Gaming Fatigue Syndrome. How to deal with it? (Topic)

At times I started to notice that it was harder for me to find a game to relax. Sometimes, my playthrough could end in the first hour, when I turned off the game and deleted it. Again, this happened at times, but it turned out to be the first sign of my fatigue from video games.

How is it expressed?

Fatigue from video games, in my opinion, can be associated with the fact that more and more often we see continuation of games on the shelves, and not new original products. That being said, don't get me wrong. There are quite a few games that are worth continuing, as their first installments were really great representatives of their genre. For example, the first Read Dead Redemption brought new things, mechanics and approaches to the industry, so it was obvious that we wanted another piece that we got last year.

However, towards the end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 life cycle, there is a trend for unnecessary sequels. Remember Watch Dogs, the game seemed to us as something revolutionary, but as a result it turned out to be crude, unfinished and, in principle, did not win popular love. However, we saw a sequel. How did it happen?

Similar big-budget projects that had good PR amaze developers and publishers with their first day sales. In this case, people buy first, and then they think whether they like the game or not. At the same time, if the project has nothing under it, relying only on a good start, marketers decide that we want to see a continuation. We just bought into an advertising company, but we don't want sequels.

But it can be worse. In cases where the game is really good, publishers tend to run a conveyor belt that eventually kills the franchise. And so we get an industry where everything is repeated.

This is also called [well, as they say, a similar problem was raised in South Park and it turned out to be quite vital] the phenomenon "It was already in the Simsons." Every year it becomes more and more difficult to surprise us, many projects can be described as a mixture of this with this. The sequels have turned into a parody of ourselves for us. Every year we have a new Call of Duty, Battlefield, Fifa. They become a trend, sell well and give publishers a clear indication: we will have another sequel next year.

Why is this happening?

I would highlight several reasons:

1.Investors.

They invest in something that will benefit them. The publisher comes to them and says: "Give us money, and we will play a game for you that you have not even heard of." Meanwhile, somewhere in the distance, the groan of the gaming community is heard.

2. Laziness.

People have jobs and regular income. Some developers don't care what they do as long as they get their next check on time.

3. There are fewer veterans.

Those people who used to create cult games for the sake of creativity, today are increasingly leaving the industry. Now their places were taken by guys in three-piece suits, who smelled the smell of money. They want to make their investors happy, not you. They have no desire to create, they just know how to make a project that the majority will take and spend money on.

4. Casual gamers.

Let's face it, we gamers are also a problem. Not all of them, of course. Namely, those who follow trends and play games several times a year. They only buy what everyone else has heard, and do not try anything new besides this: Fifa, Halo, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto. And alas, these are the very people who inflate the sales of even the most miserable and boring projects, convincing publishers that we are hungry for sequels.

How to deal with gaming fatigue?

After reflexing, I rolled out the following ideas on how to impress myself, a sophisticated gamer with ten years of experience.

Another game development.

To get around this "corporate world", a good medicine is to plunge into another world. I turned my attention to Japanese gamedev. In many ways, it remains unknown for the majority of domestic players, since few projects are translated into USA or are simply unknown in our country. Of course, games like Nier Automata and projects from From Software or Capcom are an exception, since they are of interest to the world community. However, there are franchises like Yakuza, Persona, Valkyrie Profile, Shenmue, or visual novels. They are also called pure "Japanese", that is, not for everyone, you know, for these lovers of Buryat porn cartoons. It is the acquaintance with authentic Japanese game development that gives culture shock and new experience. Look east more often, gentlemen and ladies.

Second tier games.

If you do not want to try unfamiliar game development, as an option, try second-tier games, which often do not receive proper publicity. This is where you can find some Supraland that will be a delightful experience for you.

New experience.

It's important to try to deviate from your standards in games and try new genres. Very trite, but really a working way. It will be a surprise for you as a gamer when, after many years of playing shooters and action games, you play some Anno and realize that economic strategies are yours.

Original setting.

Developers, in turn, must lure us with something new, for example, a setting that we have not yet seen. The same Assassin's Creed Odyssey took us to a new setting that breaks out of the "standard assassin framework" and this is exactly what the new part breathed life into the franchise, which has long been branded as a conveyor belt.

Conclusions

You may not have gaming fatigue at all, and a gaming crisis associated with work and lack of time. However, if you feel that you are tired of playing games, I hope that a small selection of my tips will help you.

The Topic of Article: Gaming Fatigue Syndrome. How to deal with it?.
Author: Jake Pinkman