I think you’ll come to realize that it isn’t your attention span but rather the amount of mental energy you have left after working a 9 to 5 for 5 days a week
Yeah, sometimes I just want to mindlessly scroll. Like now.
There’s games that do that like vampire survivors
That’s definitely a large aspect for me. But, another large part is that the games just seem to be less fun. Online play has gotten so competitive that half the time people just rage quit, and single player games have just become grind machines with pay to skip options.
No, I’m not going to spend my limited free time getting a virtual job gathering wolf pelts. No, I’m not going to give you real money to avoid being virtually employed by an NPC.
I feel like game mechanics that were originally designed to immerse you into the game are now just being used to pad the game time. I won’t even buy a game anymore unless I can mod it. I refuse to spend extra hours of my time just because the only realistic aspect of the game is a limited inventory.
Those kind of games exist, but so does every other kind. And you aren’t forced to play only new games. Literally every game ever is available for you to play. Every person that says stuff like you seem like you think the only games available are the most known and most recent AAA games. It’s like only going to the most recently opened restaurants in your area, especially chain brand ones, and complaining about you not liking the food and then deciding that all food is like that.
AAA games are trash agreed, I stick to indie games
This is why I started leaning into more productive hobbies. I design stuff in blender, 3D print it out, and prime and paint it for table top games, then I have friends over and we push the little dudes around a map and work together to kill monsters, or kill eachother. So much more satisfying than pouring hours into some screen game that just goes away when my digital subscription ends.
I know I’ve been playing BG3 recently and I’m struggling a bit with the mental energy required to play it after work. It’s something that really requires full attention for a long period of time and a lot of days I’d rather just do something simpler.
Negative energy
For me, the attention span isn’t the problem. I have been going on DOS2 and Factorio benders over the last couple years. For me, it’s about making sure that I don’t have some niggling anxiety in the back of my mind ruining my concentration. Got chores done? Dinner prepped? Laundry done? Animals fed? Game time baybee.
The trick is to push through the anxiety and truly become a worthless pile of shit destroying kids in online shooters, running solely on off-brand Cola, microwave pizza and self-loathing
This dude games.
Absolutely crush them into the ground.
Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well
Oh man, Factorio is the black hole that has absorbed the most hours of any game I’ve ever played. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much in my youth, but it’s the perfect fit for me now!
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.
Fun fact. I was 2 years older than Bart when the Simpsons started on the Tracy Ulman show and now I’m over a decade older than Marge and Homer.
I need a nap.
No…. That would mean I’m…. Oh god. It’s happened.
If you want your mind blown when Simpsons started Marge and Homer were boomers, then Gen X and now they’re millennials. Bart, Lisa and Maggie started out as Gen X (underachiever and proud of it) then millennials, then gen z, and now they’re Gen alpha.
But grampa is always a ww2 vet.
They changed what “it” was
To be fair Homer is a rough 32.
The last time they mentioned his age it was 38/39. They keep changing it but keeping him and Marge in their 30s.
Honestly I wish they would age everyone up a year every decade. If they had done that we would be seeing the antics of a 13 year old Bart now and I think that could start with some really interesting character development instead of keeping him forever a 10 year old.
This is how I felt until I played Valheim and BG3. I think my preferred genres have just shifted. I need something I can relax and play at my own pace. I use to only play competitive shooters, where I needed to be “on” the whole game. Now I can only play a shooter for about an hour before my mind starts to drift and I lose interest.
I’m 46 and I do 4-6 hour seshes. Step yo game up, foo
I’m in my 30s and I do 2-3 hour seshes unless I munch an Adderall. Adderall takes it to 10+.
I can do that on vacation maybe, otherwise too many other things vying for attention
I’m 41 years old, and I can’t pay attention to video games for more than about half an hour.
Unless I’m smoking pot, in which case I can play video games all day.
Wake and bake then Path of Exile.
I find I focus even worse when I’m high, I just want to get up and do stuff, like stretch or exercise. I definitely didn’t do that when I was younger and smoked, so idk what’s changed.
“smoking pot” is not a term I have heard in a looong time. Takes me back
Shit. Really?
I didn’t realize it wasn’t really a thing people said anymore
Exercise and a proper diet will help.
I’ve put over 400 hours into vanilla terraria and recently started the calamity mod, first day I put like 6 hours into it.
I don’t play every day, I just don’t have the time/energy. But when I do I try to make it count.
That being said, we used to play Edward forty hands and try to beat ocarina of time in a single evening, usually staying up until dawn despite the copious alcohol.
I’m not the stallion I used to be, but even an old horse has something to prove.
The most realistic part is that you can’t afford name brand chips as an adult.
If your only issue is that modern games suck, rather than A) Being too exhausted after work, B) Having social media-induced attention deficit, C) Being overwhelmed with other responsibilities or anxiety, or D) Simply just not having enough time, you just have to find games that are actually good. Not AAA grindfests that aim at keeping you glued to the screen getting collectibles for 80 hours, but games that are actually trying to provide you with a worthwhile experience.
Some suggestions: Subnautica, Outer Wilds (not The Outer Worlds), Disco Elysium, Pathologic 2 (mind you, this one is extremely stressful, it’s a masterpiece but most people will not enjoy it), The Forgotten City, Hades and Omori.
Outer Wilds (not The Outer Worlds)
Thank you for this distinction! I’ve heard people rave about Outer Wilds and all this time thought they were talking about Outer Worlds, which surprised me because I thought Outer Worlds was boring. Taking a look at gameplay now!
Aw, I’m really enjoying Outer Worlds right now.
That being said, I fully agree with Subnautica being a fantastic game. Probably my favourite game ever.
I think that’s the fault of games rather than me.
A lot of games are the same generic open world bollocks and it’s honestly just exhausting.
Trying to learn how to play a Final Fantasy game in your late thirties is like trying to learn brain surgery on a worm. I don’t know how I had the patience for any of that shit back in the day.
Back when I was a kid I could play games for hours and hours. Now that I’m 38 I can play video games for hours and hours.
I feel this way pretty often, but then I open Factorio again and the night turns to day quickly.
