Gamers, Has Time Changed You?

[Creator002]

I used to love Pokémon and similar repetitive/grind-tastic games. I recently (few weeks) bought Pokémon Black 2 for DS, and I've only played about 2 hours. I'm also more into RPGs and Action Adventure games now when I used to love anything simply because of was a game.
Also, I switched from a console gamer to a PC gamer, so now I'm more classy... Right?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I don't know if my tastes have changed all that much, but I certainly don't have the drive nor the patience to play games that I used to.

 

[Sandjube]

As a kid, I used to think that having something like Activision or EA GAMES on the front was a sign of quality. Now it's almost a deterrent. Suffice to say I actually pay attention to what I'm buying these days.

 

[AldUK]

Definitely changed over the years. Not so much in my tastes in gaming, but definitely how I actually play games. I used to just eat my way through content like a starved dog. Now I take my time, I explore every nook and cranny and I savour my games like fine wines.

I play mostly RPGs and dialogue driven adventure games for context.

 

[havoc33]

When I was a kid, I used to play all sorts of genres. Racing, sports, fighting, platform, rpg's, adventure, shooters.. it didn't matter. Ever since the PS2 era my taste has definitely become more refined. For example, I used to play Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat on the SNES, bought every Tekken game on the PS1, but since then I haven't bought a single fighting game. I tried out the Mortal Kombat demo on the PS3, but it gave me nothing. Same with racing games; I used to love them, but I haven't bought a single one since the PS1 era (the single exception is the Wipeout series, which I love to death).

And I can't stand brawlers anymore. I remember I bought Devil May Cry on the Ps2, and although I loved the graphics and art design, I just got really tired of all the button mashing. Random battles in RPG's is another thing I have an issue with. I'm trying to get through some of the old FF's, but the constant grinding is a total chore. It's so bloody annoying the have to fight every 5 seconds when you just want to run around abit and explore and take in the views or find your way around a dungeon. It's just totally outdated gamedesign. Which is why I probably won't ever get around to play FFXIII-2, as I heard they re-introduced random battles.

What's most important for me in a game is story and characters. And the universe has to be interesting and appealing. Although I enjoyed Skyrim and the things it does well, I was almost shocked at how much more engaged I immediately become when I fired up Mass Effect 2 for the first time a few weeks ago. The strong characters and story really pulled me in from the get go, something Skyrim never managed to totally do. Skyrim to me is plagued with almost too much content, and it's way too many generic fetch quests and stupid looting everwhere, which is a waste of time basically. With my spare time being limited nowadays, I actually don't mind a game that is finished at 15-20 hours of gameplay. I'd much rather have a relative short, but strong adventure throughout, than 100+ hours of content where story is dropped for the sake of freedom and customization.

Last, but not the least, I hate motion control games. Seriously. It's fun for the odd party game, but that's it. Skyward Sword is the first Zelda game which couldn't keep me bothered to finish it, which is saying a lot, considering I've finished them all on every platform. And that had nothing to do with the slow introduction (which Nintendo seriously should stop with. People can read the bloody booklet if they can't figure out how the game mechanics work!), but everything to do with me not wanting to wave my arms around as I'm playing a game to RELAX. Thankfully, Nintendo seems to understand this, as they have stated that the new Zelda should not force motion controls onto players. It seems quite a few players did not finish Skyward Sword for the exact same reason as mine, and let Nintendo know about it.

OT: I realised yesterday that 2012 will probably go down as the first year since 1992 that I have not bought a single videogame. Last year I got NBA2K, Skyrim and Yakuza 4 for Christmas, so I've been busy with finishing those, plus a ton of backlog on the 360. Still can't believe it though, might have to buy Halo 4 just to keep my streak going, lol

 

[MajorTomServo]

I'm much much more patient than I was when I was a wee tot. I'm willing to give hard games and tough fighters more time without getting frustrated.

I've also noticed that as time goes on, I move forward with games instead of back. I hardly touch my PC/PS3 these days, but I play NES/SNES quite often...

 

[JEBWrench]

Well, for starters, most RPGs bore me to sleep these days. This is a far cry from when I collected the bloody things.

Mostly gaming for me is a few minutes to an hour or so of some sort of engagement here and there.

I think I've reverted back to my roots where gameplay is the most important thing for me, rather some drawn-out story that tries really hard to be deep.

That being said, I still binge on grand strategy games, and things like Dwarf Fortress once in a while.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I've been gaming for 22 years. There was a defining period where almost all of my gaming was at the arcade. I didn't want Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat at home, I wanted the arcade joystick/button layout and setting quarters down to play winner and feel the rush of the competition. Then the arcades started disappearing (and I started wanting solitary experiences), so I only ever play a few DDR/Pump it Up songs if I'm out and run into a machine.

I don't play multiplayer as much as I did back in the Quake/Unreal Tournament days. TF2, Planetside, COD, I've tried em' and I guess it's not in me anymore. If I play an FPS there has to be a deeper, overarching thing going on, like Bioshock.

I care much more about video calibration and sound compared to a large chunk of the years. If I start a game I've been waiting years for, I'll still spend time getting the brightness just right, making sure there's 16x AF, AA even if I have to force it, etc. I'll try to find a good pair of headphones or at least have the volume on the speakers loud enough that I get all of the stimuli and can immerse myself better. I guess now it's harder for me to just load it up and instantly "be" the character these days.

I use to be a horror/survial junkie. I've got SH 1-4 and beyond, RE, Haunting Ground, Fatal Frame and so on sitting next to me, and it's so hard these days. When I was younger they were just mesmerizing, and now they exacerbate anxiety issues and make me really depressed. Maybe that means they're even more powerful, but my time is much more limited these days and if I spend my free time playing, I'd like for it not to crush my soul before I go to bed.

I was also a JRPG nut. I saved up allowance money for months in order to buy Chrono Trigger for like $70 on the SNES, and asked for nothing more than FFVII once I had a Playstation. I learned this very recently, but I just do not have the patience for the tropes anymore. I downloaded the demo of Ni No Kuni, and by all rights I should adore this fucking game. Art style by a team I consider brilliant geniuses, and game by a team that brought us Dark Cloud 1/2 and Rogue Galaxy. But I couldn't even finish the demo. Watching the same animation play after every battle, waiting for the screen to tell me what loot I got, hearing the same attack noises over and over again. Oh look, an overworld where I'm as big as the cities with enemies all over the place. Screen wipe, attack, attack, attack. Borrow a guard's enthusiasm to share it with another guard so he's happy enough to open a gate? Clearly Miyazaki wasn't writing this thing. I realized that it just plays very closely to the Dragon Quest/FF 1-4/Blue Dragon school of JRPG thought, and it seemed daunting to me. I doubt I can go back and play a lot of the games I considered classics for years, and it actually makes me sad. Chrono Trigger still totally holds up to me, though. It was very much ahead of its time and there's still things it does that haven't even been emulated. IMO, if Lost Odyssey hadn't come out this generation would be a complete JRPG crapshoot for me, and even then the random battles bugged me. The attack "ring" was at least enough to make that interesting.

This post is probably already too long, but I feel I should note that I enjoy MMOs now. When Ultima Online, Everquest, etc came out, I didn't see the point in a game you couldn't finish. I couldn't imagine what sense of accomplishment you could get without getting to see the credits, or how awesome you could feel when you can watch thousands of people do exactly what you're doing. But I was addicted to WoW for like 2 years, and after a 4 year hiatus I'm responsibly enjoying TOR (the Jedi Knight class is the best KotOR 3 we're gonna get, and I do find it fun). I play GW2 when I'm in the mood for the PvP as that's what I really get out of that one.

I apologize for the long post, but this was a good topic, OP. It was nice to look back and think about all this.

 

[Bertylicious]

I've got much more disposable income so I buy a lot more games than I did when I was 10. Other than that, no.

 

[Xaio30]

I am pretty much the same. I still love puzzles, mysteries and a well told story.
A game that combines all three will probably always be enjoyed by me.

 

[Patrick Buck]

Yes... I feel time has changed me, I think I've grown... Older.

Ok, Sarky answer out of the way, but now I think I'm more interested on the gameplay, and backstory of games, as well as thinking more about the controls, and the way the game is designed, rather than just playing it though, finishing it, and never thinking about it again. Feels weird to play games I played 8-9 years ago, and see them completely differently. Bought Abes Oddessy/exidus the other day. Wow. So much nostalga, but also it was even more fun than before.

 

[Comocat]

I don't like grinding as much as I used to anymore, and cliches in anime/games annoy me now. I still like playing on the easiest setting though

I'm still okay with the grind, it's the elitism that comes with it. I like progression because it's fun, I don't view it as a status symbol or even an end goal anymore. I'm playing Rift at the moment, but I only buy time in 3 month increments, because I really only play a month or two until the progression bogs down. Then I move on to something else, until the progression gets nerfed a few months later.

 

[KissmahArceus]

I don't play JRPGs anymore, I have no patience for grinding these days (borderlands) and I don't enjoy racing games as much as I used to either.

 

[UrieHusky]

Well, on the odd occasion I do play games now I'm less willing to deal with rubbish.
If a game is boring me I won't "Push through" In the hope there's something good at the end. I'll just simply stop. I don't care if at the end there's the meaning of life, it's my leisure time and I have no desire to be frustrated and bored to get to the good bits.

I mostly play GT5 now because, frankly.. I'm bored of other kinds of games.
If I had a time machine and told my past self from last year "You're going to be bored of games soon" I'd of skoffed at future me and gone back to playing WoW or whatever I was playing at the time.

Now though... I don't know what happened but I fell out of love with games and computers and returned to my passion for cars.. and it's stuck.

I guess all those people telling me I'll grow out of gaming were right.

Now for the most part I watch other people play games, like OfficialNerdCubed. It's far more enjoyable for me since you have their humour added in