Yeah, I here ya OP. I like your post, it echoes a lot of my same sentiments and as I get older you really do start to realize how meaningless these MMO's are.
They are addicting. Most MMO's now have gambling boxes, RNG this, RNG that, drop rate this, drop rate that. FFXIV biggest downfall IMO is what some would argue is its strongest strength. Theres a market of gamers out there that actually like the grind, they say things like "you need to work for this gear" and "you cant just have sword or trinket handed to you, you need to earn it!" so they happily put in the 60+ hours to get that next sword that has 2 more strength and 10 more endurance. It was the reason I pulled the plug on that game a year ago and haven't looked back.
I do play that star wars game that has a million cutscenes, but I gave up grinding. I just play casually and have some fun, do the dailies, look over interesting builds, maybe play some pvp and hang out with guildies, play dress up doll with my characters (since that is true end game in most games nowadays) but the days of having to "put that work in" or prove myself are over. Its a video game, there is nothing to prove.
I enjoy undercutting people in the market place - it's the only PvP a crafter gets.
To be fair anything can hold great importance in life. MMOs did when they were brand new. Some things like the super bowl still do to a lot of people even though it's stupid IMO. I was very passionate about games when I was young and it took its toll on me, but I had a lot of fun at the time. It allowed me an escape from the restrictions of reality and a place to fit in with other misfits.
What I discovered personally, is that before I played video games I was very creative. I painted, I built models, I GM'd role playing games, I played role playing games... ect. All things that kept my mind working creatively. I wasn't just receiving information, I was outputting things that I saw in my mind.
At first, video gaming was extremely fun too, but after a while I started getting bored with games. Especially games that didn't give me much option to be creative with building my characters or taking unique paths through stories.
One night after I finished a raid and I received the last piece of gear for my Necromancer in Age of Conan, something inside of me just clicked. I didn't want to do all of that again. I'd spent months collecting pieces of gear for one character and as I sat there looking at the completed set, I didn't feel fulfilled at all.
So now, I've gone back to being creative. I converted a walk in closet in my house into a sound booth, I watched hundreds of hours on how to use Davinci Resolve, GIMP, Audacity and Handbrake and now I produce content every day for two different YouTube channels. Every time I upload a video, I have much more satisfaction out of life than any piece of gear I rolled for in a loot box.
But that's just me. I have a desire and drive to produce and create, not just consume and passively accept.
I find this interesting because I've just become a home owner myself. Time is more limited than ever, with the never-ending list of things I want to improve/fix. I have come to a similar conclusion in that I need to pick one game and even then just take it easy. Raid when it's time, but other than that, play other (console/single player) games if I don't feel like doing any side-grinds.
What I discovered personally, is that before I played video games I was very creative. I painted, I built models, I GM'd role playing games, I played role playing games... ect. All things that kept my mind working creatively. I wasn't just receiving information, I was outputting things that I saw in my mind.
At first, video gaming was extremely fun too, but after a while I started getting bored with games. Especially games that didn't give me much option to be creative with building my characters or taking unique paths through stories.
One night after I finished a raid and I received the last piece of gear for my Necromancer in Age of Conan, something inside of me just clicked. I didn't want to do all of that again. I'd spent months collecting pieces of gear for one character and as I sat there looking at the completed set, I didn't feel fulfilled at all.
So now, I've gone back to being creative. I converted a walk in closet in my house into a sound booth, I watched hundreds of hours on how to use Davinci Resolve, GIMP, Audacity and Handbrake and now I produce content every day for two different YouTube channels. Every time I upload a video, I have much more satisfaction out of life than any piece of gear I rolled for in a loot box.
But that's just me. I have a desire and drive to produce and create, not just consume and passively accept.
My OP was meant as comedic hyperbole... but this hits the nail on the head. When I am not playing I write. When I am playing it seems to suck all creativity out of me until I'm a slug in salt.
What I discovered personally, is that before I played video games I was very creative. I painted, I built models, I GM'd role playing games, I played role playing games... ect. All things that kept my mind working creatively. I wasn't just receiving information, I was outputting things that I saw in my mind.
At first, video gaming was extremely fun too, but after a while I started getting bored with games. Especially games that didn't give me much option to be creative with building my characters or taking unique paths through stories.
One night after I finished a raid and I received the last piece of gear for my Necromancer in Age of Conan, something inside of me just clicked. I didn't want to do all of that again. I'd spent months collecting pieces of gear for one character and as I sat there looking at the completed set, I didn't feel fulfilled at all.
So now, I've gone back to being creative. I converted a walk in closet in my house into a sound booth, I watched hundreds of hours on how to use Davinci Resolve, GIMP, Audacity and Handbrake and now I produce content every day for two different YouTube channels. Every time I upload a video, I have much more satisfaction out of life than any piece of gear I rolled for in a loot box.
But that's just me. I have a desire and drive to produce and create, not just consume and passively accept.
My OP was meant as comedic hyperbole... but this hits the nail on the head. When I am not playing I write. When I am playing it seems to suck all creativity out of me until I'm a slug in salt.
In fairness, MMOs once allowed a lot of freedom to be creative. Right now they are very controlled experiences where you can't really do much outside of the box. I think developers like this very controlled environment because it makes things easier for them. Some people also seem to like it. Perhaps because there is less chance of something going wrong in the game that disturbs them. I do agree that games seem to suck the creativity out of people. Especially modern games.
I prefer Log Horizon, maybe because it is a sandbox anime instead of a themepark one . Still, both are certainly worth seeing.
SAO is a sandpark.
Not really, a huge dungeon with loads of levels is rather themparkish to me. Sure, the open world had a bit of sandbox in it but even today are few games absolute one or the other.
Maybe its just me, but after watching Log Horizon i found that SAO was a bit childish tbh, still fun however.
I think it is because that fairy game they start playing once they get out of SAO. Besides that both get a bit childish on and off but not that badly, the FPS game the hero plays in second season is actually pretty awesome.
But they should have skipped the pixie game altogether. It felt like something marketed for kids.
Comments
Yeah, I here ya OP. I like your post, it echoes a lot of my same sentiments and as I get older you really do start to realize how meaningless these MMO's are.
They are addicting. Most MMO's now have gambling boxes, RNG this, RNG that, drop rate this, drop rate that. FFXIV biggest downfall IMO is what some would argue is its strongest strength. Theres a market of gamers out there that actually like the grind, they say things like "you need to work for this gear" and "you cant just have sword or trinket handed to you, you need to earn it!" so they happily put in the 60+ hours to get that next sword that has 2 more strength and 10 more endurance. It was the reason I pulled the plug on that game a year ago and haven't looked back.
I do play that star wars game that has a million cutscenes, but I gave up grinding. I just play casually and have some fun, do the dailies, look over interesting builds, maybe play some pvp and hang out with guildies, play dress up doll with my characters (since that is true end game in most games nowadays) but the days of having to "put that work in" or prove myself are over. Its a video game, there is nothing to prove.
I enjoy undercutting people in the market place - it's the only PvP a crafter gets.
At first, video gaming was extremely fun too, but after a while I started getting bored with games. Especially games that didn't give me much option to be creative with building my characters or taking unique paths through stories.
One night after I finished a raid and I received the last piece of gear for my Necromancer in Age of Conan, something inside of me just clicked. I didn't want to do all of that again. I'd spent months collecting pieces of gear for one character and as I sat there looking at the completed set, I didn't feel fulfilled at all.
So now, I've gone back to being creative. I converted a walk in closet in my house into a sound booth, I watched hundreds of hours on how to use Davinci Resolve, GIMP, Audacity and Handbrake and now I produce content every day for two different YouTube channels. Every time I upload a video, I have much more satisfaction out of life than any piece of gear I rolled for in a loot box.
But that's just me. I have a desire and drive to produce and create, not just consume and passively accept.
Aloha Mr Hand !
I think it is because that fairy game they start playing once they get out of SAO. Besides that both get a bit childish on and off but not that badly, the FPS game the hero plays in second season is actually pretty awesome.
But they should have skipped the pixie game altogether. It felt like something marketed for kids.