I Think I've Developed a Gaming Problem - Article
by Brandon J. Wysocki , posted on 12 October 2016 / 10,549 Views
For as long as I can remember, gaming has been the epitome of entertainment for me. With such a diverse selection of games, it seemed there was always a magically immersive experience awaiting me, even if it was one I’d been through before.
By modern day standards, something like Pitfall on the Atari, or even the first glimpse we got of the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Bros. on the NES, might seem a bit dull, but as a boy they respectively whisked me away to a jungle adventure replete with dangerous creatures and scenarios, and to a strange, charming and fun-filled world that captivated me. To this day, the latter's updated iterations still do.
Well, sort of. The problem I’ve developed is that much - dare I say even most - of the magic and wonder of gaming has become lost to me. In retrospect, the Mushroom Kingdom and its increasingly wonderful reoccurrences may have signalled the beginning of this problem of mine.
I love, and seemingly always will love, the Mario franchise. But while I cherish the memories of the NES Mario games, it became increasingly hard for me to revisit them with alternative, arguably better realized, options such as Super Mario World and the first few Mario RPGs, to the more recent 2D and 3D offerings. I have a copy of them all, and often it sounds like a great idea to revisit them, but if I ever go as far as actually trying it usually doesn’t take long for me to feel as though the idea merely sounded good.
Not that I objectively think of them as bad games; they simply don’t quite do it for me anymore. For decades I didn’t see that as much of an issue. As games have advanced from something like Pitfall to games such as Tomb Raider and Uncharted, my expectations and tastes have done the same. It seemed like a very natural progression for an avid gamer.
I still, and always will, appreciate the time and enjoyment I’ve had with these older titles even if they don’t quite satisfy me any longer. They were part of my growth and development as a gamer. However, it seems that at some point my refined palette became too needy and spoiled. For years I was never much into online shooters. I played GoldenEye and Halo quite often via split-screen, or, in the case of the latter game, 16 player LAN parties. Halo 2 being online sounded amazing, but it didn’t actually hold my attention for as long as its predecessor had.
In more recent years, online shooters have begun to dominate my playtime. Where at one point the intense competition of online shooters merely rounded out my gaming experience as a whole, now they’re almost the only thing that 'satisfies' my gaming urge.
When this first started, I saw it as a good thing. I recall sinking hundreds of hours (probably not the best use of my time) into games like Phantasy Star Online and Monster Hunter, or repeated run-throughs of Mario and Banjo-Kazooie games, and seeing that as a great thing - I was getting so much value and enjoyment out of my purchases! So when shooters such as Battlefield began to fill the role of me sinking a lot of time into a single title, I didn’t really think twice about it.
But here we are now, and I can hardly be entertained by anything else. Essentially, I’ve gone from being a wholesome, well-rounded gamer to a gaming junkie. I’m no longer in it for the rich experiences, but rather the unparalleled exhilarating rush - the cheap, quick fix that a multiplayer match or 100 brings.
Right now, my drug of choice is Rainbow Six: Siege. It seems to be the heaviest thing I can get my hands on. I started light with GoldenEye and Halo, pretty much skipped right past CoD, and started going heavy on Battlefield. I got hooked on Titanfall for a while, but then Ubisoft gave me Rainbow Six: Siege and I really haven’t stopped playing it since launch.
Again, on the surface it sounds great that I’ve played a game consistently since it launched nearly a year ago. But in that time I’ve begun to see the negative effects. Effects that have been there for a while, I had just failed to recognize them - such as other types of games sounding, and often feeling, like a chore. And I’m talking games that are almost unanimously considered to be great.
I had to pull myself away from Battlefield or Titanfall (in the interest of accuracy, I can’t recall which one) to play Fallout 4 when it launched. To its credit I couldn’t pry myself away from that game during my initial playthrough. It’s one of the more recent memories of me feeling the magic of being absorbed by a game because of its deep, wonderful world and not because of the natural chemical release (maybe we should call it a 'gamer’s high') I get from the intensity of multiplayer competition.
Though I’m not a doctor, I’m sure most, if not all, of the enjoyment I get from gaming can be explained physiologically. It’s just that it’s so quick and concentrated in a single match of a game like Rainbow Six: Siege that it starts to feel cheap, and it has seemingly desensitized me to the healthier, more balanced experience of gaming.
It’s like a quickie. They have their time and place and can be wonderful in moderation, but if quickies comprise the majority or entirety of your love life, I’d think you (and/or your partner) would start to feel unsatisfied. Where’s the foreplay, the cuddling, or the deep bond that can be expressed and perceived through sex?
That’s where I’m at in gaming. The luster of the quickie has worn off. I see what I’ve been doing and realize there could be a lot more. At times it’s been a logical choice, such as I don’t have time to start, let alone make progress in a sprawling epic RPG, so I’ll just play a match or two online. However, many times those one or two matches turn into much more, not just cumulatively over days and weeks, but often that same day.
Alternatively, when I try to pick back up in a different type of game, I’ll forget what was happening and feel like I need to start all over again. But who wants to do that? So instead, I’ll just hop online 'real fast'. That leaves me to face the fact that what once may have been good reasons to not start or continue a game in another genre have become convenient excuses for me to continue to indulge in deathmatch.
So as my assessment of my gaming habits has become more accurate, I’ve begun to recall and desire more fulfilling experiences. But it’s hard to break old habits and make lifestyle changes, and although it’s just videogames we’re talking about, as they often do, the principle transcends. I’m not trying to say game addiction is a real thing - that’s way above my pay grade and education - but this is definitely a habit that I feel very drawn to, and find myself having to actively resist. Worse yet, it doesn’t just effect what games I play, it also reduces how often I game with my family. Not that I ever have or will share every gaming moment with them, but taking videogames and making it more of an isolated enjoyment for me is not the direction I’d like to go in.
Going back to my feelings on the Mario Bros. games on the NES, I believe there is still fun to be had in those games, just as I believe there is a lot of enjoyment awaiting me in more recent games like The Witcher III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, or the Fallout 4 DLC (which I could not bring myself to finish because I’d always be drawn back to Siege). I just struggle to stick with any of them to get to that point. Or I am too quick to consider the modest amount of entertainment I get out of those titles in my short-lived time with them to be about as good as it will get with them, which I know is an oversimplification.
In fact, for years now I’ve been buying games at launch because of my belief that they will be fun, only to barely play them (that is unless it’s an online shooter). The beginning of Battlefield 4’s campaign was both interesting and entertaining, for example, but as always I couldn’t stick with it. I’ve forgotten how to savor and enjoy single player and co-op games because I’ve become so accustomed to the near instant gratification of hopping into multiplayer deathmatch, and that’s such an ingrained, maybe even accepted, part of my gaming life now that I rarely even try to do anything else.
I recall having to force myself to rush and beat Mass Effect 2 because 3 was releasing in a matter of weeks. Similarly, I purchased Fallout: New Vegas at launch only to immediately lend it out because I hadn’t beaten the DLC for 3. Ultimately, I still have not beaten all of it, nor have I completed New Vegas.
I bought Uncharted 3 within weeks of launch and never played it before trading it in (knowing the PS4 remaster would be available before I’d ever get around to it). To this day, I’ve only beaten the one and a half of the Uncharted games, despite owning them all. The last proof I have to how bad my problem is: when I watched the amazing trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild I couldn’t help but wonder if I would even be able to get into it, enjoy it, and finish it.
It’s a problem that is likely all too familiar these days, and certainly is not limited to gaming - I want instant results and gratification, and without them I find it hard to stay interested and stick with anything. I wish I believed the problem was simply lackluster games, but I am convinced the problem is the unreasonable desire for, and the expectation of, instant and constant pleasure.
They say the first step to recovery is acknowledging you have a problem, which I’ve now done. I’ve self-diagnosed, and now I’ll self-treat. So what are the next steps in my recovery? Well, I’ve deleted Rainbow Six: Siege. I know it’s not the cause, and it’s an incredible game, but right now it is the face of my problem, and I find myself going back to it even when I initially set out to play something else.
Just recently, I was given a PS4 (thanks Gary!). I had one at launch but sold it in favor of another Xbox One, so now I have years of its gaming catalog available to me, in addition to a backlog of games for Xbox One and Wii U, as well as past games that are more than deserving of another playthrough. I’m not saying I’m done with online shooters, I think I just need to take a step back from them and detox from the high I get in multiplayer in order to sharpen a gaming palette that has been dulled by those intense sensations. I need to diversify my gaming selection and try to remember and once again appreciate how spectacular games can be - even without the excessive release of endorphins.
What about you? Can you relate at all? Have any suggestions on my 'issue' or what great games I should try playing to reignite my passion for games in other genres?
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Brandon J. Wysocki is a writer for VGChartz. You can check out some of his fiction here. You may also offer him support in overcoming his problem, or otherwise communicate with him on VGChartz in the comments below or through private messages (username SpaceLegends), or even at his barely ever used and effectively dormant Twitter account @BrandonJWysocki.
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I say if you only want to play online shooters, then you should do just that. Eventually you'll get tired of it and you'll WANT to play something else. Get it out of your system, so to speak.
I dig that. But as I reflect on it, I think I've been "getting it out of my system" for years, which makes me think I may need to more actively work on it. There are entirely too many good games to limit myself to online shooters. To each their own, but I feel like the lack of balance and the "need" for the rush is just not healthy or ideal, even if just in some cases (such as my present one).
I can i identify with this and I love the analogy of guickie sex. It's so right on. We didn't know we were getting pleasure in the NES days. We didn't know it lead to a climax. It was simply interesting to share new experiences with our friends (old and new!). Co-op on a new title is the right road for us now. Unexpected shared anticipation is the path to ultimate love.
Thanks for the excellent read!
Thank you for the read and the comment!
I feel the same way. My problem is with Smash 4. I've played almost 1000 hours by now, but I keep adding games to my backlog. Thankfully, my addiction with Smash 4 is now taking me to tournaments, but I want to play other games, even if it doesnt seem that way.
For example, the current single player games I started but havent finished include Okami, Xenoblade X, Paper Mario 64, Resident Evil Revelations, etc... I want to finish all of them, but every night I end up playing hours of For Glory online matches...
That's a fine list of single player games you have there. It sounds like you know all too well what I'm going through. So my question to you is do you think it is a problem that needs to be worked on, or much more innocent than that?
If it starts to interfere with real life (it hasnt), then it should be worked on, otherwise it's not a big deal. But, personally, I go through a cycle. Play Smash a lot for a few days, get burnt out and continue my singleplayer games. Then I get a craving for more Smash and the cycle starts again.
But it does seem like an odd addiction kind of thing xD I end up telling to myself "I will not play Smash again. I'll finish Okami!" And when I get home I start my Wii U before I sit down on my couch.
Yeah, definitely if it's affecting your personal life (at least anymore than videogames inherently can). Man, we sound eerily similar, just my game is Rainbow Six and yours is Smash Bros. It really does feel like an addiction or something! I've started a few single player/offline campaign experiences and have been doing decently. I slipped in a few Battlefield games, but literally kept it to a few.
yikes...
I hear you. I experienced something similar with an 18 months stretch where 90% of my gaming was Destiny. That other 10% was me forcing myself to play other stuff.
Eventually though, I just moved on. I got into Witcher 3, and that just broke my Destiny habit. I still play Destiny, but not like I used to. If new content comes along, I play for a couple of weeks. Then, I move on to something else. I feel much better about my gaming life now.
But, if it doesn't happen like that for you, I'm not sure I see it as a problem. We play games for entertainment. If it feels like a chore to play a game, you shouldn't do it. I think it is fine to give in to temptation with gaming (so long as we're not talking about spending yourself into the poorhouse, or serious neglecting other obligations). Its a hobby, after all.
If I were you, I'd try to worry less about it. Just play whatever you want, whenever you want. If that's just one game for the rest of your life, so what?
It's the opposite for me. I tend to play games that don't have an online component (unless it's Splatoon) it's harder for me to sink a ton of time into one game now.
I'm somewhat opposite right now. Tired of online play.
What got you to that point? How long did it take? Is there hope for me? :-) What are you playing now?
