I can do that sometimes. This is my secret:
- Prepare everything in front, no open tasks may be open, neither private nor in the job.
- Bring kids to bed, make sure wife is tired for whatever reason (no pun intended).
- Start playing at around 8pm and play until maybe 12. This is already several hours.
- Wake up next day exhausted, drink coffee till autopiloting and enjoy a day in pain and suffering, while aging weeks every hour.
- Repeat in two weeks.
Very similar to Matrulak here.
Weeknights - Make sure I've done everything I need to get done done. Hang out with family, kids go to bed, hang out with wife unless she has something else to do as well. If she's got her own plans then I'll play for 3ish hours before going to sleep.
Friday and Saturday nights - if I plan ahead and communicate well I can log in right as the kids are going to bed and play 4 to 5 hours and still get 6 to 7 hours of sleep.
My secret is to not even attempt to play until after kids are in bed, otherwise I am bound to have to go afk for something which is not very conducive to group play. If I ever play games during the day I only play games that can be easily paused. With Pantheon I'll most likely play during the day but stick to non-group play...maybe a little soloing, or crafting, working the market, chatting, planning, travelling, stuff that can be easily interrupted.
Kilsin said:Tavern Talk - Long Gaming Sessions - Do you have time these days to spend a few hours straight playing your favourite games and if so, what's your secret? #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
Other than golf, video games are my only other source of entertainment. My job never requires overtime, weekends or evenings and I have no other commitments or obligations that would take up any of my time. I can do what I want, when I want for as long as I want. So if the game is good, I can put as many hours into it every day, every week and every month as I wish...so I do exactly that.
I have the time - certainly. But over the years stretching back to DAOC's infamous Trials of Atlantis expansion I have found that lengthy group sessions more often than not do not end well. Groups often run into problems when someone is late (maybe for good reason maybe for just not respecting the value of other people's time) or has to leave early or has to leave in the middle. If each person can predict interruptions with 90% confidende we can do the math for how likely it is that 5 or 6 people will have at least one of them called away in the middle. And if people figure "the worst that will happen is a ten minute interruption" - how smooth will a run be if among all the group members there are five such interruptions over a two hour period. Pick-up groups are worse - so many times someone will just quit if all does not go smoothly or "sorry my guild needs me - bye " or just a sudden "gtg bye".
Things run more smoothly on smaller servers where folks know that reputation matters. Things run far more smoothly where substitutes can be gotten - not necessarily the case in a game with slow travel and a lack of quick travel to dungeons or into dungeons. Things run more smoothly in raids where often you start out with twice the number of people you actually need for any particular fight. Or easier group content where a group of five can often beat the boss with two people afk or having left.
But for difficult group content where you need everyone and cannot easily get substitutes - I really have not had very good luck over the years planning on anything more than two hours in a row with the same people and even that is iffy in a pick-up group. So I do not at all like the idea of dungeon design making anything less than two hours unproductive because of the time needed to get everyone together and then the time needed to get to a safe place to take a break.
Secret - mostly retired and the wife plays.
Do I want to twist for 8 hours as a bard in VT? no, no I do not.
Otherwise, a few hours straight (or a lot more) is easily doable.
Alas, I am more reliable than my internet...
I feel like the only person with a schedule. Guess its why I can play table top games every week as well. I find three hours is the ideal duration if I want set people to get together, any thing longer and people start to break off or just lose focus which ruins the fun for the group.
As for my secret beyond scheduling time with friends, I work nights, I usually have time to kill during unusual hours.
A few hours is considered a long gaming session? There seems to be a disconnect in how the question is presented. A few hours is not a long gaming session.
Everyone has days off work or could sleep a few hours less sometimes...
Secret? The secret is prioritizing a game over other things. It's not really a secret. Everyone has that option.
"Everyone has days off work or could sleep a few hours less sometimes..."
Perhaps true. Days when one can set aside 3-6 hours when there is almost no chance of being interrupted unpredictably for family aggro - perhaps less true. And since we need to pretend that the family means more to us than the game - this aggro is hard to detaunt, can come with no warning and can last indefinitely.
But worse yet even when we can set aside some time - if we want to play with friends or guildmates our "escape from real life" time needs to be the same as theirs. And for any pre-planned activity needs to be known well in advance by every participant.
It is actually easier to get away for three hours with friends. When you are away you will not be interrupted other than for the more serious emergencies. For those that play at home it is harder especially if there are children or parents around. Those that live alone or with one understanding spouse - here I agree with you - not so hard.
dorotea said:"Everyone has days off work or could sleep a few hours less sometimes..."
Perhaps true. Days when one can set aside 3-6 hours when there is almost no chance of being interrupted unpredictably for family aggro - perhaps less true. And since we need to pretend that the family means more to us than the game - this aggro is hard to detaunt, can come with no warning and can last indefinitely.
But worse yet even when we can set aside some time - if we want to play with friends or guildmates our "escape from real life" time needs to be the same as theirs. And for any pre-planned activity needs to be known well in advance by every participant.
It is actually easier to get away for three hours with friends. When you are away you will not be interrupted other than for the more serious emergencies. For those that play at home it is harder especially if there are children or parents around. Those that live alone or with one understanding spouse - here I agree with you - not so hard.
It is true, on game nights (board games) where I actually leave the house and go play board games somewhere else I've only been interrupted once in about 12 years due to a medical emergency.
When I play computer games at home I get interrupted on a more regular basis....
So, maybe the secret is to take the computer and go play somewhere else! hehe
Ranarius said:So, maybe the secret is to take the computer and go play somewhere else! hehe
philo said: A few hours is considered a long gaming session?... A few hours is not a long gaming session.
I agree. "A few hours straight" is not a long gaming session. While I approve of the goal of designing Pantheon so that a variety of content can be accomplished in a 2 hour session (sometimes involving a few two-hour sessions with a convenient break-point in the middle), I don't at all agree with calling 3 or more hours a 'long' gaming session.
Most people with a full time job work an 8 hour day. When I did, most people I knew defined an 8 hour stretch at work as a normal day. A long day was working overtime. Even with a job, a 5 hour gaming session on a weekend was a fairly normal session.
To the question, I don't think there's a real 'secret' to play for more than a couple hours. The structure of your life sets your general paramaters. If you have other commitments that are higher priority, then opportunities may be few and far between. I no longer have a job taking 50 hours a week of my time, so finding stretches of 5-10 hours to play is not difficult, though I won't be doing it every day.
When an opportunity comes along, the methods to avoid burnout and/or impatience in a long session are pretty easy. Get up, stretch and walk around every 1-2 hours. It only takes a couple of minutes. Keep water and some light snacks handy and make use of them regularly. Having every member of a group doing this on their own schedule can certainly be disruptive. But if one brings the subject up at the beginning of what may evolve into a long gaming session, it's not usually difficult to get agreement on everyone taking an expected break at the same time. Asking in advance almost always tends to get much more understanding and agreement from others than waiting until one needs a break and then just taking it with no options for them other than waiting for you or continuing without you.
I find the key is to make those around you understand that what you are doing is important.
True, but that requires me to believe it's important as well. ... it's been so long since I've actually done a "raid night" and I'm sure times have changed a little over the years. Back then it was impossible to get people to believe it was actually important. It was only viewed as a form of entertainment. It's interesting that other forms of entertainment have been viewed as important and worthy of not being interrupted though (watching a movie, going to a sporting event, watching the "big game" etc).
I have had an easy time explaining the importance of spending a day on a hike, or going on a camping trip, or even a game night with friends once a month or so. If I personally believe raid nights are important I'm sure my family will follow. The question becomes how much value do I assign to it. And I'm just not sure yet, it'll probably come down to the relationships I form in game. If I end up finding a group of people that is fully comitted to "game night" (raid night) then I'll assign a ton of value to it. If I end up finding a group of people that tends to flake out often then I won't be able to assign much value to it.
I definitely appreciate the anaolgoy of being on a team though. This is mostly just me thinking out loud, thanks for the idea!
"Regardless, calling a few hours a long gaming session sounds like we are catering to the instant gratification crowd..."
I respond not to disagree about whether two hours is a long, moderate or short session. I do not disagree. My point is not that two hours is "long" but rather that it makes sense to assume that this is a typical block of time. I think we will both agree that e.g. four hours is "long" and one hour is "short" for a dungeon session.
I respond to suggest that your reference to instant gratification is based on an assumption which may be correct but also may not be. Namely that there is a significant reward associated with each session. I for one have not suggested that if the game is designed for two hour runs being typical this means that the entire dungeon should be doable in two hours and the group (if it wins the fight) should get a "final boss" reward for a two hour run.
To the contrary I would like to see dungeons designed so that in the ideal world a group can form, get to the content and clear from one safe resting spot to the next in two hours. Perhaps with one "lesser boss" kill and reward (unless the two hours just happens to get them to the end and the greater boss). Of course the world is not ideal. Groups will lose fights not always win. Groups will be interfered with by other groups and perhaps high level soloers coming through and taking mobs. None of us want a successful run to be guaranteed. But I venture to hope that you will not consider moving from one camp to the next and killing a lesser boss if all goes perfectly to be instant gratification. I write this as someone at least as unfond of the "instant gratification" mindset as you are. Like Questaar I am a retired old person and it is our *job* to criticize later generations for their multitude of manifest misdeeds.
Workday? no. daily maintenence done? yes. Provisions and sundry taken care of? yes. Is the place clean (-ish?) yes. Do I need to call someone or touch base or do on-line important banking or bill things? no. Is it raining or cloudy? yes. Is it morning? yes. Ooooooh!~ I'm sorry (I say to my cricket conscience) there is nothing for me to do so I might as well log in, guilt-free :).
Surely I can accomplish something- I have this epic thing I want to do. Advertise, get group, fail, someone suggests something else, we do that. one-by-one they leave. Alone again, naturally. 1.5 hrs have passed. Go to town craft a bit listen to chatter. Join someone who is putting together a group. They are uber than uber and in top guild, smash bang and done-suddenly I am way ahead on an advanced questline I had planned to do later, much later- "heydoyouwanttodothisepicthing!" I ask, but they log. I join another RP group (4 hrs have passed) we die alot, in a low level dungeon but laugh so much and RP so much and they are very game to try my epic thing but I say- nah (because...they just...not yet anyways), we add each other as friends and they camp because they have RL stuff~omgosh I should get some lunch and strech my legs. (AFK for 30min). Come back and more people are on and I advertise again for my thing and people come- strangers- we try and fail but each has ideas that we try and on third try succeed! I pledge undying support to each if they ever need me- 6.5 hours have passed. I turn on T.V in background and listen to chatter, some friends come on and ping me- I join them its a grind *shrug* I did my things so, whatever, and we grind. they split up 8 hrs have passed. some RP'ers come back on and see me and some Uber than Ubers come back. RP'ers are leading and they want ot explore suchandso and the Uber than Ubers joined! *blink* sure! I say and wonder id the uber than ubers think Im with the Rp'ers? or the RP'ers think im part of the uber than ubers oh high school all over again! We explore this new area and dont want to stop- its a crawl and tough some neat drops and omgosh its 10pm! it's been almost 10 have passed. Group breaks up naturally.
It has happened.
Questaar said:Arthritis in my left hand kept me from playing Elite Dangerous on the PS4, and I really wanted to play that.As a retired old guy, my creaking joints are all that stop my play session. I will enjoy many hours at my keyboard living in Terminus.
I don't have any problems with a keyboard, though, and I am willing to buy a gaming PC for Pantheon.
Balanz: and I am willing to buy a gaming PC for Pantheon.
I did a long while back. I might have to think about doing it again soon lol.
I will make time for Pantheon. A few hours straight, no problem. Maybe a lot longer sometimes, too. Not sure on time-tables though, will have to see how it pans out.
Kilsin said:Tavern Talk - Long Gaming Sessions - Do you have time these days to spend a few hours straight playing your favourite games and if so, what's your secret? #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
My secret? Being single, well established in my career, and the kids being grown up and moved out....hehehehe