics" and highlights in the genres we enjoy, so a game has to be very good in order to be as refreshing and entertaining as the classics. As a teenager, I played a lot of multiplayer shooters, but I have not even the slightest interest in the popular shooters of today. My reflexes are not good enough any more to compete with the youngsters in the more frantic shooters, and I just don't think they'll offer me something I haven't experienced years or even decades ago.

I only play a limited number of casual games and spend by far the most of my time on John Tiller Software/Wargame Design Studio games. That has been the case for years and I doubt it will change.

JasonPratt: sometimes I indeed buy games to support a certain developer or to literally look at the art on the map.

Similar to what 88mmkwk wrote, I spend a lot of time just looking at the maps in the Panzer Campaigns/First World War Campaigns/Panzer Battles series trying to envision what the battle that was fought there was like, or planning moves I'll never actually make in a game. It's the PC equivalent of playing with toy soldiers and just imagining a battle somewhere in Normandy whilst in reality the main threats to your little plastic troops consist of the cat and the vacuum cleaner.
The fact that these people drew inspiration...and then became chicken farmers - Cyrano, Dragon' Up The Past #45

Jarhead0331

Quote from: ComradeP on May 16, 2020, 02:56:47 PM

Though I'm only in my 30's...

What makes me feel really old is that when I first started posting in the same forums as you, you were only like 15... :hide:
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hellfish6


Gusington

That post by ComradeP is the worst ever...30s?? Where'd all the time go...looking over at my 15 year old daughter  :'(


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

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Millipede

^
Gee that's tough.

My youngest grandchild will be 20 in August.  :hide:

Tripoli

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on May 16, 2020, 03:01:59 PM
Quote from: ComradeP on May 16, 2020, 02:56:47 PM

Though I'm only in my 30's...

What makes me feel really old is that when I first started posting in the same forums as you, you were only like 15... :hide:

When I first started gaming, ComradeP wasn't even a glimmer in his Dad's eye.  ;D
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Gusington



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Vintage Dude

Here are just a few of the games that I started on:

ComradeP

#26
QuoteWhat makes me feel really old is that when I first started posting in the same forums as you, you were only like 15...

17 or 18 probably, but yeah, we've known each other since I was a stubborn teenager with a strong opinion.

Nearly 15 years or so.

Maybe we'll be migrating to another forum in the next 15 years, but I think most of us won't really change much at this point. Maybe our taste for games. Who knows, maybe I'll be playing sports games when I'm in my forties.

When it comes to gaming, the only thing I've really noticed compared to many of you when it comes to being younger is that I didn't own a single actual board wargame until a couple of years ago. In fact, I didn't even know The Great Battles of Alexander, my first wargame, was actually based on a board wargame at the time.
The fact that these people drew inspiration...and then became chicken farmers - Cyrano, Dragon' Up The Past #45

MC

I'm getting so damn old I'm starting to have an interest in mortuary simulators. Hoping for an early access release because I don't know if I can wait until a 1.0 version. Of course, I made be dead wrong on that count.  :D

airboy

Quote from: Vintage Dude on May 16, 2020, 04:25:09 PM
Here are just a few of the games that I started on:

I still own half of these.

Sparhawk

I've got more than a handful of years before I retire, ok almost 2 handfuls,  but I find myself going back to my mainstays most of the time. I have a group of games I usually rotate through and I think that's because it's hard to beat a proven game. Yes, I've less patience than when I was younger, but I think that's just because I'm more wore out doing the same real life work as when I was in my 20's. When I'm tired I just want to sit back and play, I don't want it to be more work. I don't necessarily shy away from complex new games, I'm very excited about Shadow Empire, but a game really has to reach out and grab me to want to put the effort into mastering it. I'd say I'm just more picky. I'm going to have to be between jobs to delve into Aurora again though.