Has getting older changed the way you game? If so is it for better or worse?

[Mikeyfell]

The way I game hasn't changed but I'd say the quality of games has DRASTICALLY decreased since the days of the PS2.

So now I'll spend a shit ton of time on the meager handful of decent games that are out while waiting for something new, then play that for way too long.

With the advent of Achievements this system actually works pretty well because I can hone my skills on one game enough to get all the achievements (If I care. I've never played a game because it's an easy 1000 points and I've also never not played something where getting the achievements would be a bother. All of my 100%ed games are pretty difficult so I can be proud of my gamer score.

and also with the price jack from 50 to 60 there only being 4 or 5 good games a year instead of 10 or 11 My wallet has been much happier lately.


So I'd say it's a wash. I may never get to play a masterpiece like Jak 2 ever again but I can spend more time and see all the content of pretty damn good games like Dragon Age Origins.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

I don't think I changed all that much. I am a bit more competitive, but I'm challenging myself mostly. I try to scour my games more and I keep trying to improve my multiplayer skills (mostly fighting games). I guess this leads to some degree of Achievement Hunting/Whoring.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

"Yes" to the first question and "both" to second. As I get older my theorycrafting and micromanagement skills have improved, but my time allocation to video games has fallen dramatically so I am unable to achieve the expertise I occasionally enjoyed as a young teen.

This is pretty much what I was going to say. There was a time when I could sit around for 8 hours and play games. Now, not only is it rare for me to have 8 hours to spend playing games at a stretch, I simply can't physically do it comfortably any more.

 

[Metaphysic]

TLDR: I want atmosphere, a well-crafted story and world, good characters and dialogue, and a good dose of surrealism/ non-reality, and preferrably a good amount of quirky, light oddity.

I find that modern games interest me less and less. The most recent game I can say I loved is Alice: Madness Returns, and before that, it was Bioshock 2. Both games boast tremendous atmosphere and immersion, the two things I look for in a game now. If it tells a brilliant story and sucks me into a well-crafted world, I'll be down for hours and hours of play (I've played through the Bioshock games 5 times each). I also like extremely simple, quirky games (Cut the Rope on iphone and Android) and I've fallen in love again with platformers (old Mario games and Banjo Kazooie have been my most played games of late). But I can't make myself play through these endlessly-churned-out 'gritty' brown-and-grey military murder simulators and 'epic dark bloody' roleplaying games with their cheesy, over-serious attitudes and bland, Hollywood stereotype characters.

 

[kyogen]

Flawlessly executed but relatively straightforward platformers and shooters are much less likely to hold my interest nowadays. I would rather play a game with great story and characters, interesting art direction and sound design, and a sense of mechanical and narrative experimentation even if there are rough patches: Nier, Demon's Souls, FF XII and XIII, Mirror's Edge, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, Okami, ICO/SotC, The Witcher 1 and 2, etc.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'm less patient than I used to be and get frustrated more easily.

Grumpy old man? Probably, yeah.

Me too but I don't get frustrated over difficulty or anything like that. I'm definitely more patient when it comes to challenge now.
I get frustrated when the gameplay is very glitchy (but it has to be like New Vegas bad for me to get frustrated), repetitive, and just plain poor. When I was a kid I could play The Gargoyles or The Tick game just because it had the Gargoyles or The Tick in it but the last time I played those games I couldn't imagine how I was able to stomach playing them so much in my youth.

I also get frustrated by the cash grubbing schemes like Online Passes and things like that. In fact I find that kind of stuff more frustrating and more likely to make me act like a grumpy old man than even a poorly made game.

 

[evilneko]

Yes and I think both.

The bad: I'm definitely developing RSI in my right wrist. It's bad enough that I had to switch from a mouse to a trackball, and that's negatively affected my already poor mouse precision. I've adapted, but I'll just never be able to play at the same level as before. And it's getting worse. I may eventually end up going lefty. I tried that once, damn it's hard.

I also have less time in general to play.

The good: I can enjoy games on a deeper level than I could when I was younger, both in understanding the mechanics of a game and understanding story elements I would've missed before.

I guess that's just about it...more bad than good I think.

 

[Diminished Capacity]

I have much less time to play these days. Fortunately, the scope of my interest in games has also narrowed considerably. Any given year in this console generation, I've probably picked up maybe 10 titles for the whole year. I know that 10 is a lot, and represents a considerable monetary investment, but I compare my 10 to the entire library of games released that year.

That said, the days of the PS2 were supposed to be my "last generation" in gaming. It just takes that one title to sucker me into a new console generation.

Lastly, I take comfort in the fact that the games I select are ones that I truly enjoy and value to have in my collection.

 

[wgreer25]

I am an older gamer (34) and yes my attitude towards games has changed, but like you, I think it has changed for the better. I will agree with many posters here that I no longer have the patience for games that are hard strictly for the sake of being hard (Demon's souls for example). But with a good game (worth playing more than once) I will play through again on a harder mode or want to challenge myself (Batman AA for example, going for all achievements... tough, but such a great game).

I also have found that I am more interested in story and, like you, the music. I have many game sound tracks now (Braid soundtrack is amazing). What I have found is that I could care less about first person shooters. For me to play an FPS, it will have to be a story driven one (like Bioshock). Call of Duty and Halo just don't appeal to me anymore. Maybe it is because the online play is filled with hyperactive 12 year olds. I do still enjoy multiplayer, but I find myself gravitating toward more co-operative rather than competitive. Although, having said that, I think that the Assassin's Creed multiplayer was amazing. I liked it because it was different. And that is what I really appreciate, something different. Since I have been gaming for over 25 years (longer than most of you have been alive), I find that I really enjoy games that break the mold and try to be different (like Braid, Limbo, Trenched, Shadow of the Colossus).

Also like many other posters, I just don't have as much time for games anymore. I play every other night for an hour or so (which I think is pretty good), but I also don't really watch TV, so gaming is just about my only media/entertainment outlet.

 

[StBishop]

I finish my games now. I use to only play for a fuck around, now I play for a challenge.

So I'm sort of opposite, I spend less time with them and focus more on beating them.

Although I've always worried about story.


I'll have a quick look through and see if anyone reminds (yes that is a word Chrome) me of any changes.

 

[4173]

Yes, for the better. I've become way more philosophical about random item drops (or not drops).

 

[Plurralbles]

I game less but i'm just as fickle when it comes to what I want to play as I always was. Obsess about it for a couple months then toss it aside.
Right now I'm much more into Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying. Dm'ing my first game this weekend. : )

 

[DaJoW]

I'm far more gamey now, and less immersed I'd say. I used to cook up a story and really play a a part in games I played, including stuff like Unreal Tournament, but nowadays I just play to play. The only game I get involved in in an real amount is Europa Universalis 3, and that's just for AARs.

 

[Nate Henry]

yes i have come to learn when comeing to 2 paths in a game allways go left xD