How to get back into gaming?

@Jag85: haha, sounds legit 😁

@R4gn4r0k: Yeah, that's a good point. What handheld did you get?

@SecretPolice: It's definitely in consideration. Plus it would give us a backup Xbox for our occasional halo LANs.

@bahadur9: Yeah, it sucks not having fun with gaming. It's been four years, and that's just too damn long. If I can't find it with modern games (at least the AAA stuff), hopefully I can find it in the games I missed in the past. It's been working for me with movies and music... why not this?

@dimebag667: i left my gaming rut behind when I improved my human life... Leaning on games to deliver a constant source of happiness is a dead end street. Games are lowest common denominator entertainment compared to real world activity, so by ensuring your real human life is filled with adventure and activities allows games to be the side car they were intended to be.... Passive enjoyment during downtime. Gaming was it's worst for me when I was fixated on new releases.... They're not developing games intended to feed your malaise and bring you back to gaming... The AAA scene is creatively lost and the indie scene is mostly stellar. I believe to get back into gaming you have to remove it from the pedestal of primary enjoyments and use it as passive time filler.

I couldn't agree more.

I tend to play anything that looks good in my eyes. Rather it be AAA/AA or Indie games, but Indie games do provide interesting gameplay. I'd take what Dr. Jaydan says, Indie games is the way to go. AAA games is a hit or a miss. Of course, I don't look at just AAA or Indie, just games that looks to catch my fancy.

@TheEroica: Well that opens up a whole can of worms🤣. I agree that having a better balance all around is the way to go, but I was also happiest when I was actively gaming. We used to have Halo CE LANs every Sunday for years, and it was the best. So I don't know how much more active it could be, when you dedicate an entire day of the week to it; as well as the other games played throughout the week. And if course there are other factors that made those sessions great; time in life, hanging out in person with friends, state of the industry, etc.

But even when we stopped doing that, I was still gaming as consistently as ever, and was having a great time. It wasn't until the PS4 launched that I started falling out of love with gaming. It was around that time that games started launching in extremely broken states, mobas, hero shooters, and eventually battle royale exploded in popularity, consoles had less innovation, on and on. It got to a point that I had to side-eye everything that was going on. And after awhile, I just stopped participating.

I expect to not love everything, at all points in time. Hell, it probably makes the good things better, when you have something bad to compare it with. But when it's crap, after crap, after crap... I'm less inclined to believe it's all my perception. Where I was a buffoon was doing the same thing repeatedly, hoping it would get better. Oh well.

The other part I've lost is the adventure. We used to do all kinds of stuff like go to the movies, disc golf, hike, Ren Fair, etc, but now movies suck, they're annoyingly expensive, I don't know why we don't play disc golf, hiking used to be solitary and exciting, now it's absolutely PACKED with people, and the Ren Fair stopped being fun when booze was removed. That's another factor that was removed... Drinking. That has changed a lot in my life, and not necessarily for the better. I love not having hangovers, or the depressive states it would put me in for weeks, but I honestly don't feel better without it. And it makes so many activities less enjoyable without it. I guess I'm proud that I CAN do them without it, but I do NOT enjoy them more.

Ok, this therapy session has gone on too long 😁. I need to get some better balance, and the entertainment industry needs to make better stuff. Hell, maybe I'll go back to a dumb phone and start drinking again 😜.

@davillain: Yeah, I just wanna play good games. If indie has em, I'll take em.

Get into retro gaming, instead. This generation is so bad that I've completely lost interest. I've been doing 80s/90s arcade gaming and pinball. Much more fun.

@tjandmia: That's the way I'm leaning. I've been finding the most joy with the things I overlooked in the past. I'm just trying to figure out if I want to only play 80's games for a bit, and then move on to 90's and so forth. Or do I want to do what I did with my backlog in 2013; write down everything I want to try, randomly number them, and just do them in that order. Do I want to play the series that I haven't experienced in chronological order, or play the top 3 of said franchise from lowest rated to highest?

Finding out how I want to start this journey is where I am right now. But I'm also trying to find the best way to play these games. Emulation seems like the easiest way for old consoles, and gog/steam for old PC games. But I'm open to anything that's good.

I was out of gaming for a while but went back and played games from my childhood. It definitely got me back in the mood to game.

@robert_sparkes: That seems to be a solid tactic. At least imo, modern gaming has drifted so far from what made me fall in love with games, that going back in time is the only way forward.

I'm kind of the same. Partly why I'm more of a retro gamer now. I don't find a lot this gen that is that appealing.

I don't think I would ever give up on gaming. I'm fascinated with retro consoles and games.

@HalcyonScarlet: Totally. My malaise started last gen, but this gen hasn't shown me enough to want to buy the new systems. Even though I haven't played a game in years, I'm still here, and still interested in what's going on.

That said, I do really miss playing games. It's not only extremely fun, but it's part of my identity. It's like having part of you ripped out, and then trying to act like everything is normal. It doesn't work. Plus, when I'm happy, I can put more of that out into the world. As opposed to now, where I can only half-ass it.

I'd say get into retro gaming for sure. I love 2D gaming, 5th gen games the most, but there's a good mix on the 7th gen consoles too.

This is why I'd say get a Series S. It's actually good for retro gaming, and I don't mean emulators and all of that, but there's a ton of a mix of games, non 8th and 9th gen games on the Xbox store. If you had a n Xbox 360, a lot of the games you bought digitally will show up too.

And because it's also a current gen system, you may find something more current you may like too.

This is why it's "each to their own" and there is a good place for the Series S, because there's a gamer that it makes sense for. I'd be mad if I got an expensive Series X or PS5 and I wasn't attracted to all these new games.

The PC is obviously by far the best for the retro game.

Just saying. You don't need to force yourself to play or find anything new to like, and in the mean time, there's a bunch of classics to enjoy.

Made for you

@hardwenzen: Nailed it 👍 I've actually been trying to will myself up to a dumbphone as well. I want to detox myself of all things 'now'; except them resurrecting mammoths. That sounds cool! Maybe when they dismantle Blackrock, and we can have creativity again, I might come back. Until then, I'm grabbing my Motorola, my magic middles, and my Mappy.

Well... That depends what's the highest amount of boredom you're willing to handle before getting really close to absolutely cracking ? I'd say it's more like something you savour more the more you wait until you're ready

@poarstman: What exactly are you referring to?

Yeah play indie.

Nothing wrong with playing older stuff you know you like, but if your try to get hooked back in on the hobby I feel a new good game will do a better job.more exciting jumping into something you have no idea what to expect.

I just recently started playing cult of the lamb and its alot of fun.

It's a rougelike/resource management mix of a game. Has alot of personality, base management, hack n slash combat, cool art style.

Dead Cells if you haven't tried yet is a good one, if you haven't tried it yet get it with all the DLC the castlevania edition ( it's the complete edition) addicting gameplay loop)

Penny's big break away and Pizza Tower are cool if your into platformers.

Sea of stars is fun if your into turn based rpgs And has a vibrant color pallet in that 32 bit style.

Beserk boy I haven't tried yet but people have been comparing it to older action Sega games.

Alot of cool smaller indie games been comming out that are alot of fun and interesting and addicting.

The AAA space is a dirty swamp right now your better off just avoiding imo if your trying to get back into the hobby. Nothing but MTX and bloated open world filler content.

Indie the way to go for sure.(I play most my indies on switch, but you can play em on anything)

My favourite era was 360/PS3 I would recommend getting either the games are so cheap and had some gems.

@dimebag667:

It goes to just about anything really, who says burnout just has to be solely from vidya?

Great way to detox I've found is spending more time in nature. Enjoy the outside, the good weather, the sun, away from people and in forests.

@sargentd: Yeah, I was thinking about getting a pool of games I played but never beat, games I've always wanted to try, and the ones people suggest. Then group then by 80s, 90s and so on, and play one from each era. Then circle back when I get to modern time. Hopefully the different time periods and different vibes will keep from getting burnt out. Thanks for the suggestions 👍

@robert_sparkes: I think I might have to agree with you. I loved some of the earlier gens as well, but I played way more during that era. I was playing through some old stuff on my launch PS3 a couple years ago, but it finally got the ylod. I need to try to reapply some thermal paste, but from what I've seen it's either those weird rectangular capacitors (which look like a pain to solder) or the connection from the board to where the CPU slots in. Which needs to be reballed?, and is beyond what I'm willing to attempt.

What is the best current option for playing games of that era?

@poarstman: Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, I'm pretty fed up with everything in general. Just sucks they had to poison entertainment; my outlet. I honestly put massive amount of blame on smartphones. That constant need to see if something new happened, and the fear of not having it on you. I noticed about a decade ago that I was checking Twitter every chance I got, so I finally just deleted it. Then I started spending hours on Reddit after work, so I had to quit that too. I wish I just had better self control, but with my addictive personality, I really think I need to take the option away. And hell, I used to live just fine with a dumbphone... why can't I do it again?

@dimebag667: ive noticed 360 games going up in price on UK because the ms 360 store is going down. I would go with PS3 as they had some great exclusives during that era. And games are really still quite cheaper.

@R4gn4r0k: 100%, dude. I walk an hour every night, and listen to audiobooks. My neighborhood is 'in town', but is basically in the woods, and is full of creatures. I'm about to finish with my Stephen King books, and I can tell you that there's not much more frightening than a deer you didn't notice snorting in the dark. Or when the same SOB owl comes out of nowhere to skip off your dome. Still, it's quite the experience. And it gets even better if you have some mushrooms in you 🤯🦉🏃‍♂️.

We used to go hiking on trails a lot too, but now they're packed with people. I went with a buddy around 2012, where we hiked four miles in, camped, then back out the next day. Over the two days we might have seen 10-12 people. A few years later I went with some different friends, and we saw 40 parked cars before we even got to the start. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw 500 people that day. Still had a decent time, but that sense of freedom and isolation was completely lost. So as much as I would want to do that, it's less of an option these days. Or I need to find a time when they don't want to be there.

@dimebag667: when you actually stand still and take a moment to look that is when you see life everywhere. Especially during spring.

People are happier the more connected they are to nature, we can't rip ourselves apart from it, we are a part of it.

I wish my governement did more to protect or even make sure there was more nature. But they are blindsighted by shot term goals like greed.

@robert_sparkes: Right on 👍 I'll try to fix my PS3 and go from there. Is gamepass the best way to play 360 exclusives? Are there any glaring omissions on there?

@R4gn4r0k: Couldn't agree more. I'm sure the lack of responsibility helped, but I spent so much more time outside when I was a kid. And it was good 😊

It seems like every single thing in adult life is about ripping you away from nature.

Well you can still take the kids to a park I guess :)

@dimebag667: youre a perfect candidate for a steam deck... Honestly. You will bang out so much backlog with that device. It will all be glorious. I know, I've been doing it for two years.... Beat probably 20 games off my backlog last year and I keep rolling.

I'd personally start as far back as you can stomach and move forward. Or I'd have a couple games going from different genres and different generations. Just to keep things fresh.

@R4gn4r0k: Problem is I don't have kids. And like you're saying, I can't just go hangout at the park without ending up on some watch list. Maybe I could borrow one of my friends kids. I just need a Frisbee friend! 😂

@TheEroica: Yeah I'm wondering if hopping through eras would be too jarring, or if I should fully immerse myself in the past, and slowly move back to now. Basically just relive my life again, but with new extra experiences.

I'm not a huge handheld person, but I think the steam deck is in different category from those. Definitely worth considering.

I'm basically in the same situation as you.

I told my best friend who's also my age: I want to go on the swings again. Lol, Life is fun when you can have moments of seriousness, but also moments of absolutely zero responsibility and zero impact.

So yeah, this weekend we'll be going to the swings, let's see how this goes :p

@R4gn4r0k: Haha, that's awesome. I hope you have a good time. I'm at least going to my nephew's baseball games this weekend, and then to a buddy's for BBQ and WrestleMania. I hate modern WWE, but hanging out should be fun.

BBQs are the best! Yeah just chatting with friends about things that interest you is great.

I have nothing with sports either.