When do you know to quit?

[Exhuminator]

For a long time I had a personal issue with quitting a game before I beat it. This would occur if I had sunk any significant time in a game (say over an hour). I would become invested in finishing the experience, and if I did not finish the experience, I would somehow feel like this was a personal failing of sorts.

Firstly I didn't want to quit a game that's fun just because it's too hard. What am I, a wuss? I didn't want to be a wuss, so I'd suffer through not having fun (unbalanced difficulty) in the pursuit of not being a wuss, and maybe the game would be fun again. Rarely would an unbalanced game become balanced and fun again once it went off the rails.

Secondly let's say I was playing a game that started off fun, but kinda fell down the stairs after a while. The design got sloppy or tedious, and I found myself forcing myself to play the game. The hope here is that the design will improve again, and the game will be fun again. Wouldn't it be a travesty if I missed out some great stuff later in the game, just because I quit playing it during a low point? Rarely did any game's design actually improve once it went off the rails.

Third is the matter of having paid money for an experience. If you quit the experience before it's finished, are you really getting your money's worth? Well you can sell the game and at least get some of that back right?

In light of realizing these factors I've finally been forcing myself lately to just let a game go if it stops being fun. A game should never stop being entertaining, right? What's the point if it's not? The difficulty alone? If that's the case I can go do 100 pushups and run 5 miles because that's just as hard and as monotonous and at least has some actual benefit.

So last night I was playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader on GameCube. This is a game that got insanely good reviews across the board. I came to the realization that was because it was a Star Wars game with amazing graphics for its time. The actual game balance and game play are pure crap. It's punishing in ways that are not fun but rather a result of piss poor design. After arbitrarily failing a sneaking mission in a tiny spacecraft in a foggy canyon for the 20th time I said to myself, "I have hundreds of other games to play, why am I forcing myself to suffer this shlock". And then I put it on the "sell on eBay" pile and started playing an actual fun game instead. I knew I had it in me gamer-wise to finish Rogue Leader, my skills could get me there in time. But the game had failed me first by being a frustrating pile of piss to deal with in the first place.

Alright so my question here is when do YOU as a game player decide a game is no longer worth your time? What does a game have to do to make you stop playing it before it's finished? Do you force yourself to finish bad games just because you paid money for them, or because everyone else seems to think the game is amazing even though you think it's terrible?

[dogman91]

I just go with the assumption that I'm not in the mood to play the game at the moment and put it down for later. Eventually, if it's any good, I'll feel like giving it a whirl and that's when I'll go back to my save game/password (and NOT start over) to finish it off or get a bit further.

Often games I think simply SUCK I'll come back to later and find a renewed enjoyment now that I know what to expect. Last Battle for the Genesis is one, and even Crash Bandicoot (I assumed it was an open-ish 3D platformer like Banjo-Kazooie and hated the linearity and controls, but a year or so later knowing what to expect I enjoyed it immensely.)

Maybe you should try Backloggery.com too to keep track of the games you haven't finished, just to get a clear overview of these games that you put down.

[BoneSnapDeez]

To me, quitting isn't always permanent.

To give a recent example, a couple of weeks ago I fired up Legend of the Ghost Lion (an NES JRPG).

It's cute and this a genre I enjoy. But I just felt exhausted playing it. Most likely this is because I played four other NES RPGs back-to-back right before I fired up Ghost Lion. I shelved the game and told myself I'd get back to it when I was in a different state of mind.

I tend to oscillate between RPGs, platformers, arcade games, and 2nd gen stuff. If I stick with one genre or style for too long I start to get burned out.

I've also shelved many games simply because they were too difficult. I pick away at them and play them year after year, making a little progress each time.

As for bad games, sometimes I press on, sometimes I don't. I have finished games like Secret of the Stars - mainly so I could "brag" about the fact that I actually finished Secret of the Stars - but others feel so broken and unbalanced and just plain bad to the point that I have no intentions of ever(?) finishing them.

"Wasting money" on a (potentially or proven) bad game has never been a concern of mine. I can at least find things of interest in virtually all the video games I own, regardless of quality.

[samsonlonghair]

So last night I was playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader on GameCube. This is a game that got insanely good reviews across the board. I came to the realization that was because it was a Star Wars game with amazing graphics for its time. The actual game balance and game play are pure crap. It's punishing in ways that are not fun but rather a result of piss poor design. After arbitrarily failing a sneaking mission in a tiny spacecraft in a foggy canyon for the 20th time I said to myself, "I have hundreds of other games to play, why am I forcing myself to suffer this shlock". And then I put it on the "sell on eBay" pile and started playing an actual fun game instead. I knew I had it in me gamer-wise to finish Rogue Leader, my skills could get me there in time. But the game had failed me first by being a frustrating pile of piss to deal with in the first place.

I had a very similar experience with Rogue Leader on Gamecube. Maybe this game had great reviews for a launch title, but the gameplay is a poor experience. Still to this day I catch a lot of flack for criticizing Rogue Leader. I finally gave away the game for free. The guy I gave it to doesn't like it either. I find that kind of vindicating.

To answer your original question, I quit playing a single player video game the moment I'm no longer having fun. Multiplayer is a different matter because I want to be courteous to my fellow players. As you might imagine, I have a lot of unfinished video games on my shelf.

[laurenhiya21]

I try and give a game at least an hour (more for RPGs) and if I'm not enjoying it after that point, I tend to put it down and try again later. If I play it again and I'm still not enjoying it or dreading playing any more, then generally I stop and I won't pick it up again. So basically I try my best to not feel guilty on not wanting to finish a game, but giving it a fair chance as well.

Sometimes I play for longer than I really should though, if a lot of people enjoy the game (like Kingdom Hearts), but I really try not to do that because I almost never get to understand why so many people like the game by playing longer ><;

Oh and I also don't worry about "getting what I paid for". Trying to squeeze "what I paid for" out of a game just makes me irritated, so it's much better to move on imo.

[Gunstar Green]

I don't feel guilty about giving up if I'm not having fun. Sometimes it's a game I think I should like but for some reason or another I'm not feeling it (a recent example for me is Donkey Kong Country which is everything I usually enjoy in a game but I just can't get into it) then I'll give it a long rest and try it again sometime in the future to see if my mood has changed and maybe I'll appreciate it now.

There are games I've thought were awful that I returned to in the future when I was in a different mood and mindset and ended up really liking. Zillion for the Master System is a game I thought was terrible at first. Years later I sat down and was able to beat it and now it's one of my favorite SMS titles.

[Snatch1414]

It's usually the new stuff honestly but if something doesn't grab me in any way forget it. I'll give it an hour or two but beyond that I can't make myself care. Alien: Isolation and Sunset Riders are the latest offenders.

As far as games I do enjoy, I pretty much stop whenever I've had my fill and that's as good as beating it for me. I loved Far Cry 3. Probably played it for 20 hours or so. That's pretty good value for a used game. I did a ton of stuff in that game, it was great. Then I was done. Same with FF XIII (yes I know some people didn't like it). Probably a total of 25-30 hours. Love it, just eventually I got the point and felt like moving on.

[Westane]

This came up recently for me and my project. What it ultimately boiled down to is I'll give a game about three days if I'm enjoying it but it's too difficult for me to be making any real progress in. After 3 days on Surf City in Battletoads I just decided it was enough.

If a game is bad enough that the thought of turning it on and "forcing" myself to play it fills me with dread, as a few of the games I've played recently have, then I'm not going to give it more than a couple days to see if it has any merits.

My play time is a lot more limited now a days, so I'm not going spend my precious gaming hours doing something I hate... That's why I quit WoW!

[Exhuminator]

Eventually, if it's any good, I'll feel like giving it a whirl and that's when I'll go back to my save game/password (and NOT start over) to finish it off or get a bit further.

I can understand doing this with simple games. I've tried to this before, but with complex games it can be hard to jump back in. For example I've got a save in Metroid Prime 2 that is about 17 hours in (I got burned out). I want to go back and finish it, but now almost two years later I won't have a clue what I was doing or where to go. (Guess I could read a guide to get caught back up.)

To me, quitting isn't always permanent.

Ha ha, I'm just fatalist like that. I'm that guy who burns old love letters and photos when a relationship is over.

Maybe this game had great reviews for a launch title, but the gameplay is a poor experience.

I'm so glad to read you say that. Funny things is, I actually really enjoyed the original Rogue Squadron. Factor 5 rushed its sequel to be a launch title and clearly the balance suffered. Or maybe it was made intentionally ridiculous as a means to artificially lengthen a very short game.

Sometimes I play for longer than I really should though, if a lot of people enjoy the game (like Kingdom Hearts)

I think the hardest genre to quit in is an RPG actually. I mean you might be 20 or 30 hours in before the game goes sour. Then it's like well damn I don't want to just leave this plot unresolved.

Years later I sat down and was able to beat it and now it's one of my favorite SMS titles.

I've beaten Zillion as well, but it does ask a lot from the player with all the room password memorizations.

As far as games I do enjoy, I pretty much stop whenever I've had my fill and that's as good as beating it for me.

This is where I'm trying to get myself to. If a game is truly fun then it will drive you to beat it out of sheer entertainment. You should never have to force yourself to finish a game. But that can be a fine line to distinguish sometimes right?

If a game is bad enough that the thought of turning it on and "forcing" myself to play it fills me with dread

Indeed, a good game should have you chomping at the bit to get home and play it.

Really interesting responses so far, thanks for the replies.

[J T]

For a long time I had a personal issue with quitting a game before I beat it. This would occur if I had sunk any significant time in a game (say over an hour). I would become invested in finishing the experience, and if I did not finish the experience, I would somehow feel like this was a personal failing of sorts.

It's called the sunk cost fallacy when people continue pursuing a bad idea just because they have already invested so much time and money into what they are doing. It's best to either stop or change course, but hard to see that when you're in the middle of it.

Firstly I didn't want to quit a game that's fun just because it's too hard. What am I, a wuss? I didn't want to be a wuss, so I'd suffer through not having fun (unbalanced difficulty) in the pursuit of not being a wuss, and maybe the game would be fun again. Rarely would an unbalanced game become balanced and fun again once it went off the rails.

Throughout the history of manliness, many great stupidities have been achieved in the pursuit of 'not being a wuss.' If not being a wuss means you have to be an idiot or do something to harm yourself, I think it's time to sit down and have a good hard think. With all the power and influence men have, and supposedly the intelligence, you would think they would do that more often than they actually do.

Secondly let's say I was playing a game that started off fun, but kinda fell down the stairs after a while. The design got sloppy or tedious, and I found myself forcing myself to play the game. The hope here is that the design will improve again, and the game will be fun again. Wouldn't it be a travesty if I missed out some great stuff later in the game, just because I quit playing it during a low point? Rarely did any game's design actually improve once it went off the rails.

It's worth being forgiving for the first hour or so of a game as it tries to introduce you to its mechanics. Even if it starts off too hard, it still may be worth suffering through a steep learning curve, but if the level design and gameplay is still bad after that, then developer likely didn't understand how to make their game worthwhile, so you should just hit eject and play something more worth your time.

Third is the matter of having paid money for an experience. If you quit the experience before it's finished, are you really getting your money's worth? Well you can sell the game and at least get some of that back right?

If it's a bad game, you didn't get your money's worth. Putting more time into a bad experience means you've not only wasted your money, but your time as well. It reminds me of the old joke where some old ladies are eating at a restaurant and one complains "this food is terrible" and another lady says "I know! And such small portions!"

In light of realizing these factors I've finally been forcing myself lately to just let a game go if it stops being fun. A game should never stop being entertaining, right? What's the point if it's not? The difficulty alone? If that's the case I can go do 100 pushups and run 5 miles because that's just as hard and as monotonous and at least has some actual benefit.

I will allow a game to not be entertaining for short stretches, but not for the long haul. I think it's always a good idea to ask yourself if you could be doing something better with your time right now, including non-gaming activities like exercising.

Alright so my question here is when do YOU as a game player decide a game is no longer worth your time? What does a game have to do to make you stop playing it before it's finished? Do you force yourself to finish bad games just because you paid money for them, or because everyone else seems to think the game is amazing even though you think it's terrible?

I don't really think about it that much. I can usually only play for about an hour at a time. If I sit down to play video games again and I don't feel like picking up the last game I played, then I just move on to another one. I often think in the back of my mind that I will return though. It's harder for me to decide what to uninstall. I think that gets more to your question. I usually answer that by recognizing which games have sat on the drive without being played for months, or that I just recognize that the developer has done such a poor job that I can tell after playing the first hour of the game that I'm not going to enjoy going further in.