I should be studying for Numerical Analysis, but what better way to procrastinate then to create an open ended discussion on the affects of gaming on your own personal history!

Personally, I started gaming around 1989-90 on an 4MHz, 20MB, monochrome XT. I played Sierra quest games, and oldies like Alley Cat. Later on I graduated to the 238, 386, 486, then Pentium. Games like Star Control II, Civilization, Wing Commander, X-Wing, Ultima, Monkey Island, and many others became the neurological background noise for my entire teenage years.

Gaming has been a big part of my life. When University started, that all changed. I do not get the same enjoyment out of games. Nowadays when I play a game, I am bypassing tasks that I should be doing. I should be working out, doing homework, cleaning, programming, reading, seeing my girlfriend, seeing my parents... Now I have so many responsabilities that there is no room for gaming in my life.

Every month I still pick up PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and PC Games. Why? I am still passionate about gaming, even though I don't play anymore! Over last year I bought 4 games: Call of Duty, Syberia, Doom III, and The Sims 2. I was addicted to Call of Duty and that caused some hardships in my life. I love Syberia but I don't have time to really enjoy it. Doom III makes my laptop crash. The Sims 2 was enjoyable for short burst of time but has fade away as my responsabilities took over again.

My question to you guys is: Is it possible to still enjoy gaming when you are an adult like you did when you were young? Some of this abandonware brings back a lot of nostalgia, but I would prefer it to not be nostalgia and just be fun again! Will this change when I graduate?

Personally, I think my enjoyment of gaming changed when I picked up numerous other hobbies. I love Unix and now have a 10 machine network at home. I read like crazy. I play guitar and would love to attempt to write an album. I go to about 30-40 concerts a year and have a 600 CD library. Besides all that, I love going for walks, distance biking, and going to the gym! When I was a kid I didn't care about anything else. Now I am a totally different gamer than I was before. Gone are the days of 12 hour Civ sessions *sigh*

On the plus side, I have a girlfriend that enjoys playing games :D

Yes, I understand the irony of writing this verbose slop when I should have been studying for an exam.

Wish me luck! Must.... interpolate... Lagrange polynomials!!!!

I am 23 now and I really stopped enjoying games when they began to hype the graphics at the expense of gameplay.

For me, to be a real gamer you must be able to forget everything else. When playing, nothing else must be more important. If you stop playing in the middle of a gaming session because of something which did not explicitely intrude in it (like hunger, thirst, people bumping into your room to yell at you it's too late and you should go to sleep, girlfriend, etc) then you are not a gamer anymore.

It should not stop an ex-gamer to love games and enjoy talking and playing a little from time to time. Especially since you always have the advantage with your incredible gaming experience... :D

Yep, still enjoying games, but I've also noticed that it is harder and harder to make me truly feel the experience worthwhile. Only a handful of games have managed to do so during the past couple of years (Sea Dogs, some recent football manager titles, a couple freeware/shareware games, and Operation Flashpoint).

I've become picky and selective, and I believe it has to do with the lack of gaming time; I want to spend those scarce moments with quality titles. Back in the '80s the quality of the games wasn't as necessary as there was plenty of time to waste, so most games received some sort of attention from me.

At 22, I still love playing games as much as I did but I'm fussier about which games I play. I don't buy games on impulse or because they recieve a lot of publicity which I used to. I only buy games if I am sure I really want them.

I don't spend as much time playing them as I used to because there are more important things in my life than games but they are still the main part of my spare time activities and I honestly don't see that changing. :D

On the gameplay/graphics issue - I don't like games that sacrifice gameplay for graphics but there are some new games that manage to get it right. In my opinion, Neverwinter Nights is one of the best games I have ever played and the graphics are excellent. :D

On the graphic/gameplay front, I (of course) don't like to see gameplay sacrified for graphics but the two are not mutually exclusive, you can have a good game with good graphics and the graphics only make it better because they improve the game's atmosphere.

The last game that got me engrossed in a positive way was The Longest Journey. That's a good example of graphics not taking precendence over a strong story and intuitive UI.

Graphics is the last thing I care about when purchasing a game.

Also... a clarification of my question: Do you enjoy games LIKE you did 10 years ago? Of course I sitll enjoy gaming otherwise I wouldn't be at this fine website. I have just noticed that I don't get nearly the same enjoyment. I guess it's really a prioritization problem more than anything.

OK... now I really have to get back to my Numerical Analysis ;)

Well 10 years ago I was 5 and I was 7 when I played my first games so...

I still return to the old games and I love playing good new games (but I prefer good gameplay to everything else). Good graphics and good sound are a pleasent bonus, but first of all the game has to be playable. An excelent example is the game Stunts - there are many better looking games - but none that I like to play more. Same with Colonization (Civ's are great too), but this is the game I keep returning too. There are also some adventures I play every now and again (like Death Gate or Ridlle of Master Lu),...
When it comes down to new games - well the newest game I have is Simon 3D - they just don't make games like they use to - although Neighbours from hell, The Great Escape (but it's actually a remake of the old C64 game - made after the movie) and some other new games are good (but not that many). I prefer the classics.

Thanks for reminding me that I'm going to be a quarter of a century in less than a month! Argh!!!

Thanks for reminding me that I'm going to be a quarter of a century in less than a month! Argh!!! [/b][/quote]
Well hello there sonny, my you're a young bright lad. Just wait until you get to be my age (ouch my back),... :bleh: