You just gotta find the right game. I discovered Satisfactory last year and had to uninstall it after a few eeks because I was staying up till 2am playing. I am 40.
I think for me a lot of games just don’t challenge me in a meaningful way anymore. Especially as I get older the game AI feels a lot more predictable and shallow.
Then I tried factorio and that game is fun. So I agree its about finding the right games which spark that interest.
I feel the same way about Baldurs Gate 3, I’m only pushing 30 but after playing for less than 20 minutes I had a mini pre-intervention with myself like, “okay listen up you geek, remember staying up until 4am every night and surviving on popcorn chicken and coffee isn’t sustainable”
Isn’t it less fun and more preying on the addictive aspects of gaming?
It’s kinda like life Sims, ala Harvest Moon. Give just enough time to finish out your day. Extend the need to progress by fluffing out interactions. Make there be lots of little progression increments.
It’s less good game and more preying on dopamine routines. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yb5CINrC5E
I get games have similar feel good spikes. Like loot/number simulators which are mostly idle games with more effort for how easy they are. But min/Max Effiency games like many games that have day/night stamina cycles are just keying in on that dopamine rush on a filled day, which doesn’t feel different than loot box games in the end. My time at Sandrock was my last one that felt great for a bit then you realize so much is pointless fluff gated by time dumps for no reason than to increase their playtime metrics.
You just gotta find the right game. I discovered Satisfactory last year and had to uninstall it after a few eeks because I was staying up till 2am playing. I am 40.
I think for me a lot of games just don’t challenge me in a meaningful way anymore. Especially as I get older the game AI feels a lot more predictable and shallow.
Then I tried factorio and that game is fun. So I agree its about finding the right games which spark that interest.
I feel the same way about Baldurs Gate 3, I’m only pushing 30 but after playing for less than 20 minutes I had a mini pre-intervention with myself like, “okay listen up you geek, remember staying up until 4am every night and surviving on popcorn chicken and coffee isn’t sustainable”
The right game can cure depression
I installed Civ 6, played one game on easy and uninstalled it because I knew what was going to happen if I went down this road.
Try Civ Revolution. It’s an older game but it holds up and you can do an entire campaign in less then 2 hours.
You’re like a pusher telling me “Don’t take heroin, here’s morphine instead” 😳
More like methadone? 😅
Thanks, that’s worth a look!
Isn’t it less fun and more preying on the addictive aspects of gaming?
It’s kinda like life Sims, ala Harvest Moon. Give just enough time to finish out your day. Extend the need to progress by fluffing out interactions. Make there be lots of little progression increments.
It’s less good game and more preying on dopamine routines. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yb5CINrC5E I get games have similar feel good spikes. Like loot/number simulators which are mostly idle games with more effort for how easy they are. But min/Max Effiency games like many games that have day/night stamina cycles are just keying in on that dopamine rush on a filled day, which doesn’t feel different than loot box games in the end. My time at Sandrock was my last one that felt great for a bit then you realize so much is pointless fluff gated by time dumps for no reason than to increase their playtime metrics.