Marathoning

[Oryx]

To make a long post short: do you marathon games, or do you like to spread them out so the enjoyment lasts?

I have to marathon in a sense that I have to play every single day until I beat the game, or else I lose my place and lose interest and feel like I have to start entirely over to enjoy it properly. I don't have the time anymore though to spend 12 hours a day playing a video game like I did on weekends in high school, so I don't marathon in that sense.

Do you think your ability to marathon has changed over the years? Do you find marathoning inherently distasteful, with the idea of the neckbeard in his basement never leaving?

 

[Harmonious Fusion]

The only games I marathon are main series Pokemon games.

 

[Hiatus]

When I start playing a game and enjoy it, I'd play every single day until the end of storyline. I'm just like you; if I don't play something for a week or two, I always wind up forgetting when I last did, which sort of takes away my interest and makes me want to start again from beginning. XD;; Games are like movies; if you watch a part of it and watch another part weeks after, you wouldn't have much idea as to what's going on.

 

[Sonata]

I try to marathon games as soon as I buy them. But on a regular basis I build up challenges on pokemon games then stay up for a day or two over the weekend and just run through them over and over and over until I've beat all of my challenges. I really like taking the final fantasy games and marathoning them in order.

 

[Sydian]

I don't really play every day until the game has been beaten. I have so many games that I work on at the same time. I tend to focus on one game more than others, but I still turn back to them at times. I'm going to marathon Pokemon games this summer though, so I'm looking forward to that!

 

[Arc]

I'll marathon new games for the first few days that I get them. If I don't finish within 3-4ish days, I'll start to spread it out and take my time with the game. The way I play games is probably why I have such a huge backlog lol.

But doing marathons are fun! Sure, you might not see sunlight for like a few days but it's nice to get invested into games every once in awhile. Reminds me of when I was younger and I had more free time on hand.

 

[DraconianWing]

I marathon games until I beat them (main story). Then, depending on if I enjoyed playing the game or not, I go back to collect any collectibles and do any side missions that I might have missed. But if there is anything such as a postgame story/content, I usually do them before moving onto the collectibles and side missions.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Just with so many things going on in real life now, it's difficult to find the time to marathon games. Heck, it's hard for me just to play games in general now. However, I used to marathon games a lot; I remember those good ol'days when I'd stay up to 1-2AM just wanting to beat one last level before heading off to bed (which of course, after completing it made you want to play another level).

The last game I can probably say I did marathon was Shadow of the Colossus though. As I knew from the beginning how many colossi there were, each killing made me want to push more and more towards that end . Was a very satisfying time if I do say so myself.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I marathon a game if I only have week or less of free time.
Otherwise I try to enjoy the game as long as possible.

 

[Phazon Elemental]

I don't usually marathon a lot of games, because most of them are super-long RPGs, and they're not really conducive to that. I try to, though, I guess. I guess I'm kind of thinking of "marathon" in a rather narrow sense.

In that same sense, I marathoned Lemmings a year or two back; that was a lot of fun, honestly.

 

[Dustmop]

I have to marathon in a sense that I have to play every single day until I beat the game, or else I lose my place and lose interest and feel like I have to start entirely over to enjoy it properly.

This entirely, with RPGs and adventure games. If I don't marathon it, I will forget where I was and what I was doing. It's like reading a book - if I stop halfway through it, I can't just pick up where I left off. I have to go back quite a ways to remember which quest was most important and whatnot.
If it's a shooter, a fighting game, a hack'n'slash, or just a very linear game, then I'll just chip away at it whenever I feel the desire. But with most of those games I need to be in a specific mood, anyway.

Do you find marathoning inherently distasteful, with the idea of the neckbeard in his basement never leaving?

That is the exact reason I enjoy doing it. Because stereotypes. I enjoy lying on my couch with a controller or keyboard, a box or two of little debbie snacks, and just vegetating.

 

[Darkwing Ducklett]

I marathon games in the sense that I tend to play only one game per console until I've finished it (unless something else comes along that takes my fancy, anyway) but I'm long past the days when I would play a game for hours upon hours every day just so I could finish them faster. As I've gotten older, I've moved away from marathoning games to pacing myself: I'm not in competition with anyone to finish them first, games just don't interest me as much as they used to, and I have other things to be doing. I favour playing a little and often, rather than for hours upon end.

In the last decade or so, the only game I've played obsessively until I've finished it, forgoing meals and several hours of sleep, was Xenoblade Chronicles, because it sucked me right in and refused to let go; it was that good. I wished I'd paced myself afterwards, though...I crammed so much enjoyment into such a short space of time (well, it took me about 65 hours to finish it, but that was over about 5 days) I wished I'd padded it out.

 

[Kikaito plush]

I marathon any Mario and Legend of Zelda games

 

[Yukari]

Really I marathon any game I buy, unless I don't like it. But come on, that almost never happens.

 

[Raine]

Marathoning, for me, often happens when I'm still hyped about the game which generally lasts 2-3 days within the time that I purchased it; majority of the time I do finish the game within that time period because of the number of hours I spend during the day playing :P The longest marathon I'd say would have to have been with Pokemon X where I played 12-16 hours per day for about 3-4 days, and it was the best time ever! Right now I'm trying to marathon my way through as many of my PS3 games before my break ends D: That goes without saying that spreading the playing times out, for me, would not because I could easily become bored, and lose interest relatively quickly \:

 

[Squirrel]

I 100% marathon games, as long as they're worth doing it for. Games like Skyrim I play for weeks on end, barely even sleeping just because I want to level that last skill that tiny bit more, and games like Pokémon I simply don't put down until I've reached a ridiculously far point in them and collapse from tiredness. I have no self-restraint whatsoever when it comes to playing video games in moderation (heck I've basically had to lock myself out of LoL in order to revise for exams this month) so I'm definitely one for marathoning when the time is right.

 

[Juno]

Pretty much what others have said - it's the worst when I stop playing a game for a while and forget what my last objective was.

My ability to marathon has definitely changed as I grew older though, due to lack of time for fun and all that. :( If I really, really like a game I'll still manage to set aside an hour or two every day for it, but I am definitely marathoning less than I used to in high school.

 

[YungKnowledge]

I used to when I had more free time. Now with my work and me trying to get back into school. I don't have the time anymore and sit for more than an hour or two with a game.