«

[Red Fortress]

Years ago, as a kid I played a bunch of Adventure and Role Playing games, but growing up my gaming slowly became dominated by Strategy games (especially the Civilization series), along with the occasional action game.

Recently (partly because of this site), I've decided to play some old RPG's and Adventure games again.
But every time I try, I just can't seem to get into the proper state of mind...

I'm worried this cloud hanging over me will ruin some otherwise memorable and enjoyable experiences if I keep on playing...

Have any of you guys ever experienced anything like this?

[Eagle of Fire]

Well, first of all... What kind of RPG did you play in the past? There is a lot of different kind of RPGs, and most of the very successful ones are not really RPGs but action games with RPG elements and whatnot.

Also... Tastes change with time. RPGs and especially adventure games are very light in term of seriousness, especially in comparison to most (real, not RTS) strategy games. Your taste or interests might simply have moved on.

[arete]

Yeah, you get to the end of your childhood and your brain finishes growing, and suddenly all the things you used to love are childish and don't have the same magic any more. The books you read that gave you cinematic journeys of adventure in your mind's eye are now flat and boring.

It's called growing up. It takes a while for you to adjust to the whole thing, and getting a fresh perspective to life. And realising all the silly hollywood memes about how the world should work are just impossible for so many reasons...

It'll get better. You'll realise you can do so many more amazing things now that you can make your own decisions, and have your own goals, and you can find ways to bring the magic back into your life ^^ And some of it never went away in the first place. Hang in there.

[Red Fortress]

Originally Posted by arete

It'll get better. You'll realise you can do so many more amazing things now that you can make your own decisions, and have your own goals, and you can find ways to bring the magic back into your life ^^ And some of it never went away in the first place. Hang in there.

Thanks .

Originally Posted by Eagle of Fire

Well, first of all... What kind of RPG did you play in the past? There is a lot of different kind of RPGs, and most of the very successful ones are not really RPGs but action games with RPG elements and whatnot.

Turn based CRPG's, an example would be, "Nethergate".

Originally Posted by Eagle of Fire

(real, not RTS) strategy games

Hey , while I played mostly TB strategy, there were a couple RTS's I also enjoyed (namely Rise of Nations, AoK, and the original Empire Earth)...

[Eagle of Fire]

Hey , while I played mostly TB strategy, there were a couple RTS's I also enjoyed (namely Rise of Nations, AoK, and the original Empire Earth)...

Maybe, but all modern RTS are only action games in disguise. There is next to no strategy involved since the player who can click faster or build more units faster always win... A real strategy game allow you to pause the game to really consider your next move. Otherwise it is not really a strategy game but a reaction game (and thus action).

[RRS]

Maybe the problem lies with concentration? To enjoy Shogun: Total War I used to read stuff about Sengoku Jidai, to immerse myself more. Life gets faster, all those facebooks, twitters ...perhaps they draw you away? Stress can also have such effect (I know something about that...).

[Japo]

Old dogs don't learn new tricks. I believe many games are intense learning exercises. A kid can take all the learning you throw at him if he's motivated, but later as you grow up your brain becomes solidified (not completely) with the basic skills you've trained as a kid. I believe a lot of the fun factor of games, as far as kids are concerned, lies in the fun of learning and mind exercising. I find that I could play Civilization again and again, but learning a new game with unknown rules feels tiresome; as a kid I couldn't get enough of them--and not just kiddy games.

[DarthHelmet86]

I run into this problem sometimes, I find it is normally cause I am stressed about something and just need to relax and enjoy the game at a slow pace. Sometimes it is cause I haven't played the game in a long time and the things I remember being so great are in fact horrible and flawed and make the game unplayable. Then again nothing can stop me playing Quest for Glory and it is always there to help de-stress me.

If you aren't in the mood for a game or just don't seem to be having fun don't force yourself to play, that will only lead to you remembering how bad you felt playing the game the next time you try. Try another game or read a book, go for a walk just do something else until you get into a mood more suited for playing the games.

[TotalAnarchy]

Never encountered such a thing.

[Red Fortress]

A major factor is patience, it seem I was much more patient as a Kid.

I could tolerate the frustration of getting stuck, and even having to replay the game.

Now I worry to much about stuff like Unwinable builds, game gliches, and deadends.

This leads me to reading up online, which in turn manages to ruin the thrill of discovery and exploration.

Also I found my self desiring to experience the game in one playthrough, leading me to check up online “as I play” for missed side quests, content, basicaly spoiling the game for myself. (Also, unintentional reading spoilers online really sucks to.)

I never did any of the as Kid (possibly as I had no internet), and it made the experience much richer...

I played Fallout's 1 & 2 like this, and am now constanly kicking myself.

Next I played Arcanum, and being consiance about this problem managed to catch myself most of the time, which made the experience much more memorable.

But this problem still persists and makes me scared of playing RPG's, as I could end up just ruining some other great games for myself.

P.S. All the above also goes for Adventure Games.