You don't need a good game, you just need one game

[Losus4]

Gamers who find it hard to focus on one game before playing another might believe the first game wasn't good enough, but the issue is more to do with abundance of games most players have today. When Morrowind was my only game, I could spend weeks fully immersed into that one character with no sign of getting bored, simply because it was my only game at the time and there was no reason not to play it. Fast forward a few years and as my games grew, I found it harder to stick with any one character because of the temptation to play something else.

How I play now is simple, I only ever have one game installed at a time, which allows me to fully invest myself into the world, and I always without fail enjoy a game more knowing I have nothing else to play.

If you tried to read Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones all at once, your investment into each would be split, thus lessoning your immersion in them, and videogames are no different.

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

Most gamers think they're looking for that one awesome game, but what they're really looking for is one that will hold their attention the most. Just playing one game rectifies this issue.

 

[lukaszek]

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

wait, what? gog gives you no temptation?

 

[Necrensha]

"Videogames in the current year don't suck, the problem is that they are TOO good and there's TOO many of them!!"

 

[NecroLord]

Gamers who find it hard to focus on one game before playing another might believe the first game wasn't good enough, but the issue is more to do with abundance of games most players have today. When Morrowind was my only game, I could spend weeks fully immersed into that one character with no sign of getting bored, simply because it was my only game at the time and there was no reason not to play it. Fast forward a few years and as my games grew, I found it harder to stick with any one character because of the temptation to play something else.

How I play now is simple, I only ever have one game installed at a time, which allows me to fully invest myself into the world, and I always without fail enjoy a game more knowing I have nothing else to play.

If you tried to read Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones all at once, your investment into each would be split, thus lessoning your immersion in them, and videogames are no different.

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

Most gamers think they're looking for that one awesome game, but what they're really looking for is one that will hold their attention the most. Just playing one game rectifies this issue.

Yeah, well, too bad almost none of the games today can grab my attention...

 

[Losus4]

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

wait, what? gog gives you no temptation?

Let's just say GOG.com doesn't.

 

[Lemming42]

I can play like three games at a time and compartmentalise each; anything more than that is pure chaos.

The huge problem I've been grappling with lately is listening to radio or music or podcasts or w/e over game audio. I started doing this in games where it made sense - Magic the Gathering, multiplayer shooters with SHIT soundtracks (ie not Unreal Tournament), games I'd already played and knew inside out and was just revisiting as a distraction, stuff like that. But then I started doing it over new games, which is obviously insane, and I tried to compensate by just having game audio loud enough to hear alongside the background audio, the result of which was that I couldn't focus on either and everything went to FUCKING SHIT

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Only having 1 game is the only reason to ever spend time with anything TES so its understandable.

What also helps is to not research beforehand. Jump into a game, explore the mechanics, surprise yourself. If its a shit game, move on. If it's a good game, it's better to discover that yourself by actually playing it.

 

[Tavernking]

The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

Disagree but it's an interesting idea. I can go days without playing games, sometimes I only play an hour or two on weekends. And the kind of games I want to play change depending on what mood I'm in. Sometimes I want to build a civilization, other times I want to shoot bad guys in the face. Sometimes I want to read a good book in CRPG format, other times I want to test my mettle against other players in some multiplayer game.

 

[The Nameless One]

Gamers who find it hard to focus on one game before playing another might believe the first game wasn't good enough, but the issue is more to do with abundance of games most players have today.

Depends on what "abundance" is to you. When it comes to non-shit cRPGs for example, there is no such thing. And you very well know it.

If you tried to read Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones all at once, your investment into each would be split, thus lessoning your immersion in them, and videogames are no different.

Assuming each game you played had a narrative that could be anywhere near that of said books, that would only be at best quarter true, unless you played a game that had a lot of reading in it, which would make it half true instead.

How I play now is simple, I only ever have one game installed at a time, which allows me to fully invest myself into the world, and I always without fail enjoy a game more knowing I have nothing else to play.

Depends on what you consider the "world" to be. If you were playing Tetris I don't think you could invest in its world too much, unless you had a potato for a brain.

Most gamers think they're looking for that one awesome game, but what they're really looking for is one that will hold their attention the most. Just playing one game rectifies this issue.

Sounds like you're projecting into something you want to prevent yourself to be.

You're getting old and bored of your boredom. Either go do something different or play lots of new stuff. It'll clear your head. Promise.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Agreed when it comes to narrative heavy games and what not, but otherwise I keep a few strategy games installed (from grand strategy and 4X to squad-based tactical stuff) and play whichever whenever I feel like it.

 

[Contagium]

Steam is a fascinating look at mental illness. I see some people buy games every single day, and have a library around 3,700 games. They play each of these games for no more than an hour or so and move on to something else. I can't imagine constantly going from game to game to game without playing long enough to get absorbed in anything.

 

[Agesilaus]

Gamers who find it hard to focus on one game before playing another might believe the first game wasn't good enough, but the issue is more to do with abundance of games most players have today. When Morrowind was my only game, I could spend weeks fully immersed into that one character with no sign of getting bored, simply because it was my only game at the time and there was no reason not to play it. Fast forward a few years and as my games grew, I found it harder to stick with any one character because of the temptation to play something else.

How I play now is simple, I only ever have one game installed at a time, which allows me to fully invest myself into the world, and I always without fail enjoy a game more knowing I have nothing else to play.

If you tried to read Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones all at once, your investment into each would be split, thus lessoning your immersion in them, and videogames are no different.

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

Most gamers think they're looking for that one awesome game, but what they're really looking for is one that will hold their attention the most. Just playing one game rectifies this issue.

I somewhat agree with you. It's fine to use steam and have a bunch of games installed if you have at least a modicum of self control. I usually have a number of games installed, but I'll focus on one story-driven game at a time. I will spend a little time on something like an online game of Field of Glory 2, chess, a roguelike, or a 4x.

I'm the same way with books. One main book that I focus on and is meaningful. Then usually something shorter or simpler that I can pick up on the side.

 

[BruceVC]

Gamers who find it hard to focus on one game before playing another might believe the first game wasn't good enough, but the issue is more to do with abundance of games most players have today. When Morrowind was my only game, I could spend weeks fully immersed into that one character with no sign of getting bored, simply because it was my only game at the time and there was no reason not to play it. Fast forward a few years and as my games grew, I found it harder to stick with any one character because of the temptation to play something else.

How I play now is simple, I only ever have one game installed at a time, which allows me to fully invest myself into the world, and I always without fail enjoy a game more knowing I have nothing else to play.

If you tried to read Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones all at once, your investment into each would be split, thus lessoning your immersion in them, and videogames are no different.

I don't own Steam, as simply owning a library of games—even when uninstalled—still incurs the temptation to play then. I use GOG offline installers. The only game I ever have on my laptop at any given time is the one I am playing, and once I stop playing I uninstall it.

Most gamers think they're looking for that one awesome game, but what they're really looking for is one that will hold their attention the most. Just playing one game rectifies this issue.

Meh, I think I understand your point and interestingly enough you seem to do what I do but for different reasons and in a different way

I tend to play one game at a time but thats SP games. Sometimes I will play a long SP game but also play an Online or network game to have a break like RDR2 Online for a few hours but then I go back to the main SP game

But end of the day I have Steam, GOG, Ubisoft and Epic game libraries and there are always unplayed games in my Steam and GOG list but they not installed

I focus on one game at a time and then when I finish it I uninstall it. Its easy to do if you enjoying the game and I have no desire to play another game

 

[Haba]

Steam is a fascinating look at mental illness. I see some people buy games every single day, and have a library around 3,700 games. They play each of these games for no more than an hour or so and move on to something else. I can't imagine constantly going from game to game to game without playing long enough to get absorbed in anything.

I have a game running on one screen and Youtube video/movie on another. Sometimes I might have the audio of the video muted and have a podcast/audiobook running on the background.

During breaks in the action, I alt tab and check the latest shitpots on Codex.

The futur is GREAT and we've COME SO FAR!

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I agree with the general idea that back in the olden days when games weren't abundant you would mostly stick with a game for months untill you could afford another one. So if you spent your allowance on Baldur's Gate 2, for example, you would play it, also to get your moneys worth. When you were on allowance buying a game would consume a considerate amount of your money and if you spent like 60% or more of your income on a game then you would make sure to get your money's worth.

 

[Reinhardt]

you know what REALLY helps? no internet for few weeks.

 

[Konjad]

I don't play more than one RPG at a time. I start, I play, I finish.

 

[Naraya]

Very well said.

I don't own Steam

Me neither. I absolutely hate that these days GAMES=STEAM. Steam did a lot of good, but a lot of bad too. Ubiquity waters down the experience (see other streming services like Netflix).

 

[huskarls]

stfu loser i don't care you autistically played a shitty hiking simulator at 12

 

[OttoQuitmarck]

This just sounds like you have ADHD bruh.

 

[Sharkspine]

One long game broken up with shorter games is a good way to go. I finished Wizardry VI as 'the main game' last year and played Outlaws, The Fools Errand and Sonic Mania in between.

 

[Falksi]

One long game broken up with shorter games is a good way to go. I finished Wizardry VI as 'the main game' last year and played Outlaws, The Fools Errand and Sonic Mania in between.

 

[911 Jumper]

The norm nowadays for many in this hobby is owning several hundred games across multiple platforms. I have probably at least a couple of hundred games across several [console] platforms.

But if I had Steam, I'd undoubtedly have many more games. It's one of the reasons I'm happy I don't have a Steam account (I've never had one). With Steam, I think it's very easy to fall into the trap of buying lots of games you'll never play, which also makes picking a game to play harder.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

I have a hard limit of playing through no more than two games simultaneously per genre. If both are heavy on story or dialogue, it drops to one. I have hundreds of games installed but I don't have any problem with temptation to jump around, in fact, it's the opposite to where I find it a hard sell to actually go outside of my comfort zone and try something new due to lack of time and desire. Quite frankly, I'm at the point in my life that I know what I like and I have enough shit in my backlog to keep me going for years if I get bored and want to go off on a lark. The games I play often are varied and entertaining enough that swapping between 5 or 6 does me fine while sprinkling the odd RPG or two in there every year. Even RPGs I've played I can go back to if they made an impression. It's been over a decade since I've played Icewind Dale for instance. I don't go out of my way to look for new games anymore but if something amazing that's new falls into my lap it's bonus.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

So many things to take away from this thread.

# The username 'The Nameless One' was still available on the Codex to register an alt with? 25 years later?!? WTF!?!

# I briefly picked up the habit of listening to a local political podcast while playing Terraria. Two problems arose: The podcast was basically two of our 63 esteemed Members of Parliament talking in their own echo chamber, and it made my Terraria-sessions depressing. So I stopped doing both. I intend to return to Terraria someday, but that podcast can go fuck itself.

# I also limit how many games I'm currently playing, and when it's more than one I make sure to keep them thematically separate. Currently it's a survivor horror game where I'm the victim, versus a survivor horror game where the monsters are my victims.

# There are WAY too many games being released every year. I started gaming in an era where a few hundred games were released a year, across all platforms (consoles or otherwise), to THOUSANDS of games being released (~2016) to TENS OF THOUSANDS of games being released every year right now. There's a good chance that at least five games released every year that I'd love, but due to the flood it's almost impossible for me to find them.

# I've been gaming for so long that I've Been There, Done That. All of it. Finding games nowadays that actually show me something new is both rare and exciting. Sadly too much of that relies on AI or in-game telemetry, both of which I hate. I know too much about a fair number of games released in the past five years (just to give a time of reference) that I've NEVER played for a second.

# The number of games I was excited for has dropped like a stone through the years, until it was down to a handful a few years ago. Three years ago my second-most desired sequel was released. It turned out to be a major disappointment (see signature). After that I figured I couldn't find a game to be excited about, and had accepted my fate... except now my most-desired sequel is actually in development as we speak, scheduled to be released next year (at the earliest). I can only hope it'll deliver, but it has 32 years of expectations on its back. The odds are against me, but hope is a powerful tool.