Are computers becoming more and more boring to you?

tangoseal

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I know some of you will have no idea what I mean but are computers becoming more and more boring to you?

I mean after many years now all games are starting to feel like ..... just games. There is nothing original, there is nothing new anymore.

Game long enough and you have seen all the genres, all the styles, all the story methods, all the everything and based on the fundamental constraints of the platform that video games exist on there seems to be a limit.


The internet has also seemed to reach a peak where websites are websites, social is social, and again content is content. Have we truly reached the end of the internet, not the lifespan, but the capacity of it being a new adventure?

Maybe at 37 years old I am being a bit cynical but over the last few months I am getting less and less excited about even being on my PC anymore buying new hardware, doing anything tech related. I am hitting a burnout on tech to be honest.

I do not consider it a short term burn out, but as a lifestyle it seems to be completely losing its luster.

Anyone else in my age range feel this way too?

And this is gaming related in the sense that for me video games are starting to feel very static. Nothing is truly engaging anymore. It feels like games are no longer works of art but just more content to be delivered to meet some stockholders expectations. Not to mention that a dev can promise a totally new experience but live long enough and you have seen this so called new experience over and over and over through the decades. Its not new. Maybe it has fancy updated graphics but the experience is the same old same old. RPG is RPG, FPS is FPS, etc.... Even VR was new for a hot minute but the games all feel the same with one exception. VR horror is still a great experience.
 
I'd say you're not alone. I don't necessarily say it's "boring" but certainly not as exciting as it used to be. I'm almost 40, so maybe it's a mid-life thing. For me, I desperately want to be excited to upgrade from my Ivy-bridge system to a new Ryzen, but when I think about what I will actually do with it, and the money it will cost, I keep thinking of all the other things I would rather spend my money on!

I think the key at this point, for computers at least, is to find a way to use the computer to accomplish something you enjoy. Use online resources to learn a new language. Get into digital photography or video creation. Start writing a book, blog, or just memoirs for your family. In the end, the computer is not a goal of itself, it is a tool to accomplish that goal. Whether it be entertainment or productivity, it is the end result you want.
 
I do think it's harder to find something that truly engages me these days. I remember just 10 years ago I was excited to play everything I got my hands on. These days I'm really only getting that feeling from "AA" titles. Even indies feel boring at this point, with all of them going for art instead of gameplay, and they all seem to be "Metroidvania" copies. I'm about 35 years old.
 
You're not wrong. However, like anything in life, balance is the key. For the longest time, games and PC gaming in particular WERE my main hobby, and what I focused a lot of my time and energy toward. Top of the line hardware, always playing the one-up game with my friends, snatching up every new game in rabid fashion. My other hobbies usually took a back seat. (I'm a musician, I'm into German sports cars, etc. etc.)

PCs and games never really seemed to slow down, even after I got married, had kids, etc. However, I had a small down-tick to where I'd be a bit more patient to get things, maybe buy upper-mid-range hardware instead of top-tier, etc.

Then hardware (CPU/GPU for the most part) progress seemed to stagnate, and while there is still impressive hardware out there, I'm MUCH less compelled to jump on the latest, because it doesn't yield monumental gains like it did in the past. I used to upgrade every six months or so, but now, I don't typically feel the need for a year to maybe three. I buy new GPUs more often than CPUs, but still not as often. So that makes it a bit more boring than when just about every release was either something entirely new or giant performance gains (or both). I suppose Ryzen spiced things up a little bit recently though.

For games, I agree to some extent. I barely buy AAA games, unless they're part of VERY specific series or from companies that I still really like. (Arkane, id Software, things like that)

I almost exclusively play indie games now though. While I'll agree to a degree with Armenius that the bulk are going for things like CastleTroid and Rogue games, since these are among my favorite styles (along with Megaman style games like Shove Knight, pure Metroid-alikes like Axiom Verge etc.) they do quite a bit for me. I really can't get enough of them, provided they are well done.

I also play a lot less, and balance games more with my family, my other hobbies, side business, etc.

Balance alone means you're not looking at one thing to provide all of your entertainment. It means that when you do sit down to play a game, it's a lot more fresh and enjoyable (even if it's a style you've played in the past) than it would be if that's all you do. I still enjoy all my old favorites, new indies, the occasional Doom/Quake, Dishonored/Prey, or Shock type of things, but since I'm also working and playing other things, making music, playing with my kids, going out with my wife, even the games I've played a hundred times over, still feel good when I actually want to do that. I've also learned to be a bit more discerning, which is why my range of games is narrower now. I used to play just about anything. Now I keep it to my favorite companies, developers, genres, or series, unless someone makes a VERY compelling case for me to branch out to something else for some reason.

I've been playing a lot of classic arcade games with my daughters lately. It's been fun seeing them appreciate something that's not the latest kid-game craze like Fortnite, Minecraft, etc. My youngest daughter beat Final Fight with me the other day, and we made it through about 10-12 stages of the original Mario Bros, and had a blast.

You just have to switch things up sometimes, ignore hardware for a cycle or two, until the revision is exciting again, and maybe pick up another hobby. Does wonders for me anyway.

There is a lot out there now. Much of it remade, re-imagined, re-mastered versions of previous games. Sometimes that's cool if the original was great, but aged poorly. That still accounts for a large chunk of what's coming out though. There are some pretty cool new things too though. Just because something is in a genre that's existed for a long time, doesn't mean it's not a fairly unique experience.

There is a finite pool of material for humans to work with. It's based on what we know and can imagine, and really, since in the scheme of things that's very little, and not for very long (in cosmic terms I suppose) it will limit us somewhat. The same way our history tends to repeat itself in some ways, so will the things that we dream up to amuse ourselves. It's just the way it is.

The only way to combat that is to find the threshold of how much is too much for a particular individual, and try not to cross it so often that it makes it boring.

One last thought. There are a lot of innovative and different games out there. However, much of it isn't typically met with much enthusiasm, and I think that's because humans are creatures of habit for the most part. We like things that previously brought us joy and amusement. Throw something too far out of left field, and we're like "what the hell is this?!?!?" :D I suppose just dropping it and getting a new hobby is another way to deal with it, but just leveling it out, and throwing some other things in the mix is probably better. We started liking this stuff for a reason. No need to toss it completely. Just wait for something that speaks to you, and disregard all the shit in between.
 
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Oddly enough, the most exciting thing about PC building for me has been cases lately. Feel like I've always got the urge to update my PC case, but everything else can be on hold.

Aesthetics can be a lot of fun actually. That's one of my favorite parts about another hobby of mine. (designing and building synthesizers) I have more fun laying out front panels, picking knobs, switches and jacks, and laying out circuit boards than I do actually playing them. (though that's fun too) :D
 
I do think it's harder to find something that truly engages me these days. I remember just 10 years ago I was excited to play everything I got my hands on. These days I'm really only getting that feeling from "AA" titles. Even indies feel boring at this point, with all of them going for art instead of gameplay, and they all seem to be "Metroidvania" copies. I'm about 35 years old.

Luckily for me, I can't get enough of Metroid or Castlevania, or the games that are like them. They do need to be of a certain quality level though. I can't just jump on any and all of them. Axiom Verge, Dead Cells, Sundered, Aggelos are some that I can get totally lost in, and enjoy every second of it. There are others though that I play for a minute or two, and promptly forget about them.

There are other indie games though that are very cool, have very different themes and stories. Hyper Light Drifter is a good example. Also, if you've got some local friends, CRAWL and Wizard of Legend are a blast. Nothing particularly new, but done in such a way that's so polished, and has enough of a twist, that they transcend their roots.

There is a glut of them though that didn't quite achieve those levels of quality though, that can cloud a buying decision. If you're staring at the indie "MetroidVania" genre, I admit, it would be hard to pick out the ones I listed as opposed to the ones that I don't think make the cut.
 
Kyle If you read this.. your an older guy like us.... do you ever hit the boredom highway with tech?
 
do you ever hit the boredom highway with tech?

(Just quoting the last part of that...) I also work as a sytems admin/engineer during the day, so I can REALLY get burned out sometimes. It's just that my "burnout sessions" typically don't last that long, because I can switch modes pretty fast. If it's one of those days, I'll go home, won't touch a computer at all. I'll play/write some music, have some cocktails with my wife, play with my kids, go out for the evening. Longer term though, it's as I mentioned above. I just pay less attention for a while, until I start getting curious again. :D
 
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Laptop/tablet stuff is boring to me as well as networking, mainly because I deal with this stuff daily at work. But still definitely highly interested in HEDT and am fairly excited for Volta, Navi, Icelake and Zen 2 to come out.
 
between shortages and stagnation how could it not?

Yeah, some of the bigger tech companies aren't making it easy to stay excited. :D Now, if these same companies dropped their new and anticipated products tomorrow, I can't say I wouldn't be somewhat excited.
 
Just over 40 and I get you. Most mainstream games are derivatives of derivatives. Ubisoft has been making basically the same game since 2007 with a different skin and slightly different story. ...BORED TO DEATH with that noise. Moreover, graphics has basically been at a standstill for two years.

That said, there have been some real experential tech advances that has envigorated gaming: namely VR and display tech. Also, there are some recent gems of originality in gaming design out there.
 
Just over 40 and I get you. Most mainstream games are derivatives of derivatives. Ubisoft has been making basically the same game since 2007 with a different skin and slightly different story. ...BORED TO DEATH with that noise. Moreover, graphics has basically been at a standstill for two years.

That said, there have been some real experential tech advances that has envigorated gaming: namely VR and display tech. Also, there are some recent gems of originality in gaming design out there.

Good points. (42 here for reference purposes...) I suppose it would make sense to determine what games one is playing. If you're someone who's played your 90th Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty game, or NBA2K5000, then yeah, you're going to be burned out as fuck (most likely). Even those games have their fans that can't get enough, or they wouldn't exist. However, if you're someone that craves something else, branching out a bit might be just the thing. Go back to your roots, and play some Doom games. Play something that went in a different direction like Hellblade. Get some friends together and play some co-op games. If you haven't gotten into some 2D indie games because they weren't cutting edge enough for you, try them anyway, as they may surprise you. Gameplay does not equal the highest amount of polygons pushed. A fun game can come in any form. Even the 2D games are still pushing boundaries. They may appear somewhat similar to something you'd have seen on a SNES, but they're pushing animation to new heights, level sizes are beyond huge, objects on screen are unlimited now, stories can be huge, music (even the retro chip-tune styles) can be orchestrated to be huge now, and not limited to the three voices of a NES.

That's just the actual game side of things though. The tech side is a bit different. It ebbs and flows differently. Right now... it seems to be standing pretty still. Even with cool new processors like Ryzen, we aren't pushing any gigantic boundaries. We can run more threads at decent rates, but we need some software behind that, or it really doesn't do much for us. The last round of GPUs (well the GTX10xx series in particular) was pretty nice IMO, but there's nothing new or different going on from either side right now, so it's boredom city.

I agree that VR is cool. I'm waiting for just the right combination of HMD and controls before I jump, and hopefully some slightly friendlier prices. It's on my radar though. I really like those gloves posted on the main [H] page the other day. I also want to see more games that have VR support, but don't resort to odd play mechanics. I want full motion, not jump motion, for example. I want to play full-on Doom 2016 or Quake Champions, not some edited for VR version. I know motion sickness is a big reason for that, but I think I'd just need to adapt or take some motion sickness meds or something and keep going. :D I still think it's a good way off before I'm ready to jump, but it's getting there. It does qualify as exciting tech though either way.
 
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Oh I feel this at 47. The hardware side gets me excited at times, but then after I get a system pieced together it's like. ok, now what to do with it......
I try and mix it up. Skip gaming for a bit, try a new OS, learn some programming...... Window shop for other hardware online.... Check email.... Game some more.

Yeah, I get bored sometimes, but then it's nice to have a good PC around for when I do need something...... It's a horrible addiction.
About to pull the trigger on a Ryzen box here pretty soon. Probably streams Hulu just as well as the 3770k, 4770K, 4820K and 3217U boxes sitting in front of me at the moment.
 
I think there are three reasons:

1) Games don't improve at the rate they use to, largely because graphics and physics have gotten pretty good and it is harder to improve. 1995 to 2005 was a massive jump. 2008-2018 was more or less small improvements, really just redefining and making older games slightly better.

2) Formulas have been found that sell well. Pretty much every game is half RPG these days. Stupid amounts of customization, and campaign based games are overly long games that drag on forever. Every game is based on controlling a human most if not the entire time. Which brings us to the next point.

3) The death of many genres and sub genres. RTS games are not very popular anymore. Flight games are dead. You really only have three combat flight simulators, one of which is freeware based on a 1998 game. They're all extremely realistic though, there is no middle ground. The medium level flight simulators are gone. Vehicle shooting games are dead, replaced with some on foot RPG shooter hybrid. The few vehicle games that are still around are free to play MMOs, which are grindy as hell.

I miss the vehicle shooters. I loved Incoming:

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Drop Ship United Peace Force was okay:

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Both games were pure vehicle shooters and you could operate helicopters, fighters, tanks, turrets and whatnot.

All the flight games died to. The only vehicle based single player game that seems to have survived is Ace Combat. I am glad 7 is coming to PC later this year.

After a while, controlling a man/woman on foot and having dozens of grindy RPG mechanics shoved in your face gets old. Everything is starting to feel the same...
 
I MADE THIS SAME POST A YEAR OR TWO AGO, so you are not alone.
The thing is, they are rehashing the same thing over and over again because AAA games are a huge investment, and they need a safety net.
That, and the mob attacks anyone who changes anything to their formula. Negative press is a big factor in the gaming world. Battlefront 2 never did recover.
I also feel that DLC and microtransactions are bad for gaming in general, but that's probably another discussion that's been done to death already.
 
I sold my PC. I sold my consoles. I don't have a TV anymore. Instead, I started buying badass real guns and going to the gun range. I also "craft" my own ammo IRL! Much more entertaining.

Highly recommend it.
 
I think the rest of your life just gets more eventful, so tinkering with tech has just become a much smaller slice of the pie.
When you're a kid, you have little money to pursue other interests, you're not as mobile, your schedule is mostly decided for you.

When you're older, the world opens up to you and you have WAY more things you can explore. Many of them might involve computers in some way, but time spent getting the wiring just right could be spent on other way more rewarding pursuits.

So maybe they're more boring, but by contrast your life is most definitely more interesting. (y)
 
I think the rest of your life just gets more eventful, so tinkering with tech has just become a much smaller slice of the pie.
When you're a kid, you have little money to pursue other interests, you're not as mobile, your schedule is mostly decided for you.

When you're older, the world opens up to you and you have WAY more things you can explore. Many of them might involve computers in some way, but time spent getting the wiring just right could be spent on other way more rewarding pursuits.

So maybe they're more boring, but by contrast your life is most definitely more interesting. (y)

Nice post! I think during all of that it’s still a cycle too. The cycle just adjusts as your life changes. Sometimes tech will be more interesting and important, other times something else will be.
 
computers have become more interesting to me because I have a larger disposable income available now to afford the parts that I want
 
I have more income than ever, but yeah computers have become boring to me. My current gaming PC was last built for BF4 and is using a 7970. I don't even keep up with hardware any more until I am ready for a new one, and there is nothing on the horizon that is making me think now is the time to build another PC.
 
I have more income than ever, but yeah computers have become boring to me. My current gaming PC was last built for BF4 and is using a 7970. I don't even keep up with hardware any more until I am ready for a new one, and there is nothing on the horizon that is making me think now is the time to build another PC.

What do you do for a living?
 
As someone who is turning 35 later this year, I totally understand where you all are coming from....

I believe part of the reason for this "burnout" is simply the fact that we've played SO many games over the past decades.

Another issue (that has been mentioned) is how games nowadays seemed designed for the "every-man". We see so much cookie-cutter/franchise nonsense these days, its ridiculous.

Look at it this way, see my sig? I still haven't upgraded because frankly, for the games I enjoy, it's not necessary.

Now obviously if I wanted to play say, Far Cry 5; a platform/v-card upgrade would be a given.... BUT HERE'S THE RUB, I've played so many FPS games over my many years that I just DGAF anymore.

Here's a picture of my desktop with all my currently installed games:

(note how they all have outstanding re-playability and variable play-styles to keep things fresh etc)
 

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No I just don't use pcs as a crutch. I read more content online then play video games. The written content on the net is a lot of fun and could help your health in the long term. When you become addict its no fun like on an extensive vacation just burning your eyes out hoping that Nvidia will release 1180 cards so you have some relief.
 
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I know some of you will have no idea what I mean but are computers becoming more and more boring to you?

I mean after many years now all games are starting to feel like ..... just games. There is nothing original, there is nothing new anymore.

Game long enough and you have seen all the genres, all the styles, all the story methods, all the everything and based on the fundamental constraints of the platform that video games exist on there seems to be a limit.


The internet has also seemed to reach a peak where websites are websites, social is social, and again content is content. Have we truly reached the end of the internet, not the lifespan, but the capacity of it being a new adventure?

Maybe at 37 years old I am being a bit cynical but over the last few months I am getting less and less excited about even being on my PC anymore buying new hardware, doing anything tech related. I am hitting a burnout on tech to be honest.

I do not consider it a short term burn out, but as a lifestyle it seems to be completely losing its luster.

Anyone else in my age range feel this way too?

And this is gaming related in the sense that for me video games are starting to feel very static. Nothing is truly engaging anymore. It feels like games are no longer works of art but just more content to be delivered to meet some stockholders expectations. Not to mention that a dev can promise a totally new experience but live long enough and you have seen this so called new experience over and over and over through the decades. Its not new. Maybe it has fancy updated graphics but the experience is the same old same old. RPG is RPG, FPS is FPS, etc.... Even VR was new for a hot minute but the games all feel the same with one exception. VR horror is still a great experience.

I've felt that way a while for single player games. The only games I really play anymore are multiplayer and a lot of the fun comes from just enjoying time with friends and not so much the games.
 
Nope, not in the least. At least not now.
If you asked me the same question 12 years ago I'd have said yes. There was a period of 4-5 years when I barely played any games. I thought I was becoming too old for gaming, and would never get back into it. But that time has come and gone and around 2009 I started playing more and more again.
I can actually count how many games I finished each year because that's when I started reviewing the games I finished. In 2008 I finished exactly one single game. That's right, one measly 5 hours long game. In 2009 I finished 4 games. In 2010 I finished over 20. That's when I realized that I wasn't trough with games.
Of course I didn't keep up that pace. But ever since there was a steady stream of gaming, and I can tell you there are many many good games still that can be exciting. It's not all the same, even though there are people who wish for nothing else, than for all games to be the same generic destiny clones with different skins.

As for building PCs I'm still very interested in it. The only thing keeping me from building a new PC every month is the costs. There is something exciting in buying all the parts and then finding out how they work together, and what can you get out of the hardware overclocking wise, or even just in benchmarks.
 
I think alot of it has to do with focus I think with bigger monitors you lose focus thus lose any interest you have with the computer you are using. I always had the most fun using CRT monitors above LCDs even though the size was smaller. I won't go over 27" with a LCD even 27" is too big for Desktop use if you ask me.
 
I think alot of it has to do with focus I think with bigger monitors you lose focus thus lose any interest you have with the computer you are using. I always had the most fun using CRT monitors above LCDs even though the size was smaller. I won't go over 27" with a LCD even 27" is too big for Desktop use if you ask me.

Boy I miss my old Trinitrons. Back when refresh rates far far far surpassed GPU capabilities.
 
Turned 40 last November and here I thought it was just me... Just bought a Xbox One S for a good price to play some games but... *pokes the joined date*
 
Kind of, RGB, Stagnation, terrible case design & part prices, ect. ect. Just turned 36 in June. I have been building computers since I was 16. Its gradually getting less attractive. I still enjoy building retro machines though.
 
What do you do for a living?

A boring corporate desk job with some side gigs that bring in some additional passive income.

I sit in front of a computer all day which doesn't help so if I am going to sit in front of one again when I get home it has to be for a good reason.
 
A boring corporate desk job with some side gigs that bring in some additional passive income.

I sit in front of a computer all day which doesn't help so if I am going to sit in front of one again when I get home it has to be for a good reason.

I completely understand.
 
Hardware:
Less clockable now due to tighter restrictions/control and better default clocks. It lets us to have faster cards without tweaking but it contributes to disinterest.
There is less to do when buying fastest parts which I can now afford.
Loss of interest due to NVidia, I dont want to buy another Geforce which means I am staying on 1080p gaming until I am either happy with them again or a competitor steps up.

Software:
Windows 10 is horrible in so many ways, the only interest I take in my OS is how to stay away from that. Microsoft killed a lot of enthusiasm.
Most game styles have already been done many times over. A sad loss of excitement.
The accuracy/realism of simulation improving was fun to observe but has more or less hit where it needs to be for the mass market. Not much to take interest in.



I try to get kicks by pushing my own boundaries but some are one shot changes which mean I dont take interest in changing them again.

ie
Made my PC case into a coffee table, very quiet and spacious + hides the PC. I dont look at cases any more.

Water cooled my CPU so I dont look at cpu coolers. Have kept the same water block and cooler setup for 8 years. Luckily the NCore V1 recently appeared which will be here next month, but then its another 8 years perhaps before a change is needed or helpful.

My sound setup is a high end external DAC for audio and mid/high end AV surround processor so I dont care about sound cards any more. I will upgrade the AV processor but this is mainly for movies. Its not a PC centric change any more.

I game on a projector. Monitors dont enter my purchase plans.


In most cases its the price of progress but we are also stuck with some companies that play dirty, removing the enthusiastic feel.
We've seen much of the game styles before and if you already have high end hardware there is little need to push overclocks hard or buy new hardware.
Except GPUs, the only component that needs a regular update, but NVidia ruined that as well!
MS killed off OS's.
Such is life. More time for other hobbies.
 
Interesting topic. At age 38, I have noticed a bit of lack of overall interest. With that said, I do still love hardware and always jump on the best GPU and display to come out.

I would say that it is becoming harder and harder for me to find an online game for me to really delve into. I've been a big MMORPG player for a long time and the current stuff out there is garbage. Everything I am interested in (Star Citizen, Pantheon, Camelot Unchained) still seem (and are) years away from release.

I absolutely LOVE battle royal and tactical survival type shooters like PUBG and Escape from Tarkov, but they constantly let me down on execution. Terrible developers, bugs, lags, cheats. And regular AAA single player games I basically just use to test out the latest hardware/displays. Something about linear/scripted content (outside of puzzles) disinterests me.

An example is Dark Souls III. Gets rave reviews, the graphics look great. I start playing and just look around. I get to the first mini-boss with the spear stuck in him and he just wrecks me. I know of course I can figure out how to beat him and I know the game is hard, but the DRIVE to learn how to beat him and continue the game isn't really there.

Maybe it's because if I beat a player in PUBG or EFT, I know I used my skill/wits to kill them typically. Knowing that I can just look up how to kill single player boss "X" I guess removes any single player desire for me. I think the last single player game I actually finished was Outlast years ago!
 
I think it comes with age. We all have many years of experience with this stuff, and I'd say gaming is my most consistent hobby. Since a kid I've played the hell out of them, and now adays it seems they're nearly a waste of my spare time.

Imagine all of the time we spent on this hobby and put it towards something more beneficial..
 
I was just thinking about this the other day. I don't play games nearly as much as I used to and when I do it's almost always older games like Mass Effect, Batman, Dead Space, Bioshock and so on. New games just don't interest me at all and haven't in a long while. The new Rage is really the only game on the horizon that looks interesting to me. Games like Dead Space and Batman just don't exist much anymore. Everything is geared towards multi player and single player action games don't seem to be getting much love lately.

I don't think I'll ever be totally bored or out of PC gaming and tinkering but I have definitely lost a lot of the love for it I once had. I used to frequently post on 4 or 5 forums but now I only post here with the very rare post on OC3D. I did just buy a new keyboard (Logitech Pro TKL) and mouse (DeathAdder Elite) today and that kinda sparked some interest and fun in me. Hopefully it's just a phase. I've been into this stuff in one form or another since I got my Commodore 64 back in 82!
 
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