Forums » General Gaming

Have you ever just 'lost interest' in games?

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 9:37 AM EDT

    I was thinking about something today.... I haven't so much as switched on my PS3 or PS4 since we came back from holiday in August, more than a month ago. 

    For some reason I just haven't been interested in it.

    Now part of the reason is that I've just been insanely busy with my work and business. But its more than that - I don't even have an interest in playing in my leisure time.

    I haven't played Skyrim in several months. I started a Fallout 3 play through to try and get into the mood for FO4 and gave up by the time I'd got to Level 5. I bought The Witcher 3 to try and get interested in something non-Bethesda and lost interest after a few hours.

    I know people sometimes 'take a break' for a few days to re-charge, but I'm starting to wonder when - or even - if, I'm ever going to be interested enough to plough the time into it in the way that we need to do with games like Skyrim and Fallout?

    Has anyone else experienced this kind of 'funk'? And what did you do to get out of it?

    • 641 posts
    September 24, 2015 9:42 AM EDT

    You didn't like Witcher 3? 

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 9:43 AM EDT

    Well thats just it. It wasn't that I didn't 'like' it - I can see that its an awesome game.

    I just don't feel particularly interested in playing it (or any other game). It's nothing to do with whether something is a good game or not.

    • 641 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:02 AM EDT

    Maybe you need a palate cleanser? Something different from what you normally play. The games you mentioned are big sprawling RPG's so how about trying something smaller and more casual like Rocket League?

    Also have you played Until Dawn? It's a fantastic and fun story driven teen slasher game, maybe get the wife involved so you can sit down and make decisions together.

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:09 AM EDT
    I suppose I could try The Sims lol, I believe we have a copy kicking around somewhere...
    • 1217 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:11 AM EDT

    In the past, it's been one of two things that helped me. Like Higgins the Veloth said, trying something very different than what you usually play. For me, Titanfall and Tomb Raider both really got me excited about gaming again. 'Course, that was before the FO4 announcement, so now I need no motivation XD

    The other thing was simply stepping away for a while. I'd pass leisure time for a month or more just browsing this and other sites, or reading and catching up on shows on Netflix.

    • 649 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:15 AM EDT

    This actually happens to me very often. But mainly for Skyrim and Oblivion, where I usually switch between those two if I lose interest in one. But when I lose interest in both...well, I have backups.

    Right now I´m predicting that after Classics event I will be bored by both Oblivion and Skyrim, so I´m gonna switch to Pillars of Eternity (second playthrough). That´s one of my backups. Witcher 3 is another one, classic Baldur´s Gate trilogy is another great option, Mass Effect too, Dragon Age (though I´m still not convinced I want to play Inquisition again).

    If I grow tired of games I usually start reading some book series. Malazan Book of Fallen and Dark Tower for example. And I watch some shows I´ve already seen, like Walking Dead from beginning.

    That´s what I do.

    • 92 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:24 AM EDT

    Veloth's advice about a "palate cleanser" is spot on. When I first got tired of Skyrim (or RPGs in general), I fired up my old copy of Classic Doom, turned the difficulty up to Nightmare, and had a blast killing Barons of Hell, Cyber Demons, and Lost Souls. It was exactly what I needed. The second time, I played Mirror's Edge (can't wait for the new one) for a while. 

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:41 AM EDT
    I'm useless at any game that needs razor-sharp hand eye co-ordination. Why do you think I like sneaky assassins in Skyrim?

    I'm thinking world building, turn based strategy, simulator or something casual that l can just pick up and play for a bit when I'm brain dead after a working day.
    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:43 AM EDT
    Either that, or like Borom said, a series on Netflix. I keep meaning to watch Gotham...

    And that blu-Ray box set of the ultimate Lord of the Rings trilogy is STILL in its shrink wrap!
    • 649 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:48 AM EDT

    Well, maybe Baldur´s Gate or Pillars of Eternity would suit you. Turn based RPG where you control 6 characters, can pause the game and give them orders and stuff like that. Can be quite challenging too, but both have awesome stories and quests that should swallow you.

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 11:21 AM EDT

    lol, I played Baldurs Gate when it first came out, mate - I'm well familiar with that one

    I dunno, I just think cutting loose from elves, trolls and demons for a bit might help me get my interest back

    • 641 posts
    September 24, 2015 11:24 AM EDT

    Not interested in Until Dawn?

    • 649 posts
    September 24, 2015 11:32 AM EDT

    Oh, sorry. I just keep forgetting that there actually are people who played that game back when it came out. Everytime I talk about it, people  say something like: "Wtf, yfk, omg."

    When I was living with my folks, me and my father played Cossacks 2: Napoleonic Wars. I play it sometimes when I want to stop thinking about elves and demons.

    • 773 posts
    September 24, 2015 11:58 AM EDT
    What you really mean is 'I keep forgetting there are people THAT old' ;)
    • 649 posts
    September 24, 2015 12:02 PM EDT

     

    Nah, that isn´t the thing. I played the game when it came out and I am far from being THAT old.

    It´s just that I really don´t know many people who ever heard of that game or even played it. Even people as old as me haven´t heard about it.

    • 743 posts
    September 24, 2015 5:01 PM EDT

    Play some Age of Empires 2. Works everytime.

    • 95 posts
    September 24, 2015 8:27 PM EDT
    For me I normally play Red Dead Redemption, Portal 2, or Theif when I get bored.
    I doubt any of those are what you're looking for, though.
  • Tom
    • 624 posts
    September 24, 2015 8:54 PM EDT

    Yes. With every video game. I'm in a funk right now.

    Help me.

    I'm juggling work, school, and D&D activities. Dragon Age Inquisition looks fun, but I don't have an XboxOne. It'd be a lot of work to fetch my 360 and a tv, and another $50 for the game.

    I'm just sort of not in the mood of vidya-games.

    I need a role playing game set in a rich, creative, and metaphorically colorful world, preferably fantasy, in which I can lose myself for days. One with hundreds of hours of content and great replay value.

    I want Skyrim. If only I could purge my brain of what I know so I could experience it all again for the first time.

  • September 24, 2015 8:54 PM EDT

    Too often. A replayability factor has become useless in today's gaming industry, in the face of getting more people through hype and pre-orders.

    • 694 posts
    September 24, 2015 9:45 PM EDT

    I want Skyrim. If only I could purge my brain of what I know so I could experience it all again for the first time.

    This is giving me a case of the feels, Tom. 

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    September 24, 2015 9:48 PM EDT

     That tends to happen every year, though it hasn't kicked in this one yet. That's likely due to the constant influx of news and releases we have been experiencing lately, the industry has been very lively.

     However, in slow years like 2014, when it happens all I do is give time to time. I don't really have any strategies to magically renew my interest, I just keep going with my routine and eventually something happens that makes me want to play games again, be it a TV series or movie, books, news or some history.

     The gamer never leaves you, but the player must have some rest from time to time. Deep, heh?

     Not really.

    • 700 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:12 PM EDT

    Usually I'll go to gamestop and browse their sale games.  Games I never got around to playing because I didn't want to pay $60 for them.  It rarely works.  It's a very temporary fix.  So then I just stop until I feel like playing again.  I don't try and force it because I know the desire will come back, and I have other things I can do.  

    • 404 posts
    September 24, 2015 10:25 PM EDT

    I am like that too.

    • 52 posts
    September 25, 2015 2:21 AM EDT

    You know, you always post up the most interesting topics! I can't help but to reply.

    Well, when I play, I usually make an objective list to stick to just before I work on a game. If I lose interest in a game, I usually take a long break from it or actually ask my closest gaming friends ( Preferably my Mother ) for advice asking the questions "What else can I do?" "Where do I go from here?" By watching her or any of my other friends play a game, I get inspired to enjoy it again, ascending to new heights. 

    You should try it sometimes. Hope it helps.