Sick of Gaming? How to Enjoy Video Games Again.
You might be wondering why such an article exists. While burnout is a common phenomenon for employees and sports athletes (yes, even e-Sport athletes), gamers can have it too. Is it really possible? Can you really get tired of playing a game?
Considering that e-Sports athletes were already included in the above, yes. Sure, they’re athletes and professionals, not normal players looking for some fun. They’re in a different situation, and their circumstances actually tend to let them burnout faster than casual gamers.
That only means that for casual gamers, burnout is a slow, creeping burn.
Table of Contents
What is Burnout Anyway?
Burnout is a mental state caused by exhaustion by increased stressors. They start becoming isolated, exhausted, pessimistic, and irritable. Work efficacy or quality decrease as a result, which can also feed into the feeling of burnout.
It’s a term better suited for working professionals, regardless of the job. The daily grind really can wear down on people, resulting in accumulated fatigue. As responsibilities increase, the pressure on them also increases.
Gamers don’t have exactly the same circumstances. However, they(especially MMOs) provide a similar sense of responsibility, wherein the games provide daily tasks or one the players set themselves. As a result, what gamers experience is a milder and slower form of it. It could be myriad reasons, but the root causes are mostly the same. Eventually, doing the same things day in and day out over a long period can get tiring. Playing the game starts becoming a chore, and then, the player stops playing it completely.
What to Do to Avoid This
Here are a few ways to avoid burnout while playing games. It’s actually more of fatigue and growing bored of what used to be fun, as some would rather leave the term ‘burnout’ to the professionals.
1. Vary Your Routine
If you’re cramming 10 things you need to do in-game in one day, then perhaps it’s a little too much. Usually, games provide more daily tasks than the rewards you get. Meaning, you don’t have to do all of them every day to get all the daily rewards.
One example of this is Epic 7. You’re given a list of daily and weekly tasks you can do. You only need to do a handful of them to get the rewards and once you get the daily rewards, the list disappears.
In the case of Genshin Impact (which has only four daily objectives in its Battle Pass), the variation can come from using up Resin, which is the ‘energy’ mechanic in other games and is the primary source of AR which can be considered the account level. It can be used in many different ways, and you can change up how you use it. Ley Lines, 4 kinds of Domains, or world bosses are among the choices you can make.
The point is to spread tasks across the week so each day doesn’t feel like the other. It’s a small change, but it can help a long way.
2. Throw the Guides Away
Okay, guides are cool and all, but you know what’s better? Discovering everything in-game through your means. Making mistakes and learning from them is a part of the gaming experience, and you don’t get that when following a guide.
Some people actually enjoy this better, but those are a rare breed or care only about the most efficient way to do things. Casual gamers want to have fun, and they’re the ones to define their own fun. If they follow a guide, they’re ascribing to another person’s brand of fun, which can have mixed results and an overall result of less enjoyment of the game.
You shouldn’t care about the meta; your primary goal is to have fun; you don’t need a guide for that. Only you can decide how you can best have fun playing the game.
If you’re genuinely stuck on something though, then that’s a good time to look up a guide. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness.
3. Play the Game How You Want
Related to the above, it frees you to play the game how you want. You may not be as efficient as other people, but as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters.
Isn’t that also how you can enjoy the game in the first place? Say you’re playing a title that gives multiple options/endings — you can explore the choices you make, and do the other choice on a reset or a loaded save. Your party can be any combination of characters you like, even if the rest of the fandom says they’re weak.
Conclusions
In the end, if the symptoms persist and the game isn’t fun anymore, the best thing to do is move on. Quit the game and play another one or engage with the real world. An unhealthy attachment forms when it becomes detrimental to your health, whether physical or emotional. When that happens, the best thing is to sever ties with it completely.
