I spend more time on these forums than actually gaming....

[Azazel]

Last year, I found that I typically had little to no time at all for gaming in the evenings after work, though I'd sit down and decompress by reading some stuff on the internet (including f13). I played a bit on the weekends and maybe 1-2 nights per week. This year I'll be in much the same situation at work, but will be doing my Masters as well. So I'm not exactly expecting my gaming time to be increasing.

[Morat20]

I spent all day yesterday losing to my phone at chess.

Does that count as gaming? Because I only played so long because of offended pride.

Well, and it's easy and quick to play. Which fits into my "I haven't finished Fallout 3 because I simply can't devote that much time, that close together" view. Play a mission or two of ME2, dick around in WoW for an hour, screw around with Lego Star Wars (still so much fun), or decide to play an older game --- it's "how much time I have" both in terms of "chunks of time" and in "roughly contiguous play".

If I can't set the game down for at least a week and still come back to it and pick it more or less right back up, I probably don't have time for it.

[Sky]

One thing that really deters me from mmo (and there's a list) is pausability and endability. It's a game. I'm not committed to it. If my cat runs up and makes a stupid pose, I go tackle him. If my fiancee walks in the room, I talk to her. If I get an idea on the guitar, I go play guitar. With mmo, especially group crap, it's just not an option. You can't really easily walk away unless you're in town or crafting or whatever. With something like FFH2, I can just walk away at any point and come back to it, one of the reasons I love the game so much.

Stuff like Mafia 2 is broken into nice chapters. I like that, play a chapter of Mafia 2, read a chapter of my book, then hit the sack.

[Malakili]

One thing that really deters me from mmo (and there's a list) is pausability and endability. It's a game. I'm not committed to it. If my cat runs up and makes a stupid pose, I go tackle him. If my fiancee walks in the room, I talk to her. If I get an idea on the guitar, I go play guitar. With mmo, especially group crap, it's just not an option. You can't really easily walk away unless you're in town or crafting or whatever. With something like FFH2, I can just walk away at any point and come back to it, one of the reasons I love the game so much.

Stuff like Mafia 2 is broken into nice chapters. I like that, play a chapter of Mafia 2, read a chapter of my book, then hit the sack.

That just seems to be a grouping thing.  You can walk away any time at all playing a game like WoW and at worst you're out a handful of gold for repairs.  The problem with grouping is that you are saying "I am making a commitment to play this game with you for the next hour" or whatever.   The problem is that it has the stigma of being "just a game" its not the game you are committed to, its the people.  If you don't want to do that, fine, but I think thats the issue.

[Morat20]

Yeah, a "pause" button is required. Thankfully, "you can't save here" is an annoyance, there's not been a lot (if any) games that haven't been pausable.

I won't group in WoW with people who don't understand "Yeah, my dog just peed on the floor. I'm going to need five minutes" -- and I do hate the lack of a pause on that, but not enough to quit playing. I just refuse to make it worse than it has to be.

[SnakeCharmer]

I find I have time for gaming from about 2100 to 2400 hrs, but I just don't have the urge to play anything like I used to.  2, 3 years ago, I couldn't wait to turn on the PC or PS3 or whatever and get some gaming in.  Now?  No big deal if I do, no big deal if I don't.  Most single player games have 10 hours of playtime max (some radically less than that), and playing FPS's online is an exercise in frustration because I suck.  There's no MMO I really feel the want to play, and on top of that the crew that I used to play MMOs with has splintered up and lost touch for various reasons.  That's probably my biggest barrier to playing MMOs - having a solid reliable group of guys/girls I enjoy spending my online time with.  I would honestly LIKE to get my wife playing something with me, but she won't have any of that, except maybe some L4D or something and that's an exercise in frustration on my part because she's absolutely terrible.

[Yegolev]

Losing the ability to play my huge pile of PS2 games (God, Sony, you fuckers!) has only helped somewhat.

You can get a PS2 for pretty cheap.   

The chief irony is that I have a fully-functional SCPH-30001 PS2 but I'm not completely willing to use it due to fear that it will stop working.  My brother-in-law is supposed to give me his but I haven't been over to his place to nab it yet.  I do need to worry about how to plug it into the AV system since I'm short on outlets and inlets.

[Malakili]

The problem I'm running into in trying to find something to play that suits my time frame is that I really game for the meta game.  I'd really like something that has a fairly deep meta game, but doesn't get me insanely far behind by not playing much.  I'm thinking Diablo 3 is going to be my savior, but its going to be a while.

[Yegolev]

I think that depends on how much time you can allot to game homework.  Less time for drawing up charts is one of the contributing factors to my not playing Vagrant Story or any of the NIS tactics games.  I also tend to avoid games which expect me to draw my own maps or even that don't have a in-game notepad.  I often lose the paper, as well.  So I end up either playing the game sub-optimally or only play hurr-durr games like Just Cause 2.

[Morfiend]

The problem I'm running into in trying to find something to play that suits my time frame is that I really game for the meta game.  I'd really like something that has a fairly deep meta game, but doesn't get me insanely far behind by not playing much.  I'm thinking Diablo 3 is going to be my savior, but its going to be a while.

This is what has recently surprised me about DCUO. It seems very playable in short periods of time. Granted im not max level yet and dont know what the end game is like but I am enjoying it in 30 minute increments.

I recently stopped playing WoW due to the time required to do anything meaningful. In Wrath, I could login, queue for a heroic or two and make it to bed like 45 minutes later. Now with the longer queues for DPS and gthe longer dungeon times, ranging from 30 minutes at the shortest up to an hour and a half with a slow group, I wasnt even bothering to log in unless I had like 2 hours to spend. I think this is a hugh step backward for casual MMO gaming, I actually think WoW is going to end up losing casual player subs because of it.

Some other games I enjoy right now are Global Agenda, or Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer. Games I can hop on, play for 20 to 45 minutes and then go do something else.

As a few people said on the last page, I think the real trick to being able to game as you get less time is being more picky. I used to buy tons and tons of games, but the last year or so the amount of games I have been buying has drastically dropped off (not counting Steam sales, DAMN YOU STEAM).

[Fabricated]

I find myself gaming more this month than I have in a while because I'm temporarily laid off!

Other than that yeah I notice that unless I have literally nothing going on I rarely sit down and mess with any of my consoles. I only recently sat down and finished Assassin's Creed 2 after not touching it for like a half a year, and I recently finished VVVVVV just because it was short.

[UnSub]

As my gaming time decreased I've found myself relying on FAQs more and more. I don't have time to start a game again or spend a lot of time exploring so I'll at least skim an FAQ to see if there are any areas I can completely botch.

[Malakili]

Well, just an update here.   I'm still really at a loss for what to do about this.  I frankly suck at games now because I can't play the way I want to and this diminished my enjoyment in gaming almost to nil.  I feel like I've been playing games just because thats "what I do" for a few months now and I as much as I've been grasping at straws to find SOMETHING that works, I think I might just have to quit the hobby completely.  I must be wired in some way that doesn't allow me to do anything strictly "for fun" because everytime I hit a max in my skill or progression or achievement or whatever for the given time i have to play (which is stupidly low right now), i just immediately want to stop playing.   I'm broken.

ETA: What makes it all worse is that this basically applies to any hobby I might pick up, so I guess I should probably just give up on doing anything for leisure ever again.

[Paelos]

Play a sport.

I would suggest golf. It's impossible to "win" but very competition oriented.

[Malakili]

Play a sport.

I'll run into the same exact problem of my expectations/desires not lining up with what is reasonable given the time I have. 

[ghost]

No offense is intended with what I'm going to say here, Malakili, because I've been through what you're going through, but you've really just got to suck it up and move on with your life.  The bottom line is that you are never, ever going to be able to sit around and poopsock through 25 levels of an MMO anymore, nor are you going to be able to crank through 50 hours worth of Fallout 3.  You are in a PhD program, I believe you are going to be getting married, and are therefore joining the ranks of "real life".  If you can't find ways to enjoy yourself because you're too competitive you're going to be a very, very unhappy person for the rest of your life.  I suspect you might want to find a hobby that has no competitive aspect and can be done whenever you have free time, like hiking or biking or photography or the like. 

What you are experiencing, really, is the realization that your time is no longer your own.  Work hard at your job/school, enjoy your relationships with family and friends, and pick up a game or a book or go for a walk, but whatever you do demand of yourself that you enjoy it.  Part of the process of getting out of a funk is just telling yourself that you are going to enjoy whatever it is you are doing.  If you talk the talk long enough to convince yourself that you are happy your body and mind will eventually follow along. 

[Hawkbit]

I didn't read the beginning of the thread, but judging from the title and the recent post you could be struggling either depression or ADD/ADHD.  I would strongly suggest seeing a counselor and let them know your problems.  My personal opinion would be to run away screaming (not literally, lol) if they want to put you on meds right away.  What you're looking for is someone who will help you focus yourself and your goals; if you can't do that on your own you may need help.  

Don't make excuses for not seeing someone.  Just do it, and if I wasted your money/time, my apologies.  But most people can find a reason to talk to a professional, regardless of what they think.  

[Goreschach]

I didn't read the beginning of the thread, but judging from the title and the recent post you could be struggling either depression or ADD/ADHD.

 

[Malakili]

What you are experiencing, really, is the realization that your time is no longer your own.  Work hard at your job/school, enjoy your relationships with family and friends, and pick up a game or a book or go for a walk, but whatever you do demand of yourself that you enjoy it.  Part of the process of getting out of a funk is just telling yourself that you are going to enjoy whatever it is you are doing.  If you talk the talk long enough to convince yourself that you are happy your body and mind will eventually follow along. 

I'm pretty sure this is more or less it.  I am enjoying my school, and my relationship, and my work.  I don't even mind having drastically reduced free time, but I do mind that the hobbies I used to enjoy are no longer viable.

As for depression, I've been depressed, this definitely isn't it. Its pure frustration about a hobby I have no one to talk to about it because I don't know any gamers IRL anymore.  So, this thread is basically just my outlet.   I think it seems worse than it is because this is where I come to bitch about it, but it really only gets on my nerves rarely and then I feel the need to get it out somewhere.

[ghost]

Depression can manifest itself in a lot of ways, my friend.  You're under a lot of stress.  I would personally suggest you at least talk to someone about it.  It couldn't hurt, and may help you uncover something you're not noticing at this time.

[Sheepherder]

Malakili, I think you've set a new record for earliest midlife crisis.

[Paelos]

Play a sport.

I'll run into the same exact problem of my expectations/desires not lining up with what is reasonable given the time I have. 

Play a team sport. Focus on the ability of pulling together with others in competition instead of yourself. You'd be surprised how it changes your attitudes towards fun. Plus getting off you ass never hurts to stop the feeling of "I can't fucking relax."

[tgr]

I've noticed something like this myself, with being unable to focus as much as I'd like on some games. I've found that the best way to deal with that is to just go "oh well", watch a tv-series, read a book or just play another game and try another day. Or, possibly even just going "fuck this PC" and go out of the apartment and do something completely different.

For me, that's usually bringing out the camera and just see if I can find anything to take pictures of. I certainly don't feel like fretting over how something must be hideously wrong with me, as that would just stress me out even further. vOv

[Malakili]

Malakili, I think you've set a new record for earliest midlife crisis.

The funny thing is, I'm legitimately really happy with everything in my life BESIDES my leisure time.  Maybe I just need to have even less of it, that'd probably solve my problem 

[Ingmar]

Blood Bowl Season 4 is the answer.

[Merusk]

I just realized I'm having the exact opposite problem.  Since I've dumped my usual MMO subscription I also have found that I need to actively figure out what to do with my time.  Time that I've got long stretches of unfilled hours these days due to unemployment, but I simply don't want to play anything.

I've got a few time-wasters but I simply don't want to spend 4-5 hours sitting down playing a single game. I'll get in, play an hour or two then quit to fiddle with something else around the house, clean or go shopping.  Very odd since I'd get into WoW or something else and not realize I'd wasted half the afternoon.

[pants]

I just realized I'm having the exact opposite problem.  Since I've dumped my usual MMO subscription I also have found that I need to actively figure out what to do with my time.  Time that I've got long stretches of unfilled hours these days due to unemployment, but I simply don't want to play anything.

I've got a few time-wasters but I simply don't want to spend 4-5 hours sitting down playing a single game. I'll get in, play an hour or two then quit to fiddle with something else around the house, clean or go shopping.  Very odd since I'd get into WoW or something else and not realize I'd wasted half the afternoon.

I've had a similar thing since I quit WoW. 

The bit that has surprised me however, was how much of my leisure time was spent reading or researching WoW, and not actually playing it.  I would sit down to play WoW for 2-3 hours a night, maybe 3 nights a week (2 days raiding, 1 day doing random stuff).  9 hours a week isn't a huge amount of time.  But it appears I would spend almost the same amount of time every week reading up on strats, watching videos, researching gear upgrades, reading patch notes, arguing on guild forums, all that stuff. 

Its really surprised me, since I considered I didn't spend all that long every week playing WoW - but now I've given all that away, I have mountains of time available.

[Paelos]

Same with me. Since I cancelled my sub I play one night a week, and not much at that. I've been going through a backlog of games I haven't finished or started. Right now I'm determined to finish Dragon Age once before DA2 comes out.

[Llyse]

Blood Bowl Season 4 is the answer.

This truly the answer.

Like Others I would spend a crap load of time theory crafting when I was playing wow.

With bloodbowl there's no patches, new areas, new raids.

Just friendly banter, a little whining and a lot of forum refreshes of over match reports.

It has the social aspect due to competitive multiplay but with the same kind of guild community feel (in the f13 league and like)

[LK]

Gaming isn't personally rewarding anymore. There's a "Seen it all before" quality to it. Seems like games that are 8-Bit or low-graphics or solid mechanics get a bigger draw than another Movie On Rails.

I really want to go outside my apartment and meet people, but I'll play the occasional gem like Dead Space 2 or other strong narrative titles. But 50+ hours into a multiplayer experience? Not really interesting anymore. Even Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which felt strong, was just a huge, giant chore to get into a game and actually sit down and play. 20 minutes spent getting into a 5 minute session is an instant shut-off for me.

MMOs work because I can login and there I am. Most of the time.

[Sky]

Blood Bowl Season 4 is the answer.

While I'm certainly not a good BB coach, the format of having to set up an hour a week works really well for time-constrained gaming. I could really use more pickup games, but without reserving that time in my schedule days in advance, I just don't ever get around to it, other things beckon.

You could also take up painting miniatures!

[Paelos]

I personally can't get into a game that I know is on rails. Give me a world, and give me a reason to wander about in it. Even if my choices of where to go and what to do are minor, that's still a huge selling point for me.

[Tale]

I personally can't get into a game that I know is on rails. Give me a world, and give me a reason to wander about in it. Even if my choices of where to go and what to do are minor, that's still a huge selling point for me.

Same here. My first big gaming experience was Elite on the C64, which is a sandbox universe to fly around trading and fighting in. My biggest gaming experience was EverQuest 1, a world to wander about in.

The only thing better is a world where there's also an over-arching war or political situation that I can genuinely affect through my actions. For example, holding world PvP territory in Anarchy Online's PvP teams war provided game-wide XP bonuses to everyone on that team, swelling our ranks. Manufacturing the best possible buffs and buffing overt PvP+ members of my faction in SWG encouraged allies to go overt, ensuring our player-built city had a strong defensive force. And in EQ1, building a raid force in GMT +10 time zone created political tension with guilds from the US and EU, creating an exciting era where we could dominate their night and gain prestige on our server.

I need a world, a reason to wander about in it, and an opportunity to really shake things up.

[Paelos]

Pirates! always struck a chord with me as being a world that went on without you even though you could directly influence a good bit of it. That's perfect in my view.

The Rome:TW and Civ up to III series is the same. Never the same game twice, but enough flavor that you could do so many different things to achieve dominance.

Also, Morrowind sans Cliff Racers.

[ghost]

Very odd since I'd get into WoW or something else and not realize I'd wasted half the afternoon.

I have this vision of millions of computer geeks leaving their houses and looking upon the sun for what feels like the first time to them, blinded by the light after they've left their mancaves for the first time in 6 years.