Gamers, Has Time Changed You?

[Vern5]

I suppose its a pretty obvious fact that we all change drastically as we get older. Our tastes get more or less refined. We learn to hate things we liked and like things we hated. Getting older is a weird thing and the person you were a year ago seems like a completely different human being compared to who you are now.

But how has time changed your preferences when it comes to games or your gaming habits in general? I used to love sinking my time into games like Pokemon and Chrono Trigger back when I was young and not so jaded. I would spend hours playing RPGs of all kinds and I would go out of my way to spend as much time gaming as possible. Back then, it seemed like I had hours to spare.

These days, I feel like I'm always running out of time and any distractions I allow myself need to pay off immediately. I've basically shunned most if not all RPGs in favor of shooty games like CounterStrike: Source and any kind of game where I can control the pacing rather than the plot stringing me along. Basically, if I can't enjoy myself within 15 minutes of starting whatever game it is I'm playing, then that game is a waste of time. Exceptions to this rule are exceedingly rare.

TL;DR. Do you think you are a different kind of gamer now as opposed to when you were younger?

 

[Atmos Duality]

I'm much less tolerant of grindy-bullshit now.
Beyond that, I'm actually more open-minded about games than I was then.

 

[xDarc]

The games they had when I was young were all earth shattering. Doom, Duke, Quake, C&C, StarCraft, WarCraft, Ultima Online, MechWarrior, Heroes of Might and Magic, Fallout... I have a closet full of those cereal box sized software packages of 90's games.

Now, I only buy about 3 games a year because they mostly all suck. Being a gamer since the 90s, I can generally sniff out a turd of a game before it even launches and know better than to waste my time on it. The only turd to sneak under my radar lately was DayZ. Currently playing Blops 2. I haven't finished the single player, but I love me some zombies. It reminds of the 90s games; not whole lot of content or varied things to do- but the things it does do, it does them very well, very polished, and the gamepaly is tight and fun to play- keeps me coming back for hundreds or thousands of hours.

They generally don't make games like that anymore; most of them now are content driven. Eat up the content and buy the next installment, much like the movies. People played the same 90s games into the 2000s. Gaming was much smaller then. Not good for business. I think it took Doom years to sell a few million copies. Now games like CoD sell that many before the game is even released. But still, Treyarchs zombies mode is worth it and deserves to eventually become it's own stand-alone game.

 

[tippy2k2]

I'm much less tolerant of grindy-bullshit now.
Beyond that, I'm actually more open-minded about games than I was then.

Oh Bugger! One post and someone has stolen my answer!

But basically, I am much less tolerable of games wasting my time.

Final Fantasy XII, World of Warcraft, any game where you play X to "get to the good parts"...these are all games that I would have eaten up as a child. However, I just don't have the time anymore to play twenty hours to "get to the real game" when I can throw in hundreds of other games and get to it right away.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

When I was younger, I could pretty much play any JRPG of that time and really enjoy it.

Now I'm older, it's a rare day when I can actually stand to play a JRPG.

If it isn't the shitty voice acting, it's the terrible dialogue, if it isn't the nonsensical story, it's the ridiculously clichéd character design.

Which makes the JRPGs I do like, all the better

 

[Roxas1359]

In the past I used to see the idea of playing rated M games as "the best thing ever," but nowadays I find that I play more rated E-T games a lot more than I do M rated games. I used to also like shooters as a kid, but now I love platformers, adventure games, and RPGs/JRPGs. Mainly it is because in the past I didn't have patience and wanted to get through a game fast while now I love playing games that will take me a long time to beat. Next as a kid I never would want to beat a game 100% except now I love doing them 100%. Be it Okami (damn Demon Gate trials), FF XII, Crash games, etc. I just love completing a game and seeing that lovely 100% next to it.

Another difference now is that as a kid the idea of me deleting a save that I put so much time into would kill me, but now I do it all the time to start over a game and play it in a new way. As a child I also hated the idea of grinding for levels but now I love to do it...I'm probably one of the only ones that thinks grinding is fun. Finally, as a kid I could play any game at any time I wanted to from start to end, but now I need to be in the mood to play a game. For example, lately I've been playing platformer after platformer and I needed variety, so I played some more Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and got excited again.

 

[krazykidd]

I'm much less tolerant of grindy-bullshit now.
Beyond that, I'm actually more open-minded about games than I was then.

I actually appreciate it more now . I find grinding to be relaxing . But farming items i can't stand . Especially if it's not a 100% sure i'd get the item .

OT: Time hasn't changed for me . I still love my jrpgs my Sjrpgs ( disgaea , FF tactics ) and my fighting games and my shooters . Still hate the RTS, racing and sports . I MAY have a lower tolerence for Wrpgs . Oh wait i just remembered , i can't do sandbox games anymore . I like my games linear and to the point. Have too much to play in without fixed objectives bore the hell out of me . And yet i can grind for hours in a turn based combat jrpg and feel relaxed and fullfilled .

 

[ShinyCharizard]

When I was younger, I could pretty much play any JRPG of that time and really enjoy it.

Now I'm older, it's a rare day when I can actually stand to play a JRPG.

If it isn't the shitty voice acting, it's the terrible dialogue, if it isn't the nonsensical story, it's the ridiculously clichéd character design.

Which makes the JRPGs I do like, all the better

This. The only JRPGs I can really stand to play these days are ones made by atlas. I also have far less tolerance for needless padding in games these days.

 

[hazabaza1]

I used to hate shooters. Anything with a gun involved, really, I'd just stay away from.
I still prefer my swords and sorcery in general but I do like a good manshoot at times.

 

[GangstaGeek]

For me once I got older I feel like there are alot less JRPGs to choose from. Especially since alot of those traditional RPGs are fantastic. RPG's as a genre have been so much harder for me to get into much because the qua;ity of the games have gone down. I feel as if Atlas has so much pressure now because they are the only game company making very solid non-cliche' games. Also the JRPGs is falling short because of their lack of storytelling and they feel like they are getting more similar to MMORPG tactics.

The second genre I have greatly changed with me is the fighting game genre where I have alot more appreciation for them as it takes a bunch of knowledge and huge amount of skill to be good with them. I enjoy them alot more because I can always play online at anytime and play with my sparring buddies and learn new tactics and techniques.

In general, I feel like my taste have been getting more refined as I look at everything on how a game is made a structured but as for shooting things in a modern setting or as a space warrior I guess I'm getting alittle tired of shooting things lately.

 

[Mikejames]

I don't play multiplayer nearly as much as I did when I was younger; online shooters and the like started to feel like more of a time sink after I got burnt out on Team Fortress 2.

Did start to appreciate the artistic side of gaming too, hipster jokes aside.

 

[Zhukov]

I care much more about story these days.

It's gotten to the point where any game with a shit story or no story (that is to say, 99.99% of games) isn't good for anything more than a brief distraction.

Gameplay alone just doesn't cut it any more. Unless it presents me with something completely new or reinvents the wheel I just struggle to care.
"Oh what's this you say, game? I have to click on all the people who aren't speaking English to kill them? Amazing! Ohhh, and in this game I click on orcs until my numbers get big enough that I can click on bigger orcs! Mind blowing! One button for a quick, low damage attack and another button for a slow, high damage attack you say? Good God man, this is just off the charts!"

 

[Tanis]

I'd say I'm more...what's the word?
...'Careful?'...
About the games I buy/spend time with.

I used to, as a kid, play anything that 'looked cool' - even if I started getting bored from the start, because I hoped it'd get better.

Nowadays I'm very selective about games I play because I just don't have the time or the energy to toss in 100+ hours to a game that's feel 'boring'.

I'm also not into JRPGs as much.
I think I've played FAR too many, and thus the idea of 'grinding, again' puts me off.

 

[lunavixen]

My tastes haven't really changed that much over the years, except i seem to play RPGs a little less, and i still hate sports games. I don't play FPS games as much as i used to.

 

[wintercoat]

I find that I'm much more easily bored now than I used to be. If a game fails in too many areas of engagement(story, gameplay, setting, characters) then I generally find it boring or flat out hate the experience. However, if even one p[art is spectacular and can grab me, it can carry the game easily. I guess you could say that, whereas when I was younger I was easy to please, now I'm both easy to please, but easily bored.

 

[CleverCover]

The only thing different about my tastes is that I'm actually more willing to play the games, rather than just watch the story as my brother plays. More willing to be involved in playing and not being deathly afraid of losing. Still despise anything timed, though.

Hate timed missions. HATE.

 

[StriderShinryu]

As I've grown with gaming, it's really just made me realize how much games can do. How much better they are as an artistic entertainment medium they are than pretty much any alternative.

I am a lot more critical of the games I play and a lot more picky in the ones I spend my time with, but within that approach I'm finding I enjoy the better games even more than I used to. Now, the best games aren't just idle diversions or time wasters. They aren't just ways to pass a break from school, they're enriching and full experiences.

I also find myself a lot less accepting of what I deem to be, quite frankly, stupid views of the industry. Whether it be fanboyism or habits that are destructive to the creation of games or anything else. I view the industry as one of creativity and growth but still, yes, as an industry that needs to be self sustaining. I don't view games as disposable pieces of entertainment created to be what I want and delivered to me on my gleaming golden throne as I see fit. I've grown out of that and see games as creative endeavours created by the hard work of coordinated teams; endeavours that are made in the developers image and not my own.