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Decline Cannot into long games no more

Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
2,430
I'm pretty shocked how many codex user completed so many +30h games n 2019, I've done 4 and consider that pretty great success.

It's like some you guys never feel burnt out after finishing each of that juggernauts.
 

Jasede

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
24,793
Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut I'm very into cock and ball torture
I think it's just normal to prefer shorter games as you get older.
The last few games that broke this trend for me were ELEX and Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Bloodborne and Persona 5. An RPG really needs to tickle me the right way these days to make me play more than 20+ hours and not get bored.
Now I am just waiting for the next 'big RPG' that'll break it again, which should be Cyberpunk.
 

Wyatt_Derp

Arcane
Joined
May 19, 2019
Messages
3,062
Location
Okie Land
I must be getting old too. This whole week all I've played is some Stardew Valley and a couple of missions in XCOM... with my damn controller. We come into the world as consoletards, and apparently it's how we go out.

For those of you at peak 50+ hour/game lifespan, enjoy the gift you have.
 

paperjack

Literate
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
24
I have precious few hours of free time and I can't bring myself to waste them on long-ass games anymore, nor do I find those games engaging anymore.
Lately I've just been playing stuff like Baba Is You and Manifold Garden, a level at a time. Brain teasers.

I feel like I've already seen what most games offer and anything new I play around a little to check out what the gimmick is and then quit.

Am I getting old ?
 

StaticSpine

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 14, 2013
Messages
3,232
Location
Moscow
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
For me, the ideal length of the game is ≤15 hours. 20-30 hours is acceptable if the game is good. I do not get the obsession with long games.

Last year I completed a couple of longer games (Legends of Heroes series), though. They were worth it.
 

Jack Of Owls

Arcane
Joined
May 23, 2014
Messages
4,275
Location
Massachusettes
I'm afraid I've succumbed to the same aging syndrome. I just don't want to play 100-200+ hour games anymore. I noticed it first started creeping in about 4-5 years ago, and I think I ended up so battered by mediocre games that I lost the will for playing long releases. Pathfinder Kingmaker, while a good game, was the one that finally broke my spirit.
 

Zibniyat

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Messages
6,536
I do not understand why people play mediocre games they do not really enjoy, or play (objectively) excellent games that again they personally do not enjoy. That way you simply strain your mind, not to mention your entire being, and exhaust yourself for absolutely no valid reason; no, getting Kodex Kool Kredits is not a valid reason you fools. Who cares about anonimuses' opinions on what primarily is within the domain of ENTERTAINMENT/FUN?

It is so simple and yet people seem to obsess over wasting their time on things they do not really enjoy. If you're gonna waste your time then at least make it count for something.

I used to sort of feel the same as many here. And then I played Ori and the Blind Forest. After playing through 80% of its content, and finishing it after 13 hours, I literally started a new playthrough immediatelly. Took me 10 hours, 99% of content finished. Then I bought it on Steam and played it again, some 9 hours for 100% of content. I even tried single-life hardcore playthroughs several times. I had fun, enjoyment and appreciation for its art and music...

For 30+ hours within weeks.

Just play what really makes you glad that you play it, even if it's popamole garbage. Just don't praise such garbage as superior to objectively better games.

Not all of us are meant to enjoy Beethoven's symphonies, or Tolkiens novels, or "true and bestest CRPGs" (the latter often involving idiotism inducing sections like pitting hardened warriors against fucking rats in sewers).
 
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typical user

Arbiter
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
957
Most newer games are shit or designed so you buy MTX to skip some of it.

I am replaying Gothic 2 since before Christmas and let me tell you I enjoy it ten times more than 2019 blockbusters. If you feel you can't play anything anymore than that's normal - I am really trying to finish Ghost Recon Breakpoint and although I had great deal of fun with friends I can clearly see that I am forcing myself to play it rather than enjoying it like a good meal.
 

DalekFlay

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Oct 5, 2010
Messages
14,118
Location
New Vegas
I do not understand why people play mediocre games they do not really enjoy, or play (objectively) excellent games that again they personally do not enjoy. That way you simply strain your mind, not to mention your entire being, and exhaust yourself for absolutely no valid reason; no, getting Kodex Kool Kredits is not a valid reason you fools. Who cares about anonimuses' opinions on what primarily is within the domain of ENTERTAINMENT/FUN?

It is so simple and yet people seem to obsess over wasting their time on things they do not really enjoy. If you're gonna waste your time then at least make it count for something.

Agree with this a lot. I used to play a lot of games I wasn't really that into, because they were highly regarded in general and Steam sold them cheap and then I felt some kind of obligation to play them. That leads to not actually enjoying it, which leads to doing other things instead, which leads to putting off games, etc. etc. Even the people above saying "oh I got old so I don't play much anymore" will then often say "except for X, which I liked a lot and played for 80 hours." Well then only play games you actually like a lot, motherfucker! It's a hard lesson to learn but you have to learn it.
 

DeepOcean

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
7,394
Age of Decadence got some flak for the teleporting but I kinda wanted some system where I could instantly get to the NPC I need to talk without having to cruise through the whole city the 7th time. Many games that are "long" are actually full of time wasters so the developers can pretend they have more content than they actually have. Spending hours on subpar content like generic random encounters and straightfoward fetch quests should banned.
 
Self-Ejected

unfairlight

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
Messages
4,092
Sounds like burn out. Take a break. I also recommend not distracting yourself with forums, chat rooms and the ilk. Take a break from them too. Old topic but it's very relevant.
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

Graverobber Foundation
Developer
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Messages
3,085
Location
デゼニランド
I tend to play short(er) games (King's Field, Doom, Ys I/II) or games that can be played in short sessions and never get old (HoMM3, Chaos Overlords, Disciples II, roguelikes and similar stuff) between longer games.

Long games tend to outstay their welcome and lead to burnout (e.g. when shitty ones use cheap ways to inflate playtime and boast 2000+ hours of gameplay), so like everything else, they're best enjoyed in moderation.
 

HoboForEternity

sunset tequila
Patron
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
Messages
9,175
Location
Disco Elysium
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
i play them in cycles. play one long game, then finish up short burst games before starting another one. otherwise i don't feel burnt out even when playing 100+ hours games if i really like it
 

Citizen

Guest
Long games are a mistake. Rarely any game has enough content and entertaining enough gameplay to be fun for 80+ hours. 40 hours is maximum length I can bear, and most games become boring after 20.

That's why I usually play long RPGs to some sort of logical conclusion in the middle (end of act/story arc) and then drop them for a few months. Honestly, there never was a 80+ hours game that wouldn't be much better if it was compressed to 40 hours by getting rid of trashmobs/filler quests/etc.
 

Reinhardt

Arcane
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
29,236
I can't play new long games. Replaying old is still fine. So it's not your fault, it's games became shit.
 

Tehdagah

Arcane
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
9,235
Same, but I still can play multiplayer games for dozen or even hundreds of hours.
 
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DeepOcean

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
7,394
There are a few short games on steam that I wouldn't add on my library even if they were free, their value is worse than the annoyance of seeing their names on my library and I would return them for free to steam even if I got nothing with it, I would pay for someone to erase my memory of them. I don't think it is a question of size and more of design, there are a few short games that are really lacking in content and there are longer games that would be better shorter, I think you should have a design goal and plan your content to realize that design goal, anything more than that and less than that is a waste.

Take the Elder Scrolls games, they are often criticized for how shallow they are as games, they are "long" games but they are terribly lacking in content, in this case deeper systems and better content, Bethesda instead of adding meaninful content on their games, they fill their crap with shit busywork so you experience a huge world where you only do busywork everywhere and it gets even worse, at least on Morrowind when still someone competent worked at Bethesda, they tried adding some context to the busywork, nowdays, even that is asking too much.Technically they have alot of content but of terribly low quality.

They took a design goal, "make a huge open world", they didn't have the content to realize that vision then they half-assed a shiton of busywork pretending otherwise, so, no wonder why only psychopaths manage to finish modern Bethesda games. So, a good tip, if the game has an "open world" tag on steam, run from it.
 

pakoito

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jun 7, 2012
Messages
3,086
I 100% Minit and Silhouettes this xmas, and refunded Minit because I did it below 2h lol

I tend to play short(er) games (King's Field, Doom, Ys I/II) or games that can be played in short sessions and never get old (HoMM3, Chaos Overlords, Disciples II, roguelikes and similar stuff) between longer games.

Long games tend to outstay their welcome and lead to burnout (e.g. when shitty ones use cheap ways to inflate playtime and boast 2000+ hours of gameplay), so like everything else, they're best enjoyed in moderation.
Same
 

Machocruz

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
4,318
Location
Hyperborea
I can still play long games in middle age, I just spend a long time doing it. Took me a few months to complete Dying Light, which I did the other day, main quest and every sidequest - 80 hours. 100 hours in Saint's Row 2 the year before that while also 103 hours in Path of Exile. Just takes months for me to do. I'm not trying to cram in every hot game that comes out, like I used to years ago.
 

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