Realization around Gaming

[BoringSupreez]

but I don't think there's been a single month since I was about 8 years old that I haven't used the internet in some capacity

How old are you again?

Probably within 5 years of my age. I can say the same thing as he, except I started when I was 7.

[Key-Glyph]

I'm 26 and still play frequently, but I have always been drawn like a magnet to supplemental material: gaming magazines, strategy guides, wikis, interview transcripts, etcetera. There are several games, in fact, that I've spent a lot of time researching out of general interest but have never played, and don't plan on playing. I find the behind-the-scenes stuff just as interesting as the experience, so I can definitely understand the enjoyment derived from that aspect of the hobby. I usually refrain from buying games I don't play on using, however.

As an adult I've become more interested in gaming from a societal and historical perspective and have started reading books about those aspects of the hobby as well. But I've also gotten to be too dang tired at the end of some days to pick up a fast-paced game... so there's that, too.

[Menegrothx]

As an adult I've become more interested in gaming from a societal and historical perspective and have started reading books about those aspects of the hobby as well. But I've also gotten to be too dang tired at the end of some days to pick up a fast-paced game... so there's that, too.

I have become more intrested of the "academic"/analytic way to view games as I've become older. I like to read and debate about things like historical impact and what gameplay elements made a particular game great/better than it's competitors and go back in time and see how a certain game influenced the game industry and game developers.
I guess I also value games as art pieces nowadays, as I enjoy video game scenery and music and I have started disliking sequels.

[sabrage]

but I don't think there's been a single month since I was about 8 years old that I haven't used the internet in some capacity

How old are you again?

I'm 20, not that it's important.

[mjmjr25]

@OP, yeah, I don't think this is odd, weird, or any anomaly of any sort. Many of us on here are like that.

I was a fairly heavy gamer 13-15yo. Then I was very casual, had maybe 40 games and 2 systems, ages 16-20. Then a very very casual gamer, like once a month, from 21-25. Then from 26-29, I gamed maybe once ever 3-4 months and was down to like 25 games and 2 systems again. Then around 30 my kids started wanting to get into Nintendo DS, and it sorta took off like fire. I have more games now than I had a as a kid. But even at that, even 2 years ago, I was more collecting for myself and buying stuff for my kids to play. Then about 18 months I got into arcade and shmup stuff - stuff I actually could play. All these strategy and RPG games look amazing, but many of us don't have but an hour a day, if that. I need to be able to get in, and get out, in 20 minutes or less - or I don't play it.

I'll play 5 games in a day, but i'll only spend 45 minutes. No reading, no loading, no setting up controls, just playing.

Though, occasionally i'll dedicate a day every 6 weeks or so where i'll play a platformer or adventure game that can be beat in 6 hours or so.

For the most part, I goof around on the forums at work, buy stuff, fix stuff, clean stuff, and just generally collect, because collecting is fun. I think there is a place in the gaming world for just about all folks, because there are so many genres and mediums, it lends itself across all the usual dividing lines.

[o.pwuaioc]

but I don't think there's been a single month since I was about 8 years old that I haven't used the internet in some capacity

How old are you again?

I'm 20, not that it's important.

I just cannot fathom having had to have the internet at such a young age. My mind was blown, then I felt old.

[ElkinFencer10]

I'm the same way. I LOVE my game, and marathon-game during breaks and summer and stuff, but I almost never game during the school year except on my 3DS since I can just close it and put it in sleep mode whenever I need to. Console gaming, while more rewarding IMO, takes more time.

[Damm64]

This is the reason why handled games exist, you have 20 minutes to spare? go and play mario land!
Looks like a lot of us have time to read and talk about videogames but don't play much
But when it's weekend i make a game marathon, like 8 hours of gaming or more if i really like the game.

[Xeogred]

Am I one of the few that just doesn't think about this sort of thing? I mean, I'm pretty sure I used to a few years ago, but not really anymore. I've definitely got my own backlog and get pretty busy or caught up with other hobbies sometimes, but nowadays I just never feel like it's a "race" to get to all these games or anything.

I mean, yeah there are a lot of games thesedays that just simply don't hold my interest for very long and sometimes I can only play in short bursts. But every once and awhile, there's still some crazy game that can pull me in for hours and hours for a single session. So... I don't know if it's me, but rather the games themselves today?

Not even sure where I'm going with this. Deus Ex HR was probably the last game I played that glued me to a seat for ~6 hours at a time or something. Used to game like that all the time and I've been into computers since I was really young too so I'm not sure if that's a factor (it's so weird to think I knew about emulation and rom hacking in 6th grade, haha).

[Vita Mayo]

@OP, yeah, I don't think this is odd, weird, or any anomaly of any sort. Many of us on here are like that.

I was a fairly heavy gamer 13-15yo. Then I was very casual, had maybe 40 games and 2 systems, ages 16-20. Then a very very casual gamer, like once a month, from 21-25.

11-15, I am also a heavy gamer. Then at 16-21, gave up on gaming because of college and the things you do in college, aside from being constantly being broke. Now, I am 24, I am praying for the Vita to took off. I am planning on buying a 3DS myself too. This generation, it's handheld or bust. Cost of building PC or console+HDTV is too much, knowing that I can't really game that much. Plus, I always go from one place to another, live from one place to another, what I really need now is portability more than anything.