Utterly disullusioned by new games I play

[poetic codex]

I admit up front that this is more of a "can anyone else relate" thread.

However, I would also be very grateful for thoughtful suggestions out there that anyone thinks might help to re-ignite the dying embers of my love for gaming.

Here is the situation: I feel as if I have just lost that special spark or thrill that gaming used to give me. No matter what genre I try: FPS, RPG, Adventure, Strategy...no new game I play does it for me. Modern Warfare 2 didn't do it, Mass effect 2 didn't do it, Starcraft 2 didn't do it (Is anyone seeing a pattern here?) Now my gaming spirits have sunk to the point where even if I replay some of my old favorites, I am not enjoying them as much anymore; as if those new games left a lingering bad taste in my mouth which won't go away.

I am primarily a PC gamer and RPG is the genre I go to the most. I have nagging suspicion that this is no coincidence.

I am a very self-aware person and I can track that the loss of passion started after the so-called next-gen RPG's started coming out particularly Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Mass effect (with Dragon Age becoming the final nail in the coffin). It is right around this time period that game developers started shifting the focus from "what would make a cool, innovative game" to "what would satisfy most of our customer base and net us the greatest amount of profit$". Nowadays, we can only depend on indie (or European) companies for the former, while the big name North American companies focus on the latter. In the past, game companies seemed better able to maintain a balance between those two extremes.

I expect the usual "it's just nostalgia talking !" response. I do not have the patience for that and I'd rather get zero responses if no one else here is able to relate to what I'm saying.

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO I JUST FINISHED PLAYING TRHOUGH DUNGEON KEEPER 2 LOTS OF FUN EVEN THOUGH IT IS LIKE 10 YEARS OLD IT STILL SEEMS FRESH TO ME

HAHAHAHAH AND FUCK YOU POPAMOLE CUNTS I JUST FINISHED A GAME OF BRUCE LEE FOR THE C64 I AM OLDSCHOOL AWSOMEBNE????!!!

 

[poetic codex]

Have you tried switching to a sub-genre you've never really tried before? Say, Mil Sims instead of mainstream Fps games, Paradox games instead of Starcraft/Red Alert/Total War, etc.?

Military Sims? No, I can't say I've ever tried any of those. Did you have any in mind?

The only Paradox game I tried was Elven Legacy, which I did enjoy for a very, very short period of time. Maybe it's because I was playing it like an rpg. :/
Ultimately, the story just isn't deep enough and actually got more mundane as I progressed so I couldn't finish the campaign. But purely as a strategy game, I enjoyed the gameplay (until the motivation ran out.)

BRO I JUST FINISHED PLAYING TRHOUGH DUNGEON KEEPER 2 LOTS OF FUN EVEN THOUGH IT IS LIKE 10 YEARS OLD IT STILL SEEMS FRESH TO ME

Too bad I could never get it to work on Vista and I'm usually good at making old games work. This just might be the type of game to help me re-spark my passion though.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Have you tried switching to a sub-genre you've never really tried before? Say, Mil Sims instead of mainstream Fps games, Paradox games instead of Starcraft/Red Alert/Total War, etc.?

Military Sims? No, I can't say I've ever tried any of those. Did you have any in mind?

Operation Flashpoint, ArmA2, etc. etc. etc.
They tend to be pretty brutal.

Also, I heard that Paradox games tends to sell patches as expansions. Still, there are tons other wargame makers like Matrix Games (just avoid Close Combat re-releases, they tend to have non-functional AI), Battlefront, HPS Games, etc.

 

[Metro]

On the off chance this isn't a troll the reality is you probably won't be satisfied with any newer games if you're looking for an RPG experience. The best you can do these days are hybrids: FPS with a handful of RPG concepts like leveling, talents, and stats.

 

[Rhalle]

HAHAHAHAH AND FUCK YOU POPAMOLE CUNTS I JUST FINISHED A GAME OF BRUCE LEE FOR THE C64 I AM OLDSCHOOL AWSOMEBNE????!!!

That's old school.

I played it on Atari computer; I can still remember getting all the way to the part in Bruce Lee where there's like an overhead people-mover and you have to jump up and hang on by your arm-- I didn't understand that I had to do that and got stuck.

My friend had to tell me what to do.

The boss isn't too long after that if I remember right. Good game. Classic.

If you liked BL, you should play Montezuma's Revenge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-h8zLM2jA

 

[Metro]

I always preferred playing as the Green Yama.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

On the off chance this isn't a troll the reality is you probably won't be satisfied with any newer games if you're looking for an RPG experience. The best you can do these days are hybrids: FPS with a handful of RPG concepts like leveling, talents, and stats.

What about Geneforge, Avernum, Eschalon, KotC, etc. etc. etc.?

 

[Garm]

Have you tried switching to a sub-genre you've never really tried before? Say, Mil Sims instead of mainstream Fps games, Paradox games instead of Starcraft/Red Alert/Total War, etc.?

Military Sims? No, I can't say I've ever tried any of those. Did you have any in mind?

The only Paradox game I tried was Elven Legacy, which I did enjoy for a very, very short period of time. Maybe it's because I was playing it like an rpg. :/
Ultimately, the story just isn't deep enough and actually got more mundane as I progressed so I couldn't finish the campaign. But purely as a strategy game, I enjoyed the gameplay (until the motivation ran out.)

BRO I JUST FINISHED PLAYING TRHOUGH DUNGEON KEEPER 2 LOTS OF FUN EVEN THOUGH IT IS LIKE 10 YEARS OLD IT STILL SEEMS FRESH TO ME

Too bad I could never get it to work on Vista and I'm usually good at making old games work. This just might be the type of game to help me re-spark my passion though.

Try Crusader Kings and Mount & Blade: Warband. Both of those are Paradox games and both are pretty damn fun.

 

[Metro]

On the off chance this isn't a troll the reality is you probably won't be satisfied with any newer games if you're looking for an RPG experience. The best you can do these days are hybrids: FPS with a handful of RPG concepts like leveling, talents, and stats.

What about Geneforge, Avernum, Eschalon, KotC, etc. etc. etc.?

Oh sure you'll find indie titles out there but the OP sounded like he was looking for a mainstream RPG and they just don't exist anymore. And, quite honestly, the late 90's design isn't everyone's cup of tea once they've experienced more modern game play.

 

[racofer]

Hey poetic codex, why don't you tell us about Arcanum?

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

On the off chance this isn't a troll the reality is you probably won't be satisfied with any newer games if you're looking for an RPG experience. The best you can do these days are hybrids: FPS with a handful of RPG concepts like leveling, talents, and stats.

What about Geneforge, Avernum, Eschalon, KotC, etc. etc. etc.?

Oh sure you'll find indie titles out there but the OP sounded like he was looking for a mainstream RPG and they just don't exist anymore. And, quite honestly, the late 90's design isn't everyone's cup of tea once they've experienced more modern game play.

I doubt 90s design could suddenly become unplayable just because someone played ToEE once.

Also, the OP sounded like he didn't know anything about niche publishers and niche indie developers. He talked about indies like about these "artsy innovative" indies not the indies that continue creating games that were once mainstream but aren't any more.

 

[Antihero]

Try Crusader Kings and Mount & Blade: Warband. Both of those are Paradox games and both are pretty damn fun.

This is going to sound really petty, but in Warband how *do* you lean to the side while on horseback and lop off some poor footsoldier's head?

I have the original, but I didn't really see the fun in Warband unless I wanted it for multiplayer. I'd liked to have supported it, but I just didn't really like the combat changes in the demo - although I only ever played it casually, so I'm hardly an expert in that aspect of it.

 

[laclongquan]

Yo!

Have you tried Vampires the Masquerades Bloodlines yet? If not you are in for a treat. Choose Malkavian the first time you play, so that the game can make your neck's hairs standing up.

How good you say? Well, let's say every other bugger will recommend you leave Malkavian to the 2nd time, and play any other the 1st time, that's how good a Malk run it is. But the objective here is to fan the spark, so I say fuck them. My 1st time with VTMB is Malk and indeed it's special.

If even a Malk run through a virgin VTMB doesnt raise your pecker I truly fear for your gaming interest.

 

[ElectricOtter]

Games that you should try if you have not played them yet:

Geneforge 1

VtmB

Tremulous

Exile (any)

HoMM 3

Thief I/II

 

[zeitgeist]

Speaking of Dungeon Keeper I could recommend you give some other old Bullfrog games a try, like Populous or Magic Carpet, but it seems like you want more than just old classics. If you liked the management part of it you might want to try Evil Genius, which is basically Dungeon Keeper crossed with James Bond supervillains. I don't think anyone really makes Dungeon Keeper-style games anymore so it'd only be a temporary measure.

Startopia is pretty decent, it's Dungeon Keeper in space, without the dungeon-digging but with a few new elements added. It's by ex-Bullfrog people, and it has a moderately insightful postmortem article.

 

[chzr]

join on our hamachi network and play multi.

 

[Imbecile]

I expect the usual "it's just nostalgia talking !" response. I do not have the patience for that and I'd rather get zero responses if no one else here is able to relate to what I'm saying.

I dont think theres much risk of that

You could:

Take a break
Switch genres (as suggested)
Dont persevere if you are not enjoying a game.
Accept that even without that "Special spark", you are getting some enjoyment from games.

If you arent enjoying any games at all - maybe its time to find a new hobby....well thats life. As you get older you get more jaded, and harder to impress. If no games (including your faves) get you enthusiastic, its time to let go. Man.

Also:
Psychonauts
Dead Rising
Ben there, Dan that/Time Gentleman Please
Rome: Total War
Portal
Knights of the Chalice
Battlefield Bad Company 2 (online multiplayer)
Play some games co-op. Its enormous fun.

 

[baronjohn]

Congratulations, you've done something very few people on the codex will ever achieve. Don't fight it. Just go with the flow.

Don't listen to the ideas here. These people don't get it and no amount of talking will make you or them happy.

Also, install Ubuntu or similar. If you aren't playing games, you might as well run a real operating system.

 

[SCO]

You can run games on ubuntu. I don't have windows and play games.

 

[Nickless]

BRO I JUST FINISHED PLAYING TRHOUGH DUNGEON KEEPER 2 LOTS OF FUN EVEN THOUGH IT IS LIKE 10 YEARS OLD IT STILL SEEMS FRESH TO ME

HAHAHAHAH AND FUCK YOU POPAMOLE CUNTS I JUST FINISHED A GAME OF BRUCE LEE FOR THE C64 I AM OLDSCHOOL AWSOMEBNE????!!!

How did you get Dungeon Keeper 2 to work without crashing every fifteen minutes?

 

[Joghurt]

Have you tried switching to a sub-genre you've never really tried before? Say, Mil Sims instead of mainstream Fps games, Paradox games instead of Starcraft/Red Alert/Total War, etc.?

Military Sims? No, I can't say I've ever tried any of those. Did you have any in mind?

The only Paradox game I tried was Elven Legacy, which I did enjoy for a very, very short period of time. Maybe it's because I was playing it like an rpg. :/
Ultimately, the story just isn't deep enough and actually got more mundane as I progressed so I couldn't finish the campaign. But purely as a strategy game, I enjoyed the gameplay (until the motivation ran out.)
.

Oh I just meant the big ones like the original Operation Flashpoint & Armed Assault series. The trick is to completely ignore the main campaigns and just screw around with the simple map editor + mods

And if those seen too brutal you can try Project Reality (BF2 mod). It's like ArmA/OFP lite.

 

[baronjohn]

You can run games on ubuntu.

Yeah all five of them.

 

[Exmit]

It doesn't have to do with gaming per se.

It's called growing up ,whenwe were younger it was fine to play games because we didn't have mental nor emotional capacity to think of something else. Now you see that it is not enough , you long for something more. Like creating your own stuff , or doing things that you were meant to do. It has less to do with games and more with you as a person.

 

[commie]

I've simultaneously started on Might and Magic 6 and Anvil of Dawn after I took a break from Arcanum as wanted something that I could play in 'blocks' ie. clear this dungeon, as it was too hard from having to constantly break from Arcanum forgetting what I was doing. I played MM6 years before but never finished it.

YET now, after all the next gen deluge, cranking up these unpretentious oldies that didn't try and be grimdark or anything other than games, brough a big arse grin to my face! This is where it's at! Try playing something that isn't afraid of being a GAME!