Something crystalized for me the other day whilst reading an online game review ... I'm getting old. Now this isn't a piece about gaming no longer being for me or my interest waning, in fact the opposite is true. There are more games of interest to me than ever before, even with the Summer 2014 gaming drought. The simple fact is that I don't have the time I used to have to enjoy my hobby. As a teacher I work from 6am to 6:30pm, often preparing work for the next day. After that I spend time catching up with my wife and as she's an early bird I often have an hour or two before bedtime. It's a case of splitting time between reading books and comics, working on this website or consuming media such as films or documentaries. We are living in a golden age of television, podcasts, comics and animation, splitting my time between all of these is difficult.
In the last year I've blazed through and completed Deadly Premonition, Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry, Dishonoured, Thomas Was Alone, Bioshock Infinite, Monument Valley, Gone Home, Broken Sword 5, Red Dead Redemption and Child of Light. I've played but as yet have a few games I'm still working through and it may sound strange but I have had some sleepless nights fretting that I wouldn't work through my gaming pile of shame, games that define a generation and are must plays. First world problems for sure!
I've been working through and been successful but now with impending fatherhood 3 months or so away it may be that generation is the point where I become less plugged in to gaming. I'll still play games of course but I may have to become very selective about the titles I choose. Most games are now 30 plus hours and getting bigger and longer, I would love to work through No Mans Sky but with the scope and scale I'm not sure I'll have the time to enjoy all that it has to offer. I feel I may have to play the games which are more contained and episodic, as in the hour I may get free during weekdays the feeling of progress will feel much greater than if I were to play a MMORPG or a long game. Well, time will tell!