Gaming as we age....

[MattyP]

https://youtu.be/6SBrX_RwUqM

 

Love this.. she even has a modded PS Classic in there.

 

Probably not look dissimilar to my den at some point although I do try not to hoard these days.. She has also just got a Xbox Series S!

 

Do you think gaming will ever leave you? 

 

At times I have my moments especially toward the end of last gen where I got fatigued with it all. However I think most of that is keeping up with AAA games at times which mostly aren't to my tastes anymore. However keep finding something that pulls me back in again....

[bradigor]

Nah, just turned 40, newly partially blind and just as enamoured with it as ever.

[Robo_1]

I certainly lean on retro more and more. In the evening I'm as likely to be upstairs on the Spectrum as I am on the PS5 downstairs. I feel these persistent online games and the ever bigger open world games have moved to a place where I'm not games wise. I love VR and I think that's because the games are really single player focussed and they're quite arcadey, which I like. I seem to have less patience with any padding, things like excessive cut scenes, driving / walking to missions, trying to find where to go next, whereas years ago I would have persisted, nowadays I just tend to lose interest and fire up a bout of Tekken or stick on some retro. I would love to play the Knights Of The Old Republic remaster though, so hopefully I can summon the patience for it.

[Qazimod]

I’d like to keep playing. Having grown up defending our pastimes in front of older generations, I’d hope that we end up seeing increasing numbers of older gamers that are more accepting. Even if I stop playing for whatever reason, I’d still like to follow the developments.

[Keyboard Koala]

36 minutes ago, MattyP said:

https://youtu.be/6SBrX_RwUqM

 

She really loves Disgaea it seems. T3H hardc0r3

[moosegrinder]

Never. Never ever. The only thing I hope for in the future is some way of plugging games straight into my brain so when my body finally slows down its functions I can still play.

[Ry]

If I see a game I fancy, I play it. Don't give it much more thought than that anymore.

[Hodge]

44 minutes ago, MattyP said:

Do you think gaming will ever leave you? 

 

At times I have my moments especially toward the end of last gen where I got fatigued with it all. However I think most of that is keeping up with AAA games at times which mostly aren't to my tastes anymore. However keep finding something that pulls me back in again....

 

Alot of AAA games are to long these days, padded out and if you dont pick your games carefully, you can easily end up with fatigue.  I always enjoyed single player games around the 6-15 hour mark and these are the games i aim for, except for the yakuza series really.  

 

The only side that has left me when it comes to gaming is the online side. I just don`t have the time or dedication to it anymore.

 

Also picked up a quest 2 which is fantastic and keeps things fresh and different to what we are normally used to with console/pc gaming.  

[MattyP]

9 minutes ago, Pockets said:

I think that’s where the age comes in though. With a lot of stuff, there’s nothing wrong with it and the teens or 20 somethings it’s aimed at might like it because they haven’t had 40 plus years to play everything it’s like. 

I think you are right!

 

Been predominantly on the Xbox last gen just catching up on some PS4 games. Downloaded and tried Days Gone last night... Felt very much like  the first The Last Of Us complete with crafting stealthy and checkmarks for completing areas. 

 

I was looking at Ghosts of Tsushima Directors Cut looks lovely but seems to play like The Last Of Us / Days Gone set in ancient Japan with the guns replaced by swords and the bike with a horse. It's £60. 

 

The more I look the more I get disillusioned with modern AAA games... All weapons and violence isn't it? Well other than sports games and the odd driver.

 

Think it definitely is an age thing.... The fact that I'm enjoying things like The Artful Escape and The Magnificent. Trufflepigs is quite telling these days...

[MattyP]

39 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

I’d like to keep playing. Having grown up defending our pastimes in front of older generations, I’d hope that we end up seeing increasing numbers of older gamers that are more accepting. Even if I stop playing for whatever reason, I’d still like to follow the developments.

Think this is it love following the developments! I guess it's not a bad thing to just stick with what you enjoy and see where things are going. You don't have to  play a AAA to admire the visuals I guess....

 

Like mentioned upthead lots of padding in games these days which I don't have time to for. 10-15 hours for a main story arc is about right for me.

[MattyP]

What was the last thing you played that made you smile and really enjoyed playing?

 

Think for me it was Astrobot's playground. The combination of the new controller etc was just sublime. Just a shame it was over far too quickly. Sony we need more things like this! 

 

Oh and the very last thing I was experiencing was The Artful Escape which I found simple but engaging and fun....

[multi]

The Artful Escape made me almost cry with joy when I played it from start to finish over 2 days the other week

 

And yesterday I was playing Circuit Superstars with a massive shit eating grin on. And then not grinning so much but with my jaw almost touching my chest as I experienced Disco Elysium's opening hours last night.

 

I'm 55 now and think I love it all more than I did when I was 15.

 

The future has so much potential, the technology has just about caught up with the imagination of the people who think up and make these extraordinary games. I'm ready to continue playing 😁

[englishbob]

I'm 50 now - still gaming on and off, but my gaming has certainly dwindled in the recent decades. I used to love the era of the proper optimised games coming out of Japan, but now its all very western driven these days, a complete turnaround from the 80s and 90s

 

I get bored easily by some games too, if a game takes too long to start, like 20-30 minutes before I actually play it, I'm likely to shelve it or delete it. Open world games don't interest me either, give me some structure. Recently Metroid Dread strikes the balance, not too much faff to get started, all the abilities you need are available to you without constantly going into menus and equipping/unequipping stuff.

 

I think I can boil down my gaming habits to a few things these days

 

* Quick 10-20 minutes a go games - like COD online for example, but playing on my own - usually a FFA or small TDM where I don't have to talk to anyone

* Games like the Soulsbourne genre - no maps, no bullshit cutscenes, just get stuck right in and find your feet.

* I'm usually a sucker for a good arcade racer, shame they have all but dried up

 

I'll keep gaming for as long as I can. I think it keeps the brain and reactions up. I love hustling the youngsters too, I'm still amazed when I win a few rounds of COD FFA, and when friends and family have children and I go around there and they think I've never played a games console before. The first time I play I say to them "what are the controls, what does this button do? etc." and then be unbelievably bad at the game. When I then ask for a second go, completely annihilate them or their high score - and then walk off

[DeciderVT]

It left me for a long time, circa the beginning of the GameCube era and ending only a few years ago. I was very depressed during that time and the thought of committing to a game was daunting. Having staff discount on games also meant that I built up a frightening backlog.

 

I spent a lot of time aimlessly playing lots of little bits of games but rarely completing any. Fallout 4 came along and for some reason I jumped back in and spent a couple of hundred hours on it. I've been quite disciplined about finishing one game before starting another now. Not caring about FOMO or maintaining a collection is very liberating.

 

35 minutes ago, Hodge said:

Alot of AAA games are to long these days, padded out and if you dont pick your games carefully, you can easily end up with fatigue.  I always enjoyed single player games around the 6-15 hour mark and these are the games i aim for, except for the yakuza series really.

 

howlongtobeat.com has been a godsend for me. The pattern of playing a short game after a long one has kept fatigue at bay.

[Qazimod]

10 minutes ago, MattyP said:

What was the last thing you played that made you smile and really enjoyed playing?

 

Probably Deltarune Chapter 2. It's tricky to recommend because experience with the first chapter helps, and a lot of the best bits are spoilerific - but it has tight pacing, lots of creativity, a charming and funny narrative and some ace tunes. I definitely want to put it somewhere in my GOTY lists.

 

Also, I still have an appetite for enormous games that devour evenings, so I haven't got to the "everything's too much effort" stages yet! I played through Chrono Trigger for the first time this year and it was unbelievable. Hoping I can get into Elden Ring next year.  

[MattyP]

6 minutes ago, englishbob said:

 

* I'm usually a sucker for a good arcade racer, shame they have all but dried up

Well they are resurrectiing a few (Burnout Paradise and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit recently). Dirt 5 was OK and the new Hot Wheels game looks entertaining but know what your mean...

[bradigor]

20 minutes ago, MattyP said:

What was the last thing you played that made you smile and really enjoyed playing?

 

Think for me it was Astrobot's playground. The combination of the new controller etc was just sublime. Just a shame it was over far too quickly. Sony we need more things like this! 

 

Oh and the very last thing I was experiencing was The Artful Escape which I found simple but engaging and fun....

 

Tetris Effect!

 

With regards to AAA, I am out, the are barely games any more with the odd exception.

[Exit Chamber]

25 minutes ago, MattyP said:

What was the last thing you played that made you smile and really enjoyed playing?

 

A Short Hike. I was late to it, but loved it. Just the right length, enough stuff to do and a charming little story.

 

I had kinda stopped playing games for a bit, but getting a Switch a year or so ago has hooked me right back in.

[Captain Kelsten]

I definitely go through phases - I’m a proper gaming slump right now - but I’ll never give it up. I’d be bored! 

[Soulstar]

1 hour ago, Keyboard Koala said:

 

She really loves Disgaea it seems. T3H hardc0r3

I knew this would be Food4dogs before I clicked the link.

[choddo]

That is not untidy.

 

and… yes I am mostly bored of games. Dabble now and again when a new idea or a genuine classic like tlou2 comes along and still love the artform. But I don’t like games that want to burn my time which seems to be most of them.

[djbhammer]

I’ll keep gaming for as long as I can. 44 years old and been hooked since the day my Dad bought an Amstrad CPC 464.  Yes, gaming time is certainly more limited now but it gives me so much enjoyment, long may it continue. 🙂

[cassidy]

47 next birthday. This year I'm on 24 games completed so far. 

 

I've never done that before. I think upgrading to the Series X this year, getting an OLED, wfh, Gamepass hitting it's stride, and not going out as much, have all contributed to me loving gaming as much, if not more now, than when I first saw Space Invaders or played top down cocktail cab Phoenix or Bomb Jack. 

 

Or spent many days of my youth in the arcades, and playing hrs of pitfall in B&W on my Atari and portable TV. 

 

 I'm with @multi tbh, the best is yet to come and I cannot wait. 

[JoeK]

Just turned 46 and I'm still playing games pretty much the same way as I've ever done!

 

I buy far, far more than I play that's for sure, and my attention span comes and goes from one moment to another but I think I've always had that going on. I mean, there are some games that'll absolutely become obsessions for a long spell of time, but I'll than happily resort to nothing other than a spot of MS Solitaire for hours on end whilst farting about doing something else.

 

I cannot ever see myself not being a gamer in some form, and I feel fairly fortunate that I grew up with a humble Spectrum and still find it astonishing just how fucking amazing some games look. 

 

But then again, I'm still one of those people who get genuinely excited when I see decent parallax scrolling in a 2d game, so there's probably no hope for me.

[IainGamer]

50 now and still love games.  Playing Ratchet and Clank, Returnal and CoD at 120hz is awesome. 
 

Like many others less time but wfh helps and kids getting older. 
 

Still sometimes have a feeling that am I wasting my time (imagine some people saying ‘at your age, playing games!) but so much better than watching Netflix trash etc etc.

 

 

[ScouserInExile]

13 hours ago, MattyP said:

What was the last thing you played that made you smile and really enjoyed playing?

 

I started to reel off all the games I could think of that made me smile and I really enjoyed, like Hades, Tony Hawk remake, Mortal Kombat, Sniper Elite, Forza Horizon... 

 

Then I realised that I only play stuff that makes me smile and I really enjoy. Given the selection and availability of games these days, why would I play something that I don't enjoy and doesn't make me smile? It's not like I've spent all my pocket money on a game based purely on the cover art and now I'm stuck with it... 

[Luseth]

20 minutes ago, ScouserInExile said:

I started to reel off all the games I could think of that made me smile and I really enjoyed, like Hades, Tony Hawk remake, Mortal Kombat, Sniper Elite, Forza Horizon... 

 

Then I realised that I only play stuff that makes me smile and I really enjoy. Given the selection and availability of games these days, why would I play something that I don't enjoy and doesn't make me smile? It's not like I've spent all my pocket money on a game based purely on the cover art and now I'm stuck with it... 

 

This, there's enough content out there that I hit a certain point in my life where my time has become much more valuable, if I get a game and i'm not enjoying it, I sell it or delete it off the drive and move on!

 

 

[MattyP]

47 minutes ago, ScouserInExile said:

Then I realised that I only play stuff that makes me smile and I really enjoy. Given the selection and availability of games these days, why would I play something that I don't enjoy and doesn't make me smile? It's not like I've spent all my pocket money on a game based purely on the cover art and now I'm stuck with it... 

True.... Especially with things like GamePass makes it much easier to find something you enjoy with minimal fuss or cost. Also the PC and Steam. A £70 PS5 game maybe a different proposition... that is fair chunk of money to throw away if its not working for you.

 

[GamesGamesGames]

I spend more time reading about it these days - not enough hours to try everything I would wish to. But I still love it to bits. The daily Noita run breaks up the day, and PES will always be a feature of the times I manage to see my brother.

[SneakyNinja]

I turn 50 in a couple of months and I still play games most days. As others have experienced, as I get older I no longer waste time on games that I don't enjoy. If I don't like it, I stop playing it.

 

I especially have almost zero tolerance for games that make things too complicated. I spend most of my days coding or other technical tasks so the last thing I want after work is to try and decipher some game's overly complex mechanics. I've got loads of games that I really like the look of and thought would be great, but I just can't be bothered to work them all out. Especially as nothing comes with a manual nowadays and you're supposed to do hours of homework watching YouTube to understand it.

 

Even Hades ended up on that list. And Stormworks, and Civ, and Cities Skylines, and Total War, and half a dozen 'build a space empire' games, and Elite etc...

 

My go-to game for zoning out is still EDF5. After switching from PS4 to PC gaming I double dipped and started again, which is fine by me.