Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Difficulties with starting a new game

v1rus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
2,253
Now, lets get the obvious out of the way first. I'm extremely passionate when it comes to video games. I love the darn things, and there are but a couple things that can match the fulfillment I feel when I beat another game.

But, for couple of years now, I've had problems with trying out new games. While there are so many games out there that I really want to play, getting in them is kinda hard. I install the game, start playing it, everything is awesome and tomorrow I'm too lazy to continue. Not cause I don't like the game, but cause its kinda hard to adapt to something I've never played. Once I actually get in the game, I pretty much spend all my free time playing it, until i beat it. While just seeing a screenshot/hearing a track/reading about the game I've already played and enjoyed makes me crave a new play through. No KotOR 2, stahp looking at me like that, I'm not going to beat you for the 12th time. Not yet. Have some freaking patience.

Arcanum is a nice example of it. It always looked quite awesome to me, but I never managed to actually start playing the game till couple months ago. Sure, I rolled like ten toons but I never made it out of Shrouded Hills. Once I did tho, I spent every single minute playing it, and I had an absolute blast.

Now that I think about it, it prolly has something to do with age/availability of the games. When I was younger and had no moneyz or internetz, and good games were scarcely available to me, I almost instantly got into everything.

Anyone else had a similar experience? And, if so, any tips how to get over this? I've got Geneforge waiting for me on my desk, pls bros, help me play it.
 

Jick Magger

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
5,667
Location
New Zealand
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Bubbles In Memoria
Given only around a third of people actually finish story-based games these days, it's really not that surprising. I've found as I've gotten older that it's getting harder and harder for me to stay invested in video games for long periods of time as well.

Only real suggestions I can make is to avoid 'binge sessions' that leave you burnt out on the game and less willing to continue it when you pick it up later. Time yourself out, take a half-hour break every so often to have a stretch or maybe do something else, then decide if you want to continue or leave it until later. Try to ascertain whether the game is a slow burner or one that fizzles out near the end as well, so you can prepare your expectations accordingly.

From there, it's pretty much up in the air, and whether or not you stay hooked on the game depends both on how good the game is and your own personal circumstances.
 

pippin

Guest
its kinda hard to adapt to something I've never played

It's interesting that you mention Arcanum as an example, because Arcanum is still quite unique as a game, different even from Fallout, its main inspiration. I guess you're talking about systems rather than controls, which is why I guess people tend to prefer "light" games or games they already know by heart rather than trying something new, and while the new age of crpgs has brough us interesting games, they still feel a bit iffy about everything.
I guess it depends. It sucks when you get stuck into certain things as habits or even vices, which is why I try to do a lot of different stuff at a given time. I guess you should diversify your hobbies, and try something where you make everything instead of something you are only answering to in a passive manner, like games. A bit of time out of the screen will help you a lot. The fucking light coming out of the computer can get you really nervous and over excited, and maybe blind if you're not lucky. Whatever floats your boat in this case.
I've been trying to be dedicated to very few games at a given time, because it often happened that i never really finished the games I bought. I'm working to fix that. Something similar to what you say with Arcanum happened to me with Deus Ex. I'm about to go to Paris now and I gotta say I've never been this far into the game. One thing I really like is that my savegame says i've been playing for 8 hours but it actually feels I've been playing for 16 or more, but in a good way. You can be very busy in this game, which is something I really needed, because there are lots of games who pride themselves of being very long and open but in the end you don't really have anything to do in them.
 

revealer

Augur
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
712
Location
Crodex
I've played too much MOBA and other similar multiplayer games where as soon as you start the game you peak the amount of fun that that game provides.
After years and years of getting used to the instant fun as I call it, RPG and other singleplayer games just don't cut it. I start playing, endure for an hour max, and simply drop it. Skyrim, Witcher, you name it, it simply takes too much time for those games to provide the amount of fun as other multiplayer games.
Also, having less free time as an adult doesn't help.
 

Alienman

Retro-Fascist
Patron
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
17,046
Location
Mars
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex Year of the Donut Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I have a serious problem of getting overwhelmed with amount of games available to play and then guilt tripping myself over it. Like you OP I love the things, but the amount of CRPGs I have missed in my lifetime, plus new ones coming out I easily feel swamped. On Steam I have a ridicules amount of games installed - games that I have promised myself to finish to the end. Also the fact that playing some of these legendary games feel like some kind of cultural obligation. I have many games from GoG installed as well, and a couple of CD-ROM games. This have a real dampening effect on me installing and trying new games. With that I mean I guilt trip myself - "I should really finish this game before starting a new one". I know it doesn't really make sense since gaming should not feel like a commitment, but sometimes it does for some reason.
 

Mustawd

Guest
Part of why I love rpgs is that there is so much interconnectedness with systems, combat, loot, stats, leveling, etc.

The complexity is fun and can be more immersive than any other genre when you can dive into a world and really learn its ins and outs.

But when you don't have as much time it's harder and harder to get into these games. My gaming sessions can be as short as an hour. So I tend to look at all these great rpgs on my backlog, and I whisper to them, "soon I'll have an empty weekend/some days off/etc to just play you".

But those weekends rarely come because of work, relationships, or just regular life, where you have shit to do. So we're kind of in the same situation.


I think the solution is to just try a lot of games in short bursts. 15-30 mins here and there to the point where you learn the game over time. So when you do have an hour or two, you can quickly get into it.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
2,430
Also the fact that playing some of these legendary games feel like some kind of cultural obligation.

I also suffer from this syndrome.

To the thread: now it's hard to start almoast any geam but it can be some kind of invesment, I know that first 1-2 hour can be deceiving and pass this point good geam can reward you. I especially like that moment when after boring beginning you get involved and geam became kind of daily routine, when it melts into your day scheme naturally AND u don't a feel a need to play anything else until you finish this shit. Less and less games offer such involvment nowadays but still, once you find one it's extremely satysfying.
 

Naraya

Arcane
Joined
Oct 19, 2014
Messages
1,513
Location
Tuono-Tabr
It is a constant struggle for me as well. It helps to remind yourself that:

- You don't have time to waste on doing things you don't really want to do
- You will never play all games you want to

Just do things that are fun for you personally and forget everything else.
 

HansDampf

Arcane
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
1,471
I've noticed that older games tend to require you to invest more time and effort to get into them. But once you get past that you will also get more out of them. It's easier when you are in your teens and have a lot of time on your hands, but as an adult? One hour sessions are almost too short.
Imo, the worst thing you can do is buy a lot of games and create a huge backlog you will never get through. At some point it begins to feel like work. I only buy and play one game at a time until I'm satisfied.
 

Mustawd

Guest
Imo, the worst thing you can do is buy a lot of games and create a huge backlog you will never get through. At some point it begins to feel like work. I only buy and play one game at a time until I'm satisfied.

I think this is the crux of the issue for myself. Plus, there's a feeling that there are so many other games waiting. It's a weird feeling for a hobby.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

v1rus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
2,253
Well, it seems I function completely differently than the rest of the Codex.

Lots of people gave a rather sound advice - play games for 30 min-1hr. Except that ain't the problem for me. I actually cant be bothered to boot up the game, and once I do Ill most prolly be "eeh, cant be arsed with that now, lets try later this evening". Later this evening never happens ofc.

Once I actually boot the game up, and get into it for 2-3 hours, I have no problem with playing it for 6 hours straight if I have the time. I also rarely tend to get burnt out.

Also, revealer is on to something. Thats the precise feeling I've been having. I get my gaming fix from the mobas/ccgs/mmos, and i keep leaving the good stuff for "when I'm not this tired"
 
Last edited:

Dux

Arcane
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
635
Location
Sweden
Play what you want to play. Or don't. There's no obligation, after all. It's just games.

I've had times when I just couldn't get into it. Sometimes I need "palette cleansers" to clear my head. Simple games, where fun or reward is often easily attained. Games that I can knock out in like six or seven hours. Sometimes I'd rather read, listen to music or watch Netflix instead of playing games. I'm still a gamer, though. Eventually I come back - stronger - and go the distance with games like Lords of Xulima.

There will always be good and bad periods of a gamer's life. Ups and downs. Playing what's fun - for the moment - is a hell of a tonic when you're feeling hesitant or uninspired. It's all about fun, isn't it? It doesn't always have to be 80hrs+ CRPGs or whatever. It could be anything, as long as you're having fun.
 

Mr. Pink

Travelling Gourmand, Crab Specialist
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,042
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Kinda unrelated but I just bought AoD but the amount of text in the game is starting to wear me out. I used to be able to stomach way more wordy games but now I have a lot less patience. maybe it has something to do with how the text is presented. AOD has huge blocks of text while other text heavy games and VNs split their text up in a way that only the last few sentences are visible. Not sure if I'm getting older or dumber.

:negative:
 

Wayward Son

Fails to keep valuable team members alive
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
1,866,294
Location
Anytown, USA
I have the same problem as op, I'll start my umpteenth character in Daggerfall, and then be done with it at the end of Privateer's Hold.
Or Fallout 2 and be done by Klamath.
Etc etc.
 

Leechmonger

Arbiter
Joined
Jan 30, 2016
Messages
756
Location
Valley of Defilement
I have a hard time starting up a game for the first time, but after that it's easy to keep playing until I beat it (assuming it's good). Part of the problem is that for a lot of games the effort/time commitment is very front-loaded, especially for RPGs. In order to start playing most RPGs you need to first create a PC or party, which means having a good understanding of the game's systems before you've actually played the fucking thing. It doesn't help that a lot of games are terribly balanced and that even if they weren't the relative merit of single-target vs AoE (as an example) varies from game to game. Who wants to commit to a 20+ hour game only to find out halfway through that all your cool lightening spells are useless against a common enemy introduced later in the game that is lightening immune?

Lighter and multiplayer games I'll have no trouble diving into both because there's less to fuck up (the former) and less consequences for fucking up (the latter), or both.

EDIT: I will say that there are games that I never finish (DA:O) or I have to force myself to finish (Underrail) because they become tedious, but I consider that a problem with the game.

Also the fact that playing some of these legendary games feel like some kind of cultural obligation.

That's the main reason I played through Planescape Torment these past two weeks.
 

Mustawd

Guest
Also the fact that playing some of these legendary games feel like some kind of cultural obligation.


That's the main reason I played through Planescape Torment these past two weeks.


I see this as less of a problem. After all, classic novels are classic for a reason. Some of them can be hard to get into due to generational differences in language and prose, but 90% of classics are either very good or great. They're just harder to pick up than say, a graphic novel or a cheesy Stephen King book.

And the payoff is so much more from a great piece of fiction versus something you pick up in an airport bookstore.
 
Self-Ejected

Excidium II

Self-Ejected
Joined
Jun 21, 2015
Messages
1,866,227
Location
Third World
Now that I think about it, it prolly has something to do with age/availability of the games. When I was younger and had no moneyz or internetz, and good games were scarcely available to me, I almost instantly got into everything.

Anyone else had a similar experience?
Yes.
 

Gerrard

Arcane
Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
11,927
I have something like this, it's not just with games either.

I'm pretty sure it's just depression though.
 

Burning Bridges

Enviado de meu SM-G3502T usando Tapatalk
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
27,562
Location
Tampon Bay
My big problem is rather the amount of time I need to research until I find one game that interests me. But the games I eventually play I play 100 hours minimum, in some I have clocked over 1000 hours.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
2,430
Lots of people gave a rather sound advice - play games for 30 min-1hr. Except that ain't the problem for me. I actually cant be bothered to boot up the game, and once I do Ill most prolly be "eeh, cant be arsed with that now, lets try later this evening". Later this evening never happens ofc.

Ok, now I've got it. I have similar, it's hadrer to me to sit down to a geam that requires some additional acctivities like watching multiple-menu/logo screens, suffering from long loading times, starting with fucking checkpoint, typing some commands in DosBox etc. and much easier to start each season without any of this bullshit - thanx to emulators where all you need to do is run a program, select ROM and press Fx to load save state and then u are being teleported straight into geam, into the last fucking second of previous playthrough. It may sounds weird but that's how it works.
 

octavius

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
19,185
Location
Bjørgvin
It's always a hurlde to RTFM, learn how the new game works, read what the other retards on the Codex say about it, check for any remakes, mods or unoffical patches. Much easier to just fire up a new HoMM 2 map, for example.
But the effort is usually worth it. Two of the most "intimidating" games to me were Nahlakh and (Open)X-Com.
 

Beastro

Arcane
Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
7,952
I have the same problem. For me it comes out of habit of preparing for a game, learning a lot about it so I don't go in blind and frustrate myself trying to learn how it works. Problem is health puts a premium on my ability to concentrate and learn so I've become wary of trying out new games, and given my taste in them, like complex ones and don't want to settle for something less.

Last one really dove into blind was Rule the Waves, but it helps that it's one of those "easy to learn, difficult to master" ones.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom