Finding Fun in Gaming Again Communiity

[Unknown_v2_0]

So once again i hit that point where gaming just hasn't been fun. Have the feeling of it being more of a chore cause of keeping up with trophies, skipping games, needing 100% etc been spamming so long i don't even know what gaming is anymore.... I started documenting my journey to rediscover gaming on YouTube but in addition I would like to start a community to help others dealing with gaming ruts/addictions/just finding gaming unfun. Could be trophy related or not. xbox, switch, pc, mobile all welcome. We could all relate. I have some interest from others and hear a lot of people that have/are going through similar. I created a channel in discord for people to discuss (might make a separate server...) and am looking for others to join us as the more we have the better. If anyone is interested feel free to join  https://discord.gg/UfUyfPp

 

 

[pogo_loco]

Enjoyment is directly proportional to scarcity.  The less time you can spend doing what you enjoy, the more you will enjoy doing it. 

 

Just take some time off.

 

[AJ_Radio]

You yourself made the decision to go for rankings on a website. Nobody else can say that.

 

If I had even half of your total trophy count I would of just quit trophy hunting forever. From experience I did the Sound Shapes stacks, and a bunch of walking simulators simply for the easy platinums. I did not enjoy myself. In 2017 I basically decided I would just go for games that I wanted to play because of the enjoyment factor, not because they were easy. A challenging platinum for me is more enjoyable than an easy and boring one, even if the game frustrates me a little.

 

Go play some games on Steam for fun. Do some Overwatch, Fortnite, whatever fancies your boat. You may be surprised how much fun you'll have when you don't have trophies and completion in mind.

 

That's what I've been doing more lately. Life does not revolve around trophies, and for those who do need to seek mental health treatment.

[F1rstinFlight]

All you do is stack trashware to chase the rankings. You’re in it for all the wrong reasons. What enjoyment did you think you were going to get out of it? You should only play games for fun. 

[Unknown_v2_0]

11 hours ago, Spaz said:

 decision to go for rankings on a website.

 

If I had even half of your total trophy count I would of just quit trophy hunting forever. From experience I did the Sound Shapes stacks, and a bunch of walking simulators simply for the easy platinums. I did not enjoy myself. In 2017 I basically decided I would just go for games that I wanted to play because of the enjoyment factor, not because they were easy. A challenging platinum for me is more enjoyable than an easy and boring one, even if the game frustrates me a little.

 

Go play some games on Steam for fun. Do some Overwatch, Fortnite, whatever fancies your boat. You may be surprised how much fun you'll have when you don't have trophies and completion in mind.

 

That's what I've been doing more lately. Life does not revolve around trophies, and for those who do need to seek mental health treatment.

 

very good points there.... all it is is esssentially a rank on a website or two. and glad you got away and are havig fun again

11 hours ago, ZJW44 said:

All you do is stack trashware to chase the rankings. You’re in it for all the wrong reasons. What enjoyment did you think you were going to get out of it? You should only play games for fun. 

 

yeah. It's hard though but that is what I am trying to do again...have fun

13 hours ago, pogo_loco said:

Enjoyment is directly proportional to scarcity.  The less time you can spend doing what you enjoy, the more you will enjoy doing it. 

 

Just take some time off.

 

 

interesting take. I like your insight

Edited September 26, 2020 by Unknown_v2_0

[Reinachii-]

Your acc is proof that Sony has allowed ps4 indie developers to ruin trophies.

 

Get some regulation Sony wtf.

[PalaceOfLove706]

14 hours ago, Spaz said:

Life does not revolve around trophies, and for those who do need to seek mental health treatment.

I think those who constantly belittle other people’s accomplishments should seek mental health treatment for a personality disorder. He’s reaching out to this community because he’s feeling out of place, rather than call him out why don’t you support him? You’re honestly turning into a troll. What if a part of someone’s life was trophies? Who cares? Life is hard enough, how one navigates it is not up to someone to judge by trying to put themself on a higher pedestal which you constantly do. You admit yourself you’ve done the easy games, so what makes you any better? To each their own.

[Sword]

Hey Unknown, I'm actually going through this as well, though to a far lesser degree in my current mental state. When I joined PlayStation, I was coming off of about 7+ years of achievement hunting on Xbox. If you look at my PSN profile today, more than 70% of it is filled with easy games (over half of those I would never have actually played for anything other than trophies).

 

Here's the thing though. I realized a couple weeks ago that I have the opportunity today to set myself up for who I want to be 5 years from now (in my "gaming" career as silly as that sounds). I'm 24 years old now, but there will come a day and time in the future where I won't be able to play video games at all anymore (at least not the types of games that I could be playing today). True, that day won't be coming anytime soon... but when I look back on all the progress I've made, I'd rather see countless experiences and 100%'s on games that truly made me happy rather than stacks and stacks of games I had absolutely no interest in at all. I don't want there to come a day where I look back and go "if only I had not been so focused on chasing this or that, and would have used my time towards these other games that now I will never get to play because I don't have the time/skill/patience/energy to do anymore, then I would be much happier than I am right now". 

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing easy games or even chasing the leaderboards as you have done if you find total joy in how you're spending your time. One of my few great frustrations with this community continues to be the gatekeeping that various people seem to have with different people's profiles as though there is only one single "right way" to trophy hunt. More recently with the whole "Fall Guys" fiasco really made me step away from the community for how certain people treated other people who had legitimate concerns/stories about trying to earn the Infallable trophy. It's absolutely disgusting to see some of the responses/gatekeeping going on and I'm not going to stop championing the fact that there are many many different ways people enjoy this hobby.

 

The thing is though, you're clearly tetter-tottering on the edge of total burn out and un-enjoyment, even with chasing the leaderboards/maintaining your position (which, is one of those very valid ways to trophy hunt). You could stop stacking all together today, right at this moment, and you'd still be farther in the rankings than 99% of us could ever be. Sure, you'd probably (almost guaranteed to) fall off the front page of the site and lose your top 10 ranking (eventually), but wherever you'd end up being would still be higher than a vast majority of us could be in a lifetime. 

 

As for myself, I'm going to stop buying games I have no interest in anymore. I'm not quitting video games all together, but from now on I'm going to buy games that interest me and that I like, regardless of what anyone else says. Easy, hard, quick, long, RPG, shooter, whatever it may be, it'll be my own journey. I'm going to turn my profile into something I can look back on and be happy with, regardless of what anyone else says. If someone disregards me for playing easy games, then so what? 

 

In your case you've played a lot of easy games and stacks of games trying to keep up. If you want to find fun in gaming again, you're either going to have to find a joy and happiness in stacking again or you're going to have to make a serious effort to step away from it. This may include dropping PlayStation all together for a little while and moving onto other platforms for a change. 

 

A simple suggestion I would have is: What is a game that you've wanted to play for awhile on PlayStation, but felt you couldn't because of maintaining your %/leaderboard/whatever? Start with a game like that. A game you REALLY want to play. That way you can earn trophies AND play something that brings you a lot of joy. 

 

I know how addicting chasing numbers can be and how hard it is to change those habits. Take gradual steps towards change if you really want it but also be ready for the reality that things will change if you do. In the end though it's up to you to decide what to do and I wish you the best in finding fun in gaming again.  I've beaten an addiction to Halo, League of Legends and TERA to a point where I can't even think about them or go back to them because I know how addicting they can be. It's like alcohol in a way. Even a little dip back into the ol' swing of things can be dangerous. 

 

Sorry for the very long reply but it's just I relate a lot to stuff like this and I'm actively trying to break the addiction too. I got a lot of ezpz's left in my library so eventually I'll swing through all of them (cause I paid for them) but I'm not buying any more games that no longer interest me. It stops TODAY (well, stopped a couple weeks ago. It's worth it!)  

Edited September 26, 2020 by Sword

[AJ_Radio]

4 hours ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

I think those who constantly belittle other people’s accomplishments should seek mental health treatment for a personality disorder. He’s reaching out to this community because he’s feeling out of place, rather than call him out why don’t you support him? You’re honestly turning into a troll. What if a part of someone’s life was trophies? Who cares? Life is hard enough, how one navigates it is not up to someone to judge by trying to put themself on a higher pedestal which you constantly do. You admit yourself you’ve done the easy games, so what makes you any better? To each their own.

Being that high on the leaderboards is basically unhealthy gaming. I played for rankings before in the past. Did 5, 10, 12 hour stints just to maintain a high ranking in a MMO. Ruined my college studies. Had an addiction that I had to quit out of. Admitted it was my fault and promised never to play that way again. 
 

Well I can say the same. Who cares about trophies outside of the communities that enjoy getting them? They are still quite niche, everybody I know in person doesn’t aim for trophies and that’s fine. Everybody plays differently. 
 

A few overly easy games nobody cares about. But it has reached the point where the top trophy hunters have to play these quick and easy games in order to maintain their rank. AAA games just don’t allow trophies to be earned that quickly outside of hacking/cheating. 
 

Life is hard because of the political situation and the times we live in.

 

I am suggesting leaving the hobby of trophy hunting for a while and play some stuff on Steam, or just play for fun for a bit on the PS4. 
 

There’s a lot more out there. 

[Unknown_v2_0]

4 hours ago, Sword said:

 

Sorry for the very long reply but it's just I relate a lot to stuff like this and I'm actively trying to break the addiction too. I got a lot of ezpz's left in my library so eventually I'll swing through all of them (cause I paid for them) but I'm not buying any more games that no longer interest me. It stops TODAY (well, stopped a couple weeks ago. It's worth it!)  

 

Nah i appreciate you taking the time to write this. You make excellent points and like I said I think a lot of people are going through similar which was part of why I wanted to start up a small community of us helping each other out. 

5 hours ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

I think those who constantly belittle other people’s accomplishments should seek mental health treatment for a personality disorder. He’s reaching out to this community because he’s feeling out of place, rather than call him out why don’t you support him? You’re honestly turning into a troll. What if a part of someone’s life was trophies? Who cares? Life is hard enough, how one navigates it is not up to someone to judge by trying to put themself on a higher pedestal which you constantly do. You admit yourself you’ve done the easy games, so what makes you any better? To each their own.

 

30 minutes ago, Spaz said:

Being that high on the leaderboards is basically unhealthy gaming. I played for rankings before in the past. Did 5, 10, 12 hour stints just to maintain a high ranking in a MMO. Ruined my college studies. Had an addiction that I had to quit out of. Admitted it was my fault and promised never to play that way again. 
 

Well I can say the same. Who cares about trophies outside of the communities that enjoy getting them? They are still quite niche, everybody I know in person doesn’t aim for trophies and that’s fine. Everybody plays differently. 
 

A few overly easy games nobody cares about. But it has reached the point where the top trophy hunters have to play these quick and easy games in order to maintain their rank. AAA games just don’t allow trophies to be earned that quickly outside of hacking/cheating. 
 

Life is hard because of the political situation and the times we live in.

 

I am suggesting leaving the hobby of trophy hunting for a while and play some stuff on Steam, or just play for fun for a bit on the PS4. 
 

There’s a lot more out there. 

 

You both are right acutally. If people are enjoying it they should keep going however if it gets to the point it is unfun or taking over your life/ruing college etc then it should be stopped. I am not only reaching out for myself though I would like to help out others that may need it. Gonna try on Switch for awhile btw after Trials of Mana is the plan

 

I really was thinking posting in here would be a mistake and I'd get trolled out hard but mostly this thread has been fairly positive so thanks for that guys

Edited September 26, 2020 by Unknown_v2_0

[PalaceOfLove706]

Video games can certainly become an addiction and be unhealthy, but it’s all relative. I just thought it was unfair to suggest because someone plays certain games or has a lot of trophies it’s always/already poor judgment. I agree with people posting on here the recent problem of “gatekeeping”; those who believe there’s only one moral and righteous way to trophy hunt - that’s ridiculous. Time to get over yourselves.

 

I game a lot. Still raise my two kids. Have won sports championships in the past five years. Maintain a committed relationship with my wife. Completed my PhD and almost done a postdoc. My life is healthy, but people in this thread jumping on this guy for his incredible rank just disgusts me. This is a trophy hunting and gaming community, if anything he should be applauded for grinding it out despite suffering an existential crisis. Way to go dude, and if you decide to keep at it, I’ll be in your corner!

[Unknown_v2_0]

42 minutes ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

Video games can certainly become an addiction and be unhealthy, but it’s all relative. I just thought it was unfair to suggest because someone plays certain games or has a lot of trophies it’s always/already poor judgment. I agree with people posting on here the recent problem of “gatekeeping”; those who believe there’s only one moral and righteous way to trophy hunt - that’s ridiculous. Time to get over yourselves.

 

I game a lot. Still raise my two kids. Have won sports championships in the past five years. Maintain a committed relationship with my wife. Completed my PhD and almost done a postdoc. My life is healthy, but people in this thread jumping on this guy for his incredible rank just disgusts me. This is a trophy hunting and gaming community, if anything he should be applauded for grinding it out despite suffering an existential crisis. Way to go dude, and if you decide to keep at it, I’ll be in your corner!

 

thanks and congrast on having a successful life! You sound like you are rocking it

[Super_Mep]

Hey Unknown, what game do you like to play just for fun? Why not take a few weeks (or longer?) get on discord voice chat with a few friends and just goof off in that game? Or break out an old console that has no trophies or achievements and just enjoy an old game?

 

I'm merely making suggestions of what I do when I need a break ? I'm new to the serious hunting but I know I have to take breaks or I'll lose my mind ?

 

That's why I also try to have a pallette cleanse after a really hard Plat and go with an easy Lego or Telltale game or something. 

 

Just food for thought ?

[PalaceOfLove706]

1 hour ago, Super_Mep said:

Hey Unknown, what game do you like to play just for fun? Why not take a few weeks (or longer?) get on discord voice chat with a few friends and just goof off in that game? Or break out an old console that has no trophies or achievements and just enjoy an old game?

 

I'm merely making suggestions of what I do when I need a break I'm new to the serious hunting but I know I have to take breaks or I'll lose my mind

 

That's why I also try to have a pallette cleanse after a really hard Plat and go with an easy Lego or Telltale game or something. 

 

Just food for thought

LEGO games have always been that for me - nice chill, relaxing game after a serious plat run, glad you enjoy them too. I love to play easy games in between hard runs, after this Magicka 2 plat run I’ll need another haha

[Super_Mep]

1 hour ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

LEGO games have always been that for me - nice chill, relaxing game after a serious plat run, glad you enjoy them too. I love to play easy games in between hard runs, after this Magicka 2 plat run I’ll need another haha

For sure man. I'll also give it to Travelers Tales they make the game and trophies fun. The only one where I was getting a little burnt out was City Undercover but only at the very end haha

[Unknown_v2_0]

yeah i just get this feeling every time I start some longer game too .... like I have to rush .... its such weird effect trophy spamming has on you after many years.... like gaming ain't the same... I have to experiment around i guess... but I am going to keep on with my experiment and see what happens at the end of it...if i don't crack lol

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by Unknown_v2_0

[BeautifulTorment]

I read about this sort of thing quite a bit on these forums.. something I've never grappled with myself.

 

I enjoy the games I play for the most part and finish them to completion best I can. I don't particularly worry about trophy count or goals and the like.

 

I think the common denominator in the cases of people who feel the way you do... is the "trashware" and a lust for ranking up in the leaderboards fast. I think the "sense of pride and accomplishment" (lmao @EA) comes squarely from games that take at least a bit of effort.

 

Anyway, I hope you can rediscover your passion for gaming.

[PalaceOfLove706]

50 minutes ago, BeautifulTorment said:

I read about this sort of thing quite a bit on these forums.. something I've never grappled with myself.

 

I enjoy the games I play for the most part and finish them to completion best I can. I don't particularly worry about trophy count or goals and the like.

 

I think the common denominator in the cases of people who feel the way you do... is the "trashware" and a lust for ranking up in the leaderboards fast. I think the "sense of pride and accomplishment" (lmao @EA) comes squarely from games that take at least a bit of effort.

 

Anyway, I hope you can rediscover your passion for gaming.

Dude, you’re level 76 with a 98.99% completion rate. You don’t care about leaderboards or goals? Sounds like a perfectionist in disguise

[Unknown_v2_0]

57 minutes ago, BeautifulTorment said:

I read about this sort of thing quite a bit on these forums.. something I've never grappled with myself.

 

I enjoy the games I play for the most part and finish them to completion best I can. I don't particularly worry about trophy count or goals and the like.

 

I think the common denominator in the cases of people who feel the way you do... is the "trashware" and a lust for ranking up in the leaderboards fast. I think the "sense of pride and accomplishment" (lmao @EA) comes squarely from games that take at least a bit of effort.

 

Anyway, I hope you can rediscover your passion for gaming.

 

Thanks. Yeah one of the problems is having spent soooo much to get on the top of the boards and then it just feels so invalidated now.... like leaderboard rank is entirely dependant on trashy plats and then most of the top not being solo is another issue that goes through my mind..... and then there is maintaining the 100% so if I start something i must finish it, worry about glitched trophies, sometimes replay multiple times since something glitched..... 

 

yeah i'll figure things out just gonna take time and reflection i think

[Unknown_v2_0]

19 minutes ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

Dude, you’re level 76 with a 98.99% completion rate. You don’t care about leaderboards or goals? Sounds like a perfectionist in disguise

If you look at his list though he has very few short trashy plats.... its games that have decent lists/fun games

[ninjamonkee9900]

HI Unknown!  I appreciate all of this so much and agree with the sentiment that you have to do what is fun for you (and you might need to find that again).  I have only been "trophy hunting" for three or four years actively, but I have been gaming forever.  When I started trophy hunting, I was worried that it might reduce my enjoyment of gaming.  Luckily for me, it hasn't.  In some ways, it has made things more fun, in giving me different challenges to try.  To help with that, I take my trophy hunting only medium seriously.  I can bail on a game if needed, and still play fun stuff with my friends.  Really, this is not that different from how I gamed before trophies existed.  I would go to a local used game shop, buy 3-5 cheap nintendo games, and play through them to explore as much as possible.  Even now, I happily admit that I am buying $3-$10 games constantly and getting those plats!  What has been helpful for me is that this is only one way I game, not the only way I game.

I agree with the people saying game how you want and find what makes you happy.  If you never got another trophy, I would respect you as a fellow gamer and admire the awesome trophy work that you have done so far.  Sometimes I like to think of having a giant list of trophies like being a dragon sleeping on my giant pile of gold.  I like having (hoarding) it, and I like to look at it all shiny sometimes, but it can't inherently make you happy...unless it makes you happy.  Best of luck as you find your joy in gaming again and know that I am in your corner!

[Unknown_v2_0]

2 hours ago, ninjamonkee9900 said:

HI Unknown!  I appreciate all of this so much and agree with the sentiment that you have to do what is fun for you (and you might need to find that again). 

 Best of luck as you find your joy in gaming again and know that I am in your corner!

 

Thanks!

[LoveInHell]

I don’t have that problem but that is such a wholesome idea, I love it. How nice.

[Lava_Yuki]

Looking at your profile, you have tons of trophies! That sound like a great idea, as it's easy to fall into a trophy hunting rut. 

 

I mostly game for fun and get trophies if I can, but if it's too difficult or time consuming for certain trophies I don't bother. I;d much rather enjoy playing games, the story and the characters than blitz through tons of boring or easy games just for trophies. I'd say I'm a moderate trophy hunter, where anything over 130 hours or 8/10 difficulty or more, I don't bother. But it would not stop me from playing a particular game, like I enjoyed the KH games but never was able to platinum them except KH3. So I know I will never have 100% completion percentage, as it keeps going down whenever I pick a game like KH or Disgaea where the plats are so challenging and long. 

[Unknown_v2_0]

On 10/3/2020 at 4:13 PM, Lava_Yuki said:

Looking at your profile, you have tons of trophies! That sound like a great idea, as it's easy to fall into a trophy hunting rut. 

 

I mostly game for fun and get trophies if I can, but if it's too difficult or time consuming for certain trophies I don't bother. I;d much rather enjoy playing games, the story and the characters than blitz through tons of boring or easy games just for trophies. I'd say I'm a moderate trophy hunter, where anything over 130 hours or 8/10 difficulty or more, I don't bother. But it would not stop me from playing a particular game, like I enjoyed the KH games but never was able to platinum them except KH3. So I know I will never have 100% completion percentage, as it keeps going down whenever I pick a game like KH or Disgaea where the plats are so challenging and long. 

yeah having fun is way more important then stressing over trophies. Sounds like you are enojying yourself so that's awesome! For me unfortunately i have been focused on trophies and getting them as fast as possible that its causing me to rush through even good games and not really enjoy the experience like i should be....skip all dialogue, go direct to objectives etc.... it's like a bad habit at this point