Have you ever changed as a gamer as years went on?

Pretty much what the title says, such as habits and that.

Here's a few of mine:

I actually have more tactics with ammo in Doom, if I have under half of any ammo left, I conserve it for bosses mostly. Before I just used all the ammo up.

I neglected to use double in Gradius as a kid, but nowadays, I appreciate the hell out of it.

I actually considered Thunder Force III my least favourite in the series back then for no reason. But I enjoy it as much as the other games.

Of course, people always change.  I used to value massive long campaigns, whereas now the idea of a 100 hour game just means I rarely even start it (I just don't have that amount of free time).

These days I also find I tend to focus only on games that either bring absolute immediate gratification, or something absolutely emotionally groundbreaking.  Games that are simply solid while being neither explosively engaging or something genuinely new and different I just have no interest in any more.

I'm stopping to feel bad about dropping games instead of giving in to the sunken cost fallacy. In the words of the Reggienator himself: "If the game's not fun, why bother?"

At the same time, getting less stressed about just wandering about the games I actually like and taking in the atmosphere instead of rushing through the backlog.

Figured out where my preferences lie genre-wise and thus avoid spending time and money on the games I'm unlikely to enjoy, no matter how hyped up they are.

All in all, despite having less time to game, I feel like I'm getting more enjoyment from it.

As a child I would never game without cheats. Now I would never touch them.

I use to buy and play all the latest and greatest games but now I keep playing old games and just mod them. I still buy a new game on occasion.

There's less time for games now. But at the same time, more patience.

edit: don't post drunk wtf does this mean

No.

Actually yes.

The 15yrs old me would not even look at indie games and consider playing them seriously, let alone retro styled or pixel art games. I was also looking for new games coming out much more often but nowadays I no longer do that, not in the case of triple-A games as they no longer satisfy my needs. Additionally, back when I got a new PC I was looking out for fresh releases but as time went by I started playing more old games and classics.

Lastly, I have also lost all my interest for MP as a whole, whereas a couple of years ago no MP in a game would have been a deal breaker.

I've become more indifferent about stuff (not just games) and started using Quad Damage and other powerups in Quake Live. Earlier I used to avoid using them and press the suicide bind if I happened to get them.

Chatting with the other players in the game feels more important than the game. The game is just something to do while chatting.

Yep, I find I don't really care about games much at all these days. I've weirdly grown to have a certain disdain towards them.

Sure. I don't play UltraViolence anymore.

I think there's something inherently changing about having a big library of games to play and a limit on the time you can use to play them. Suddenly the 90s childhood days of endlessly retrying stuff until I could beat it within the set lives or whatever just didn't stand up anymore. Save states and cheats to make lives unlimited are totally the way forward, as far as I'm concerned. Limited lives should stay in the arcades where there's money to be made from them. If I own the game, I'm getting to the end of it. If you're locking the "true" ending behind a high difficulty, you best believe I'll circumvent it in some way.

Likewise, whereas before in the N64 era I was totally accepting of having no fucking clue how to beat a level or find/unlock an item in the endless collectathons that we called games back then, I will now gladly reach for a walk through. Having the internet close by on my phone at all times just makes it seem like a waste of time not to.

I've changed for the better in some ways, though. I don't waste time with online multiplayer when there's stories or campaigns to get through now and I certainly wouldn't jump online before doing the campaign like I did with SOCOM on the PS2. There's also this understanding of accumulated experience I've developed that means I can tell when I'm on an optional side path in something like a CoD campaign, or how controls, puzzles and interfaces work in more modern games without a need for manuals or tutorials. Older games are often still totally opaque without those, though, and I'd never skip a tutorial in a new game if it was offered. Hell, there was a time when I simply didn't understand WASD and mouse, or couldn't navigate even mildly complex 3D spaces in games.

One thing that has not changed is the gamer rage. That frustration when your time is being wasted by something that just feels a little unfair and the only means of beating it is just trying again, over and over, until you get lucky. The Overcooked! games that I've been playing with my girlfriend as of late have rekindled that in me in a big way. I think it's the insistence on getting 3 stars for everything that breaks my shit there, rather than the old fashioned knowledge that you either beat it or play the whole level/game again.

A little maybe, I no longer look for GTA San Andreas cheat codes, and I no longer collect game cartridges, CDs / DVDs. I also noticed my interest increases in new releases only after a couple of years pass after their initial release.

I have to leave in a little bit, so I'll make this short.

I've been a gamer for 30+ years, and I don't do it as much as I do today. (It's more of a whenever-I-feel-like-it feeling.)

But one thing that hasn't changed (and I don't like to use that word) is my consistency.

In summary, it's a little hard for me to say if I have changed much as a gamer in the last three decades. But at least the experience helped...

yep. what i was a child, i played doom, and dreamed about developing it. now i am developing sourceport, and dreaming about have enough time to play it.

p.s.: i'm not complaining, developing a sourceport is fun. i just want some more time in a day, so i can play it too. ;-)

Most significant change is that I used to be very multiplayer oriented when I was younger. Almost never bothered with single player games. Nowadays it's the other way around. The only way I can play multiplayer nowadays is if nobody is able to talk, because kids are irritating. The only MP game I play sometimes is MK7.

11 minutes ago, unerxai said:

Most significant change is that I used to be very multiplayer oriented when I was younger. Almost never bothered with single player games. Nowadays it's the other way around. The only way I can play multiplayer nowadays is if nobody is able to talk, because kids are irritating. The only MP game I play sometimes is MK7.

People still play Mortal Kombat: Armageddon? I used to play that game online all the time on my PS2. As far as I know, the servers have been offline for many years now. 

6 minutes ago, Ajora said:

 

People still play Mortal Kombat: Armageddon? I used to play that game online all the time on my PS2. As far as I know, the servers have been offline for many years now. 

Heh. I meant Mario Kart 7. I haven't played Mortal Kombat since the SNES.

i've always embraced pixel art and homebrew stuff; the ways i've changed are

- admitting to myself that i have no talent for arcade gaming

- taking more sensitive and cute games seriously instead of always searching for ones that market themselves as being badass. can't bear stuff like duke 3d anymore gimme some soft fuzzy characters talking about why life is brutal

I also used to have the attitude that 3D, polygons or remakes are better no matter what. Especially the case back when I used to use Doomsday. But nowadays I tend to prefer the original games mostly. Though there are excepions. Metroid Zero Mission being a massive one.

And here's another change I had. Gradius again. I would always use any missile that crawls. These days I kill for a spread bomb. Even if I have to use codes.

I've noticed that I tend to game MUCH more often than when I was a kid. Though it is a bit tamer this year due to loving where I'm living and making new friends and of course spending time with my other half.

Games have to be good enough to distract me from the thought that "I should be putting this time into one of my life goals." That never happened when I was a younger.

I used to be a fat pleb as a 12 year old kid, than somecrap happened and I had no games anymore and managed to get my body a little healthier.

now I'v got hands on some games again and am back to my gaming addiction again

What changed is that I miss the feeling of excitement for games as a child, instead of feeling skeptical about buying them.

I learned to appreciate RPGs more as I became older. 

Very much so. Now if the game requires a considerable amount of time investment then the game itself must pique my interest a great deal to begin with. Before i had very esoteric/narrow tastes and those would be the only defining factors in my decision to play or not. I'm considerably more open minded now. I think this extends to many other aspects of my life as well.

The Thunder Force series is great, IV is one of my favorite games of all time.

On 7/15/2019 at 6:23 PM, Salahmander2 said:

I neglected to use double in Gradius as a kid, but nowadays, I appreciate the hell out of it.

Double is the shit! Gradius Gaiden has a nice double for the Vic Viper, shoots reverse as well as forward+diagonal at level 2. Same with spread bombs, especially in Gradius 2.

My biggest thing used to be games with disposible items. Syphony of the Night, I'd never use half the items I collect, or Ninja Gaiden Black I would never use potions or ki potions because I'd wait for an enemy to drop whatever essence that would fill my health/ki bar up.

59 minutes ago, R4L said:

 

Double is the shit! Gradius Gaiden has a nice double for the Vic Viper, shoots reverse as well as forward+diagonal at level 2. Same with spread bombs, especially in Gradius 2.

 

My biggest thing used to be games with disposible items. Syphony of the Night, I'd never use half the items I collect, or Ninja Gaiden Black I would never use potions or ki potions because I'd wait for an enemy to drop whatever essence that would fill my health/ki bar up.

 

Spread bombs on bosses are super satisfying. Especially on the boss rush on II. I'm too used to using Falchion Beta. Need to use Vic Viper. Gravity bullets actually piss me off.

Changed a lot. I used to be really into most of the popular genres on PC when I was a kid. Played FPSs, platformers, point-and-clicks, and RTSs. Then my ability to do twitch gaming diminished when I got older, and I prefer sims, strategy games, and RPGs these days. Somehow I just got better at Pinball, though, which is a genre I've loved ever since first playing Midnight Magic on the C64.

I haven’t been even remotely hyped for a new game in a LONG time now. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing new under the sun, so until something new or interesting happens, I’ve seen it before, I know the drill, why waste my money. Call me when VR is cheap enough for everyone to have one.

I still love games though. I’ll never get tired of tinkering with Doom, playing has taken a bit of a backseat to modding these days tho. 

I also have such an enourmous back catalog to get through already before I start buying even more shit. So many SNES, N64 and PC games that are oldish but probably fun. I could spend 80 bucks and reach into the mystery bag, or I could pay 0 and reach into the slightly older mystery bag that does not require constant internet or DRM or my fucking credit card and social security number or wtf ever else.. The choice is clear for me.

I used to be really impressed with how games were evolving.  Nowadays, I wish they would devolve back to what they used to be.  You know, fun and challenging games that you could actually play right away without having to do stupid updates and search for patches to make the game playable. And don't even get me started on games that force you to join a website before you can play it.   

I find myself no longer enjoying PVP titles and gamemodes (especially competitive game modes).

They are no longer fun and unnecessarily stressful, also actually having a job with ridiculous hours and a life outside games have made me objectively worse at them due to constant fatigue.