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Playthrough Interruptions

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    July 5, 2018 11:02 PM EDT

    Greetings, criminal scum.

    I'm about to stay away from my gaming rig for some three weeks or so. Problem is, I'm in the middle of an Oblivion playthrough! (and a New Vegas one, though I'm playing Vegas in "chapters"). What's worse, I'm in the middle of the main quest of Oblivion - spoilers follow- I'm about to go out asking for help to defend Bruma and preparing to venture into Sancre Tor.

    I don't know if it's just me, but I had and have trouble coming to terms when I have to cut a playthrough right in the middle. It doesn't feel right, especially when you're kind of big on roleplaying like I am, and more often than not I find myself wondering if I should start it all over again when I get back. I used to have the time to pull that kind of thing, but today, if I do it, I know I'll end up losing a lot of free time and sucking a lot of the enjoyment of gaming out just to appease my inner dremora.

    So, how do you deal with gaming interruptions, especially in story-heavy or RPG titles? Do you have any problem with it at all? Should I go see a shrink? A priest?!

    • 1467 posts
    July 5, 2018 11:18 PM EDT

    To be honest...yeah I kinda don't :P If it's a story or RP focused game I don't play it until I can dedicate a massive amount of time to finishing it, when God of War came out it took me about a month before I found the time to just go at it for three days until it was finished. But, yeah that's not always possible, I'm kinda lucky (and unlucky...mostly unlucky but it helps me game) that my holidays are completely free from anything major, if I had a job that'd obviously be different so...

    Man never thought about it much. I guess if I get delayed I tend to just leave it, I still haven't played Dragon Age: Inqusition because I got put off for a month, then two, now it's been a few years and I've tried a few restarts but never gotten around to really playing it. Kind of strange but I guess I'm sort of similar to you when I can't finish it in three days.

    SO, I don't deal with it :P And I think with my time being more limited (than say a few years ago) I've started playing more and more games that don't require me to dedicate 20+ hours into it. Things like playing NBA games, First Person Shooters, even Age of Empires or other strategy games. I've been playing RPG's less often in favour of those games because I can pretty much just play for 10 minutes, or if I get into it with the time, play a massive 4 hour run of it and feel just as pleased with either.

    • 197 posts
    July 5, 2018 11:31 PM EDT
    It’s really tough! When Skyrim came out, I had a newborn, and we were in the middle of a move across the country. That night, I went to sleep early and my husband went out and got the game at midnight and brought it back. I fed the baby and put her back down, and played until the next time she cried. Maybe a couple of hours. Not going to lie, that was the first time I rethought my decision to have a kid. ;)

    So, although I prefer to play for hours and hours at a time, real life just gets in the way. So, I suppose maybe, eventually you’ll get used to it? I feel the same way when I have to stop reading after an hour or so. I feel like throwing a tantrum, no exaggeration. And I really only play Skyrim and Oblivion, so if I want to play those games, I have to deal with interruptions. Would listening to the music for a bit help you get back in the feel of things? Or at the very least stopping at the mouth of the next room of the cave or ruin? Or finding a bedroll?


    This post was edited by ilanisilver at July 5, 2018 11:36 PM EDT
    • 275 posts
    July 6, 2018 6:12 AM EDT

    I've yet to find a way to deal with this crap, and I'm going through this dilemma right now. I just bought Witcher 3 Wild Hunt on PS4 ($16 over at Walmart a few days ago) but I was in the middle of a DAO playthrough and I wanted to complete the Witcher sequels on my PC (bought 1 and 2 on Steam for $5 a few months ago) first. So now I'm stuck with whether I want to finish up my DAO playthrough, or if I just want to hop into Witcher 1 again and try to complete it. On top of that, I have a Witcher 1 save from a while back that's around halfway through the game, but I have no clue where I'm at or what I'm doing, so I'm thinking of just resetting.

    • 152 posts
    July 6, 2018 7:51 AM EDT

    I feel this! I was doing an Oblivion playthrough (this is very recent like last month) and my plan was to do a roleplay in which my character from oblivion lives through time (High Elf) to then be playable in Skyrim. I was really enjoying my oblivion experience (best game ever imo) but before I even got myself to peek into Shivering Isles, I was like "hm, one quick taste of Skyrim won't hurt anyone." Yeah....haven't turned on my Xbox since. I really want to go back and finish it (was partly taking awhile because I only had short sessions to play and I legit want to do EVERYTHING I can that fits my roleplay) but I'm enjoying slightly modded Skyrim too much right now.

      Partly I think that if you come back to it and feel "meh" about picking up where you left off, just start again with something else. Video games are nice in that the end goal is fun and entertainment and you can dictate how to achieve that. If you think it won't be fun to keep playing through that character at the time of your return, then it isn't worth it to try! No shame in taking the most fun route :)

    • 585 posts
    July 6, 2018 3:30 PM EDT

    I feel like I get this a lot more if I enjoy a character for the RP, rather than gameplay. Like in Witcher 3 I stopped playing for a week and picked it right back up, because I was more interested in the gameplay. With a proper, in depth character, I look forward to playing the game because I look forward to continuing the character's story, furthering their goals, and when I'm away from them I feel the need to do that less, so I get less enthusiastic. If it's a really detailed character you're playing, maybe write up what you've done, the opinions of your character about it, maybe think more about their goals for the future and it's relation to them and gameplay, so that when you come back you not only have direction but a tangible way to get right back at it. Results vary, but this can tide me over if I'm away from the game for a few days.

    • 558 posts
    July 6, 2018 5:41 PM EDT

    I have a big issue with it. If I stop playing for a while and forget what I was trying to do with that character, I delete it and start fresh. At least in Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. This is probably why I am so sick of the Helgen opening in Skyrim. "You're not gonna kill me!" "ARCHERS!" I don't care in combat heavy games like Dark Souls.

    • 152 posts
    July 7, 2018 10:40 PM EDT

    You know I just had an idea that came to mind somewhat similar to what Zonnonn said. Perhaps to make your hiatus from your character actually a meaningful part of it, you could weave into the roleplay a reason for the character themself to "take a break". Maybe they need time training with the Blades for their upcoming dragon fight (or in your case, Mehrunes Dagon fight). Maybe they need to lay low after one of their recent heists went wrong. Maybe theres a powerful spell they want to master but need time to study it. Or perhaps adventuring has taken such a physical toll (one I couldn't begin to imagine, the physical abuse I put my video game characters through is unthinkable) that they need time to rest in their luxorious manor they often leave vacant. These are just a few examples but I think it would help (And I definitely would write it down along with other things like Zonnonn suggested) because trying to jump right back into the middle of a quest or task that was not previously tapered can kinda be a buzz kill and make you not wanna play that character.

    -ramblings from a Madd Mannatee :) 

    • 585 posts
    July 8, 2018 9:48 AM EDT

    MaddMannatee said:

    You know I just had an idea that came to mind somewhat similar to what Zonnonn said. Perhaps to make your hiatus from your character actually a meaningful part of it, you could weave into the roleplay a reason for the character themself to "take a break". Maybe they need time training with the Blades for their upcoming dragon fight (or in your case, Mehrunes Dagon fight). Maybe they need to lay low after one of their recent heists went wrong. Maybe theres a powerful spell they want to master but need time to study it. Or perhaps adventuring has taken such a physical toll (one I couldn't begin to imagine, the physical abuse I put my video game characters through is unthinkable) that they need time to rest in their luxorious manor they often leave vacant. These are just a few examples but I think it would help (And I definitely would write it down along with other things like Zonnonn suggested) because trying to jump right back into the middle of a quest or task that was not previously tapered can kinda be a buzz kill and make you not wanna play that character.

    -ramblings from a Madd Mannatee :) 

    Mate this is an awesome idea, especially the Thief laying low. Definitely gonna start doing this with what I do now.

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    July 13, 2018 9:46 PM EDT

    ilanisilver said: It’s really tough! When Skyrim came out, I had a newborn, and we were in the middle of a move across the country. That night, I went to sleep early and my husband went out and got the game at midnight and brought it back. I fed the baby and put her back down, and played until the next time she cried. Maybe a couple of hours. Not going to lie, that was the first time I rethought my decision to have a kid. ;) So, although I prefer to play for hours and hours at a time, real life just gets in the way. So, I suppose maybe, eventually you’ll get used to it? I feel the same way when I have to stop reading after an hour or so. I feel like throwing a tantrum, no exaggeration. And I really only play Skyrim and Oblivion, so if I want to play those games, I have to deal with interruptions. Would listening to the music for a bit help you get back in the feel of things? Or at the very least stopping at the mouth of the next room of the cave or ruin? Or finding a bedroll?

     

    I feel you. Listening to the music certainly helps most of the time, when the interruptions aren't that long. One thing that I do when I have to go on shorter breaks is reading up all the Quest Journal if the game has one, but I'll have to wait and see if it'll work with longer periods. 

     

    MaddMannatee said:

    You know I just had an idea that came to mind somewhat similar to what Zonnonn said. Perhaps to make your hiatus from your character actually a meaningful part of it, you could weave into the roleplay a reason for the character themself to "take a break". Maybe they need time training with the Blades for their upcoming dragon fight (or in your case, Mehrunes Dagon fight). Maybe they need to lay low after one of their recent heists went wrong. Maybe theres a powerful spell they want to master but need time to study it. Or perhaps adventuring has taken such a physical toll (one I couldn't begin to imagine, the physical abuse I put my video game characters through is unthinkable) that they need time to rest in their luxorious manor they often leave vacant. These are just a few examples but I think it would help (And I definitely would write it down along with other things like Zonnonn suggested) because trying to jump right back into the middle of a quest or task that was not previously tapered can kinda be a buzz kill and make you not wanna play that character.

    -ramblings from a Madd Mannatee :) 

    This is what I usually do, and it's what I did with New Vegas. Play in chapters. But I took a wrong guess of how long the Oblivion Main Quest would take and that error came back to hit me in the rear. But the integrating with your life part is a really good trick, I think, but you have to really be invested in your character for that to work, I think.