We’ve all been through it: You’re so addicted to a game, then you take a break and suddenly you can’t bring yourself to start playing again. Or perhaps you have plenty of games in your library, but you don’t feel like playing any of them. You might be experiencing gamer’s block and it’s pretty common.
Gamer’s block is a psychological phenomenon that can happen to anyone who loves gaming, it occurs when playing games just doesn’t excite you anymore, even if you used to be addicted to them. Urban Dictionary refer to this as “a condition in which a gamer longs to play a game, but upon sitting at their set up they find themselves staring only at the screen”. Gamer’s block can also manifest itself in a specific genre or game, or even all games in general.
There are many reasons why someone would experience gamer’s block: boredom from playing too much of one game, overwhelming stress from schoolwork or work responsibilities, frustration from being stuck on a particular level or quest line, lack of motivation due to personal issues, in-real-life priorities, or simply the game has lack of new content.
But here’s the thing: It’s completely normal to go through this kind of thing sometimes! It’s just part of being a gamer—and it happens to everyone (even professional gamers).
Overcoming Gamer’s Block
If you are experiencing gamer’s block, here are a few steps you can take to overcome it:
1. Try playing different genres of games, newly released titles, or the free ones.
2. Find something in the game that interests you—even if it’s just a small detail—and focus on that part until your motivation comes back.
3. Play with friends or family! When someone else is around while we play games online or at home with friends and family, they tend to make things more interesting.
4. Just start playing again. If you were addicted to Dota 2 before and now can’t even bear to look at it, just start playing it! Chances are that once you start playing again, the excitement will come flooding back!
5. Simply watching walkthrough videos of your favorite games. You don’t need to actually play them; simply watching someone else play will help re-spark your interest in getting back into the game itself.
It could be Burnout!
Gamer’s block can even be more frustrating for content creators, streamers, gaming journalist and professional gamers who rely on their passion to earn a living. But it may actually be something more serious than gamer’s block—it could be burnout.
So, don’t force everything, take a break and do something else, remember that there are many other activities out there besides video games: reading, going outside for walks, listening to music or podcasts, watching cinema… even cooking! There are so many ways to enjoy yourself without having to turn on your computer screen.