I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Even subscriptions are 'cheap' so if anybody finds those hard to 'fund' then even F2P games are going to be too expensive to play. If there is one thing that MMO's even F2P ones aren't is expensive, well except maybe Entropia Universe
I don't know why Beatnik says they are expensive, however I do believe they are not worth the price for what you get. It's like Starbucks coffee. You end up paying way to much for a drink that is mediocre at best and is roughly the same thing that other food establishments can serve. I think most people just put up with the cost of Starbucks because they see it as a place to hang out.
For me the sub isn't expensive. It's just not worth it. Not any more at least.
OP, it happens. Is it a sign of age? Maybe, I dunno. I have lulls in my interests all the time. For example, for as long as I can remember I've always loved reading. But every so often I can't seem to get into reading anything. I'll scour the net for obscure books in weird genres, try re-reading old favorites and nothing will do it for me. So, I'll do something else and forget about reading for awhile. Then one day I will pick up a book that sounds decent and I'm right back into it again. I'll try reading a book that was crap to me months before, enjoy it, and wonder why the hell I didn't read it the first time.
The same thing has happened with me with MMO's and even video games in general multiple times. Sometimes the thought of playing an MMO makes me sick with boredom. Then one day I will just get an itch to go explore a world I've never seen and the next thing I know I'm playing something bizzare like Age of @#$%ing Wushu or something and enjoying it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is don't worry about it. Go find something new to do and get sick of that. MMO's will still be there when you get back.
This is great advice,I too do exactly the same with reading but when I am into an MMO I find little time to do it. Luckily atm I have fallen back in love with EQ2,its always been my favorite but as you say you just lose that spark now and then to play so take a break.
I have made many friends there that become FB friends and group with my guild all the time and loving the newest expansion ToV .
We all grow up and our priorities shift OP, I too don't have the time to sit down and lose 10 hours or even 4 hours of my life in an MMORPG on a daily basis, that's why I play quick games of Eldevin or King's Road where I can do a few quests and see some tangible character progression in like 30 minutes - 1 hour of gameplay.
I think the OP is experiencing a combination of 5 well known issues:
1) When you are a child or student, society permits you the time to play and enjoy games. This is an exceptional situation, unfortunately (as point 3 illustrates).
2) Most MMORPGs have copied WoW. The sameness is boring.
3) When you reach 35-45 years of age, your outlook on life can change - for some, this manifests as a "midlife crisis". Society now expects you to raise children of your own etc.
4) The OP mentioned Eve Online. Eve Online requires a huge amount of social interaction to succeed ("The Mittani" is a good case study, if you feel like Googling a good example). Therefore, it's a particularly big time sink - even by the standards of other MMORPGs. Unless you have over 8 hours per day to spare, for whatever reason, just stay away from this game.
5) All games eventually become boring and repetitive. The human brain craves new experience and interaction. I think a random world generator, like MineCraft could be the future - combined with 3D Occulus Rift.
Just stop gaming and look for other interest. I believe you have pretty much experienced all that MMOs and computer games have to offer. New games have pretty much the same mechanics as they did in 1998, they just look prettier. I have pretty much given up on computer and console games and taken up Magic the Gathering and a few other table top games
It's the casualization of gaming. The games these days are too simplistic, even the single player games. Take a look at some of them, they give you an overpowered character that can smash through everything, the combat usually revolves around mashing a single button a few times and maybe throwing a combo in for good luck, and bam, that's it. They then attach a cinematic story to it to try and keep you mashing those buttons through the five hours it takes to reach the final boss and complete the game.
MMO's have a longer amount of time to reach end game, but it's still casual central, with players able to solo their way through everything, a linear path where you jump from quest hub to quest hub, with either the loot trail or story really being the only things keeping you interested in advancing.
All these games seem to be designed for kids, meant to make them go 'ooh' and 'ahh' as their special character does some amazing little twirl and bash for the fifteenth time in a row. And that's why us older players are tired of these things, because they insult our intelligence, become boring within anything from minutes to a few hours, and we see the poor design the developers were trying to hide behind all the shiny explosions and cinematic cut scenes.
Tedious is the best word I can use to describe current gaming.
I had started playing Rift again after taking a year off. I had only ever played Rift casually due to being burnt out from the gear grind in WOW. When I restarted Rift, I took 1 look at the new Storm Legion gear grind and decided to quit again.
I don't think it was the gear grind or the promise of the gear grind that made me quit both times, not exactly. It was that I had already done everything that Rift offers. I'd done it for years. I had done it in every MMO I played since I started playing MMO's.
I'm just not interested in doing the exact same things anymore. There are only minor differences in those types of games, the majority of those differences are in the art work and very minute player class mechanics.
What's weird, sometimes I find I'm having a lot more fun watching other people play i.e. Watching Starcraft 2 pro gamers playing against each other.
I suppose the point is, if you are a veteran MMO player, you've already done it and you don't feel like doing it anymore. Seems natural that no one would want to do the same thing over and over forever, sex may be the exception and even then...
someone already mentioned the new wave of games coming out. They all look pretty fun, I'm looking forward to "The division" and "Titanfall" among others. Tired of games, the solution is just to wait, I guess.
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
What do you mean that they can't give it away? LoL was given away to tens of millions of happily gaming players. They certainly can and have given it away.
I can see why you change your stance though. You have nothing to rebuff that they are not "too expensive"?
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
What do you mean that they can't give it away? LoL was given away to tens of millions of happily gaming players. They certainly can and have given it away.
I can see why you change your stance though. You have nothing to rebuff that they are not "too expensive"?
I still say they are too expensive. I mean, I'm sure you can get all kinds of junk for free. But to turn the junk into something usable requires more money and hassle than its ultimately worth. That's what I think about FTP.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
What do you mean that they can't give it away? LoL was given away to tens of millions of happily gaming players. They certainly can and have given it away.
I can see why you change your stance though. You have nothing to rebuff that they are not "too expensive"?
I still say they are too expensive. I mean, I'm sure you can get all kinds of junk for free. But to turn the junk into something usable requires more money and hassle than its ultimately worth. That's what I think about FTP.
And you have little understanding of what the word "expensive" mean.
If i am playing Marvel Heroes for free, and having fun, what is "too expensive"? Games are just that .. you play it for fun. There is no need to spend money or time to "make it usable". Either it is fun .. then i play it, or not. Anything else is just a red herring.
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
What do you mean that they can't give it away? LoL was given away to tens of millions of happily gaming players. They certainly can and have given it away.
I can see why you change your stance though. You have nothing to rebuff that they are not "too expensive"?
I still say they are too expensive. I mean, I'm sure you can get all kinds of junk for free. But to turn the junk into something usable requires more money and hassle than its ultimately worth. That's what I think about FTP.
And you have little understanding of what the word "expensive" mean.
If i am playing Marvel Heroes for free, and having fun, what is "too expensive"? Games are just that .. you play it for fun. There is no need to spend money or time to "make it usable". Either it is fun .. then i play it, or not. Anything else is just a red herring.
If you find the crap they give you for free fun...have at it hoss. But I have found that the crap they give away for free isn't worth the time and isn't worth the money needed to make it worth the time...not when there's so many good things out there on Steam and at the Gamestop that don't cost much and give me better gameplay.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
If you find the crap they give you for free fun...have at it hoss. But I have found that the crap they give away for free isn't worth the time and isn't worth the money needed to make it worth the time...not when there's so many good things out there on Steam and at the Gamestop that don't cost much and give me better gameplay.
Fun is subjective. For example, STO, to me, has much space combat that Eve. Eve pve combat is easy-mode and boring. STO has the added gravy of being free.
If you want to go for paying crap (like Eve, is crap in my mind), it is your freedom.
And yeah, there are plenty of good paid SP games. Who says i don't play for SP games? I just don't pay for MMOs.
I came back recently and tried neverwinter and well....
They've managed to turn PVP into a pointless minigame grind. PVE is still your typical snorefest. Questing is still your typical collect and kill garbage.
Not much has changed!
Elder scrolls look 'ok', and repopulation sounds great on paper, but other than that i think it's back to Dota 2 and co-op games for me.
Comments
I don't know why Beatnik says they are expensive, however I do believe they are not worth the price for what you get. It's like Starbucks coffee. You end up paying way to much for a drink that is mediocre at best and is roughly the same thing that other food establishments can serve. I think most people just put up with the cost of Starbucks because they see it as a place to hang out.
For me the sub isn't expensive. It's just not worth it. Not any more at least.
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
This is great advice,I too do exactly the same with reading but when I am into an MMO I find little time to do it. Luckily atm I have fallen back in love with EQ2,its always been my favorite but as you say you just lose that spark now and then to play so take a break.
I have made many friends there that become FB friends and group with my guild all the time and loving the newest expansion ToV .
Currently playing: Eldevin Online as a Deadly Assassin
I think the OP is experiencing a combination of 5 well known issues:
1) When you are a child or student, society permits you the time to play and enjoy games. This is an exceptional situation, unfortunately (as point 3 illustrates).
2) Most MMORPGs have copied WoW. The sameness is boring.
3) When you reach 35-45 years of age, your outlook on life can change - for some, this manifests as a "midlife crisis". Society now expects you to raise children of your own etc.
4) The OP mentioned Eve Online. Eve Online requires a huge amount of social interaction to succeed ("The Mittani" is a good case study, if you feel like Googling a good example). Therefore, it's a particularly big time sink - even by the standards of other MMORPGs. Unless you have over 8 hours per day to spare, for whatever reason, just stay away from this game.
5) All games eventually become boring and repetitive. The human brain craves new experience and interaction. I think a random world generator, like MineCraft could be the future - combined with 3D Occulus Rift.
It's the casualization of gaming. The games these days are too simplistic, even the single player games. Take a look at some of them, they give you an overpowered character that can smash through everything, the combat usually revolves around mashing a single button a few times and maybe throwing a combo in for good luck, and bam, that's it. They then attach a cinematic story to it to try and keep you mashing those buttons through the five hours it takes to reach the final boss and complete the game.
MMO's have a longer amount of time to reach end game, but it's still casual central, with players able to solo their way through everything, a linear path where you jump from quest hub to quest hub, with either the loot trail or story really being the only things keeping you interested in advancing.
All these games seem to be designed for kids, meant to make them go 'ooh' and 'ahh' as their special character does some amazing little twirl and bash for the fifteenth time in a row. And that's why us older players are tired of these things, because they insult our intelligence, become boring within anything from minutes to a few hours, and we see the poor design the developers were trying to hide behind all the shiny explosions and cinematic cut scenes.
Tedious is the best word I can use to describe current gaming.
I have a short story to tell.
I had started playing Rift again after taking a year off. I had only ever played Rift casually due to being burnt out from the gear grind in WOW. When I restarted Rift, I took 1 look at the new Storm Legion gear grind and decided to quit again.
I don't think it was the gear grind or the promise of the gear grind that made me quit both times, not exactly. It was that I had already done everything that Rift offers. I'd done it for years. I had done it in every MMO I played since I started playing MMO's.
I'm just not interested in doing the exact same things anymore. There are only minor differences in those types of games, the majority of those differences are in the art work and very minute player class mechanics.
What's weird, sometimes I find I'm having a lot more fun watching other people play i.e. Watching Starcraft 2 pro gamers playing against each other.
I suppose the point is, if you are a veteran MMO player, you've already done it and you don't feel like doing it anymore. Seems natural that no one would want to do the same thing over and over forever, sex may be the exception and even then...
someone already mentioned the new wave of games coming out. They all look pretty fun, I'm looking forward to "The division" and "Titanfall" among others. Tired of games, the solution is just to wait, I guess.
The issue is in game them self.
Free to play is a tacit admission that the game is so trashy, they can't even give it away.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
What do you mean that they can't give it away? LoL was given away to tens of millions of happily gaming players. They certainly can and have given it away.
I can see why you change your stance though. You have nothing to rebuff that they are not "too expensive"?
I still say they are too expensive. I mean, I'm sure you can get all kinds of junk for free. But to turn the junk into something usable requires more money and hassle than its ultimately worth. That's what I think about FTP.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
And you have little understanding of what the word "expensive" mean.
If i am playing Marvel Heroes for free, and having fun, what is "too expensive"? Games are just that .. you play it for fun. There is no need to spend money or time to "make it usable". Either it is fun .. then i play it, or not. Anything else is just a red herring.
If you find the crap they give you for free fun...have at it hoss. But I have found that the crap they give away for free isn't worth the time and isn't worth the money needed to make it worth the time...not when there's so many good things out there on Steam and at the Gamestop that don't cost much and give me better gameplay.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
Fun is subjective. For example, STO, to me, has much space combat that Eve. Eve pve combat is easy-mode and boring. STO has the added gravy of being free.
If you want to go for paying crap (like Eve, is crap in my mind), it is your freedom.
And yeah, there are plenty of good paid SP games. Who says i don't play for SP games? I just don't pay for MMOs.
I'm in the same boat.
I came back recently and tried neverwinter and well....
They've managed to turn PVP into a pointless minigame grind. PVE is still your typical snorefest. Questing is still your typical collect and kill garbage.
Not much has changed!
Elder scrolls look 'ok', and repopulation sounds great on paper, but other than that i think it's back to Dota 2 and co-op games for me.