Have you ever felt overwhelmed by how to spend your gaming time?

Grizzzlay@beehaw.org to Gaming@beehaw.org – 10 points –

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 :)

6

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.

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.

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.

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

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.