Being distracted from shmups/gaming (rant)

JigsawMan · Post by **JigsawMan** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:40 am

Something Ex_Mosquito said in another thread made me realise that I haven't picked up a shmup and played it for about 3-4 weeks now. I must have a library of about 70 shmups across 5 systems and they just haven't got much play time since about Christmas. I still love the genre as I really think it is an art form and not just a type of video game, seeing those boss attacks and the bullet patterns on a new game is really like seeing fine art (but then again, what do I know about art)!

I went through a phase about 3 years ago of not playing shmups or 2d fighters in general. Maybe I'm going through one of those phases again. In fact I came very close to sellign my entire collection and buying a new hi-fi amp. I am so glad I didn't do that as 6 months after that I pretty much played video games every night for a year.

I'm still buying shmups as they are released and will continue to do so, but I guess that is the collector in me rather than a real desire to play the games. I know I iwll sit down and play them to death one day.

Other things have distracted me, I have taken up digital photography as a hobby and bought a new car. Both of which have left me with next to no funds to go on any serious ebay rampages. Photography eats up a lot of time too, time I used to spend playing games. I guess work is requiring longer and longer (unpaid) overtime and that eats into my 'spare' time , if there is such a thing.

Trouble is even though I haven't been playing the games I still seem to have been buying them and I have a hige stack of unplayed games waiting to be played. The entire Discipes II series (they were hard to get hold of in their original packaging), Rise of Nations (great game, haven't given it much time yet), want to get back into Dawn of War. I've got RumbleFish arriving soon too. Darkstalkers collection plus loads of others. It almost becomes a daunting feeling knowing that I have got to play them! Which is real werid as I love gaming and I will enjoy it when I sit down to play them.... hmmmm... not sure where this is going so I am going to cut this rant short.

Anyone else doing the same as above? Kinda going through gaming apathy I guess?

visuatrox · Post by **visuatrox** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:32 am

Well I don't have sparetime to do much of anything lately. I play games usually just a couple of days per week. But still I buy pretty much every shmup and Survival Horror game I can get my hands on, I know I will have time to eventually play them. Also maybe I have some obsessive collectors mentality, but I want to buy the games before they get too rare and hard to track down.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:07 pm

visuatrox wrote:Well I don't have sparetime to do much of anything lately. I play games usually just a couple of days per week. But still I buy pretty much every shmup and Survival Horror game I can get my hands on, I know I will have time to eventually play them. Also maybe I have some obsessive collectors mentality, but I want to buy the games before they get too rare and hard to track down.

Exactly, the summer offers a bit more time for me to play games and spend time here, but even in the summer my research and domestic duties keep me super busy. I generally will give up the chance for exercise in order to play shmups, and as a result I feel crappy and don't sleep as well as I would otherwise.
And all for the sake of a hobby that I am mediocre at! I'm sure many of you are attracted to shmups because you're good at them and you enjoy doing something that you're good at. Not me.
I too will buy games as they come out, knowing full well that I won't get my money's worth in playtime in the immediate future. If you can afford it, it's better than waiting and then paying too much as the game becomes rare-- something we've all been faced with.

Post by **Ghegs** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 5:19 pm

I was going through a gaming apathy a while back but I think I've managed to broke it - I simply eliminated the one thing that was hogging up my time without really needing to. The internet. Instead of playing games, I'd just sit in front of my laptop and browse the forums or idle in the irc channel. Basically, totally unproductive stuff, and I got so lazy I didn't even bother going to the living room and grabbing a controller since it was so much simpler to just be online.

So, a change of habits was in order. I now keep my laptop hidden away from view, only taking it out on evenings, an hour or two before I go to bed. That way I feel so bloody bored during my freetime I have no choice but to play games.

I'm having fun again and I'm making good progress on some titles.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:13 pm

I have problems with this when I get too many consoles-there's nothing wrong with buying lots of shmups for me, but if they're on like 3 different consoles, then that becomes a problem.

Which is why I plan to simplify things and get rid of everything but my XBOX, a DC, and a JPSTwo-once I have the money to do so.

Also, consoles that are just grab bags of games, like the US PS2, or NES, cause gaming apathy for me. The XBOX doesn't do that because, while it has less games, it has more that I actually want to play.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:18 pm

dave4shmups wrote:I have problems with this when I get too many consoles-there's nothing wrong with buying lots of shmups for me, but if they're on like 3 different consoles, then that becomes a problem.

Which is why I plan to simplify things and get rid of everything but my XBOX, a DC, and a JPSTwo-once I have the money to do so.

Also, consoles that are just grab bags of games, like the US PS2, or NES, cause gaming apathy for me. The XBOX doesn't do that because, while it has less games, it has more that I actually want to play.

Just curious (and presumably OT): what do you like to play on XBOX?

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:25 pm

Well I can agree on Dave's post-

I've sold my Dreamcast/games MegaDrive and SNES, Gamecube

Now I've just got a PSOne atm

I might pick up a NTSC SNES and MD inthe future

One those 3 PSOne SNES MD I've got a list of 10 titles for each I'd want to either keep or purchase.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:45 pm

I haven't bought any games since Christmas of last year...(6 months ago)
I would LOVE to be buying stuff like I always did, but my finances are totally weak right now. I hardly have money for anything!!! I'm so broke, I cant even afford to pay attention.

I literally driving myself crazy about my current situation. I'm considering selling parts of my collection to help support another hobby/pastime of mine...my classic hotrod. I'm very confused right now, and I can't get my car or my video games off of my mind...even for 2 seconds, but yet I'm having a hard time concentrating on either one. (brain overload)

Among other things, employment is a bitch. Its really hard to find a decent (full time)job around here, and my current part timer ain't cutting it.
Also, that and the lady who raised me; my grandmother is sick and suffering from lukemia (spelled wrong I guess...I don't give 2 shits)

Our other "everyday" car is fucking up...so now we have two shit cars and one beautifull classic that looks badass, but runs like and old farm truck.

I'm probably forgeting something, but at least we ain't starving, and we have a nice roof over our heads...well, the house needs a lot o work too. But thats time and money!

Oh well, I have many things distracting me from video gaming, but I still HAVE to play, y'know? For sanity sake...

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:57 pm

i sold my xbox collection(over 20 titles),my entire saturn collection($100) and my dreamcast collection ($60) just to make ends meet with purchasing a supergun and a couple of pcbs..i have not sat down and gotten serious with a shmup in years..hopefully, this will all turn around once i feast my eyes on progear.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 2:20 pm

Yeh PPPP, we got into Superguns at about the same time, right? I think you had the better idea to just buy a professionally-made one...

I'm done building my supergun itself, except it's ugly as Hell and cost me around $200 CAD altogether, with the JROK being the most expensive part, and getting nailed with over $20 CAD in duties when it got delivered.

I'm still working on a 2-player arcade control panel, with a total cost of around $50-$60 CAD (using some off-brand Chinese sticks & buttons), I'm expecting. Hopefully all I need to buy today are some more cables, DB-15 connectors, and spray paint.

I didn't sell anything to finance this either... if I win a Metal Slug bid in a few hours, I'll have like $15 in my bank account

But I'll get paid on Thursday...

I don't even have a tate-able TV yet, so I can't even play OutZone, and I'm starting full-time work tomorrow so I probably won't have much time to play my NeoGeo horzies when my mobo arrives in the mail

Bishamon · Post by **Bishamon** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 3:48 pm

Gaming apathy seems to come and go in cycles.

Just make sure you don't sell anything so that when the pendulum swings back, you aren't full of regret.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:08 pm

Much as I like current-gen gaming, I now have a pile of 15+ Xbox titles that I've barely dipped into - including Halo 2, Thief III, Pro Evo 4, JSRF, Phantom Crash, Project Zero...

Got Baten Kaitos and Resi 4 on 'Cube...

My life has been utter chaos since last Christmas, and the only time I do get, which is maybe adding up to 3-4 hours per week at present, I'd rather have several games of shmup 'x' than start any of those games above. Just seems life too much effort...

FatCobra · Post by **FatCobra** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:10 pm

I too wonder if I am suffering from apathy too. I mean, I am seriously considering selling my USTwo and all the games I have for it so I put the money towards a down payment towards a better used car because my old Volvo is in worse ship than Twitch's Chevelle. And unlike a classic American muscle car, an old Swedish grocery getting isn't worth fixing and restoring, so I'm getting rid of it and hopefully buy my Dad's 96 Explorer, he has kept it in good shape, but I'd rather have a nimble hatchback or something fun to drive instead of a slow gas guzzling Ford SUV. It's my money dammit!

For me, I think it's my apathy for mainstream gaming and current consoles, as I am enjoying all my SNES games at the moment. But if I sell PS2, I'll miss out on Gradius V and R-Type Final. What's a gamer to do? Sigh.....

jp · Post by jp » Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:53 pm

Heh, I go through the same thing every 2 years or so. It always lasts about a month, and then I just hook up the DC and start playing Border Down, and once I get tired of Border Down I move on to the Saturn...

But yeah, too much of a good thing and all that. Breaks are good.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:32 pm

I haven't played anything since last week, I've been down the hospital visiting my grandfather who was taken in last Thursday with a Stroke

The first day I went down he was confused,his vision/hearing wasn't very good,cant move his legs or hands.

It's really hard to him in that state as he was a very active man

He's 82

Musician and Writer

Get well soon

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:12 am

Sorry to hear about your grandfather SheSaidDutch, hope everything works out.

I go through non-gaming cycles (and sometimes just non-shmupping periods) occassionally. I sold off a lot of stuff during one several years ago and ended up regretting it. A lot. It took me years to get some of the stuff I sold back. Now I just set everything aside and wait for my feelings to change when I don't feel like gaming.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:04 am

I picked up billiards around November as a way to take my mind off of a female situation. Since then my gaming habit has been sketchy, though college graduation has since freed up some time..........till my job interview tomorrow....then I imagine everything goes back to hell. Oh well.

*shrug*

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:58 pm

This seems more suited for OT.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:14 pm

Cthulhu wrote:Sorry to hear about your grandfather SheSaidDutch, hope everything works out.

I go through non-gaming cycles (and sometimes just non-shmupping periods) occassionally. I sold off a lot of stuff during one several years ago and ended up regretting it. A lot. It took me years to get some of the stuff I sold back. Now I just set everything aside and wait for my feelings to change when I don't feel like gaming.

Thanks Cthulhu, He seems to be fighting it so far, He just needs rest atm.