The other day my co-worker Sander (he used to work at 1up) lamented his complete inability to finish Mass Effect. Likewise, I'm simultaneously interested in finishing Bully and completely uninterested in playing it. We were playing these titles when our Xboxes RRoD'd, Sander's in late January, mine in March. It is now mid-May.
So here's a question I wanted to put to the gaming community here: How important is momentum to finishing or playing a game? I'm wondering if, in the timeline of developing, we've reached a tipping point. The 50-hour gaming experience is upon us. In sports simulations stretching an entire season, it can be even longer. How, if at all, can a developer create and sustain momentum in players to complete something that long? Because these campaigns are only going to get longer, not that it's necessarily a bad thing.
But for now, the question that we here can answer: Is there a period of time where, separated from gaming (a week's vacation, a borked machine, a ton of work or school obligations) you're just unable to get back into it?
I know Bash had a TUD on Friday, but I'm curious here, so Tell Us, Dammit! In the comments after the jump.