Backlog Anxiety ——> Addiction
I stopped playing games for 15 years because I didn't want something that could be so addictive to be competing with my passions.
It was the right decision at the time, but after all those years, I realized I really wanted to play again. Two things always made me love games, being more immersed in a story than even a movie or book, and the challenge of solving problems.
I realize now that I should be applying a lot of that energy solving problems to my real life, but games can be good practice!
Now I also have an appreciation for the symbolism and world building of games, especially since I write stories myself.
I'm experiencing something now that I haven't experienced with games before although I experienced it with TV shows and movies at one point when I was younger.
The games I want to play has grown to a point where I feel exhausted thinking about it. I have a list of over 30, and I've played at least 30 in the past year. It's kind of going too far.
https://img.inleo.io/DQmP6Ne5yXLs7Rg8Zu3DKr3YvY8dXJ6bZDWH3Kx3xcHk3Ft/2b5fce78-d7e7-4939-b307-cd2bbca62766.webp
I don't think games are a total waste of time, but playing them more than an hour a day is. But with all these games to check off the list, games I genuinely want to play, I feel addiction seeping back into my experience.
I don't want to give up on my own experiences or sacrifice time meant for my own creation because of these games so I am making some changes.
First of all, I am not looking at any more gaming news or videos related to gaming. The more games I know the more I end up wanting to play, and honestly, while many are not a waste of time, many are. I don't need to play everything in existence. Some games look cool at first but end up being a waste of time.
Second, I'm cutting out any game that wasn't in the top half of my list. So My list of games will go from 30 to 15.
I'm going to spend more time away from gaming in between games. It's when I play every day that addiction creeps in.
I'm going to get the idea of a PS5 out of my head for the foreseeable future. The PS4 has plenty of games I still want to play and PS5 games aren't even at the top of my list. That eliminates 3 or 4 from the bottom. I'll check out PS5 in 2030 when PS6 is coming out
Instead of saving games at the top of my list for later, I'm going to get them all out of the way first. I think without those there dangling in front of me, it will be far easier to pull myself away from this damn machine.
I think I need to set more rules for myself as well. No games until I've worked on my own projects. Only 1 hour a day. Only 4 days a week.
I've kicked this habit once and then rebuilt a healthy relationship with it. I can do it again :-D
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
What are some of the games you're interested in playing? I found I started to lose interest in games once they all became online and highly competitive/fast paced. But the slower ones with more narrative and are single player definitely still manage to catch my attention.
The main thing that stops me is money though. The majority of games aren't worth the cost. So I'd wait until sales until they're about 90% off and then consider.
I usually play JRPGs for the story, the symbolism, the character development. My favorite of that genre are Nier, Xenogears, FFX and Earthbound (Mother 2).
I enjoyed Persona 5’s story so that sent me digging into Atlus games but Shin Megami Tensei 3 is the game that brought this addiction to the surface. Since I usually play for the story if it gets too difficult I changed difficulty levels but this game’s normal is very hard and there is no easy. So I find myself playing hours trying to finally get past a part I am stuck at. If it were a 5-10 hour game that would be fine but it’s 40 hours minimum 🙄
I pay very little for games. Usually. Buy them when they are 5 years old and on sale or used. Most cost me $3-15 with a few exceptions. I never play online games! That’s crack cocaine
What are you into?
I remember loving Persona 4 Golden but then hating it at the same time for that sudden difficulty spike haha, I'd spend hours in those dungeons just grinding all my characters up so things would be easier. That's definitely a game that'll lead to you sinking a silly amount of hours into. I didn't get to play 5 yet but I really wanted to.
I find the older I get the more I like slower games, things like Stardew Valley or Disco Elysium. The latter is incredibly story driven, your typical point and click with lots of dialogue and player choice. I've wanted to get into the Pathfinder games too but a big problem (or perhaps a great reward depending on how you see it) is that I only have a Macbook to play games with now, and games either run like crap on here or don't run at all. I think I just enjoy games that you could sit down with or play in bed. Nothing fast and all serious. I was absolutely addicted to Armored Core 6 before I left England though, that I just could not stop playing.
Ah cool! That’s one of the games I’m using to study Japanese. Mixing study is another reason it’s getting overwhelming. Studying slows everything down, and a 50 hour game becomes a 400 hour game 😂
I am going to study the first 1/3 of persona4 before I ever start it so it doesn’t become my whole world while I’m playing. And I’ll play on easy.
I would love if these games were all 10-15 hours. 40-100 is obscene!!!
I also bought a bunch of games super cheap and owning them makes me want to play them more 😭
I think in the case of Persona games, most of that length comes from the dungeon side of things, really having to dig in and scale characters, run around the levels, and then have those lengthy boss fights. That's the side I don't enjoy all that much, definitely a bit too long. I love all the rest in those games though, all the story and the character development, little slice of life moments.
Yeah P5 was really really cool if you treat it as the occult magic that it was probably meant as. It takes you into the subconscious of society and attempts to heal it of corruption and abuse by inserting the dispelling of darkness into the subconscious of everyone who plays it.
If that’s the case though it makes SMT pretty terrifying. I don’t want to summon any demons, no thank you.
Japanese game and anime companies are so damn occult though. I find it fascinating.
Games are so much fun! And also such a timesink x_x I can only play roleplaying games for the same reason now but seeing as I always end up running the games they're still such a timesink but whether that's good or bad seems to depend entirely onn who you talk to XD
Plans for keeping on top of things sound very plannish :)
it’s funny, while I’m playing I’m simultaneously balancing the realization of how dopamine works and how I’m an addict and the idea that i can turn the whole experience into an “affirmation” that reprograms my subconscious’s mind to become better at manifesting reality.
It’s a trip!
I both completely understand everything you said and have no idea what you're talking about and the nonsensicalness of that always does my head in XD
I'm really looking forward to the post where you realise you can manifest reality :D
that phenomenon again! Working up to it! Haha the great finale of this era
Elden Ring is the only game you need to be playing.
It does sound like youre dangerously prone to addiction based on having played 30 games already and only thinking about it lol. I'm sure you're in control of it, but even for me, I'm pro-games all the way, I think the combined media to create such masterpieces as Elden Ring is just out of this world.
But even being so pro game, I've played about 3 since I bought the PS5. I typically only play one game and then the console is untouched for months until something else very special comes out. Looking at my game history I do seem to limit myself only to those most critically acclaimed (RDR2, FF7, Last of Us, Elden Ring).
I've tried a lot of mobile games and tbh, with the exception of 2 escape room type series, it's all complete bunk. Absolute trash across the board.
(play elden ring)
oh no! Another game to play! I keep hearing about Elden Ring but Iduno about medieval hyper realistic stuff… Is there a mod where I can play it in psychedelic surreal colors with alien creatures? 😆 I’ll check it out at some point.
What’s so good about it anyway?
Mobile games are all donkey crap 🤦♂️
(Using a temporary laptop so I keep sending the message before I'm done, argh!
Trust me, there's plenty of that! It's like a fantasy version of Ancient Rome, or a dark version of Zelda (the latest one) but many orders of magnitude better.
It's considered one of the great games of all time for a very good reason:
Everything, and I mean everything you see and interact with has a deep connection to the story being told, from the flowers you walk through to the paintings on the wall (All of course, optional to learn about)
The game mechanics are second to none. Hundreds of unique moves, weapons, skills, etc. You can build your character almost an infinite number of ways to play in totally different styles.
The map is vast and varied. You can play through a dozen times and not explore everything, or you can do what I did and just mega-explore over one big 200-hour game. The map by itself is huge but there are layers in ways you can only really understand by playing. layers.
The challenge is infamous. The gratification you get when you finally defeat a boss you've been working at 150x is just phenomenal. (most are optional if you can't be bothered)
Ultimately, the aim of the game is simply to Explore. Unlike games like Horizon or Zelda, each area you discover is a new, fantastical beauty of artistic expression, rather than just being 99% grass. And in my opinion, a great proportion of it lends itself to a crazy psychedelic experience. Assuming you're not prone to nightmarish bad trips lol.
Honestly if there's any one game over the last few years somebody had to play, it's this, even if they're not that competent. Doesn't matter. And I'm saying that over FF7 remake, which I consider a masterpiece.