#lapsedfan

Anyone that knows me also knows that I have a deep knowledge of video games, both historically and mechanically. I also happen to be quite good at them. But despite playing games regularly for over 25 years, I couldn’t get over the fact that I just didn’t really enjoy them anymore besides the occasional mobile game. Through experimentation and having an open-mind, I find games enjoyable again. Well, to be more frank, I find some games enjoyable again. Through my experience, I figured it would be good to share for other lapsed game fans get the most out of the hobby again. Or at least, the most they have time for as life happens.

Step #1. Stick to what you know.

I repeat: stick to what you know. For a lot of people this could be mean a lot of things. If your first game love were first person shooters and don’t find the more contemporary bent to be an example of well designed FPS games, then by all means embrace the games that you love. Find online communities that are still playing the Doom’s, the Quake’s, the Unreal Tournament’s. Going back to your roots can lead to a lot of insight, and may allow you to rekindle your love for games again through a shared community experience. It won’t be all games, of course, but some games is honestly good enough.

The first game that I ever really got into was Street Fighter II. It wasn’t my first game, nor even my second. But at 6-7 years old and never having owned a system before, it was so different from any other game I had played at the time. It had the added bonus in that you could play as a girl, which was a novelty in the 80′s and early 90′s. As someone used to saving princesses, it was refreshing to see girls being as badass as the guys for the first time. It was no Mario, that’s for sure. And by that age, Mario had colored my opinion on what a game should be. Like any kid who grew up in the 90’s my gaming diet was cocktail of platformers, fighting games, and later Japanese RPGS. But unlike most children at that time and age, my first real introduction into video games, was actually the arcade. I didn’t have an NES, and I had to go to my uncle’s house in order to play his, so it wasn’t often that I got the chance to. At the time, I didn’t know what a Super Nintendo or Genesis even were. Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury, Double Dragon, Punch Out, and Mad Dogg McCree are what made me the game fan I am today.

As I got older, I had more access to spending money, which allowed to play more diverse games I otherwise wouldn’t have given a shot. I’d buy first person shooters, Western RPGs, third person shooters, RTS games, whatever was the big game at the time because it was what everyone else was playing despite my arcade, platformer, Japanese RPG origins. But when you buy everything, you don’t have the time to enjoy anything. It’s no surprise I got burned out. I still kept buying games I was hoping to enjoy but never could. Money was wasted, time was wasted. Games I thought I could enjoy were just lifeless duds to me at no one else’s fault buy my own.

In order to enjoy games again I went back to those genres that made me fall in love with the hobby to begin with. Not having beaten a single-player title since Grand Theft Auto V, I picked up Ultra Street Fighter IV on a whim. I figured there wouldn’t be much cause for worry because I had loved playing Super Street Fighter IV. To this day, five to six months later, I’ve racked up nearly 200 hours of Ultra Street Fighter IV between three systems and local fighting game community meet ups. Not beating a non-mobile game for two years to playing 200 hours of a multiplayer game in six months is a pretty staggering difference in play time and enjoyment.

I eventually doubled down on my Back to Basics run I decided to replay a few classic JRPGs: Chrono Cross, Xenogears, and Tales of the Abyss. I also picked up Dragon Quest VII for iOS in Japanese. Through embracing my own gaming origins, I ended up confirming my love for games was still there, but in a more limited form. Sticking to what I know allows me to enjoy the time I put into games I do like, rather than try to fit in and enjoy games everyone else is telling me to play. There’s also a factor in that I just hadn’t played quality jrpgs in such a long time that I ended up having to go to other genres almost by necessity. Revisiting old games can help keep the love going. You don’t always have to fill the need to a buy a new game. If it’s what you know, it’s what you know and there’s nothing wrong with that whether it’s old or not.

No matter what your roots are, if it’s what made you a game fan, embrace it.

Step #2. Limit what games you DO buy.

Thinking I was back into the hobby again like old times, I ended up buying Tales of Zestiria. As a fan of Vesperia, Abyss, and Symphonia,  I figured it would be worth it. It wasn’t. I got burned and I retreated back to my fighting games. I took a risk and it wasn’t worth it. Try to remember that just because you find that you can enjoy games again doesn’t mean you need to purchase the latest game in that genre your friends are playing. There are some people that buy all kinds of games and have over 100,000 in achievement points. That doesn’t mean you need to catch up with them.

There’s an almost never ending compulsion need to buy needlessly in the video game hobby. The way critics tell it, you need the latest, greatest video game or you’re not worth a damn. Friends insist you pick up the latest game they’re playing even if it looks lame to you. It feels like there’s pressure to buy games you don’t even like, which is made even worse in this age of social media where you can feel left out of the loop. Impulse buys are going to happen. You’re often guilt tripped if you don’t pick up the latest game that people think you would like and good luck if you don’t even like it.

Sticking to your guns and embracing your roots doesn’t necessarily free you from the compulsion to needlessly consume video game media. I highly suggest participating in smarter buying practices. It’s wise to remember that as a lapsed game fan, we’re not the prototypical target market for most games anymore. Most of us have our own strong opinions on today’s games. Just because you could buy a recent game doesn’t mean you should. This is further accentuated by ignoring what most game players - even your friends - are playing, so you’re not compulsed into making random risk buys, thus repeating the cycle.

This isn’t to say that you should only stick to one game or genre, but one should be cognizant of their purchasing habits. Though my focus now lies in competitive fighters, I fully plan on buying Life Is Strange on PS4 eventually because I loved the demo so much, and it’s such a wonderful case for alternative gaming with a beautiful exposure to a modern slice of life element rarely seen in video games. It’s okay to buy, but don’t buy blindly or based entirely off of hype. What does the game have to offer you? Games, like any media, should offer more than just being entertained. If you’re going for a risk buy, make sure it’s a risk worth taking.

Step #3. Analyze why you enjoy the few games you do like.

To expound upon the last point and its take on media consumption. Do not buy blindly. Analyzing why you like the games you do enjoy allows you to try to replicate that experience. For example, I love the competitive edge, the constant growth, the supportive community of fighting games, which has only made me play more fighting games. I realized that I had long missed the social element tied to games that had been missing. Seeing in person, the destroyed face of someone you just beat at your local fighting game meet up as he leaves the arcade stick on the table with an arched back? I love that rush of adrenaline that comes from playing a great player face to face in a battle of wits. What a competitive fighting game offers is completely different than even a competitive first person shooter. So though I realize I love multiplayer games, I’m wise to only stick to fighting games. Other games aren’t going to be able to offer that level of experience either. So I just stick with my bread and butter of fighting games, JRPGS, adventure games, visual novels, and platformers. Or for you, it could be puzzle games, or WRPGs, or sandbox games. I don’t know. Make your own call.

Analyzing your thought process in why you enjoy something forces you to connect with it in a way is more meaningful and, arguably, more lasting. Being aware of the why part of video game consumption is an important facet because not only are video games expensive and time consuming, but they also have the ability to be truly meaningful. By looking at what makes you enjoy the games you do, you’re less likely to get into games you don’t like. Remember that game fans will keep reminding you to join them in Destiny or the latest, hottest MMO, but why should you if you’re not sure they have offer what enjoy out of the games you do enjoy? Always be aware that usually, buying a lot of games you don’t like is how this problem starts to begin with.

Step #4. Give Mobile a shot (seriously).

My final point and general suggestion would be to play mobile games if you’re lapsed game enthusiast with a preference towards classic game genres. Phone games are diverse in number, and there’s a ton of resources to find out what’s good and worth playing. They’re usually cheap enough to make risk buys, and they’re usually short enough to never be time consuming. To make matters even better, they’re usually built for short play sessions as a rule so you don’t need to dedicate time to them much. Mobile games are low risk, and in some cases, depending on what games you like, such as puzzle games or even adventure games, could become your new main platform as they offer better alternatives compared to other systems these days. Along with Steam, mobile games are currently - despite the stereotype that they’re all money sucking rip offs - a haven for experimental small games. If the same old, same old is what’s got you down, mobile is worth trying. Hey, we’re lapsed anyways right? It’s worth a shot at this point. You can play a dating game where you play as pigeons available for Steam and Mobile  - Hatoful Boyfriend, look it up. That’s how out there the choices are.

Personally, as an arcade game fan, I get a lot of fuel out of mobile games, although I realize it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.