Hey everyone!
I really passionate about games but I struggle a lot to finish the storyline for a lot of them. There are some games I would love to finish like Eastward or Sea of Stars, but I feel unable to reasume them. I feel like if the game is not a dopamine trap(League or Civ VI) I can’t continue playing it.
Does anyone here has face this issue and have found a way to work on it?
I deal with this too. I’ve accepted that there’s a sweet spot for the types of games I enjoy, and I generally stay in that zone.
First, the short-term gameplay loop has to be rewarding enough, which cuts out a lot of tedious “shopping list of waypoints” type of games and ones that are heavily story-driven with boring/tedious gameplay in between story beats.
Second, the upper limit needs to be right below the Skinner-boxes of dopamine traps. No gachas, no games with daily grinding, and I try to mostly stay away from MMOs these days. I know that I’ll get trapped in the dopamine loop and play them, even if I’m not actually having fun.
Can you suggest some game that hit that sweetspot?
It depends on what you’re into, but I love turn-based tactics/strategy games, so the XCOM series (and the numerous games influenced by it) are top notch for me. I like the gameplay loop of completing turn after turn, with the ability to easily get up and do something else if I get distracted at any time.
For more of an action game, my favorites are the Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, etc. The challenge is unmatched, and there are no waypoints or quest logs to make you feel like you’re mentally juggling a dozen tasks at once (which I find exhausting and off-putting). I like being able to just pick up the controller and simply know that I need to make progress in that direction.
I do also enjoy competitive multiplayer games, but I haven’t liked the direction that those have gone in recent years: with battle passes, dailies, and grindfests, I’d rather avoid getting trapped in that FOMO cycle, so I don’t have one that I play at the moment. (Unless you count online chess, lol)
For turn-based, Battletech is also outstanding, and has tons of mods you can explore that significantly deepen the gameplay. Stock is not that hard once you figure out the mechanics, but you can mod it so that you’re basically playing with an insanely-detailed, extended version of tabletop rules.
Edit: added link
Hmm, never heard of that one, but I’ll look it up!
The battletech universe is basically Game of Thrones in space + the “knights” use battlemechs. It’s great.
Wait, you can start video games?
Maybe you don’t need to. These are games, for leisure, not your job (ok unless you’re a gaming youtuber or something). The completed game doesn’t have to be submitted to your manager on Monday morning or else. Many games just get harder and harder as you progress (and even those that don’t); just play until it stops being fun then move on. Save the stress for the job.
With how ADHD plagues some people, if a story isn’t finished, it can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Obsessive loops of thinking about what could happen instead of focusing on life.
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I loved BOTW and TOTK but I wouldn’t have finished if my SO didn’t play half and make me play the harder parts he couldn’t pass. It’s somehow more fun to watch than play.
At this point I just forgive myself for losing interest in really long games, and don’t enter into games with any expectation that I’ll finish them unless they’re a very compact experience. My two recent favourites that I actually finished are Duck Detective and Minami Lane, both only a couple of hours.
This is it. It’s your free time, OP. Don’t push yourself so hard and put these expectations on yourself to conform to how you’re “supposed” to enjoy things. In your daily life, you probably already have enough pressure to conform and have to put energy into working around your ADHD.
Just play a game for as long as you’re having fun. If it’s not fun anymore, whatever. It’s okay to move on to something else if you enjoy that more. If you really want to know how the story ends, you can always look it up or watch some clips.
Assuming you don’t have to like… have a life for the next month - Factorio is always waiting to completely swallow you.
Come brother, the factory must grow
I certainly do this, but it’s not an issue. The issue is your expectations upon yourself.
You are playing these games solely for your entertainment. If you don’t feel like finishing, then don’t. Let it go.
I started picking up old saves instead of restarting and now I finish them eventually. So then when you abandon the game you can say you’ll get to it on a future iteration of this cycle.
I just can’t do it. If it’s been too long I have to start fresh and then the cycle continues. Still haven’t beat persona 5 and I original got it on the PS3. (Didn’t have a PS4 at the time)
I have started P5 three times, spent 20+hrs on PS4, rebought Golden played 50+hrs, rebought on Steam, 30+ hours.
Why am I like this 😬😅
I totally understand the difficulty of this. I’d say it took years for the frustration of not finishing things to override the resistance to picking up the old save.
Maybe similar, but I was (and still sometimes) abandoning games and start playing another one instead.
Its like I am unable to play something for a long time and no matter how good a game is I loose focus and it becomes repetitive.
I partially managed to overcome this by focusing on the main game and ignoring most optional stuff or just simply lowering the difficulty to breeze through the story part.
Still not ideal, but I am actually finishing games these days.
Dopamine hits are an addiction. You have to wean yourself off of them and never ever go back. Self control is tough but it is only achieved by trying until you get it.
Don’t keep trying the same things if they’re not working, that’s insanity. Try other strats until you find one that works for you! Games can just be a zen thing too. Try to enjoy more of the little things while playing them. Explore the landscape. Look at how the fauna and npcs interact.
Sometimes it’s about the little things, other times it’s just about setting goals and getting off when you feel content. Zen Buddhist style.
I really try to enjoy games slowly, and for some time it works but when novelty wears off, is hard for me to start playing the game again!
It’s easier when you’re not doing speed balls a la constant dopamine hits - irl you’re not getting constant hits, why should you do it in your free time either.
Hedonism is tough path to subscribe to unless you’re trying for addictive, unrealistic tendencies 🤷🏻♂️
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I’ve struggled with books as well. I love reading, but often have a huge problem finishing them, even if I like them. It’s been a problem for many many years.
Hey, a bit late but Movies are a bit easier to finish for me, books it depends on the book itself!
I get what you mean by the plot revealed, most of the time I get ahead using clues of the story and spoil myself
Cries in KOTOR, got all the way to the end and couldn’t beat him because I didn’t upgrade my force powers. :( I couldn’t bring myself to start over…
BG3 I kinda of fell out of at end of act 2,I think I made into act 3 finally. But I just haven’t restarted. The learning curve is just really steep if you don’t come from a DND background.
I face this issue but it’s a bit more positive for me. Once I beat a game I don’t usually wanna go back to it. But I stretched out BotW for 6 years until TOTK came out by just never fighting ganon. I’ve done this for quite a number of games and it really works. Same for Elden Ring. Once I beat that game and went to Ng+ though I just wandered aimlessly not having near as much fun as the first play through.
I started watching alpha beta gamer on YouTube and rediscovered a love for indie games (channel is horror/weird focused but here I mean all kinds). Short and original, they are great to play and never too long. People’s taste are different but maybe we could have a group/playlist on steam
I’ve had this problem. My solution was when starting a game to play regularly and semi exclusively. I.e. I only have one single player game I’m working on at a time, and I play it multiple times per week to make progress.
And I just keep playing until I beat it. I then may take some time off gaming for a few days or weeks, but will eventually pick up another game and repeat.
This works for me cuz when I don’t play consistently and decide to take, say, a one week break from a game, I find I end up not returning. So it’s crucial to keep revisiting the game and sensing that progress or it feels like it never ends and drags on and on. There’s also things like muscle memory and strategy that if I don’t keep fresh at least a few times per week, it makes returning to the game feel like more work rather than just jumping back in.
I don’t have diagnosed ADHD so it may not apply to you but that’s what worked for me (and continues to work). I’ve played many dozens of games following this system for some years now.
