Non-Accomplishment Gaming.

[merryprankster]

As of late I have noticed a change in my gaming habits. I tend to be gravitating toward games that I can play goal free. I find myself just wandering the wastes or cruising San Van, rather than wanting an experience where I have to do anything in particular. I find I don't want to throw in games like Bioshock where I need to actually progress in order to play them.

This represents a shift in the type of content I want, as I used to greatly prefer a focused 'cinematic' type of experience. I have no idea what has brought about this change in my gaming habits but I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this lack of interest in 'the carrot'? Could this be my response to the greater availability of open world experiences this generation (Far Cry, Midnight Club...etc.)? Perhaps it is a refreshing change from over twenty years of heading left, so to speak, to have games where I can simply opt to not do a damn thing in (goal wise, that is). Then again mabye I'm just getting lazy in my gaming as I find myself busier and busier in life.

[Aeon221]

but I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this lack of interest in 'the carrot'?

I think that's just part of getting older. Ask your doctor to be sure.

[merryprankster]

I think that's just part of getting older. Ask your doctor to be sure.


Mabye I just need to import some pills:)

[Hanzii]

I think that's just part of getting older. Ask your doctor to be sure.

It's the opposite for me.
I get overwhelmed by too much freedom and lack of structure - having the choice between CoD 5 and Saints Row 2 I pick an hour of CoD 5, because I know progress is ensured. Whereas those openended games ends up frustrating me becaue I just fool around an accomplish nothing and then log off with a feeling of having wasted precious gaming time.

[Rock8man]

I can identify with both groups. When I'm really busy at work and don't have much time for gaming, the few hours of gaming I do get on the weekend feel more satisfying if I make some solid progress, so I like playing very linear, structured games. But when I'm home on a sick day, or on vacation during winter break for example, it's much more fun to get into open sandbox environments, and just explore for the sake of exploring.

[DoomMunky]

It sounds like the OP had 'accomplishment gaming' as the default stance. Though I'd say that is the majority view, there are also a lot of people out there who think of gaming more as 'play' time, and couldn't be more confused by the thought of 'progress' in a game. (Yeah, there's a lot of quote marks. This is heady stuff. Join me on my journey into the wild blue yonder...!)

I wish I were more of the latter, but alas, I think I'm very much influenced by the modern worlds obsession with accomplishment and benchmarks, and have lost that sense of possibility and sense of 'play' that would seem to inform the OPs perspective.

Blue Guyute, do you find yourself having more "fun" these days? Are you blue-skying your gaming time? Do you just eff around, see what happens? Alternatively, are you just more distracted, perhaps find it harder to focus long enough for a narrative progression to be appealing? It may not be either/or, but the contrast is interesting.

[merryprankster]

I can identify with both groups. When I'm really busy at work and don't have much time for gaming, the few hours of gaming I do get on the weekend feel more satisfying if I make some solid progress, so I like playing very linear, structured games. But when I'm home on a sick day, or on vacation during winter break for example, it's much more fun to get into open sandbox environments, and just explore for the sake of exploring.

It's actually the opposite for me, If I'm busy and stressed out at work I tend to gravitate toward a more aimless experience. If things are slow at work I usually want a more intense focused game at the end of the day.

[merryprankster]

It sounds like the OP had 'accomplishment gaming' as the default stance. Though I'd say that is the majority view, there are also a lot of people out there who think of gaming more as 'play' time, and couldn't be more confused by the thought of 'progress' in a game. (Yeah, there's a lot of quote marks. This is heady stuff. Join me on my journey into the wild blue yonder...!)

I wish I were more of the latter, but alas, I think I'm very much influenced by the modern worlds obsession with accomplishment and benchmarks, and have lost that sense of possibility and sense of 'play' that would seem to inform the OPs perspective.

Blue Guyute, do you find yourself having more "fun" these days? Are you blue-skying your gaming time? Do you just eff around, see what happens? Alternatively, are you just more distracted, perhaps find it harder to focus long enough for a narrative progression to be appealing? It may not be either/or, but the contrast is interesting.

Definately having more fun or rather using the worlds to find my own fun. (I do get through the stories and they are cool, but I don't enjoy it as much as just seeing what is possible). Sometimes I set little goals for myself and other times I like to just eff around (as you say) and kinda see what happens.

Edit: In general I find the stories to be better than ever in games, but for actual 'gameplay' I prefer my own constructs/personal exploration.

[Rod Humble]

As of late I have noticed a change in my gaming habits. I tend to be gravitating toward games that I can play goal free. I find myself just wandering the wastes or cruising San Van, rather than wanting an experience where I have to do anything in particular. I find I don't want to throw in games like Bioshock where I need to actually progress in order to play them.


Me too. Not sure its an age thing though, my son (6) has the same attitude. He labels any game that has a fixed goal as "lame" and tosses it. Fairly often I will bring home a new game and within 5 mins its tossed we are back to playing Noby Noby, Phun, Burnout wandering or or Toy Home free roam mode.

[merryprankster]

It's interesting that your son has the same attitude. I thought it might have to do with looking for a more flexible gaming experience as my life has more and more responsabilities, but perhaps that is not the case. After all my favorite NES game was Zelda, which allowed you to spend as much time just poking about as you wanted to. I'm glad that there are more games than ever these days that allow for this type of play for those of us who seem to prefer it.

[Pogo]

Me too. Not sure its an age thing though, my son (6) has the same attitude. He labels any game that has a fixed goal as "lame" and tosses it. Fairly often I will bring home a new game and within 5 mins its tossed we are back to playing Noby Noby, Phun, Burnout wandering or or Toy Home free roam mode.

You need to get this behavior in check. Do you really, really want to be the father of BobJustBob?

[BigWeather]

I went through both the focused, story/goal-driven phase and the open-world sandbox phase. I'm finding the games I like most now are those that are goal oriented but allow for exploration not so much of space but in behaviors and game mechanics. I guess I like my emergence and discovery depth-based rather than breadth. =)

[spiffy]

I've been playing a lot of MSFSX lately (my new machine loads satellite tileproxy textures really well!), and I often find that in the middle of a mission I'll just decide to fly off in the the direction of some odd mountain range until I run out of fuel.

[metta]

Sometimes I want a path with lots of unlockables and a ladder to climb and sometimes I just want to wander around doing whatever I want. Thankfully, there are enough games that I can always find something that satisfies my gaming needs.

[schurem]

I want to conquer my enemies, see them driven before me and hear the lamentations of their women. Total War!

[gamadict]

It's entirely natural to grow to prefer more open-ended games to linear action/adventure games or shooters, because the latter are really boring in comparison

[thinkingork]

I think it has to do with low testosterone level. If you are not over 40, it may be a good idea to check with the doctor.

[intruder]

It's actually the opposite for me, If I'm busy and stressed out at work I tend to gravitate toward a more aimless experience. If things are slow at work I usually want a more intense focused game at the end of the day.

Exactly the same for me and since business is slow right now (as everywhere else) I try to do as much achievements as possible in WoW and maximise my efficiency in there like I would do normally at work.