What game are you wasting time on?

[Vic]

I think thought processes like that are given birth to when you try to put some sort of additional validation on things. Tho, I do agree that finishing things, even games, feels really good.

If I don't limit myself like this I have 20 games floating around in my head that I still need to finish. Yes, you can say it's about validation or about feeling of accomplishment or something like that. But putting in the discipline to do one thing at a time until completion is a good habit to have in life. Problem is it's hard and sometimes tedious, especially if games hit a slump and start dragging on.

 

[Axel_am]

I see. I try to do balance things out by investing time in other hobbies - drawing, music production, learning guitar. Nowadays I try to cherry-pick the games I play.

I was browsing Steam some time ago and just imagined the amount of man hours that are spent on all of them combined. It gives me a lot of anxiety thinking about it and even more when I know how much time I've spent on gaming. Maybe this can help you with limiting yourself more easily as well.

 

[Vic]

yeah well all of those games were made by thousands of people over many years, I'm not gonna be able to play them all in one lifetime sadly

 

[Late Bloomer]

PS: He has me on ignore (as well as half the Codex).

You are only ignored by 11 people And Zombra isn't even one of them! I would say for a 2006 account, you might be one of the least ignored oldfag users on here.

 

[Vic]

way to be boring

 

[Abu Antar]

I went back to playing only one game at a time until I'm done with it before I start another game. I am already somewhat regretting it after spending 40 hours on a visual novel but at least I can say I finished it. The experience is also deeper because I don't mix up different games in my mind. It's a boring/tedious way to play sometimes but I think the reward is worth it (finishing more games, deeper experience/impact)

I don't mind watching one TV show at a time, but when it comes to games, I have to mix it up. This way, I am less likely to burn out on a single title.

 

[Lagole Gon]

This goofy demo is more fun than some full releases. Takes some time to get used to controls though.

 

[ds]

I went back to playing only one game at a time until I'm done with it before I start another game. I am already somewhat regretting it after spending 40 hours on a visual novel but at least I can say I finished it. The experience is also deeper because I don't mix up different games in my mind. It's a boring/tedious way to play sometimes but I think the reward is worth it (finishing more games, deeper experience/impact)

I don't mind watching one TV show at a time, but when it comes to games, I have to mix it up. This way, I am less likely to burn out on a single title.

I like to limit myself to only one narrative-focused game at a time but sometimes play some more mechanical games like puzzles / shooters / etc. on the side when playing a long game to mix things up. Feels like this gets me the best of both worlds - the ability to focus on one story/world at a time but always have enough varied gameplay to not get bored.

 

[Squidhead]

I'm finishing up Call of Cthulhu: dark corners of the earth. I'm on the second to last chapter.

Yeah the game crashes every now and then but it's still playable. My only gripes are that I feel like there's only one enemy type (fat goon) over and over.

As for it's Lovecraftiness, it ok so far but nothing amazing. I wish the sanity stuff were a little more fine tuned because I think they would've had a hit if they focused on it. As it stands insanity is just a minor annoyance.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

I found that dedicating yourself to one big game and having three or so secondary games that you can just pick up and play for a while is good if you want to keep things fresh. Games are only getting longer, and I dunno if I like that. 20 to 40 hours is more than acceptable for an average game. Otherwise pacing issues tend to happen. Ironically I felt that The Witcher 2 was too short, but while it took me 60 hours to beat TW3 (no side activities, though), it felt like the last 10 or so hours were a railroad.

 

[NecroLord]

This goofy demo is more fun than some full releases. Takes some time to get used to controls though.

I think they went just a bit too far with the blood flowing like water and the dismemberment.
They wanted it to be "realistic"?
Shit looks like the cover art for a brutal death metal album.

 

[Lagole Gon]

This goofy demo is more fun than some full releases. Takes some time to get used to controls though.

I think they went just a bit too far with the blood flowing like water and the dismemberment.
They wanted it to be "realistic"?
Shit looks like the cover art for a brutal death metal album.

You can tone it down in options with several sliders.
...
But why would anyone do that instead of ICREASING IT TO THE MAXIMUM~!!!

 

[Ivan]

Like a Dragon: Gaiden - a continuation of Kiryu's storyline that ties together w/Like a Dragon, and even features some Judgment characters! This entry features a shorter campaign, I believe it only has 5 chapters, and will net you ~15hours of gametime if you don't dally with the minigames/sidequests as much as I did. The game features 2 fighting styles, which makes the combat feel a bit tame. The side quests don't occur organically in the open world, most/all are iniatied via a handler. It does feature some nice proper sidequests, but there are also a lot of dumb filler ones that are of the fedex variety. One of the new features in this entry is that you can customize Kiryu's outfits, but bizarrely you can only do so at a very specific location in the game, and the fact that many of those fedex quests require you to wear specific outfits made me question why they don't let you do it on the fly. Anyway, I had a good time. It's always nice to spend more time with Kiryu and I loved this entry's finale and how it sets up Yakuza 8/Infinite Wealth

Rollerdrome - tony hawk meets max payne. Rollerdrome is light on story and ushers you quickly to its gameplay loop. It feels like a bullet hell game, wherein you dodge lazers,butt stomps, acid projectiles, it's a rush! It also feels like playing a rhythm game, as you read your enemies' tells and you skate your way through, picking them off one by one with your 4 weapons. Upon finishing the campaign, I was excited to give the NG+ mode a try as it remixed and ups the difficulty.


Blood West: reminds me of Betrayer and Thief. So far, pretty great, having a great time exploring and love the lethality. Both you and your enemies hit like trucks.

 

[illuknisaa]

I played through Ass Greed syndicate which I got free from some Ubisoft giveaway.

It honestly felt like the whole game was made by a committee. Everything was so formulaic. I think the only positives the game has is visuals and I liked the "secrets of london" puzzle (basically you hunt for collectibles and you get a screenshot as a clue).

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

I think thought processes like that are given birth to when you try to put some sort of additional validation on things. Tho, I do agree that finishing things, even games, feels really good.

If I don't limit myself like this I have 20 games floating around in my head that I still need to finish. Yes, you can say it's about validation or about feeling of accomplishment or something like that. But putting in the discipline to do one thing at a time until completion is a good habit to have in life. Problem is it's hard and sometimes tedious, especially if games hit a slump and start dragging on.

20-40 hours is still too long. A game should be 10-15 and cut all the padding. There's very few games that get better after that mark and most of them are full of endless padding.

Like a Dragon: Gaiden - a continuation of Kiryu's storyline that ties together w/Like a Dragon, and even features some Judgment characters! This entry features a shorter campaign, I believe it only has 5 chapters, and will net you ~15hours of gametime if you don't dally with the minigames/sidequests as much as I did. The game features 2 fighting styles, which makes the combat feel a bit tame. The side quests don't occur organically in the open world, most/all are iniatied via a handler. It does feature some nice proper sidequests, but there are also a lot of dumb filler ones that are of the fedex variety. One of the new features in this entry is that you can customize Kiryu's outfits, but bizarrely you can only do so at a very specific location in the game, and the fact that many of those fedex quests require you to wear specific outfits made me question why they don't let you do it on the fly. Anyway, I had a good time. It's always nice to spend more time with Kiryu and I loved this entry's finale and how it sets up Yakuza 8/Infinite Wealth

What is 15 hours of game time? The Yakuza series has always been a Korean soap opera taking the worst of Kojima and ramping it to 11. The fighting looks fun but fuck watching Koren dramas for autistic tumblrettes for 3 hours between 10 minute fights.

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

Is Hogs of War the best Worms-like (probably unfair to call it that, Scorched Earth was likely more influential) of all time? What puts it above other games is the fantastic campaign. Lots of weapons to try out and you can upgrade your pigs as you see fit. Very British humor, when that was still a thing. The only thing that could be a bit better is the enemy AI. I'm expecting to be vastly outnumbered in later missions as the only way to keep the challenge.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

Is Hogs of War the best Worms-like (probably unfair to call it that, Scorched Earth was likely more influential) of all time? What puts it above other games is the fantastic campaign. Lots of weapons to try out and you can upgrade your pigs as you see fit. Very British humor, when that was still a thing. The only thing that could be a bit better is the enemy AI. I'm expecting to be vastly outnumbered in later missions as the only way to keep the challenge.

There's a board game of it now. I suspect a remaster is on the way if it doesn't already exist.

 

[Lady Error]

Played Civilization V again, difficulty 7 out of 8 offers a decent challenge for me.

What I see more and more is that the AI can only win wars with quantity - if we are about even it cannot win. Plus, once I get the Stealth Bombers and Nuclear Submarines in the late game, it is over for everyone else.

 

[jackofshadows]

Played Civilization V again, difficulty 7 out of 8 offers a decent challenge for me.

What I see more and more is that the AI can only win wars with quantity - if we are about even it cannot win. Plus, once I get the Stealth Bombers and Nuclear Submarines in the late game, it is over for everyone else.

Anything above 4 or so (normal) = enourmous cheat bonuses for the AI. Military units production included, obviously. However, it's very easy to outsmart and to uplift your units so they become worth like 10 or even 100 enemies later on. The trick is to start this process early, waging wars when it suits you. That way you just upgrade your vets and they will obliterate everything later. Imagine xcom guys with 2 attacks etc.

 

[Lady Error]

Played Civilization V again, difficulty 7 out of 8 offers a decent challenge for me.

What I see more and more is that the AI can only win wars with quantity - if we are about even it cannot win. Plus, once I get the Stealth Bombers and Nuclear Submarines in the late game, it is over for everyone else.

Anything above 4 or so (normal) = enourmous cheat bonuses for the AI. Military units production included, obviously. However, it's very easy to outsmart and to uplift your units so they become worth like 10 or even 100 enemies later on. The trick is to start this process early, waging wars when it suits you. That way you just upgrade your vets and they will obliterate everything later. Imagine xcom guys with 2 attacks etc.

I prefer to rush tech and wonders construction until I get to the stealth bombers. On difficulty 7 I do sometimes get attacked earlier though (can be prevented by paying them to attack someone else). My stealth bombers are usually the ones that get 5-10 upgrades. Love the xcoms too for taking over cities.

 

[Axel_am]

20-40 hours is still too long. A game should be 10-15 and cut all the padding. There's very few games that get better after that mark and most of them are full of endless padding.

Game length is an interesting topic for me. Browsing my Steam profile I see how most of the games I play fall under certain amount of hours.

• 15-20hrs are pretty casual games that are generally fun and easy to finish.
• 21-40hrs are games that should be 15-20hrs long, but I've decided to complete on the hardest difficulty. Or I've been messing around with them.
• 41-60hrs are the games that have hit a sweet spot for me. When I browse my time played and see those games I always remember having a good time with them.
• 60hrs+ primarily CRPGs

Anyway, 10-15 hour games are usually titles that are easy to get into and lack complexity. I do agree that a game should get straight to the point, which ideally should be, having fun. But some titles strive to make a vast world for you to explore. I think gaming as a whole would have been much more boring if all games were limited to 10-15hours.

 

[Squidhead]

Finishing the original Quake right now. So good to finally play it with a proper soundtrack. A little shocked at how short the levels are but I'm still loving it.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

20-40 hours is still too long. A game should be 10-15 and cut all the padding. There's very few games that get better after that mark and most of them are full of endless padding.

Game length is an interesting topic for me. Browsing my Steam profile I see how most of the games I play fall under certain amount of hours.

• 15-20hrs are pretty casual games that are generally fun and easy to finish.
• 21-40hrs are games that should be 15-20hrs long, but I've decided to complete on the hardest difficulty. Or I've been messing around with them.
• 41-60hrs are the games that have hit a sweet spot for me. When I browse my time played and see those games I always remember having a good time with them.
• 60hrs+ primarily CRPGs

Anyway, 10-15 hour games are usually titles that are easy to get into and lack complexity. I do agree that a game should get straight to the point, which ideally should be, having fun. But some titles strive to make a vast world for you to explore. I think gaming as a whole would have been much more boring if all games were limited to 10-15hours.

Some games do need to be longer, but I think a fair bench mark for most is the 10-15 hour sweet spot. I remember playing Gears of war 2 and I'm getting towards the end of the game and it just keeps going and going and going. There's a fatigue that sets in and it makes games turn into a job if they're not using the time to evolve the gameplay.

Devil may cry is a good example of a game series that uses it's time well. You're always getting new weapons and moves. The main campaign is maybe 10 hours long and when it finishes it offers extra difficulty modes to expand the length if you want it. But the core package is compact and just works. Compare that to assassins creed, skyrim or Elden ring and you start to wonder how much fat needs to be trimmed for the experience to be enjoyable. Does Skyrim or Elden ring need 100 near identical dungeons when the actual fun content is all in the main story line? Must I spend 7 hours of a 20 hour game holding W as the annoying woman lectures me before I'm back to shooting things again?

 

[Late Bloomer]

Just say you have adhd and be done with it.

 

[Rando Thoughtful]

OHHH SHIIIIT i've had some good gaming experiences recently, finished/finishing these three over the past few months.

ENDERAL: Bloody fantastic, drew me in deep. Been in a long funk prior to this of not finishing games, but this sucked me in (after about four hours) & I think I saw pretty much all it had to see. Great lore, exploration, storyline as decent as it gets for an RPG, looks nice, quests are great, music charming... combat pretty shit but they've done what they can with the engine they used. Some of the set-pieces are great - entering the Undercity for the first time, the whopping statue holding up the temple above Ark, the Rhalata temple.. AND IT'S BLOODY FREE! Recommended. So hard.

DAVE THE DIVER: Enjoyable game for a bit of downtime between big bastard rpgs. Bit like underwater steamworld dig with extra everything sprinkled on top. Good vibes, fun minigames (mostly) & satisfying progression.

BG3: I've played the Original Sins & they were bland. Can barely remember the first, second was a bit better but also forgettable. This game isn't like that. It does have soul - it feels like an adventure - the characters have more personality (good & bad) - combat is great now I don't have to worry about fucking surfaces & physical/magical armour every god damn motherfucking fight. It is rich with content, I was concerned about it being big maps rather than set apart areas like the original BGs & I still think it would've felt better with them (+ day/night cycles) but nontheless it just feels good. And thank fuck they sorted the loot out, that was a major crapstain on the original sins too. Mercifully bug-free at this stage too (halfway through act3 I think). Don't get me wrong - there are shortcomings - there is indeed a lot of gay. In the city everyone seems to be banging on about their dead/missing/amazing same-sex spouse. But for me, they're minor downsides to a game with overwhelming upsides. I am nearing the end & feeling disappointed there's not more - a rare experience.

Cheers