So uh.... Things are different around here since I was last here. Many people I knew and looked up to have either quit SG or moved on to other things in their life. People cannot debate on something without gouging each other's eyes out, or bringing up drama that doesn't concern the topic at hand. With all that said and done (which I am sure many others have pointed out before me), I have to understand that this community has to, and will, change as time passes, for better or worse, and that I must learn to either adapt with it, or move on. But there is one thing that's been bugging me.

I, myself, have changed. And not in the way you would think.

There was a time when I used to be able to pick up a game, play it at a stretch, and be done with it. That was when I had barely any games to play. Heck, my first game was Claw, my second, Onimusha 3, third, Batman Arkham Asylum, and finally fourth, TF2 (which is what brought me to Steam). During my time here, I not only learnt that I had not played 90% of all the good titles out there, but that I had been looking at the gaming industry through a keyhole. I learnt about the distinction between AAA and Indie games, the existence of bundles, and of course, the significance of Steam in the middle of everything else. As my knowledge grew, so did my library, as well as my laptop's woes. There came a point when I couldn't play anything on the damn thing, and so I decided to play them later, and instead focus on trading up to a PC.

About a month ago, I finally built a good PC, and felt great about it. While I never really built it for gaming, there was definitely a part of me that was thrilled to be able to play ANYTHING that I choose to without anything in my way. So I left my PC on for a few nights, and downloaded over 60 titles. Once done, I said, "Let's play one". Then I kept staring at the list, pondering over what I should play. And as I did, I began to panic.

I was actually struggling to choose one.

After a point, I spaced out, and unconsciously fired up CS:GO instead of any of the new titles. And its not even a game I particularly like. Played a match, got bored, shut it off, and again stared at the list.

This was new to me. How could I not choose? What had happened to all those times when I could just download a game and play it immediately with no regrets? Was I so spoilt for choice that I had lost my drive to play? Was age catching up to me? Or was it something else?

To all those generous souls whose gibs I won , you have my heartfelt gratitude. But I just don't know what has come over me.

Am I unable to choose what to play?
Why am I wary when I will myself to choose any of them?
Do I feel like I am favoring one Steamgifter over the other?
Or do I feel like games have become a task, one that I must carefully plan before undertaking?

I honestly cannot tell. And I think maybe a fresh set of eyes might solve this conundrum I face.

As promised, here is your candy. Might only be for those over 5 though, sorry.

I would also like to mention that I do not want any sort of elitism, drama, hate, propoganda, passive aggressiveness, and any other form of negativity I may have missed, on this post. Learn to love each other instead, it would make it easier for all parties involved.

8 years ago

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It's like you were picking the words from my mind and putting them down on paper (screen). I have the added pleasure of young children which cuts down my free time drastically so when I do get some time on the gamey games I don't want to be wasting it. Ahhhhggggg, the pressure. Reading through the posts I have done a little mixture of quite a few suggestions. I try to keep a mix of genres installed with one major title as my go to, usually a AAA story driven title. When I get some time to play I have a good selection to choose from depending on my mood which I will keep installed until I complete the game. As I complete a title, or get bored of it, I will swap it out. I find it really handy to keep a couple of "quick" games that I can play if I only have a little time spare which is more often than not. Pinball FX2 is awesome if you are into pinball with a great variety of tables. Currently slogging through FFVIII, real love/hate relationship there, not sure if I will swap it out it yet or soldier on.

8 years ago
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same happens to me, way too many games in my library that I don't even try to think to play them. lately I'm focusing into rocksmith, which is partly a game and partly a training. i love it!

it's similar with music, better when downloads were not a thing, you had the music you bought with some monetary effort and you consumed those lp and tapes, literally.

8 years ago*
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Welcome back! And don't worry too much, your "syndrome" is what happens when one has too many choices in font of them.

8 years ago
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May have been mentioned before but you can take a look at that list of 60 games you downloaded and instead of being paralyzed by indecision brought on by whatever factors (Will I like it? Will it be fun?) Browse some Youtube videos of people playing the game and see if it looks like something you'd enjoy playing. It can be a review or a Let's Play (don't watch an entire Let's Play just enough to know if you'd like it) or something so your brain can at least see the game in action and if it decides "Yep I wanna be playing that instead of watching it" then slap that play button (In Steam, not Youtube) and dive in. If you're brain is saying "Meh, not feeling that right now" then search another video for a different game in the list. Maybe before deciding which game to pick think about genre that you want to play which can narrow your list down to a smaller section and then check videos of those if you're not sure which one to start.

8 years ago
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binding of isaac is quite adictive once you've earn few tricks.

8 years ago
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Bump and good luck, whatever you need to solve your problem. Maybe some poll for community? Let them choose your destiny ;)

8 years ago
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Bumpo!

8 years ago
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I'm experiencing something quite similar to what you describe.

8 years ago
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Well, I can't really add anything of substance besides what others have already said. I am well familiar with the "problem" and the paralysis of choice, however. So my method is this: Try to stick to one AAA game at a time, while playing any number of smaller or indie titles as you please. It's the big open-world titles that usually end up sucking me dry and burning me out. That's when I switch to the indie ones for relief. Besides the latter are usually so good and fun in and of themselves, they can be easily engrossing in their own right (and are often superior to their big budget cousins anyway).

8 years ago
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don't worry, i constantly have that problem. ^^ i am 35 now, and my gaming habits have changed a lot. i don't finish a lot of the games i play anymore. and sometimes i have to force myself to start playing a game. sometimes i don't play anything for 1-2 weeks. but that's ok. i just play whenever i feel like it, and once i do that i really enjoy it. what i don't do is force myself to continue playing a game i don't enjoy after a while. i just move on to the next one. when i was young, i could play a game for 10 hours. now i stop playing after 30-120 minutes, most of the time. and that's fine. it might take me a week to play through a short singleplayer campaign i would have finished. but who cares. i play however i want, whenever i want. and even though the enjoyment i got out of games went up and down over the years, it never went to zero. and i am sure it will be the same for you. :)

8 years ago
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This was new to me. How could I not choose? What had happened to all those times when I could just download a game and play it immediately with no regrets? Was I so spoilt for choice that I had lost my drive to play? Was age catching up to me? Or was it something else?
I am facing the same predicament.

8 years ago
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