The Familiar Versus The Popular

My gaming tastes have changed dramatically over the years, and I can't say I like it. In high school and college, I would play anything and everything. I skipped work to play Mass Effect 2 and 3 the day they came out. But these days, I find myself spending countless hours in Minecraft, Madden, Forza Horizon 2, and other games that don't really have a clear end goal. Games that just soak up time.

So, I know my taste change isn't due to time constraints. In fact, I probably have too much time to play games and should be doing other things. I could pour myself into my work, but even still I'd want to stop. Plus, in my profession, you have to pace yourself to avoid burnout. But that's beside the point.

If it's not time, what is it? I tend to agree with Jeff more and more each day about games. I'm just not easily impressed anymore. The Last of Us got an hour from me, and that was all I needed to know that the gameplay wasn't my thing. I tried really hard to get into Shadow of Mordor, and after 4-5 hours now it sits on my coffee table lifeless, wanting to be played. Meanwhile, let's boot up that copy of NCAA 14 and start a new dynasty!

Am I excited for games coming out? Absolutely. Batman: Arkham Knight, Sunset Overdrive, and The Order: 1886 look interesting enough. Will I finish them? Likely not.

Maybe it's a time constraint in a different manner. Maybe it's the idea of having to spend 10-14 hours just trying to get to the end of a story. But if that were true, why would I be so enamored with mindless time pits like Minecraft and Civ 5?

Then, there are the games that I just love going back to, regardless of how long they are or how many times I've played them. Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker get a replay at least once a year or so. As does Mass Effect 2. Saints Row The Third, FTL, and, yes, Simcity (2013) get played frequently, too. Meanwhile, Shadowrun Returns and The Witcher 2 eagerly await for me to boot them back up.

Maybe I'll figure out why I have certain tendencies, maybe I won't. Maybe it's a curse, maybe it's a blessing. These days, it feels more like a curse. I want to be on the edge of the discussion, beating games that everyone else is. But I can't resist the familiar. I don't know if I will ever learn what engages me and what doesn't.