I think you’ll come to realize that it isn’t your attention span but rather the amount of mental energy you have left after working a 9 to 5 for 5 days a week
Yeah, sometimes I just want to mindlessly scroll. Like now.
There’s games that do that like vampire survivors
That’s definitely a large aspect for me. But, another large part is that the games just seem to be less fun. Online play has gotten so competitive that half the time people just rage quit, and single player games have just become grind machines with pay to skip options.
No, I’m not going to spend my limited free time getting a virtual job gathering wolf pelts. No, I’m not going to give you real money to avoid being virtually employed by an NPC.
I feel like game mechanics that were originally designed to immerse you into the game are now just being used to pad the game time. I won’t even buy a game anymore unless I can mod it. I refuse to spend extra hours of my time just because the only realistic aspect of the game is a limited inventory.
Those kind of games exist, but so does every other kind. And you aren’t forced to play only new games. Literally every game ever is available for you to play. Every person that says stuff like you seem like you think the only games available are the most known and most recent AAA games. It’s like only going to the most recently opened restaurants in your area, especially chain brand ones, and complaining about you not liking the food and then deciding that all food is like that.
AAA games are trash agreed, I stick to indie games
This is why I started leaning into more productive hobbies. I design stuff in blender, 3D print it out, and prime and paint it for table top games, then I have friends over and we push the little dudes around a map and work together to kill monsters, or kill eachother. So much more satisfying than pouring hours into some screen game that just goes away when my digital subscription ends.
I know I’ve been playing BG3 recently and I’m struggling a bit with the mental energy required to play it after work. It’s something that really requires full attention for a long period of time and a lot of days I’d rather just do something simpler.
Negative energy
Bruh, I’m 33 and I started playing Subnautica for the first time a few weeks ago only to realize that in the first day I accidentally played for 10 hours. You just need to find the right game for you to revitalize your interest in gaming. Whatever that game may be!
Subnautica just does that to you. I completed an entire hardcore playthrough in a single session once (Mostly because I already knew what I was doing but it was still like 14-15 hours straight).
Is VR in subnautica an actual way to play or just a once in a while gimmick. I’ve had it in my library since back when it was beta and have never played more than a few minutes. Installed it since it does VR through steamlink but haven’t played yet.
I love VR and Subnautica but Subnautica is not a good game to play in VR. You can make it kinda work with mods, but it does feel very janky.
Dang. I thought maybe since it gained so much support and got so big since from when I got it in a $15 indie humble bundle that it might actually be a good one. I’ll finally try it tonight.
Have you tried the VR mod for Firewatch? I just got it on a random steam sale for $2, played a bit on my steamdeck, and was thinking the entire time I wish this was VR.
I haven’t! I beat it in flat mode and loved it though!
I haven’t gotten too far in, so I want to get the VR mod installed and restart. It’s so good so far, though the intro really does suck, like emotionally. I think it’s a perfect format for VR with the walking/ basic interaction format, nothing too complex, and great comfy visuals. I hope it works.
Sometimes, I feel like I should wait until things get better and fixed, but sometimes that leads to me missing things. I wish there were more open source, hacking, development, just community for VR. I’ve used it since Google cardboard and things really have never taken off. I think with steamlink now streaming to quest headsets, that really help.
I honestly couldn’t say as I startled playing the normal version. But as spooky as that game can get, I don’t think I’d even want to try VR version lol.
The real horrors in our reality are just depressing, so I’d prefer to distract myself with spooky scary subnautica monsters.
The vanilla VR implementation in Subnautica is very old and kind of tacked onto the game as an afterthought. You have to play with a regular controller and I found the menus to be in the most eye-strain spot possible.
I know there is at least one VR mod to fix it and bring in motion controls but I’ve never tried it.
For me, the attention span isn’t the problem. I have been going on DOS2 and Factorio benders over the last couple years. For me, it’s about making sure that I don’t have some niggling anxiety in the back of my mind ruining my concentration. Got chores done? Dinner prepped? Laundry done? Animals fed? Game time baybee.
The trick is to push through the anxiety and truly become a worthless pile of shit destroying kids in online shooters, running solely on off-brand Cola, microwave pizza and self-loathing
This dude games.
Absolutely crush them into the ground.
Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well
On one hand, playing stuff like Minecraft with my kid is super rewarding.
But on the other… is it possible to learn this power?
Spot on. You have zero responsibilities at that age, except for maybe some homework and a few minimal chores. As an adult all you can think about is the endless todo list.
Oh man, Factorio is the black hole that has absorbed the most hours of any game I’ve ever played. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much in my youth, but it’s the perfect fit for me now!
You just gotta find the right game. I discovered Satisfactory last year and had to uninstall it after a few eeks because I was staying up till 2am playing. I am 40.
I think for me a lot of games just don’t challenge me in a meaningful way anymore. Especially as I get older the game AI feels a lot more predictable and shallow.
Then I tried factorio and that game is fun. So I agree its about finding the right games which spark that interest.
I think for me a lot of games just don’t challenge me in a meaningful way anymore.
I’m the opposite. If it’s a story driven game, I don’t wanna die. If I do die, you better make sure I don’t have to repeat much. And you’d better make sure I don’t die twice in the same place.
Old style save anytime is much preferred to checkpoints, but I feel barely exist in AAA games anymore. I’ll put up with checkpoints if they are very frequent. If you make me repeat 30 mins I’ll probably just stop playing.
Fuck yes, I’m not repeating the same fight sixty time so that I can balance the vague satisfaction of having defeated a video game boss with the fact that I’ve wasted three hours of my time. Also it completely brings me out of the world/story.
I’ve abandoned a fair number of such games.
The checkpoints is why I returned Dark Souls 3. It was a great looking game and I enjoyed the first boss, but it was not for me.
Story games I’ll switch between hard and story designing on my mood, sometimes I just want to enjoy the show instead of struggling to fight the more baddies or play a game in perfect button timing.
I feel the same way about Baldurs Gate 3, I’m only pushing 30 but after playing for less than 20 minutes I had a mini pre-intervention with myself like, “okay listen up you geek, remember staying up until 4am every night and surviving on popcorn chicken and coffee isn’t sustainable”
I installed Civ 6, played one game on easy and uninstalled it because I knew what was going to happen if I went down this road.
Try Civ Revolution. It’s an older game but it holds up and you can do an entire campaign in less then 2 hours.
You’re like a pusher telling me “Don’t take heroin, here’s morphine instead” 😳
More like methadone? 😅
The right game can cure depression
The right game can cause depression, because I have no impulse control and will shurk my responsibilities to play it.
Sigh. I do love me some satisfactory though.
Thanks, that’s worth a look!
Isn’t it less fun and more preying on the addictive aspects of gaming?
It’s kinda like life Sims, ala Harvest Moon. Give just enough time to finish out your day. Extend the need to progress by fluffing out interactions. Make there be lots of little progression increments.
It’s less good game and more preying on dopamine routines. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yb5CINrC5E I get games have similar feel good spikes. Like loot/number simulators which are mostly idle games with more effort for how easy they are. But min/Max Effiency games like many games that have day/night stamina cycles are just keying in on that dopamine rush on a filled day, which doesn’t feel different than loot box games in the end. My time at Sandrock was my last one that felt great for a bit then you realize so much is pointless fluff gated by time dumps for no reason than to increase their playtime metrics.
Fun fact. I was 2 years older than Bart when the Simpsons started on the Tracy Ulman show and now I’m over a decade older than Marge and Homer.
I need a nap.
No…. That would mean I’m…. Oh god. It’s happened.
If you want your mind blown when Simpsons started Marge and Homer were boomers, then Gen X and now they’re millennials. Bart, Lisa and Maggie started out as Gen X (underachiever and proud of it) then millennials, then gen z, and now they’re Gen alpha.
But grampa is always a ww2 vet.
They changed what “it” was
To be fair Homer is a rough 32.
That’s just what 32 year olds looked like, coming out of the 80s.
The last time they mentioned his age it was 38/39. They keep changing it but keeping him and Marge in their 30s.
Honestly I wish they would age everyone up a year every decade. If they had done that we would be seeing the antics of a 13 year old Bart now and I think that could start with some really interesting character development instead of keeping him forever a 10 year old.
I’m 46 and I do 4-6 hour seshes. Step yo game up, foo
I’m in my 30s and I do 2-3 hour seshes unless I munch an Adderall. Adderall takes it to 10+.
I can do that on vacation maybe, otherwise too many other things vying for attention
“What the fuck, a tutorial? I’m done.”
Me after inattentively spamming through the tutorial just so I can play the game:
“How the fuck do I play this game?”
Also very true. “There’s been a button for that this whole time!?”
Tutorials are child’s play. I tried playing “This is the Police II” when it came out. Literally 2 full hours of what was basically a visual novel before I got into any gameplay. After a while I kept thinking “surely the game starts now?” before another scene started.
This was how I felt starting MGS V. I gave up.
Death Stranding, as well. Sooooo many cut scenes followed by 30 seconds of game play, followed by more cut scenes. It was all world building and back story… But good lord… Took forever to get through
The first game to ever do this to me was Black and White, which most people today have probably never even heard of. It’s one of the reasons I celebrate Morrowind’s introductory sequence. A few minutes of fourth wall breaking notes then “You’re on your own now, good luck.”
That was such a weird game. I don’t know if I ever figured out the point but boy was it fun to throw people around with your giant god hand.
Can we make it illegal for FPS tutorials? I’ve been playing them longer than the kids making them now.
At least make it optional! I like figuring it out as I go! It’s part of the fun.
I think of this every single time I got through FPS tutorials now: https://youtu.be/8C7FNX7cWZI
This is how I felt until I played Valheim and BG3. I think my preferred genres have just shifted. I need something I can relax and play at my own pace. I use to only play competitive shooters, where I needed to be “on” the whole game. Now I can only play a shooter for about an hour before my mind starts to drift and I lose interest.
For me it’s less the attention span thing and more the lack of time
There’s a million things I gave to worry about all pulling me in every direction at the same time
Plus now that my ADHD is actually being addressed it’s way easier to find time for things
Swap the shitty snacks out for something healthier and maybe you’ll have more stamina to play
true! i quit candy and chips and now i’m able to game for 3x longer. i was also able to maintain my body mass due to lower energy consumption when i can’t afk so much. win win!
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Join the Factiorio cult
Unfortunately the limitations of my pathetic meat suit mean I can only play factorio effectively for about 32hrs straight before needing to power down.
A cult I will shamelessly declare I am a member of!
I think the type of game really makes a difference. Games with fetch quests, a laundry list of waypoints on a map, and tons of bland cutscenes in between simple gameplay put me to sleep now.
Challenging games keep me better occupied, because it’s fun to be solving a puzzle of some sort (even if that puzzle is “how to approach this boss”). Strategy and tactics are consistently fun for me too.
This is why I have such a soft spot for From Software games. I don’t care if I have to die 30 times trying to cross a bridge it’ll still keep me engaged trying to figure out a way or just mastering the technique rather than play another Assassin’s Creed tailing mission for 30 minutes following some braindead ai.
FromSoft games are my absolute favorite. Seeing myself getting better and mastering a challenge is peak fun to me.
I have a habit of playing those for a few days and then becoming so enraged I put it down for a year. I actually just picked PS3 Demon’s Souls to finally get platinum.
The frustration is understandable and I don’t blame anyone for rage quitting, on that note I admire your courage to actually pick up Demon’s Souls. May your controller have the fortitude to accept your wrath and remain whole.
May I introduce: War Gaming :)
I was feeling that way last year for a good 2 months or so, was seriously considering turning in some of my high end gear for cash and getting my streambox upgraded
Then Battlebit Remastered dropped and I realized I was just really wanting a good Battlefield-style shooter and there wasn’t one to scratch my itch
It’s started up again recently, and upon further reflection I’m in a driving game mood but all the ones out there RN are fucking oof
So maybe it’s the type/quality of the games you’re trying out that’s the issue
I’m 41 years old, and I can’t pay attention to video games for more than about half an hour.
Unless I’m smoking pot, in which case I can play video games all day.
Wake and bake then Path of Exile.
I find I focus even worse when I’m high, I just want to get up and do stuff, like stretch or exercise. I definitely didn’t do that when I was younger and smoked, so idk what’s changed.
“smoking pot” is not a term I have heard in a looong time. Takes me back
Shit. Really?
I didn’t realize it wasn’t really a thing people said anymore
I’ve put over 400 hours into vanilla terraria and recently started the calamity mod, first day I put like 6 hours into it.
I don’t play every day, I just don’t have the time/energy. But when I do I try to make it count.
That being said, we used to play Edward forty hands and try to beat ocarina of time in a single evening, usually staying up until dawn despite the copious alcohol.
I’m not the stallion I used to be, but even an old horse has something to prove.
Exercise and a proper diet will help.
The most realistic part is that you can’t afford name brand chips as an adult.
