It is acceptable to keep playing video games past your 30s?

[Piggy]

I'm finding it harder and harder to do so. I don't know if it's depression or just growing out of them. This is not a question about whether it's acceptable in a social context (**** those norms) but on an individual level. What is keeping you interested in the medium?

[Roguey]

I keep finding new games I enjoy playing, so I keep playing them. It's true that a lot of games are targeted at a younger demographic and I have no interest in them, but that suits me fine. There may come a time when I'm too old and the developers are too young for me to enjoy anything anymore and that'll be fine as well.

[WhiteShark]

I've had times even when I was very young where I thought I was done with video games but eventually I'd always find a game that piqued my interest and drew me back in. I don't know how it is for other people, but I know from self-observation that my interests go in cycles that last 6+ months at a time. I'm only 30 now, but my guess is that this will continue. Poor health has had a much greater depressing effect on my interest in gaming than age has, at least so far.

[Acrux]

I hear you, OP. Between family and work obligations, and taking care of things around the house, I have very little time left for games. And often if I do find time I'm just too exhausted.

Then there's the problem of most new games I try I find frustrating for one reason or another, and recently the most common reason has been poor UX and small fonts without UI scaling options.

Usually if I play something, it's a game I already know well and have been playing for years.

[Emphyrio]

i play video games because between work and children i no longer have the mental energy for my creative hobbies.

[J1M]

First time I have ever heard someone complain new games have fonts that are too small. You probably just need glasses.

[Acrux]

First time I have ever heard someone complain new games have fonts that are too small. You probably just need glasses.

You are the third or fourth person who has said that to me. It's weird.

Of course I need glasses. I wear glasses. The fonts are too small for me to see. And I see a lot of posts on the Steam forums for people asking for more UI scaling and font options.

[Luckmann]

First time I have ever heard someone complain new games have fonts that are too small. You probably just need glasses.

You are the third or fourth person who has said that to me. It's weird.

Of course I need glasses. I wear glasses. The fonts are too small for me to see. And I see a lot of posts on the Steam forums for people asking for more UI scaling and font options.

But most people on Steam forums say things because of small brains, not small fonts. Man my eyesight has gone to **** in the last 5 years or so, and I still can't stand the oversized-yet-minimalistic UIs of modern consolized gaming. It's atrocious.

[Acrux]

Ui scaling options ~= consolized UIs

[Nemesis]

It is acceptable to keep playing video games past your 30s?

Depends on the game.

[maidenhaver]

I don't just hate the games, I hate the people around them. Tabletop is worse, because every group uses a goddam discord, and the discord is lead by *****, blm, and nato shills. Its pushed me to look for friends who want to share games, and spending money on a home gym and ammo instead. **** those people and their bibyeo gaymes.

[H-H-Holmes]

Modern gaming is undeniably **** when compared to the golden age but there's still nothing quite like it. It's a specific kind of irreplaceable entertainment/escapism and no matter how bogged down the medium becomes, the itch will always be there. My older brother is in his 40s and has a social circle comprised of normies, and even in his group there are guys who pretty much base their lives around gaming, jump straight on the latest console or PC after work and play for as long as their life obligations will allow. I strongly believe that in 20 or 30 years time it will be the norm for middle aged and even elderly men to be dedicated gamers. It will be as acceptable as it is now for an older man to enjoy watching movies, on both an individual level and socially.

[Tweed]

No, it isn't. Sell your computer and take up a real hobby like carpentry or blacksmithing.

[Emphyrio]

No, it isn't. Sell your computer and take up a real hobby like carpentry or blacksmithing.

I've looked into blacksmithing and the investment in capital is not feasible. Might as well tell people to take up yachting.

[Tweed]

No, it isn't. Sell your computer and take up a real hobby like carpentry or blacksmithing.

I've looked into blacksmithing and the investment in capital is not feasible. Might as well tell people to take up yachting.

That's the price you have to pay to be a mature, responsible adult. Get on it.

[Lich]

What makes gaming a fake hobby?

[Norfleet]

Why not? It's either vidya games or getting a second job, because what else would you be doing with your time?

[Luckmann]

What makes gaming a fake hobby?

:itsamystery:

[J1M]

"Now that you are older and harder to influence with our propaganda, maybe you should leave so the young people we are trying to brainwash can't hear your objections."

[maidenhaver]

"Now that you are older and harder to influence with our propaganda, maybe you should leave so the young people we are trying to brainwash can't hear your objections."

Maybe so.

[Greyborne]

I turn 30 next month, and I find myself never completing games anymore. I library full of **** I'll likely never beat, but in my head at the time, I always said that when I get old I'll play through these. Because I don't really give a **** about the moral question of whether I should play games if I'm 30 or 60, I find that irrelevant. But with age, I find myself yearning for hobbies that are more substantial and fulfilling. Fishing, sort of a return to roots for me, is something I've picked back up and highly enjoy. But, gaming, I feel will always be a special past time for me. Which is why I archive all my games on storage drives. That one day, perhaps I might relive the glory days. I might be at the point of chasing nostalgia, but I still enjoy a new release from time to time. They hardly hold my attention like they used to.

[KnightoftheWind]

I find myself being incredibly bored with genres I used to love. Most platformers, Metroid-likes, JRPGs (especially). I think if a game isn't unique enough in it's own right, it's not worth playing. Every Metroid-like on Steam for instance is just a copy of a copy of a copy. They all play more-or-less the same, their levels are laid out pretty similarly, similar powerups that do similar things. It gets tiresome. It's as if indies use the blanket term "inspired by X" to avoid trying something that's actually new and never seen before. It's all catering to nostalgia, or perceived nostalgia in the case of zoomers.

I now find more enjoyment in games I never thought I would enjoy before. Heck I just tried Monster Rancher 2 recently and find that surprisingly fun. Broadening your horizons keeps the hobby from getting stale.

[J1M]

How is fishing more substantial or fulfilling. Sounds like you told a girl about your hobby and cared about her opinion.

[Segata]

How is fishing more substantial or fulfilling

Well you can eat the fish and feel fulfilled

[Greyborne]

How is fishing more substantial or fulfilling. Sounds like you told a girl about your hobby and cared about her opinion.

I'm married and my wife likes to fish too. We live in deep south rural America. My father was a professional bass fisherman (for sport), so naturally, I always enjoyed it myself. As a pastime reminder of him and as a hobby I genuinely enjoy. It's also nice teaching your children a skill that could help them survive one day.