Current Events > Do you suffer from option paralysis?

(+) Yeah! (+)

And if you do, what do you do about it?

I try to have just one video game downloaded to my console at a time. If theres 50 equally fun video games staring me in the face I wont be able to commit to one and stay with it until its done, but if I have just one game available to play I wont want to sit and wait for a new one to download so thatll keep me on that one game until I actually fucking finish it.

Absolutely. That's why I spend up to 3 hours at a character creation screen for games like Dark Souls, or why I religiously follow walkthroughs for video games. If I'm overwhelmed by choice, I don't want to do anything. When I rented games as a kid, I stuck with what I knew I liked, because I didn't want to waste money trying games I didn't know if I would like.

All the time when it comes to food. I have so many choices around me and get struck by choice paralysis so often that I think Ive actually lost weight because of it.

I generally have one "main" game going, (generally something more time consuming), and then maybe like a Forza and SF for when I need a break from that, (and want something I can just dive into for a bit without really having to think about it too much).

I'm more interested in figuring out why it's happening in the first place than finding quick fixes. I assume it's usually something to do with me failing to trick myself into really caring about what I'm playing.

I have trouble coming up with names for characters lately. It really lays it bare for you, that you don't have a solid idea for this playthrough and are just crossing your fingers that the game will spontaneously come up with something for you.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I'm more interested in figuring out why it's happening in the first place than finding quick fixes. I assume it's usually something to do with me failing to trick myself into really caring about what I'm playing.

With me I think it comes from the insane convenience and instant gratification of everything now.

As a kid I didnt have a car, didnt have a job and games were all physical so you had to go to the store to buy them. And I had to get off my ass and walk over to the console to change games every time. All these factors made it so id usually always commit to whatever new game I had until it was completely finished.

Now that I have an adult job with adult money and a car and everythings all digital I can get every single fucking game that looks good immediately on release day sitting on my couch and its all digital so I can cycle between a ton of games instantly. So the moment there is even the slightest annoyance or tedious part in a game theres nothing stopping me from filling the void with fun in another game. So because I have access to everything I commit to nothing, which makes the whole activity unfulfilling with zero sense of accomplishment.

So yeah, ive forced myself to only have access to one game at a time. Its not a perfect fix but its the best I got.

EmilyTheCEman posted...

With me I think it comes from the insane convenience and instant gratification of everything now.

I've been trying to figure out why I don't get excited about new games or tempted by sales nowadays and I think this plays a big part in it.

Before, you'd buy a game and playing it would mean you get the gameplay, story, music and the chance to keep talking about it to people after it's over.

Nowadays a game comes out and is immediately stripped for parts. You can generally gauge what the gameplay will be from a distance. Watching the story online lets you save money and time. Music's all on YT and you can even play it over other games.

I think it's become much harder for the actual video game to compete with its own individual parts. You could sit down to play that game or you could just skip a YT video to the part of the story you want to see. Or go listen to the song that's making you consider replaying.
I noticed a while ago that if I didn't bring a unique idea for a playthrough or some made up lore to a lot of games, the playthrough fell completely flat.
More stars need to align for the idea of just sitting down and playing a game to be as appealing as it used to be.