I've learned a lot in my 20+ years as a player. But I still haven't internalized one of the most important lessons today. My own stubbornness keeps pushing me to the brink of despair.
A comment by Robert Kohlick.
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If I start something, I have to finish it
Keep up! Keep going! Don't give up now! Even as children, we are taught that we just have to “get through” some things. This may be completely true in some situations, but it is not the case with games. However, my subconscious seems to see it differently.
I lean towards a kind of weakened form of “completionism”. While true completionists can only put a game aside once they have completed every challenge, collected every collectible and earned every trophy, for me it is enough to simply play through a game to be finished. The problem with the matter: I still have that feeling even if I no longer enjoy a game after a few hours.
Fallout 4: After 24 hours I wasn't in the mood anymore
Would you like an example? A few years ago I finally decided to play Fallout 4. I really enjoyed the game in my first few hours. I went on extensive exploration tours, which sometimes rewarded me with brilliant loot. I improved my character with some cool perks and, due to the increased level of difficulty, initially had really exciting battles that occasionally brought me to the brink of death.
But this fascination diminished with each level up of my character. I became more and more powerful, at one point even unstoppable. And since the dialogue system in Fallout 4 completely disappointed me, many situations ended in dull shooting that lasted several minutes. I was burnt out – after about 24 hours of playing. But I still couldn't stop. I had to finish Fallout 4 – even if I no longer enjoyed it.
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In our video test for Fallout 4, the role-playing game came off much better:
And so I struggled through the story and a few side quests for another 24 hours until I finally saw the credits flicker across the screen after almost 50 hours. Then – and only then – could I bring myself to quit the game via ALT+F4 and eject it from my hard drive. I was redeemed!
You can sink countless hours, especially in huge open-world and role-playing games:
Just play something else? That's not possible!
Actually, by this point I should have learned my lesson once and for all: If you no longer enjoy a game at some point, you don't have to finish it at any cost. That does not make sense! And yet I find myself in the same mess several times a year. DOOM, Watch Dogs 2 and Life is Strange 2 – all games that initially excited me – all games that I would remember much better if I had stopped playing them halfway through.
While playing, the thought keeps coming to me: “It’s no fun anymore. Why don’t you stop and free up the space for a few other games instead?” And again and again I catch myself glossing over things to myself: “This will definitely get better, you’ll see! This is definitely just a small glitch! Stay tuned, the game definitely won’t last long!”
And as I sit here and fail to finally internalize this important gamer lesson, a small appeal to everyone who is struggling with the same problem: Don't get caught up in games that you no longer enjoy – they are not worth your time, period! There are tens of thousands of other brilliant games out there waiting for you who can't wait to finally escape from your pile of shame.
In the meantime, I'll try to ban Kingdom Come: Deliverance from my PC. But before that, I'll just play around again – maybe this time I'll get it! This will definitely get better, you'll see…