That's a great answer, it reminded me that some of my first experiences with adventure games were playing DOTT with a good friend (on his oooold Windows 95 PC) and laughing like mad at it. Aah, those were the days! :)

Pavel4444, if you're going to input something into this thread ATLEAST take into consideration that people have their own opinions which differ to your's. Your opinion is not right, and neither is anyone else's, they are just merely opinions. Thus you have no right whatsoever to insult people. Cheers.

Didn't Freud also say that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar?

I've read one of my favorite books, Watership Down, about 5 times since I first discovered it 20 years ago. Why? Because I like it, and I think it merits more than one read. Each time I've read it I picked up on nuances I missed the previous time.

Similarly, I've played all the Gabriel Knight games several times, as much as 5 or 6 times. Why? Because each time I've played them I discovered something new, tried different things, and just plain enjoy the story and how it unfolds.

There are few books and few games that I've enjoyed so much I had to read them or play them more than once. Usually, once is enough, and then I'm ready for something new. But once in a great while, a book or movie or game will come along that really transcends everything else around. Isn't that what we're all hoping for? I say there's nothing wrong with that at all, and it's perfectly normal.

What a weird thread this has become.

Right and normal aren't synonyms.

Freud says everything stems from sex obsessions. There are no truly sane people to him.

If someone has the time and passion to go back to their favorite things, I'd say that's an indicator of a happy person. Nothing more and nothing less.

So the small % of finding something new that you somehow missed the first time you read a book or played a game justifies redoing the whole thing? I don't think so.

When I play my room is locked and I concentrate and don't get distracted so I don't think I ever need to replay an adventure game that has 1 ending and is linear.

It sounds like you're actually experiencing the opposite of your argument; since you find so little to enjoy the second time around, you may not be fully comprehending or appreciating everything the first time.

I also suspect perhaps you're not emotionally connecting with these games/books/etc... and thus any concept like "nostalgia" has no value for you.

Psychology... ;(

if I get too nostalgic I can always watch videos on youtube or play an old school game I haven't played yet. And besides I got over 50 games installed on my computer at the moment so I got plenty of things to play.

that doesn't make sense. I comprehended everything explored everything, finished it and uninstalled it. And no real reason to go back and play it again no matter how much I loved it.

"When I play my room is locked and I concentrate and don't get distracted so I don't think I ever need to replay an adventure game that has 1 ending and is linear. "

Sounds like compulsive non-replaying games at any price.

This would be laughable if it weren't so sad. Gamers, take a moment to pity poor Pavel.

Awwwww. :\

Expressing your opinion is fine. Insulting other members is not. You admit to not having formal psychological training and therefore you are not in a position to make judgements on mental health. You have been asked not to do this already. Continuing to follow this line may result in more than a warning next time.Actually, without replaying a game, there is no way you can know that you have comprehended and explored everything. You would have to replay a game at least once without finding anything new to be able to justify this statement, and even then it might only be because you took exactly the same actions second time around. With many games it will be impossible to see everything first time because taking certain actions and dialogues will close off other possibilities.

Whether a lot of games have sufficient variation to make an immediate replay worthwhile is another matter.

I don't replay adventure games either.

Well, you know, no one is really objecting to that; the objection is to the ridiculously acrimonious judgements passed on those who do replay, reread, etc.

In order for people to care about someone's opinion, that person must be deserving of respect, and no one respects an attack dog who shows no respect to others.

I usually put a game away for a few years, and when I'm pretty sure I've forgotten most of it, I'll reinstall it and see if it lives up to my memory of it. I only do this with games that really affected me though. I've replayed games like Myst, Last Express, Shivers, Buried in Time, Black Dahlia, the Smoking Mirror and Temujiin. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, and there are some newer games I intend on replaying in the next few months, like TLJ, Still Life and Syberia... I've almost forgotten how they went. I rather enjoy revisiting old places, and it's actually fun for me to start remembering things I'd forgotten. The challenge becomes trying to remember things in the correct order, or finding I've misremembered things and having to fix my mistakes.

I don't do it often, but I also reread certain books that had a lot of information in them. I find that I take new things away with every rereading. I'm not the same person I was last time I read a given book, and my insights are different. It's almost like reading a new book, only better, because I get to think about how much I've changed and how differently I see the same story. It's almost a game in itself. Plus, some books are just so good, rereading them is never boring.

Thanks for all the replies to the thread by the way. There's been some really interesting answers.

First of all I didn't intend to insult anyone. When I say I would go see a doctor, I meant it as an advice to see what the doctor says/suggests. Nothing wrong with making sure, it is in your best interest to change your approach to books/games/etc. so that 1 or at most 2 times are enough, it is in your best interest to save your time for other exciting things, because life is too short to be deja vuing same things all over. I think rereading same books multiple times is a disorder, certainly not harmful to anyone but you, bt also not sothing to be proud about and announce that you reread something 10 times as if it is some accomplishment. Keep it to yourself and don't try to influence young ones to follow the same route.

There is a way--look at the walkthroughs. When a game has multiple paths it will mention it.W

*sigh* I could honestly care less if you choose to never replay anything. Why do care so much about why we do?

Quite frankly, life is too short for this silly argument, so let it go.

Because I care about world and other people and because that time could be invested in other books and games helping raise economy and hopefully quality of the books and games.

Today, I asked my doctor about my rereading problem, and she looked at me funny and laughed. I don't get it. Should I have seen a specialist or something? HELP!

I re-play games, re-read books, re-watch movies, and listen to songs I've heard tens, or hundreds of times before. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to experience, and that's only really possible if it is something you have done before. Life is not a race. Noone is going to count how many unique thigns I managed to experience before I die, so I see nothing wrong in spending time doing things I know I will enjoy, over again. Life is too short to let others tell you how best to spend your time. ;)

Anyway, there are three reasons I can think of that lead to me replaying adventure games:

1. A feeling of having missed out on something while playing. This can be due to a branching storyline, a complex story that didn't sink in completely, or a twist at the end that I feel I missed out on the setup for. I'll usually play the game again while it's still fresh in memory if this is the case. Knowing exactly what I need to do next, means I can try everything else first and not miss out on anything.

2. A great story. The most common reason I'll replay a game. This is exactly like watching a movie, or reading a book again for me. Discovering something I haven't done before, or nuances to the story would be a bonus, but mostly I'm just after a familiar and pleasant experience with enough interactivity that I feel like I'm actually doing something. There's no pattern to when I'll play something again for the story. It's "whenever I feel like it", but there would normally be long enough between playthroughs that I'll have to stop and think about what to do next, even if the solutions are lodged in my memory somewhere.

3. Nostalgia. Sometimes I recall a game I enjoyed immensely in the past. Playing them again usually won't recreate the experience, but I'll remember why I enjoyed them so much. Triggering good memories, can't be a bad thing? I often play a game for nostalgic reasons after I get disappointed with a new game, and get reminded of something I played a long, long time ago that, according to my memory, did the same thing better. ;p

I've observed that games aren't worth replaying unless they evoke strong emotions from moment to moment. The second time through, getting from point A to point B is no longer any motivator at all. But if I'm really enjoying where I am at the moment, I'm going to want to keep going. Gameplay gets old and stale, but a good emotion will always be worth going back to.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Moriarty. This is probably also why certain books merit re-reading, and others are perfectly fine to get through once but not worth picking up again.

It's the people who really like books who re-read particular favourites. Some people are Dickens buffs, for instance, or Hardy-philes. There are some who make it a special point to go back over A Dance to the Music of Time every few years, or perhaps Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire for the more historically minded.

You'll notice that these are all big meaty works. Nobody bothers much going back over paperback romances, airport thrillers, or teen fiction. In fact, romance readers tend to go through their novels like popcorn, reading each one once and moving on, which is why publishers churn them out in such quantities.

Solid complex literature can never be completely absorbed in one reading, or even in a lifetime of reading. Anyone claiming to get every morsel out of every book they've ever read the first time round is either deluding themselves, or else has only ever read light trash. (Now, I'm not knocking light trash -- I read tons of it myself -- but you can't live on junk food forever, mentally as well as physically.)

Movies are much the same again. I'm not much into them myself, but I appreciate the fact that there are classic movies that are as deep and complex as literature, and merit re-watching and discussion without end. These are the films that give cinema a claim to being an art form, far different from the summer blockbuster froth that is quickly watched and soon forgotten.

And the same applies to any type of art. Good paintings can be viewed every day for the rest of your life, and you'll never get to the "end" of them. Good music can be listened to over and over, and will always be new and interesting. And then there's the black velvet pictures and pop chart hits.

So why should games be any different? If you argue that gaming is in some way an art form rather than a mere consumer industry, then there must be at least a few classic games that merit serious consideration and re-appreciation.

most likely only a good psychologist can help with this.

Poor Pavel! :crazy:

Squinky got it lucky, I've been sent to a maximum security institution to receive tests.
I'm currently in a test tube - naked, cold, and with an itchy eye.

Due to forgetfullness, replaying a game is often like enjoying it the first time. After 2 or 3 years, details of a game slip away, and by revisiting it, I can still experience parts as if for the first time.
As for rereading books, I find it is somewhat the same. Some books that I've read over and over (Silmarillion, LotR, etc.) actually improve with age. These are often detailed reads to begin with, and I always pick up nuances or subplots that I didn't appreciate the first time. Many times the first read is rushed, since you are anxious to find out what happens. It's not until the next time that you can slow down and savor every paragraph.
I think there is value in replaying/rereading, if only because you are a different person than you were when you first enjoyed the game/book. Time and life experiences often bring a different outlook on things. The books I read as a teenager can have a whole new dimension when read as an adult.

Ha. You remind me of my mother. I think it's so annoying when people refuse to watch/read/do anything a second time. You can't remember everything that happened and you might discover something you missed the first time around.
With my mom a movie or something will come on and she'll say, "Oh. I've seen this before." So I'll ask, "What happens?"
"I don't remember, but I've seen it before."
So stupid.

Is your mother a psychologist? Maybe I should go see her... but only if she's good.

:D

Maybe the replay value is in different receipt of the game - because a person changes over time, develops, gains experience.

When I played Gabriel Knight the second time I started to think of the New Orlean thing in a diffenet way because of the hurricane and stuff.

Besides I started to understand and like Gabe more, at the beginning I considered him a jerk - I became more generous with time I guess.

It could be argued, that your thoughts about a game can evolve and deepen also without actually replaying a game, just through remembering it. On the other hand, isn't that overly distracting in life to keep whole games, books, movies memorised with instant access whenever you think about a title? I certainly don't envy Pavel too much if he has this good a memory.

Poor Pavel and his photographic memory!

Can you stop that now Merricat, you're borderline trolling yourself.

Okay.

Yeah well I was not referring to Pavel in my previous post. I prefer to talk to you all crazy guys :D

Maybe we need a support group for re-readers.

However I think Pavels comments are indicitive of modern consumerism and a throwaway society.

Always looking for the next fix, not time to savour the experience or the past.

Too many toys not enough time.

There is the element of the throwaway society but I think there is another view that Pavel did touch on.

Just thinking of my shelves (games and books) there are a load already that I haven't got round to reading/playing. I enjoy re-reading a lot (as a reminder of a story that's partly faded from memory and a repeat of an enjoyable experience with new insights) but maybe I should also spend more time finding out if there are new equally enjoyable experiences waiting to be had, It's not even like I'd have to go out and spend to do it. A ton of new experiences are just sitting there waiting for me. I don't expect them all to be good (and I'll always go back to the things I really enjoy) but there could just be an exciting new favourite there waiting to be discovered.

I think you can replay a game, reread or rewatch for analytical purposes too.

You enjoy it the first time you played it. You find out why you enjoyed it the second time round. This is especially the case for people aspiring to create a piece of their own someday.

Sorry if someone has already made this point.

I've replayed numerous games. None because I necessarily missed them. All because the replay offered a particular challenge.

After playing Shivers the first time, I realized that one could accumulate points simply by riding the elevator. Ergo, one could achieve a high score without solving anything after the first five or six puzzles. Thus, completing the game while accumulating the fewest possible points became the challenge. I went after that particular challenge with a vengence, as did others. I probably played that game at least six times competing with others for "low" score.

A game such as Post Mortem allows one to take two entirely different paths to the conclusion. Who would not want to replay it in order to experience all the game had to offer?

Then there are games such as Callahan's Crosstime Saloon that are so packed with material that there is no way one could experience it all in a single play. Assuming one enjoyed the game, why not go back and find more humor?

I replay games. I love to look at the graphics, and it is nice to forget the puzzle solutions. But the biggest thing for me in an adventure game is the story. I love learning more about the characters and the story, and playing it through again can let you see stuff you might have missed the first time round. That's just my opinion. :)