Middle-Aged: Shadow of Gamor.

[Lenny Solidus]

So then, I'd like to if I may ask those of you who still regularly game today just what kind of adaptive methods or conditions have you had to take on to keep your favourite hobby alive? Now I'm not asking for anything too personal you understand nor would I ever - anything that reflects upon where you are presently to how you once were shall suffice just nicely. If, of course, you are completely open to mention anything that is involved with how you've had to learn to adjust as the years have stacked one upon the other and yet you can still enjoy gaming to its fullest thankfully, please do feel free, I'm not trying to discourage it. We all have something to share no doubt.

For me being the Fps Doug that I once was while still retaining a modicum of hair I have long since moved away from the truly sweatfested titles such as R6: Siege, CoD, CS, Valorant all that shite and now find much lighter noted games such as Halo Infinite and Darktide to be more my bag...ok perhaps not the latter. My biggest issue in my middle term years nearing 53 is that my index finger over the years has taken on the form of, well a dick. It's become slightly bent out of shape and has quite the prominent head adorning it at the top and can often completely seize up on me during a match meaning I have to release relax crack it and continue to pwn noobs and yes I'm not kidding at all about said appearance. My entire family make fun of it on the daily and I do not care, I know what it's capable of. Another thing on top of this is how I've become so incredibly sensitive to sound, and I'm not talking about the game sound coming out of my pebbles I'm talking about how moving my mouse can sometimes make a wire on my desk keep making a tapping noise, and it absolutely infuriates me no end. I have to stop and find the source immediately. I'm not angry person by any means but fuck me having certain sounds suddenly capture your holes when trying to concentrate on a game.

I would say my reflexes and timings have slowed naturally, but there has been many a time I can and sometimes do surprise myself pulling off that 'sick' grenade or whatever and shaking my shoulders and propping up the middle finger letting out a hallowed burley FUUUUCK YOOOOOU! in an act of pure defiance as I did in my twenties. I'm happy that I can still hold my own in an online ruckus of the more slowed variety anyways. Just being part of the winning team is enough rather than trying to showboat constantly as I once felt was always warranted.

On top of this my eyesight, you know you're in trouble when in a game and suddenly a plethora of brightly colours appear akin to one of those old tin based kaleidoscopes in your peripheral vision and refuses to go away. I've had to go from my normal 1.25 to 1.50 and hopefully never have to go beyond and is clearly as I can see everything represented if I then take them off and get in bed with my phone in hand I can't see a damn thing. Perhaps gaming has played its part, but doing artwork for so long surely has been involved too. Do get your eyes checked chaps.

Ah yes, the pissing test. I've lost count of the amount of times I've had to make it through something I can't just really up and walk away from leaving my team in the shit because my bladder is intent on being emptied constantly. The irony being that during most if not all my time spent with the guys on Darktide the very first thing we resign ourselves to on a break is to get more drink. I know that you know that we all have to now get up in the middle of the night bladder near rupturing only for it to let out record scoring amounts completely countering the amount that you drank that day, but having that happen during a match where leaving once again could end up with a team wipe, yes not the best.

Another would be a more common symptom which is back pain, last year I finally gave up buying into all those fancy smanshy dedicated gaming chairs (that snap in half at the base if you own them beyond six to seven months) and settled for a much comfier much more embracing to me at least camping chair - not only do I no longer feel as though I'm constantly welcoming piles, but the allowance of more flexible natural movement has really made me never look back on ever buying a chair of any sort ever again to be fair. There are no doubt downsides I'm yet to recognise, but for now, I'm extremely comfortable in my blue fishing style ass holder far more than I ever was sat in a chair for overly long periods.

So again, gaming in your later years. Share what you like, hold in what might make you look like someone whose finger after years of mouse scrolling and not using auto-roll is now in the shape of a helmeted penis and gets mocked incessantly.

And what do we say to old age?



I AM. I GAME.

[Wrathbone]

On top of this my eyesight, you know you're in trouble when in a game and suddenly a plethora of brightly colours appear akin to one of those old tin based kaleidoscopes in your peripheral vision and refuses to go away.

Ah, the old silent migraine. I get them maybe once every couple of years and they last about 30 minutes as a crescent of vibrant flickering colours that slowly drifts to the side and out of view. Was terrifying the first time it happened but apparently is nothing to be concerned about.

Back pain is my main middle-age gaming grievance and has led to me almost exclusively playing PC games over the few years since my desk chair is good quality and supportive, whereas my old sofa (replaced last week, funnily enough) was 14 years old and had lost any semblance of support. The new sofa has all the bells and whistles - controls for adjustable footrest, lumbar support and headrest - and is very supportive and comfortable, so I may resume console gaming again soon.

The most humiliating demonstration of age that I suffered through gaming was last year when I dug out my old Rock Band Stratocaster and downloaded Clone Hero to play some of the old favourites. Back in the day, I got pretty damn good at Guitar Hero and Rock Band, being able to 5 star most songs on expert. There was a 5 year span where I played probably a couple of hours every day. Anyway, it turns out I now have what Futurama's robot devil described as 'stupid fingers'. Even easy songs were proving a challenge both mentally and physically, and Deep Purple's Highway Star caused my hands to sieze up during the fast solo towards the end. I used to be able to 100% that. It's sad when you realise it's no longer a case of getting back to speed with something, but that you've lost it and it's never coming back. Well, not unless I make a deal with the robot devil to get new hands...

[Sly Boots]

My gaming habits have definitely changed a huge amount in the last couple of decades. I can barely remember the last time I played a shooter, and I don't even bother playing/buying anything that requires twitch reactions or remembering complicated combinations of buttons - and as well as no FPS that rules out a bunch of other genres like some platformers, roguelikes (I didn't get on with Hades for example), metroidvanias etc.

And in some cases it's not that I probably couldn't struggle my way through them with effort, it's more that I don't find even attempting to do so in the least bit enjoyable, the rewards not being commensurate with the effort being put in.

Steam tags are a godsend - anything with tags like 'difficult', 'soulslike', 'bullet hell' etc are an instant do-not-buy

Mostly what I play these days are RPGs, indie narrative games, point-and-clicks (which, by the way, are having a massive renaissance, with a lot of great ones coming out in the last couple of years), turn-based stuff. Generally things I don't need split-second reactions to play, can take it slow and that respect my time.