Aging and videogames: when do you begin to suck?

[Nebu]

I can game and watch TV if the game isn't story-based. Like if I'm playing D3 or HOTS? I'm watching sports on the TV. If I'm playing Witcher 3? No.

You can play Hero League in HOTS or do high level instances in D3 while watching tv?  You're a better man than I am. 

If you're just grinding pve... that I could understand.

[Mithas]

Like others are saying I can game and watch something depending on the game. I almost always have Twitch up but I'll turn the volume way down if it is something I need to focus on.

[Paelos]

I can game and watch TV if the game isn't story-based. Like if I'm playing D3 or HOTS? I'm watching sports on the TV. If I'm playing Witcher 3? No.

You can play Hero League in HOTS or do high level instances in D3 while watching tv?  You're a better man than I am. 

If you're just grinding pve... that I could understand.

Uh no. I'm just grinding and having fun. Under no circumstances am I doing anything really competitive in gaming anymore. That's part of the age thing for me, I have the patience of a gnat when it comes to that shit anymore.

[Falconeer]

This is clearly never ever gonna happen simply due to the fact that there is no way to check people age. But, and I hate to admit it, I would LOVE for online games to have some servers for older people. In football for example there are 35+ (and even 45+) Leagues for a reason. Now, again, this is never gonna happen, and I would probably suck anyway, but daaaamn I miss it.

In other news, turns out I DO need new glasses and that my eyesight has seriously declined in the past two years since the last check.

*whine*

[Nija]

Leagues based on age? You suggest forming some kind of community!

That's no longer possible, unfortunately.

Bow down to your new, horrible matchmaking overlords.

[Malakili]

Leagues based on age? You suggest forming some kind of community!

That's no longer possible, unfortunately.

Bow down to your new, horrible matchmaking overlords.

Yeah, if there is one thing I really dislike about multiplayer gaming lately it is the lack of a server browser.  After Tribes: Ascend just released that major patch for the first time in a few years I loaded the game back up and was delighted to see a list of servers I could choose from.  What a novelty!

[Merusk]

In other news, turns out I DO need new glasses and that my eyesight has seriously declined in the past two years since the last check.

*whine*

Welcome to life over 40. I understand it's even worse in the 50s and 60s and vision needs checks every 9-6 months to keep-up.

[Count Nerfedalot]

Well, I'm 56 and I still just get vision checks every year or two, and my prescription hasn't changed for several years now.  But I do take off my bifocals and put on my computer glasses to use the computer, both at home and at work! 

As for slowing down, I don't play competitive anything anymore, or high stress games like FPS or RTS either. But yeah, I still notice the slowed and less-accurate responses. I just chalk it up to alcohol. And then I take another sip. 

[Margalis]

My vision has actually gotten noticeably better recently. Still need glasses though.

[Count Nerfedalot]

Mine did too for a few years, about 15 years ago...

[Jeff Kelly]

I've been playing Nuclear Throne for sixty hours over the course of the last ten days and this game makes it explicitly clear that I'm too old for that shit. I've once reached the eponymous Throne (Level 7.1) and instantly died.

A dual stick shooter bullet hell where my fourty year old reflexes simply can't keep up. I've seen videos of people looping the game (the game's term for NG+) three times. There's so much going on in terms of number of enemies and shit happening on screen in NG+++ that I can't even comprehend what's happening anymore.

I usually manage to get about half way through until I day due to too much shit going on and me no longer writing in time.

Doesn't matter it's insane fun even though I suck at it.

[Kail]

I've been playing Nuclear Throne for sixty hours over the course of the last ten days and this game makes it explicitly clear that I'm too old for that shit. I've once reached the eponymous Throne (Level 7.1) and instantly died.

To be fair, though, that still puts you in the top 10% of all players (according to the achievement stats).  Nuclear Throne is a fairly difficult game, I'm not sure how much you can blame old age.  As you noted in the other thread, those guys who are on loop three have mostly been playing this for years.  You don't need millisecond reflexes, most of the projectiles have travel time and rely more on preparation and positioning than split second bullet dodging.

I was stuck on Lil' Hunter for like a week right up until Christmas Eve and I still haven't gotten to the throne once, so you've got me beat, but I don't know that young me would be any better at this.  It wasn't twitch reflexes or attention that was kicking my ass, it was not knowing his patterns and not having a feel for the fight, and I don't know that being older has impacted my abilities there.  Probably the one advantage my younger self had was a more limited budget, so if I got Nuclear Throne, that was the one game I'd get for the next few months, so that was all I'd play for weeks.  Nowadays I'm swimming in games I haven't even played, and the instant Nuclear Throne gets boring I'm off to kill some orcs or whatever, so I suspect my rate of progress is slower than it would have been as a kid, but I don't know that I'd blame old age for that.

[Azazel]

I find unless I'm in a tournament or something, I can't game for more than 1-2 hours at a stretch without wanting to do something else, even when the game is good. I've been doing Shadowrun Dragonfall in 45-90 minute chunks because I just have to stop after that. I think I have ADHD.

I have the same kind of thing these days. It depends on the game, though. Games where I can set my own pace (like MMOs, Destiny, etc) I find that I can play for much longer stretches than something like a relentless FPS. The FPS I think I got the best at would have been BF1942 and DC. Of course, over the years, those games have all but disappeared to be replaced by an endless stream of newer game, so changes in systems and map knowledge goes by the by - and I have neither the time nor motivation to "keep up". I probably average between 5-20 gaming hours a week when I'm at work (as opposed to holidays like we are now). Most nights after work I'm too smashed to give the slightest fuck about throwing a game on.

[penfold]

During the megadrive/SNES/arcade years as a teen I could drop in and out of alpha/zen more or less at will when playing SHMUPs. Noticed that was harder in my 20s, rare in my 30s and cant remember the last time I did it.

[Xanthippe]

/necro

One thing to check, before deciding that your reaction time stinks, is your video card. I recently replaced mine and realized I'm not as bad at playing as I thought, because of an old graphics card that was creating lag for me to respond correctly.

(I'm still not good, but not nearly as bad as I was.)

[Yegolev]

I fix this by playing console games, but yes, sometimes it is just a shitty game experience.

[01101010]

I fix this by playing console games, but yes, sometimes it is just a shitty game experience.

Yeah but even then... the console kiddies are light years ahead of me in terms of refined thumbstick skills as opposed to my evolved mouse skills. I'll just stick with killing bad players and be fodder for the 733+ console players.

[Yegolev]

I'm not sure I was ever good enough to be anything other than shit in competitive MP.  Ask around the board. 

[naum]

I loved playing RTSs but about ~10 years ago my click fu just wasn't cutting it anymore.  Maybe for single player, but not any competitive play. I used to be not great, but better than average and even competed in tournaments (AoE, back in 90s).

Never really got into FPS games other than Wolfenstein 3D :D

A bigger factor for me, than age, might be poor vision -- even with corrective lenses I still have trouble with smaller, moving pieces.

Now I just play strategy games like Civ, Paradox offerings, & Hearthstone.

Time to play is a big factor -- even as our kids our grown, I just can't skimp on sleep like I used to do (i.e., be playing all night, & notice sun rising :)). I watch a lot of pro Hearthstone streams, & I see pros doing 8-15+ hour streams & I just wouldn't have that kind of energy unless I guzzled G Fuel and/or coffee.