I miss how gaming made me feel

I feel the same. I concluded that I just cant play games as much as I used to, and that actually there's little point, because those feelings will never be fresh in my mind again since it's not a new experience.

My opinion is that playing newer games was often me trying to chase those past feelings (nostalgia) but it'll never be the same.

Then I figured the reason for this is because I've changed as a person, and I now take more pleasure out of other things in life that games used to satisfy. So now I chase those new passions instead, and occasionally play the old games of my childhood instead of newer titles, since they are much better at giving me a nostalgia hit.
 
Kelt said:
Wait until you hit 65 in October :(

I still miss the days of playing Pong in the pubs! :p
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67 last October. Do you remember space invaders and asteroids in a pub table?

Retirement is quite cool, you can live like a teenager with minimal responsibility if you wish. Or you can take it less seriously.
 
If you keep looking back at things with rose tinted glasses nothing will be able to compare. Just play games, single player or MP and just enjoy them for what they are. I'm 33 and have spent about 100 hours since May on Warzone with friends, and some randoms I played with online.
 
OP, do you game on a PC too? If not, try that route.

Myself, almost 56, miss some of the old games i used to play like Half Life and Geoff Crammonds GP2...
 
koolpc said:
OP, do you game on a PC too? If not, try that route.

Myself, almost 56, miss some of the old games i used to play like Half Life and Geoff Crammonds GP2...
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Using virtual machines on a PC gets around most of the 'can't be played on windows 10' issues as well. I keep a windows XP one for older games (and my old canon camera software).
 
koolpc said:
OP, do you game on a PC too? If not, try that route.

Myself, almost 56, miss some of the old games i used to play like Half Life and Geoff Crammonds GP2...
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55 myself. Elite, Exile, Space Invaders, Asteroids Repton amongst countless others from the 80's, Tomb Raider 1,2,3 from the 90's Half Life, HL2, Crysis, more recently Gran Turismo 1,2,3,4,5, and other PlayStation titles Fallout, Oblivion, Skyrim and so many others I can't even remember right now and I'm seriously thinking about VR for Alyx at the moment.

Had endless fun with all of them.
 
xraycat87 said:
Posted on reddit but thought I'd open up here.

Now before I get bombarded with old person comments and down votes I just wanna open up here, partly due to boredem, party to vent and now allow it to ruin my already cagey mental health.

I'm 33, live in England, been lucky enough to have been exposed to gaming from a young age. My earliest memory gaming is playing Sonic 1 in my uncles bedroom. Around 3years old. I literally don't remember anything before that, that is my earliest memory and I suppose using sonic as a reference is why it's stuck.

Gaming throughout the 2000s I eventually got into mmorpg which changed gaming for me, maybe due to the lack of massive online community on xbox/ps around 2006. And although I always buy every console I maybe have 5 friends I always play with, and another 20 I haven't played with since maybe 2015. I used to always be part of a team, or when I played more console games, we aren't a clan, just a group of friends who grew up together gaming. (I realise how poorly written this is up until this point but I'm trying to channel my thoughts for once)

Now due to my age and group I'm in, everyone is moving their focus onto families, some already have kids, some expecting more and the time we have together fades as their family grows, which is great for them but gaming is my getaway, I don't watch TV unless it's football (soccer) and the rare film. And I'm finding lately I'm just finding my time online a bit sad and lonely. I got heckled loads for having my yera of birth in my tag, got bombarded so much I paid to change it lol, and it's like I'm 33, have my own house, nice car, good job, travel and I'm allowing these people to bring me down further. I just miss a sense of belonging or being part of a team now days, I have a pc sat upstairs, decent spec but no one to really game with, my ps4 Pro is mainly for exclusives because it is better for that let's be honest, and my xbox is really there to play with the same group I've played with since the 360 days.

I've got this far trying to explain something I can express. I dunno. Maybe I am getting old, maybe I just need to find a group who wants members etc. I just hope in a way there's people in the same moment, and that we can all pass it.

Peace out
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I'm 35 and I resonate with this quite a bit. During my teens, an MMORPG called Ultima Online became a major part of my life. I met friends on there who became my real life friends. I met girls who became my real life girlfriends. But the game itself was a massive escape from reality. The group I was with were pretty good at the game, and it felt like I was a legend online but my real life was mundane. Over time the group gradually split up over different games or prioritised different parts of life, but I always look back fondly on those days even though there were some fairly serious negative consequences to it. When others started to move on and it wasn't the same anymore, I sometimes felt hollow.

What changed for me is that non gaming life gradually became hugely more important than gaming life. At university, a certain amount of time had to be dedicated to the course and a social life. Post uni, work becomes a priority and then eventually a girlfriend outside gaming and spending time on that relationship, then marriage and a life with ever growing responsibilities and interests outside of that area.

I suppose you could say I'm one of those who moved their focus like your friends, but I'd encourage you to do the same - a fulfilling real life leads to gaming becoming an enjoyable hobby rather than an existential escape or need.
 
Dr Diggler prescribes a bottle of Smirnoff and a couple of hookers (tandem or consecutive, your shout).

Put the gamepad down man, there's a big world out there. ;)
 
What I miss is the days when MMOs, etc. were made by people with passion, they might not have been perfect but usually the more annoying bugs got squashed (partly because the developers actually played and enjoyed their own game) and the gameplay was fun even if not always the best balanced or thought out, etc.

These days too many of these kind of games are made by too many people doing it as a career to the beat of a publisher's drum, gameplay mechanics and balance, etc. too often have a significant amount of data mining and psychology/manipulation involved to push players towards a specific direction the developer/publisher wants, annoying bugs never get sorted and the developer moves onto the next incarnation of the game with hollow promises, that somehow many of the player believe, that it will all be solved/better in the next game and inevitably the same old bugs, issues and crappy ways of treating players, etc. crop up yet again...
 
For all those mentioning Half Life. Have you tried 'Black Mesa' which is the fan made remake. It's currently £9.74 on 'special' on steam. I bought it last year, highly recommend! It brought back a lot of memories for me and with much improved graphics ;)
 
I rarely get excited about games now either. But then the standard of games has dropped a lot, there is so much trash being released now.

Games development used to be an art, but now its just about profit. Which is why we see everyone following the same formulas (especially Ubisoft whos games are all the same).

I used to work for a well known games developer starting back in 2005. It was great, but then a few years later it got taken over by basically salesman and it became a horrible place to work. Most of the real talent moved out of the industry long ago.
 
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I'm in the same position as you OP (although I have kids too, which adds to the burden).

I don't think it's gaming itself that I miss, but the social interaction with my friends. I had been noticing the trend for the past 12-18months or so and I had started to find new ways to expand my hobbies and find fulfilment, although covid has killed all of that. I'm just waiting for the new normal to finally arrive, and I'll try and expand those horizons again.

Find yourself a goal (weight loss and improving your fitness is a good start to improve your self-image), then expand that into new social environments. I had started using Meetme before all this kicked off, it's a good place to start meeting new friends.
 
I don't really enjoy games anymore.
I've tried a few and I dunno, I just don't get much enjoyment from them.

Edit.. I'm 34

Is hard to explain. They just don't hold my attention. And I usually don't feel happy after playing if I do.

None of my friends have kids, and I love playing boardgames online with my friends, DnD. Social games I guess. But no interest in online games like COD or whatever.

Its almost like I enjoy the simpler things now.
Weird. I didn't think id ever not enjoy computer games

I enjoy going outside more now, on my bike, seeing things, going to the beach. That feeling is 100s if times better thackeray anything I get from games
 
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EvilRob said:
I'm 35 and I resonate with this quite a bit. During my teens, an MMORPG called Ultima Online became a major part of my life. I met friends on there who became my real life friends. I met girls who became my real life girlfriends. But the game itself was a massive escape from reality. The group I was with were pretty good at the game, and it felt like I was a legend online but my real life was mundane. Over time the group gradually split up over different games or prioritised different parts of life, but I always look back fondly on those days even though there were some fairly serious negative consequences to it. When others started to move on and it wasn't the same anymore, I sometimes felt hollow.

What changed for me is that non gaming life gradually became hugely more important than gaming life. At university, a certain amount of time had to be dedicated to the course and a social life. Post uni, work becomes a priority and then eventually a girlfriend outside gaming and spending time on that relationship, then marriage and a life with ever growing responsibilities and interests outside of that area.

I suppose you could say I'm one of those who moved their focus like your friends, but I'd encourage you to do the same - a fulfilling real life leads to gaming becoming an enjoyable hobby rather than an existential escape or need..
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Very well put, I would only add that escapism is OK and part of any enjoyable hobby - as you infer, you need to have a rounded life which involves putting effort into things outside of your hobbies too (work, health and cleanliness, relationships - all things that require a spend of energy to get reward.... otherwise you ‘coast’ in these areas and only find real enjoyment through escapism).

Edit - formatting.
 
I think it's just that technology and games only move on so fast so you get bored eventually to an extent wait a while and hopefully a new killer or evolutionary game will come out or something better. But I also think it is about yourself. You have to be happy in your non gaming life. Get a girlfriend or housemate perhaps. Ideally a friend. Improve yourself then come back.
 
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