I have a sizable collection of games across retro and current platforms, as well as a Steam Library and a huge itch.io bundle of software. I have opportunities abound for games that I could play. But some days, I get stuck trying to figure out
- Which game to play
- How long do I have to play it
- What about other stuff I need to do
- How can I turn this into something meaningful
And it only gets compounded when I try to factor in streaming or writing for a website that I’m a part of. I dunno how many other Twitch/YouTube/TikTok streamers are here but once you reach Affiliate or have a consistent audience it sure seems easy to feel like your gaming time should only happen when you’re streaming. And as a hobbyist writer I feel like I then have to tie in writing about my gaming experiences.
I don’t have anything closely resembling success with these ventures but it feels like if I stop, then I’ll never have that success, like, it feels obtainable when I’m turning my hobby into digestible content for others.
I’ve been trying to break out of this self-defeating cycle by starting a new island in Animal Crossing. Just making small progress, an hour a day, by myself. No distractions, no mental hangups, no “side hustles”.
Just wondering if I’m alone in this or if anyone else has similar experiences, whether or not you stream or whatever :)
I stopped playing games that try to monopolize my time with battle passes and dailies, as well as games that take 60+ hours to complete. For me that included not playing Animal Crossing.
Since I started working from home I’ve had a hard time motivating myself to play Steam games on my PC. I bought a Steam deck and a dock for it and it really changed my approach. I install 2-3 games from my backlog at a time, play them for about 2 hours before deciding if I’ll finish them or move on and uninstall to make room for a new one.
I’ve been meaning to stream and review games but kept putting it off because I didn’t have time and energy, and this meant there’s a bunch of games I’ve stopped myself from playing because I wanted to make vids for them. But I’ve realized that nothing forces me to record gameplay to talk about games. Zero Punctuation gets his impressions across in 5 minute videos with no footage whatsoever. So playing tons of short games in succession kind of renewed my motivation.
Also, putting stuff out there is success in and of itself. Don’t let your motivation be driven by views or income, or you won’t be doing it for the right reasons and you’ll burn yourself out.
This happened to me when I was streaming. My favorite hobby became like a job. I only played while streaming and the time I was putting in outside of work was kind of killing me. Working a full day, coming home to do dinner and time with my wife and then start streaming by 8pm a couple days a week. It exhausted me. At some point I started to skip days and then I just never went back. Now I play games as a form of entertainment like watching Netflix/Hulu. I do it for leisure.
Sometimes I miss it though and think maybe I should try and get back into it but so far I’ve just not.
Yeah, I have a growing backlog. When I want to get back into a game, I think about if I’ll remember what I was doing or if I’ll remember the controls or if I’ll ruin my save file.
What also hit hard when I lost my save file halfway through The Last of Us Part II. That game is hella depressing and intense, and I’ve struggled to go back through it.
All of that is compounded by the fact that I have some old comfort games that I play on my phone or Switch.
But recently, Theatrhythm and Final Fantasy XVI have got me back into the rhythm of things.
The plight of the adult gamer with an amount of disposable income. Too many games to play and not enough time.
I get stuck with those problems most of the time I open my Steam library. Too many games that I haven’t started. Too many that I haven’t finished. Yet I still find myself rotating between the same 2 or 3.
I’m not a streamer; I feel that people watching me play would be waaaaay too much stres.
I do but try to remind myself that “wasting my time” is a concept that capitalism has forced on us bc they want us to feel guilty when not productive.
This is probably obvious, but I just try to avoid buying games unless I will play it immediately. I KNOW I will play FF16 after I finish up Zelda, but I still haven’t bought it.
I also don’t look at steam sales unless I’m looking for a new game to play. I know too many people who buy games cause it’s on sale but never plays them
YES. I know exactly how you feel. ADHD really prevents me from actually hitting play.
Oh absolutely. But I found that the best way is to just hit “play” without thinking too much. If I am not in the mood I can stop anytime.
Another trick is to find a game that can complete a round in a short time (recently playing “20 minute still dawn”). That would help a lot.
Sort of - I mean, I’m kind of addicted to LeagueOfLegends unfortunately.
The moment I say “one game”, I end up playing for hours and feel wasted time. While I have a lot of other games to play and that feels overwhelming and probably that’s why - I keep playing just one multiplayer game.
Yeah I feel that with many hobbies too as well as gaming. I feel like there is a culture of, if you’re not doing something productive you’re wasting time. But in reality I think everyone needs a break. You can’t possibly be always productive, that ruins the whole point of relaxing!
It’s not easy to get away from either, but I’ve found that dedicating time to just not being productive and filling it with what you want to do is a good start. I work from home now so separating my day into chunks is even more important than ever because I my work space is also my PC gaming space.
Just try not to feel like you need to get something meaningful out of everything I guess. Sometimes it can just be fun.
