are you a responsible gamer or are you like me?

[sakichop]

Sitting in my computer room staring at my shelves and shelves of half played games. I started wondering is this normal?

So what kind of gamers are you? Do you buy a game and stick with it until you finish then move to the next? (We'll call this the responsible gamer).

Or........

Are you like me? Buy games, play half and then start another ,finishing very few of them and maybe even having months old games still sitting never installed.(we'll call this the irresponsible gamer)

[xSamhainx]

totally irresponsible, and it's all steam/direct2drive/gamersgate/impulse's fault!

I'm trying to get thru DA2, while at the same time I do really like playing me some Warhammer online. All was well, and I was set to blow off WH (as I'm getting MMO fatigue and that game is pretty much dead online) until I watched Totalbiscuit's little video (http://www.youtube.com/user/TotalHalibut#p/p) on the new Mount and Blade game. Wow. looks cool. Never played M&B, so I look around and sure as hell - Warband is 5.99 at D2D (http://www.direct2drive.com/9170/product/Buy-Mount-and-Blade:-Warband-Download). Purchased instantly, I'll probably get into that and everything else gets further away in the distance.

see what I mean, its all D2d's fault! Or maybe it's actually Totalbiscuit's. I need to think about that a bit more, who is actually to blame for my hoarding.

With RPGs it's rough too, if you leave them too long you forget everything - where you are in the myriad of quests, what the hell the main story is about, the control scheme. Makes picking them back up all the more difficult months later….


But in the end does it really matter? Youre playing something anyway, does it really matter what? Are we all sitting around a big digital dinner table, forced to finish our Games before we can go play something else? I dont think so. LIfe's too short, play what you want. It's not irresponsibility, it's freedom of choice, thankfully a lot of us have so many options today that we can do this.

[sakichop]

totally irresponsible, and it's all steam/direct2drive/gamersgate/impulse's fault!

I'm trying to get thru DA2, while at the same time I do really like playing me some Warhammer online. All was well, and I was set to blow off WH (as I'm getting MMO fatigue and that game is pretty much dead online) until I watched Totalbiscuit's little video (http://www.youtube.com/user/TotalHalibut#p/p) on the new Mount and Blade game. Wow. looks cool. Never played M&B, so I look around and sure as hell - Warband is 5.99 at D2D (http://www.direct2drive.com/9170/product/Buy-Mount-and-Blade:-Warband-Download). Purchased instantly, I'll probably get into that and everything else gets further away in the distance.

see what I mean, its all D2d's fault! Or maybe it's actually Totalbiscuit's. I need to think about that a bit more, who is actually to blame for my hoarding.

Yes DD has made it all to easy to collect games and don't forget Gog. now I have 10 yr old games piling up as well. Game hoarding never thought of it that way but that's exactly what it is.:lol:

With RPGs it's rough too, if you leave them too long you forget everything - where you are in the myriad of quests, what the hell the main story is about, the control scheme. Makes picking them back up all the more difficult months later….

I have the same problem. I usally end up starting over making it even harder to finish.

But in the end does it really matter? Youre playing something anyway, does it really matter what? Are we all sitting around a big digital dinner table, forced to finish our Games before we can go play something else? I dont think so. LIfe's too short, play what you want. It's not irresponsibility, it's freedom of choice, thankfully a lot of us have so many options today that we can do this.

Your absolutly right it doesn't matter at all but I thought it would make for a fun and light thread. Which I think we could use around here right now.:biggrin:

[xSamhainx]

No kidding, how could I have forgotten GOG - theyre definitely one of the biggest instigators.
I got Lords of Magic on there recently, I was never able to really play that game back in the day. It totally chewed up my computer at the time, and the turns in the game took so awfully long to play out.

[ChienAboyeur]

I dont understand the responsible qualifier.

It looks more like compulsive buying to me, which I dont relate to responsibility. And I wonder in what way you relate this behaviour to responsibility.

I am not a compulsive buyer. I buy games I intend to play. Playing a game can spread from a couple of weeks to more than one year. It totally depends on the game, its content.

I usually prefer to play little at a time games with depth.

[sakichop]

I dont understand the responsible qualifier.

It looks more like compulsive buying to me, which I dont relate to responsibility. And I wonder in what way you relate this behaviour to responsibility.

I am not a compulsive buyer. I buy games I intend to play. Playing a game can spread from a couple of weeks to more than one year. It totally depends on the game, its content.

I usually prefer to play little at a time games with depth.

You may have misread my post. The responsible gamer is one who buys one game and plays it to completion. That would be you I guess from reading your post.

I'm the irresponsible gamer who buys everything and finishes little.

The "responsible" and " irresponsible" where just little labels I used. I don't mean for them to imply that anyone is either. If you want you can substitute any words for those that you would like or ignore them all together.

This thread really is just for fun.

[JDR13]

I have loads of games I've never played, but it's definitely due to me being somewhat of a collector and not having the time to play as many games as I buy. In particular, I have a lot of console RPGs that I'll probably never play.

I tend to finish anything I start though, unless it's really bad. I also rarely play more than one game at a time.

[ChienAboyeur]

I read the post and did not see the connection between the behaviour and the qualifier as stated. Still dont. I dont see how it is responsible to buy a game and finish it.

Would have been better to call this compulsive buying than irresponsibility.

[JDR13]

I read the post and did not see the connection between the behaviour and the qualifier as stated. Still dont. I dont see how it is responsible to buy a game and finish it.

Would have been better to call this compulsive buying than irresponsibility.

Dude, what don't you understand about.. "The "responsible" and " irresponsible" were just little labels I used." ?

[ChienAboyeur]

Well, reads just like" RPG is just the little label that is used "then.

[Jaz]

Well… I tend to install all the games I buy, and since I mostly buy a bunch from the bargain bin, I install the whole bunch. Then I start them all, discover which one I want to finish first, play and finish it. Then the next. nd so on.

There's a rare game that I don't finish, but it sometimes happens that I buy a game I absolutely want/which I've been waiting for for years, and I then I'll probably pause the game I'm currnetly playing to play the new one, finish that, and then I continue to play the one I started before it.

Sometimes a game gets lost somewehre along the way; I have still to finish Shadow Hearts 2 (UT 3 was responsible for that), and I deliberately didn't finish Fire Warrior (unbearable).

And there are always games I'm playing with the son which usually differ from 'my' games. Current example: I get home from work, play some LEGO Star Wars with sonny, and later at night I play Drakensang just for myself. Though the LEGO games usually are great entertainment :).

This would make me a semi-responsibel gamer, wouldn't it?

[DArtagnan]

I'm an extremely demanding, impatient, and moronic gamer - who constantly buys or finds new things to explore - because I keep losing interest in the thing I was into 10 minutes ago.

Once in a blue moon, though, I find something that appeals to me enough to spend more than a day or two with it. Last time it was Fallout 3 modded - I think - and this time it's Fallout New Vegas modded :)

I'm slowly coming to the point of realising that the only thing that would make sense, is to keep developing my own game - and take breaks once something GENUINELY good comes out. I find tremendous satisfaction when I'm doing something creative - so it's kinda puzzling that I can't just stick with it.

[JemyM]

I finish 90% of the games I begin, usually without breaks or pauses. The only games I bought but never installed are Neverwinter Nights II Storm of Zehir and Fallout: Tactics.

[SleepingDog]

I think that I am more like DArtagnan than the others. I rarely finish a RPG game because I get very bored once I understand how the game mechanics work. The only ones that I have finished are those with very strong story lines such as ME, DA:0 and BG2.

The strange thing is that with strategy games (Civ, MOO2) this does not seem to matter. I have been playing Alpha Centauri constantly since 2004!

Do I have games that I have never played - oh yes. KoToR 1 and 2, Jade Empire, Fallout 3 and so on. Why? Well I buy online from Steam, Gamersgate, GOG and Amazon - it's just too easy especially if the price is low (and I criticize my wife's clothing bargains).

Compulsive buying - no. I will always wait and argue (with myself) about whether to buy or not with the result that often I keep my money. A collector - I would agree but the trouble is that if you have been gaming for the last 21 years then some of the ones you didn't get become available at very low prices.

"Irresponsible" - ok with that but it's my money and time so my choice.

[sakichop]

I finish 90% of the games I begin, usually without breaks or pauses. The only games I bought but never installed are Neverwinter Nights II Storm of Zehir and Fallout: Tactics.

Ah yes storm of zehir. Couldn't wait for that to come out finally a nwn game where i could make my whole party. Played it for maybe an hour and then quit can't remember why now maybe I will have to give it another go.

Yes steam and the like make it very easy to rack up a lot of games for cheap. Especially with their holiday bundles. I was very resistant to steam at first. I wasn't about to give up my manuals and boxes. But some of their deals are just to good.I have actually bought many games I already own just for the no disc and automatic updates. Gog is by far my favorite if they have it I buy from them.

[sakichop]

I read the post and did not see the connection between the behaviour and the qualifier as stated. Still dont. I dont see how it is responsible to buy a game and finish it.

Would have been better to call this compulsive buying than irresponsibility.

Then for you it's compulsive buying. Like I said its meant only in fun. We will accommodate all view points in this thread.:D

[JemyM]

There are a couple of reasons I like these new online services and a couple reasons I do not. I do not like that downloads are stuck to the steam folder since I have a separate harddrive dedicated for games and generally try to keep all significant installations on partitions different than C: so windows can crash whenever it likes to crash.

What I do like is that they became the PC version of XBox Live or Playstation Network. This means that small and independent developers have a cheap way to dodge the necessity of a large scale publisher and be able to sell their new and creative titles without getting blocked by not doing the old and reliable stuff.

[sakichop]

There are a couple of reasons I like these new online services and a couple reasons I do not. I do not like that downloads are stuck to the steam folder since I have a separate harddrive dedicated for games and generally try to keep all significant installations on partitions different than C: so windows can crash whenever it likes to crash.

What I do like is that they became the PC version of XBox Live or Playstation Network. This means that small and independent developers have a cheap way to dodge the necessity of a large scale publisher and be able to sell their new and creative titles without getting blocked by not doing the old and reliable stuff.

You can install it to different drive I have mine on d drive.

[pibbur]

There are a couple of reasons I like these new online services and a couple reasons I do not. I do not like that downloads are stuck to the steam folder since I have a separate harddrive dedicated for games and generally try to keep all significant installations on partitions different than C: so windows can crash whenever it likes to crash….

I installed Steam to my d:\games folder, where I keep my games, so all Steam games go there.

Says pibbur who thinks maybe JemyM already thought about that.

EDIT: And who realizes that sakichop already said that, and therefore hates said chop.

EDIT 2: Actually he doesn't.

[pibbur]

…I find tremendous satisfaction when I'm doing something creative - so it's kinda puzzling that I can't just stick with it.

Don't know if it's even remotely related, definitely off topic, but I came to think about it from what you wrote above, and here it is: I really like drawing and painting. But I also find a clean white canvas or sheet of paper scary. Feels like I'm destroying it by using my pencil or my brush on it. It's enough to keep me from drawing and painting as much as I want to. The solution is partially to just let go, stop caring about what comes out of it, just do it, and then see what happens. Unfortunately I'm not very good at that, I like to know what I'm doing before doing it, which quite often is counterproductive.

One of the best paintings I've ever made was when I told myself to just paint, with thick strokes, occasionally looking at the scenery (which you can see in the cat picture I recently posted). And aim to be finished within an hour. Lots of mistakes, but it did capture my impression of what I saw.

[sakichop]

I installed Steam to my d:\games folder, where I keep my games, so all Steam games go there.

Says pibbur who thinks maybe JemyM already thought about that.

EDIT: And who realizes that sakichop already said that, and therefore hates said chop.

EDIT 2: Actually he doesn't.

Thanks Pibbur you gave me a good laugh.:lol:

[pibbur]

Thanks Pibbur you gave me a good laugh.:lol:

Mission accomplished. :)

[Zloth]

I'm fairly responsible but Steam & GOG are corrupting me. There are some games I'll quit just because I don't like them all that much (Zeno Clash most recently) but I'll normally finish my games. Steam & GOG sales have been tempting me with the "buy now so I can play when it gets slow over the summer" bit. We'll see if that really happens or not.

[sakichop]

I'm fairly responsible but Steam & GOG are corrupting me. There are some games I'll quit just because I don't like them all that much (Zeno Clash most recently) but I'll normally finish my games. Steam & GOG sales have been tempting me with the "buy now so I can play when it gets slow over the summer" bit. We'll see if that really happens or not.

Yes $5 and $10 games are hard to turn down.

The witcher 2 should make me a responsible gamer for 1 game at least.

Just bought majesty 2 boxed version for $6 from half priced books adding 1 more game to my list.

Should I get majesty 1 or would starting with 2 be fine?

[Scrav]

I'm terrible. While it is rare for me to buy a full priced game, I go overboard on sales that are at least 50% off or more. I can't remember the last game I finished - I think it may have been The Witcher well over a year ago.

I don't finish 95% of games… I have a habit of completing most of a game, then tossing it aside, distracted by some other shiny object.

I possibly don't even play (or play very little) 25% to 50% of the games I buy.

[Tragos]

I have a big number of games that never even instal on my PC , 5 years ago we went to the store every 6 months and used to buy 4-5 different games of all genres , now we don't have the money to do it .

I have the BG series case with all the games in , took me longer to install than to play , i remember screaming "party based isometric WTF i thought it would be like Morrowind" ..uninstalled after few minutes

Last game i bought and finished was DA:O , last game i bought and didn't finish (apart from EU3 expansion) was that space RPGish sim with the terrible combat

[Dasale]

For me it's not at all a problem to not finish a game. But sometimes it's clearly hazard of life events that move you out of a game and when too much time pass then you never finish it, not really your choice.

Last games I finished? Mmmm, DA2? Woo that's terrible I don't even remember but soon this will be Avadon.

@sakichop: About Majesty 2 (I'm one of the very rare fan of it) I suggest you give it its chance. He can be a bit rude with newbies so try find some help in forums, here I'll try help if you open a thread in RPG section.

But if you end not liking it, don't give up on Majesty 1. It's a quite different game, much more sim, certainly more deep, not more fun for me, but a great game any player should know because it is unique and polished (well not for the old graphics, they was very old even for its time at release).

But that's also why I suggest try Majesty 2 first because it has its qualities but if you play Majesty 1 and then expect get a version with updated graphics and animations then most chance you'll get disappointed.

Still about Majesty 2 there's now a complete edition, I have seen it on Steam, the game, the 3 expansions and all DLC. The whole for something like $20 that doesn't seem a sale price but the normal price. There's also few interesting user maps, not that much but still few worthy.

[Thrasher]

I am a horrible gamer. I must have 30 uninstalled PC games piled to the ceiling, and earthquake would be heartbreaking. And 30 more digital downloads unplayed. I do finish every game I start, which is why I research very carefully before starting. Terribly anal, I know....

Actually I do start all of my Steam games and install other digital downloads to make sure they work. And then they just take up disk space.

My strategy is to finish and uninstall ASAP. ;)

[zakhal]

Sitting in my computer room staring at my shelves and shelves of half played games. I started wondering is this normal?

So what kind of gamers are you? Do you buy a game and stick with it until you finish then move to the next? (We'll call this the responsible gamer).

Or……..

Are you like me? Buy games, play half and then start another ,finishing very few of them and maybe even having months old games still sitting never installed.(we'll call this the irresponsible gamer)
I dont know about you but I feel like a king looking at his treasury when I look at my shelves (which are very nicely build quality shelves btw.).

[xSamhainx]

Thats the way i look at it - the king of the game mountain, lol. The way i see it, i have my entire life to play these games. You see the old codgers, ancient and bored as hell sitting there in their nursing homes. Nothing to do.

Not me, i'll be gaming!

[aries100]

I guess I am a most unresponsible gamer, then. I've bought many games along the last 14 years. And they had given me great moments of fun and entertainment. I don't have the time nor the money :( anymore to do this. So I'm being rather picky as to what I buy. I'll try to buy most adventure games, if money allows. RPGS these days are fairly limited also. I'll buy what I like and what company I think needs support. Sadley, money these days are a real game-buyer-killer for me. This means I haven't even bought Fallout: New Vegas yet. Well, maybe in June (2011), I'll have the money to buy it. Dead Space 2 looks interesting as well.

There are some games I regret buying, though, both adventure games and rpgs. But we learn as long as we live, I guess.

[Motoki]

You know, I used to be really good and get one game, play it, wait a while, get another, but between coming here and some other sites that list deals and just the ease of digital downloads in general I have gotten irresponsible.

It's funny because for me to get my ass to the mall and actually buy a game I have to really want it but if it's 50% off on digital download I'm like *CLICK*. The ease definitely leads to more impulse buys and more 'Well they're saved in the cloud and I will play them someday when I don't have anything else'. :p

Like Fallout: New Vegas for instance. Gamestop has it on sale for $20 US but in the store only. Digital download is $50, so I've said 'Well if I happen to be at the mall and if I happen to remember then maybe I'll get it'. But if the digital download were $20? Pretty sure I would have gotten it already without question.

[DoctorNarrative]

I am good about playing the RPGs and Shooters that I buy. What I am really bad at is buying a ton of adventure games because I was a Lucasarts/Sierra adventure game fanboy as a kid, but I rarely play them because now-a-days most of them suck and honestly shooters and RPGs are more fun. So I have shelves and shelves of half-played or even never-played adventure games.

[Maylander]

I usually play through games 1-3 times right after buying them.