Why AM I Addicted To RPG's?

Yeah, one day I was trying to figure this out. It's a love, hate relationship. I love playing them but I hate how much time I end up spending on them. I try to stop after I end one but I always find myself looking for the next awesome game. That usually implies addiction, no matter how silly it might sound and I was wondering...why the hell am I addicted to these things?

Storyline

Nah. There's only three games whose story line ever interested me to a great degree. Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 7 (awesome in it's day!!!), and the old Legend of Zelda. Beyond that, others have been interesting, fun, but no where near as emotionally engaging or compelling.

Graphics

Nah. The graphics are cool and it's awesome to watch you virtually kick someone's ass in perfect detail but it's not enough to have me feening for more.

Gameplay

Not exactly. There are a few types of RPG gameplay's that all RPG's follow. After playing them for a while- beyond some bells and whistles you are basically playng the same way. (Though Vagrant Story remains one of the best kinds of RPG I've ever played and one of the more innovative)

Getting Everything

Bingo. I love watching my guy level up and become stronger and stronger. I like going from challenging to boring- starting off weak and then dominating everything in the end. I want to go from nearly being killed to slapping giants off the map. (though you will never love the game the way you loved it when it was a challenge)

A close second to that is finding all the secrets, doing all the missions, getting everything done and being able to show that I- indeed- got everything. That used to mean something but not really anymore. Where once it might have required dogged skill and dedication it is nothing more than a youtube look u these days. And spening hours and hours trying to level up your character when another can mod his character to 100 times more powerful than you character could ever be at it's max stats when playing the game naturally tends to wane on your persistence. But hell, it's all good, because at some point even

Modding

Is a bit of a rush in itself. Sometimes you just want to walk about having fun, one -hit killing bosses and making a spell with a damage level and radius that incinerates everything in a whole town square- sending bodies flying through the air.

But in the end, ultimately, I think it's about chasing the high. My high was FFVII, and I've never appreciated a game like that again beyond FF Tactics. Vagrant Story comes close but the storyline was a bit to colorless in a way, though still entertaining. Every other game I want to have an experience like that and it never really happens. My current faves were Oblivion and Skyrim because they just offer sooooo much to do and you never get tired. It's not a game that ends as soon as you get tough but persists and stays relatively as tough as you are so that there is always a challenge. The newest one is awesome. I recommend you play normally and go for the challenge. You will never appreciate the win you didn't have to struggle for and it's that art which makes the hardest games you've ever played some of the most rewarding.