Time to play RPGs

[dsheinem]

don't sleep

[Frag Mortuus]

I have played more games since getting a Vita and 3DS than I have in years. Like others have mentioned, they are great for short bursts. IMO what makes them so much easier is not only the fact that they are portable, but also the fact that with the 3DS you can close the lid and with the Vita you can just tap the power button to essentially pause your games for long periods of time with no harm to your system. Then when you have the time to pick it back up you just open the lid or tap the power button again. This allows you to play either hours or just minutes at a time with little requirement to finish a certain mission or find a save point. If it werent for this feature, I don't know if I'd ever get much gaming done.

With console games, I almost feel like I have to be committed to the time frame it takes to complete what ever task I'm doing in the game. With hand helds I'm not committed to anything. If I start a game then my kids start going crazy or work calls and I have to stop whatever is I'm doing I can always resume right where I left off.

[Exhuminator]

Everyone saying go portable is correct. The primary reason is properly designed portable JRPGs allow you to save progress often. (And even if they don't, the DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita all have instant sleep modes to suspend your game.) Perhaps its a psychological trick, but I find turning on a portable machine to be less demanding (setup wise) than powering up the HDTV and a console when I'm tired. Portables also feel more intimate... it's really awesome to hold an entire little JRPG world in your hands. If one browses GameRankings and GameFAQs, one might be surprised at the huge libraries of JRPGs/SRPGs available for handhelds.

Outside of that... making time to play games is a different matter. I'm a grown man with a full time job, live-in fiance, a kid, pets, and all manner of the wonderful adult chores/responsibilities/obligations we all love so much. In order to maintain my gaming hobby and be a proper family man, I have to sacrifice sleep. So I don't play games until every one else has gone to bed. This method allows me 2-3 hours of game time a night, but only 6 hours of sleep. By the end of the week I'm pretty damned tired, but I play my games by god.

[MrNash]

For me, it's mostly I don't watch TV, so time that would have been spent doing that as relaxation gets reallocated toward playing RPGs to a degree. Also, like others have said, handheld systems are a good way to go for that stuff as well.

[PinkPanzer]

I usually just play an hour or so a day, and likewise with work and the girlfriend and all I try my best to find time..I also try to avoid the lint grueling 70-80 hour RPG games and usually play shorter ones.

Also, handheld consoles will give you time back! Very easy to just play, be it while watching tv or even on the crapper haha

[Reprise]

If you had asked me a few months back, I would have answered that I simply don't enjoy RPGs anymore, due to work, spending time with the fiance and all the other general adult life stuff.

But as, flojocabron says below, going portable is great. Since I got the Vita, I've found myself able to play tonnes of Persona 4. I always used to find it really difficult to get into the Persona games, but being able to play a bit, put it down and pick it up easily, has helped now.

Go portable.

Play a little between breaks at work, doing stuff at home, or by the bed whike you're resting.

Ive beaten plenty of rpgs on the psp and ds.

[jamtero]

I'll echo going portable opens up tons of possibilities. I've got a pretty hectic work schedule myself and also try to balance gaming with other personal pursuits.

I think my timing constraints pushed my habits more towards either indie titles or visual novels. I just couldnt be bothered with grinding in rpgs. VN's opened up a ton of amazing stories to get my fix and they always have an instant save feature.

[SoltanGris]

Another option is to be sick. Been really sick the last few days. Just lay on the couch and work on SF3 sc2. Between sick and cold medications fast twich games are just frustrating, but the turn-based stuff is perfect. Can't wait for sc3 and the premium disk. I'll be sad when it is done