Oh no! Novels? I did not know that. A new hunt begins...

I have this strain of OCD too. I'll probably never get to the current gen RPGs because I always have to start with the originals from the DOS days. And try as I may, I never seem to be able to finish Halo 1, or Wizardry 1, or Wasteland, or Civ, etc, and the roughness of them usually wears me out before I can finish and I move on to another hobby or franchise or stand alone game.

Great game.

Except I hate those damn rats.

When I recently replayed The Witcher 2 preparing for the third game I did the Iorveth path, which I didn't like nearly as much. So I reloaded and did the Roache path, so I would have the proper saved game to bring in to Witcher 3. That's about as close to what you're talking about as I can think of.

Actually, it's mainly the culture and the story that I don't like about Orzammar. The whole story is "make a choice between these two people" when I hate BOTH of them. Throw in Oghren and Branka and I'm stuck with a storyline that I can't stand.

It's also one of the longest and grindiest parts of the game. Playing through it kills any momentum I've got.

I have a similar problem with RPGs. I do prefer to play them in chronological order, as long as they follow in the same storyline I guess. However, my problem is that I'm one of those people who likes to try to collect every possible loot as well as any "godly" items. That being said, the very first thing I usually do is look around online to see if there are any "missable" items that I only have one chance to get and never again. I write down that part and play out the rest on my own. Mainly because the ones I enjoy require countless hours to do so. Anyways, usually by the time all this accomplished, I'm usually tired of the game and move on to something different, and by the time I'm ready for the next one in the series, I've forgotten many details of the story and feel like I need to refresh my memory, then I instantly lose interest and move on to something different again. I guess this would explain why I've resorted to games with little to no story, like MineCraft. I cannot even imagine how many hours of my life Final Fantasy VII claimed. I loved the game, but to this day I cannot play past the intro fights. The only other game series to claim as much time is Gran Turismo. I bought the cars, tuned them up, then tweaked the physics of them to where I felt it was perfect (for my play style of course). Weeks of course on a single car.

I wonder if this is a sickness or disability? If so maybe I could get more time to finish some of the games I've not quite completed. I don't need a better parking spot, just more time away from working, without the loss of income. Man this vacation went by so fast. May take a week off around the last week of December since usually the weather is really bad and work is so slow to begin with. That is an excellent idea I never thought to do. I'll keep that in mind for a refresher.

The other people can be and should be this way, or maybe some other - if they like it., that is. :-) But do you?

From the tone of your post I think you would probably prefer to be more free with your gaming choices.

I think you might be too perfectionist or too conscientious to know when something is a "sunk cost" in terms of fun. Or you might be vigorously logical. Or... None bad things, but just maybe not fitting the way you ideally like to discover your games.

Suggestion: would you like or dislike if we start a gifting feedback tread for you?

Your only commitment should be that any random order that we gift you these games you play as long as you like. But you must move on, as soon as you get obsessed by a given game-save moment. Or you do not feel motivated to go on. (BTW, I hate closed area dungeon crawling myself) Or you would LOVE to move on!

If you like, PM me your requirements - how many (I cannot recommend more than ten but tell me), which genres etc.

It is not about what you own right now, don't feel stressed about that - it is about breaking a habit you do not quite like. I'll be happy to start the thread and pick something for ya!

If you think you cannot promise yet, not a prob. In fullness of time... But most importantly: there is not really a "right" way to enjoy gaming.

Same problem, different consequences.
I believe I will never get to play Witcher 2, because I have attempted to play Witcher 1 three times already, never making it beyond the first village on any run.
But I just can bring myself to skip it.

In a similar vein, I'll get totally into a game for a while (Eschalon Book 1 right now), but then after a while I'll feel the need to play something else, and then something else, and by the time I'm in the mood to go back to something, it's been a while and I think, "Where was I? How did I get there? I better restart so I know what I'm doing"... no wonder it takes me forever to get through a game.

Playing games in chronological order is no more OCD than is reading a series of books in chronological order, or watching the Matrix movies in chronological order or other similar things. It is wanting to experience a story in the correct order that it was written so that events that happen first, occur first during your experience. In the case of video games there is the additional benefit of experiencing the earliest game first, and then experiencing the audio-visual improvements that usually come in later games chronologically due to technological improvements and being able to see and experience them in a way similar to how one would have done so playing them as they were released one after the other.

Having the desire to read/watch a story or play a video game series that is an unfolding linear storyline in-order isn't OCD. Forcing yourself to play games that you don't want to play in the first place or which are boring or otherwise not fun for you just to be able to say you did it - would perhaps be OCD depending on the variables.

I think people throw the term obsessive compulsive disorder around a bit too loosely sometimes either without knowing what it really means, or perhaps just tongue in cheek... :)

I agree with the posters above: Orzammar was way too long. Just when you think you're done with it, an entire fortress opens up. The Deep Roads are pretty awe-inspiring, though.

Anyway, I have a similar "problem" like the OP, only it isn't as pronounced. For me, finishing a game means getting from the intro sequence to the ending credits. I'll try to complete as many sidequests as I can along the way, but if they're really boring or "radiant" then I have no qualms about skipping them. Also, if any of the previous games in the series are generally considered to be much more inferior than the sequels, then I'll skip them too, like I did with Assassin's Creed III.

I'll admit I know very little about Dwarven culture in general. I don't have the slightest clue who Gaider and Company is. It's this particular story I don't like. I can't really go into all the details without posting a spoiler though.

I'll also admit I only like about half the companions and wish they'd party better together (3 dps is just too many).

I agree with you in theory. However, movies take much less time than games and more importantly, if I run into a scene I don't like I can fast forward through it. With games, you can't just skip the sections you don't like. I'd be fine with DA:O if I could find a "skip the Orzammar" mod (and a save game fixus mod).

Gaider and Company refers to David Gaider and the team that made DA:O. He wrote much of the story, and I actually enjoyed it for the most part, heck even read a couple of his tie-in novels.


If you have any interest in learning more about different Dwarven cultures in fantasy settings, I can point you to some good resources.