(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Well, quite recently I've realised how much gaming has changed for me, and I'm not too sure why. I don't mean competitive, but the 'boy gamer' that would have a sleepless night playing a campaign game, and feel like a total boss because you've completed the game.

Now this side of me must of left a while back (probably 5months after I found CoD4). Around the time I started playing rather competitive. This could be a coincidence, but there is a possibility that competitive play ruined 'the fun' in gaming for me. Ever since GameBattles on CoD4-Mw2 I can't seem to get into any campaigns anymore, all I want to do is get online and try and show my dominance.

The time I've put into gaming could be another factor, I've played so much CoD for the previous two years which could have drowned out all the fun I use to get from gaming. It's quite a feasible reason to why gaming could of got boring. It's the same with anything, if you do too much of it, it becomes repetitive and boring.

Addiction, obviously something I don't see, but it's quite possible that I've grown a slight 'addiction' to Call Of Duty/Shooters meaning I don't get my 'fix' playing campaign games or platform games.

This is just a quick write up to why I think gaming has lost it's fun for me, and I hope I can hear some sensible replies and have a good overall discussion to why gaming has become boring to some/most of us.

The question is, why did the enjoyment of gaming disappear for you?

Black ops killed it for me

Why though?

Try and expand so we can have a decent discussion about the subject.

First of all, this is a very interesting topic. I hope a good discussion starts here.

As for gaming being fun. I understand entirely, when something becomes competitive it can become more about the status and less about the game itself. My suggestion, STOP! Outright stop playing cold turkey. Instead, do something completely different instead of playing Call Of Duty. Instead watch Films and listen to Music. Effectively detox from video games. You should cancel your Xbox Live subscription and disconnect it from the internet (assuming you don't play by PC).

Once you've decided to make the leap you need to find something thought provoking. Films are a great place to start. Pick films that you've not seen and that make you think. I can suggest a few, depending on genre. Some of my favourites would be The Matrix, Hard Candy, 8mm, Inception, American Beauty, Memento, Labyrinth, Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, Next, Interview With A Vampire, Ghost, Pulp Fiction and more. Try to appreciate them on a level you never did before. Look at the concepts in Inception, the narrative in Pulp Fiction, the art style in The Matrix, the musical score in Labyrith. Teach yourself to look at these films as art.

Once you've developed an appreciation for art style, musical score, narrative structure and character development then it's time to move on to games again, but different games. Play games with a focus on story and character. You have an Xbox-360, so I'd pick a few games that are worth going for...

1. Mass Effect - The entire series, it's pretty much the best modern western sci-fi RPG ever made. Get it if you don't already.
2. Lost Odyssey - It's single player only and will make you appreciate story, character, art style and atmosphere in games more.
3. Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow - This game will highlight gameplay, skill, graphics and pacing. A great recommendation.
4. Darksiders - This game will help you grow attached to the progression, you develop a love for immersion again. It's like Zelda, but not Nintendo.
5. The Orange Box - This is the way to bring you back to shooters. With both a story based single player shooter with Half-Life 2, and the incredible puzzle shooter Portal, this will give you the final piece of the pie. A feeling of acomplishment.

These 5 games also highlight different genres and playstyles. We have a sci-fi western RPG with 3rd person shooter elements, a traditional turn-based jRPG, a 3rd person action game, an action-RPG (a genre largely dominated by Zelda and nothing else since the SNES), and both a standard FPS and a FPS-Puzzle game. These games should bring you back into gaming, but only if you focus on these games. Forget Call Of Duty, forget Halo, forget anything else really. You need to rediscover the magic of gaming, and to do that you need to learn to love a game again. These games are the ones you're most likely to find that with in todays market for the console you own.

I wish you luck, and I hope my ideas not only let's you regain your love for gaming but allows you to appreciate not just games, but films too, on a level you never normally considered. This is what made me love gaming again... and I love video games more now than I ever did as a kid.

Simply put:

Most/all popular games from a certain genre are practically the same. There's no more creativity, and the devs are just rushing them out as fast as they can. Indie games ftw.

So true! I had the same problem after playing modern warfare 2 and castle crashers a few months back. It was like no video games appeal to me and i just couldn't even play through the campaign of some of the newest releases. However, since the release of infamous 2 i decided to play again and it was the best fun i had IN A LONG TIME! You just got to wait and hope it passes. It's kind of like writers block or something similar i don't know. I thought video games were ruined for me forever lol.

I still like a nice game of Call of Duty every now and then. I mainly still play my good ol' RPG games. I would suggest not making the COD series the only games you play. Branch out. Try new types of games. If I may make a suggestion. Try some RPG games. They are better the most games today. Try some Tornado listed above. I also suggest trying some from the old consoles. Now for your question. My enjoyment of games hasn't disappeared. I branch out and try not to play the same game all the time. I still like a game of COD every now and then with my friends. People just make COD/shooters their main game now. I hope this turns into a good discussion.

We're just growing up bro. I feel exactly the same way. I went from sitting at my T.V. on days off from school from 9 AM-12 AM to wanting to play an hour or two every couple of days. It's a part of life, change.

There is perfect reason in the actions behind your words in this thread. When I was younger in my Call of Duty 4 days, I played non-stop for hours with friends. It just never got old. The enjoyment I got out of the game was astonishing. I strove to get better, to be better than my friends or be the best player on my team. I loved the quest for dominance. To beat other people.

Throughout my years, I started getting into competitive gaming. All those bogus deaths that the game gives you, was thrown out the window. When I was killed, it was always my fault. I loved competitive gaming. But, I was never really the dominant force I wanted to be. When I learned that competitive gaming wasn't my touche, I quit cold turkey.

I played a lot less than I usually did, and became more interested in my friends and other things a teenager does when they are young. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy sitting down and playing for a few hours at a time. But, I just don't have that drive to play all the time. I think playing competitive ruined it for me in a sense, but I don't look at it as a bad thing.

Since I stopped playing video games so much, I have time to concentrate on more important things. I have more time to spend with friends and family. That's something I like the most.

I will use the word addiction, as I believed I was addicted to Call of Duty for some time.

The reason I have not played so much is for the fact that I may have drowned myself in too much playing time. Plus, I just don't think Black Ops is an entertaining game. FPS is what I like. I enjoy Call of Duty 4, as well as MW2 without all the BS thrown in. I kinda hope MW3 brings it's A game, because I would like to enjoy the games more than I am now. Before anyone suggests another game, I just don't like anything else. Nothing else strikes my interest like Call of Duty does.

Great thread by the way. I hope we can get some great responses. :y:

I would suggest playing LA Noire cause i just thought it was a hot ass game and mad people i know agreed with me when i said i just wanted to keep playing it till i beat it