Gaming: Should I continue?

[Belen]

So I have started thinking a lot about gaming these last few months. It has been a passion of mine for well over a decade, yet I have been disatisfied for a while with the entire concept. I am not burned out. I have a spectacular group and I love them, yet I find more joy in hanging out with them than just gaming. In fact, I told my wife the other day that I could have just as much fun playing a board gaming with my group as opposed to RPGs.

Maybe it has to do with my hour long (one way) drive to work. I am just not motivated by gaming right now. It does not help that I spend way too much time worrying about whether people have fun.

Am I just being neurotic?

 

[francisca]

So I have started thinking a lot about gaming these last few months. It has been a passion of mine for well over a decade, yet I have been disatisfied for a while with the entire concept. I am not burned out. I have a spectacular group and I love them, yet I find more joy in hanging out with them than just gaming. In fact, I told my wife the other day that I could have just as much fun playing a board gaming with my group as opposed to RPGs.

Maybe it has to do with my hour long (one way) drive to work. I am just not motivated by gaming right now. It does not help that I spend way too much time worrying about whether people have fun.

Am I just being neurotic?

If you aren't having fun, then you shouldn't play. That's the bottom line.

On the upside, it's great you've developed a great group of friends. Would they enjoy boardgaming as much as you?

 

[PirateMary]

You're not neurotic. My husband gets burnt out too. He usually is the DM. I think it's helping now to have someone else run a game. They only play twice a month(scheduling, family time) and they switch the games. Since they've been doing that, he seems less stressed about it.
I don't know your entire gaming situation but maybe having someone else run a game once in a while will help.

 

[Belen]

You're not neurotic. My husband gets burnt out too. He usually is the DM. I think it's helping now to have someone else run a game. They only play twice a month(scheduling, family time) and they switch the games. Since they've been doing that, he seems less stressed about it.
I don't know your entire gaming situation but maybe having someone else run a game once in a while will help.

I run a bi-monthly game set in my homebrew world. My wife runs a bi-monthly game in the off weeks. I do get to switch things up, but I am not thrilled about either game right now. I am looking forward to the next NC Game Day, but I think a part of that is socializing with such cool people.

When I do game, I am disconnected from things. I play and participate, but the "interest" is just not there.

 

[Dark Jezter]

So I have started thinking a lot about gaming these last few months. It has been a passion of mine for well over a decade, yet I have been disatisfied for a while with the entire concept. I am not burned out. I have a spectacular group and I love them, yet I find more joy in hanging out with them than just gaming. In fact, I told my wife the other day that I could have just as much fun playing a board gaming with my group as opposed to RPGs.

Maybe it has to do with my hour long (one way) drive to work. I am just not motivated by gaming right now. It does not help that I spend way too much time worrying about whether people have fun.

Am I just being neurotic?

Despite your claim in your original post, it really does sound to me like you're having a case of RPG burnout. It happens to everyone, whether it be burnout from work, school, hobbies, et cetera.

I say that you should put the RPG books away for a while and try some other forms of entertainment with your friends. After you've had a chance to experience other forms of entertainment, break out the gaming books and see if you can find it fresh and exciting again. Francisca made a good point: gaming is supposed to be fun. If you aren't having fun with it anymore, there's no reason to keep playing.

 

[diaglo]

doesn't sound like burn out to me.

sounds just like you've lost interest.

you need to try something different. something that will spark your interest and hold it.

why do you game? how much do you put into it? what is the result of that effort?

if it is only causing you worry. and you are only doing it make others feel happy, yet you are steadily feeling bored or worse than you need a break.

the Game Day sounds just up your alley.

 

[Belen]

Diaglo,

I have a feeling that you may be the closest to the real problem.

Why do you game?

The main reason would be that I like to tll stories and I love the personal interaction between people and their characters. I also love to DM, or I have in the past.

How much do you put into it? What is the result of that effort?

I used to put a ton of effort into the game. I have created two distinct campaign worlds for gaming and have spent a large number of hours creating material for them. However, I have not enjoyed that recently either. I think it is better to create a world with someone. It allows for better idea generation.

Results: I do not see any results. I am not even sure how to handle that question.

 

[reveal]

I'm getting close to burnout myself. I've been DMing a game for the last 15 months and we're high level. Luckily, the campaign shouldn't last too much longer and someone else will be DMing. I'm really looking forward to playing again.

Maybe it would help if someone else DMed for a while.

 

[Infiniti2000]

How large is the group? You can try things a little differently depending on the size. When we had eight people, we did a two-party one shot. Three players were the bad guys and three players were the good guys. Another person and I were the co-DMs, and we ran both parties against each other but from separate rooms (we communicated via network on laptops). When the parties met, whether one person at a time or the whole group, we would bring them together and roleplay accordingly. Eventually, the whole culminated in a big fight between the two and it was a lot of fun.

Maybe this idea isn't what you need/want, but it might help in sparking another.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I do think it sounds like a bit of gaming burnout. Or maybe not gaming burnout, but a combo of that and DM'ing burnout. In my personal experience this happens to me from time to time. When it does, I step back from DM'ing and let someone else run a game for a while. Luckily for me, I game with groups that have several excellent DM's to share the load, though I am one of the primary DM's (especially in the one group). When I have absolutely no pressure on me to create an adventure or anything, I find that I gain my level of interest back quite quickly. Ideas start flowing, and my interest in DM'ing jumps back up. So maybe all you really need is to let someone else shoulder the load for a few months (or six) so that you can just show up with your character sheet and go from there. That's what works for me.