Author Topic: Actual impact of Video Games (Read 12185 times)

ndchristie · « **on:** July 11, 2007, 08:34:59 pm »

out of curiosity, how many people here besides me don't really play video games? I'm much more into video games than the average person i know, and it has been literally *months* since i played a console game. When I'm at my dad's every other week, i play a little bit of Rome: Total War, but I've had that game for 2 years and played a grand total of 2 complete campaigns (which even a lot of casual players knock out in a couple weeks).

I see though that i am probably in the minority on this board, the way people go on and on about upcoming or recent games. When i read, however, about masses being led by video games I really just do not see it. Almost nobody in a school of 1600 bothered with next gen consoles (literally only 4 people i know, though it's not like i know everybody), and the only time i hear about them now is people offering to sell their few-month-old console, because they never use it. I asked my brother and he says the people he knows in Boston are pretty much the same. If there is a huge market for video games.

Movies and music on the other hand are much more important. Every few weeks, maybe every couple of months, movies come out that literally everyone goes to see. For every one person that talks about video games, it seems there are hundreds talking about movies. It feels like almost 10 people own ipods for every person like me who doesn't (my friend Caroline's little sister just turned 11 and owns an ipod). The people who don't still have pretty good CD collections.

Is new england just a funny place that could care less about video games, or is the whole video game thing that over-hyped everywhere?

AdamAtomic · « **Reply #1 on:** July 11, 2007, 08:50:06 pm »

That's a good question...I don't actually game that much, maybe 2-5 hours a week? I probably talk about video games more than I play them...but then I also prefer to MAKE video games, rather than play them...

But also I think the time of year has something to do with it - summer is a time for getting outdoors, and its when all the big blockbuster movies hit too. People have limited time and money, after all (well most people anyways). I think come November it might seem different. Though today it feels like EVERYONE is a gamer thanks to the ubiquitous E3 coverage

Xion · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2007, 01:02:30 am »

I dunno, man, when I was a kid...well, I say that as if I'm not anymore - when I was but a wee lad, my friends and I had most of our common ground around our interest in videogames. We'd play games and stuff and talk about them and stuff...and when I started highschool, when one of the teachers organized a video-game-playing...thing afterschool, there were more people than I'd expected to who showed up, pwning in both Halo and Smash Bros. Melee. And then when I moved to Cali and all the next-gen systems were announced/came out, I'd (over)hear people just talking about which one they wanted most and stuff.
But this may all be due to the fact that my senses immediately perk up whenever anything game-related is mentioned in my vicinity, when I would otherwise be inattentive.

Hmmm...

But I wonder, when movies first came out, were they an instant hit or did it take time to get to the point where people flock to each premier? If the latter, then videogames, still in their infancy compared to both movies and especially music (which is like two thousand years old to movies' eyeblink of an existence) will of course not be as big and booming as the aforementioned industries yet, which are pretty much omnipresent in everyone's lives. Right now, there are still tons of people who could care less about games, but it's only a matter of time - ages, maybe a century or so - until they also reach the magnitude of movies as a means of entertainment.

What was the question again?

ndchristie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2007, 02:08:59 am »

Asking how man people actually play video games (around here or in general) to see whether video games are actually a powerful and ever-present media force, or if people just act like they are, because around here, they seem to get very little attention.

Ryumaru · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2007, 06:25:48 am »

actually adarias, im exactly like you. conceit goes crazy when i tell him i havent played this or that.
im just more interested in the pixel art i guess.

JonathanOfDrain · « **Reply #5 on:** July 12, 2007, 08:08:03 am »

I too don't play games much. Last game I played was the darkness and that was fun, but it only lasted 3 days without the multi-player. Pixel Art is more appealing to me because it's something you can do almost anywhere. Even the computers at Target have MSpaint, so I get to dick around there.
I recently have been doing a lot more pen and paper gaming (and game running) so that's even less time to video game. But I live in New England so this post is void.

Xion · « **Reply #6 on:** July 12, 2007, 08:09:22 am »

Quote from: Adarias on July 12, 2007, 02:08:59 am

Asking how man people actually play video games (around here or in general) to see whether video games are actually a powerful and ever-present media force.

Oh, hahaha.
No.

robalan · « **Reply #7 on:** July 12, 2007, 12:27:39 pm »

Going to a tech school, most of the people I know play video games quite avidly, discuss them constantly, and flock to stores to buy new consoles. On one floor of one dorm, I know of at least four people who got Wiis, and I'm pretty sure there are others. The school is sort of New England; it's in upstate NY so half the people are from there :-P Also, most of the people I know in Boston (where I'm living and working for the summer) also game, so maybe it's just the crowd I happen to hang out with? I dunno. But yeah, I don't think it's New England. You're just not talking with the right crowd of people, I guess.

huZba · « **Reply #8 on:** July 12, 2007, 04:06:36 pm »

I don't know many people who don't play games at all. Even the the least gamer types tend to go for a quick game of crash bandicoot or cooking mama if they're bored. And there's of course the masses who don't play consoles but enjoy online multiplayer browser games or those found on sites like miniclip. Gas stations and small restaurants have minigame collection machines that have mahjong, block and card games. Girls play those a lot while they hang around and chat with friends. Games like brain age, cooking mama, wii sports, guitar hero and dancing/singing games are famous with previous "non-gamers" since they don't really have any kind of learning curve for having fun. You can totally suck but still enjoy them. Then little kids play on sites like club penguin, which is in the top10 of MMO games.

In short, you find gamers everywhere.

tocky · « **Reply #9 on:** July 12, 2007, 04:41:42 pm »

I don't own a current-gen console. Currently all I got is my PC, which is too old to play last year's games, and a gamecube, which is starting to seem sort of a foolish thing to hang onto. I'm mostly into RPG/adventure style jobbies, and basically won't play anything else unless it's really excellent, so games that'll appeal are few and far between these days. I don't really keep track of what's coming out anymore. Mostly I've been flipped onto indie games and emulation. But still I'll prattle incessantly about games to anyone who'll listen, and spend a fair bit of time reading up on people's design theries, trying to come up with fun game mechanics, and stuff like that.

Quote from: Xion

videogames, still in their infancy compared to both movies and especially music (which is like two thousand years old to movies' eyeblink of an existence)...

That's kind of a tetchy statement. Video games are just the currently-most-popular iteration of gaming, which is ancient. Video games are to games what pop is to music; what cinema is to drama. Gaming, like drama and music, has always been vastly popular. It's just technology, direction, and globalisation that makes them seem so different to their predecessors.

Ed Oscuro · « **Reply #10 on:** July 12, 2007, 06:15:17 pm »

I spend a lot more time writing and reading about games (or listening to game soundtracks!) than I do playing them. It's been that way for quite a long time now.

Rox · « **Reply #11 on:** July 12, 2007, 07:22:43 pm »

I play too much video games, but I know MANY people who don't touch them. But most of those guys watch TV as much as I play...

I dunno, me and games is funny. It comes and goes, in waves. For the past week or so I haven't played a lot at all. Mostly been sitting here diong other non-gamey stuff. But the week before that I spent probably 3+ hours every day with Guitar Hero 2. And the week before that, 6+ hours every day with Oblivion. I mean, I got my 360 this spring and I've played Oblivion for almost 200 hours...

I'm a casual hardcore gamer or something... When I start playing, I don't stop, and I want to get as much out of every game as possible, but it's not like I ALWAYS play games. And I never become superhumany good... Some claim I reached that stage when I used to play DDR, but that's a long time ago now...

Still, I have teachers who play games, I know people who play games with their parents, and kids surely play as much as I used to when I was little. Games do take up a huge amount of space and money. A really good game will outsell a blockbuster movie. But it's also true that people are pretty casual about games. Like the next-gen console thing. A small percentage actually bother to stay that updated with games. That's why I got a 360 this spring, instead of a year and a half ago...

robalan · « **Reply #12 on:** July 12, 2007, 08:12:43 pm »

Rox: I like your description of a "casual hardcore" gamer. The only game that I've been playing for the past several weeks has been Kingdom of Loathing, which I play during lunch at work. But earlier in the summer I was playing Oblivion for several hours every evening. The whole console market updating regularly and noncompatibility is why I'm a PC gamer. My laptop is good enough to run just about everything, despite being two years old. I'll probably get a new one next year when the warranty on this one runs out, but I'll likely be using it for work as well as gaming and stuff. Some console games are fun, but I never really got into them, since the only console I ever owned was an SNES, many years ago.

Xion · « **Reply #13 on:** July 12, 2007, 08:50:59 pm »

Quote from: tocky on July 12, 2007, 04:41:42 pm

Quote from: Xion
videogames, still in their infancy compared to both movies and especially music (which is like two thousand years old to movies' eyeblink of an existence)...

That's kind of a tetchy statement. Video games are just the currently-most-popular iteration of gaming, which is ancient. Video games are to games what pop is to music; what cinema is to drama. Gaming, like drama and music, has always been vastly popular. It's just technology, direction, and globalisation that makes them seem so different to their predecessors.

I never thought of it like that.

Darien · « **Reply #14 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:08:46 am »

I play increasingly play video games less and less as I get older and realize that most of them are a waste of my time. Sure, there are plenty that are entertaining for while you play them, but in this aspect they are like action movies to me... fun to watch, but ultimately doesn't matter. Only a few games have affected me emotionally enough for me to consider them worthwhile (and these are the only games that I am glad I spent the time to play), but the large cluster of them that mainly involve saving the world just gets tiring.

.TakaM · « **Reply #15 on:** July 13, 2007, 05:19:17 am »

I'm gonna post as if this were an interview..

How long do I spend gaming each week?
- I'd estimate around 8 hours, I do an all nighter once every week with my friends, playing halo2, street fighter, mario kart, smash brothers, guitar hero etc, that accounts for about 6 hours, then I probably knock out about 2 hours by myself.

What do I play by myself?
- Rarely anything new, I still play Super Metroid, Super Mario 64 DS, Street Fighter and some others atleast once every single week, I test out a game or two each week on DS, but they're almost always pretty meh.
I also clock up about an hour each week through Twinsen, but that's bug testing etc..

It's safe to say I spend more time reading about,talking about, and working on games than I do actually playing them.

edit-
Oh, and I'm pretty much the guru to all my friends, they always ask me what I think about certain games, if I can recommend one for X console/genre etc

crab2selout.png · « **Reply #16 on:** July 13, 2007, 05:29:29 am »

I feel the same way, Darien. I wish it wasn't so, but I lost the special feeling or emotional attachment a good video game used to give me.

I still like to keep an eye on sites like gamespot to see what's being done and what's popular, but I may be finished with them[for the immediate future] as a pastime. I feel like I need to complete one final act before I can say goodbye to video games. Mainly I want to make my own game, hopefully something decent. I had a bunch of different plans for many different genres of games, but that's not a possibility anymore.

I find it funny how mockups are still appealing to me, though.

ndchristie · « **Reply #17 on:** July 13, 2007, 11:31:54 am »

a good storyline or addictive gameplay can still draw me in, as well as nostalgia. Final Fantasy Tactics can do this, as can Rome: Total War, or every once in a while a really fun old game like starcraft or conquest of the new world. Still, i'd say it's only a few hours every other week.

I also put a bit of work into Partisan (although i've let the blog go to pot I'm still working) and Zantarni, but that's not really gaming.

philipptr · « **Reply #18 on:** July 14, 2007, 10:26:42 pm »

I lost almost all intrest in singleplayer games. I, as someone who spends alot of time infront of the pc, like to combine this time with at least a bit of social interaction

so the only thing I've played much in the last year was warcraft 3 while talking to friends in teamspeak. Only problem about games like warcraft is they get boring more or less fast since there are only a hanfull of strategies, which lead to a win. Also the more you play such RTS games online, the more serious you take it, the more stressfull and less fun it gets (atleast imo). So after playing it for a year I don't play it much any more and I don't seem to play any other games.
I am waiting for starcraft 2 now. Wont play much till then

By the way: The last solo game I finished was sonic and knuckles 3 (genesis), which I liked gameplay grafics and soundwise. Grafics weren't all so intresting from a pixel art point of view, but they were still very good compared to most genesis games.

Turbo · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2007, 10:08:34 am »

In the last few months, i've (finally) finished Day of the Tentacle, played System Shock 2, playing my way through XCom Apocalypse, and Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain. Gaming is a kind of seasonal thing for me (as is my dedication to pixel-art), sometimes i have the time and want to do it frequently, others i don't (or care) to do it as frequently. Winter tends to be a low spot for me in pixel art, high in gaming

Sometimes i'll go 3-4 months without either gaming or doing art, others i do it every day.

Also, i can't upgrade to a high-end machine yet, so i'm stuck with oldies (but goodies). If i had a newer machine, i'd probably play more.

alkaline · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2007, 06:11:26 pm »

I hardly play video games nowadays, but I haven't lost interest in them. Partly because my computer isn't nearly good enough to play the newest games. I do own a wii though, waiting for some good games to buy.

Doppleganger · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2007, 07:28:01 pm »

Lately I've had a really difficult time getting into video games. For a while I bought a new ps2 game each week in hopes of it reinstating my joy of playing video games. When that didn't work, I went and bought a wii. Which was a sad state of affairs. I've never played a more ho-hum system in my life. Being a big fan of the Ninten, it was slightly disappointing. I'm going to buy twilight princess and see if that does it for me though. XD

I guess by spending the majority of my time making video game graphics I've lost interest in video games...I don't know.

Either way, I'm a big fan of them so, I hope that I will start enjoying them again.

Games I'll never get sick of are; Star Craft, WCIII, smash bros melee, final fantasy tactics. Their lastability is phenomenal.

ndchristie · « **Reply #22 on:** July 17, 2007, 09:16:38 pm »

i had high hopes for FFXII, but it was astoundingly sub-par in every respect except the visuals, and the design was such that you basically just used the minimap to go anywhere anyhow. I put a post-it over that part of the screen so that i woudnt use it, but then i was distracted by the post-it.

Doppleganger · « **Reply #23 on:** July 18, 2007, 12:04:55 am »

That's so true Adarias.

FFXII got worse and worse the more you played it. Me and my girlfriend spent about 100 hours on that game and near the end I just quit caring. She beat it just to beat it but I was hardly able to get myself up to watch the ending. Which I may as well have not done...

"Yaaaaaaaay! I'm a sky pirate!"

Dusty · « **Reply #24 on:** July 18, 2007, 04:45:42 am »

I don't see what everyone sees in FFT. I have FFTA(if that makes a difference), and I just can't get into it. I've tried to play it a couple of times and it's just so boring, and seems pointless. All I've done in it is run from one mission to the next with no apparent point. Maybe it's 'cause I don't really get into RTS or such, but I do like RPG's, and with as much love as the game gets I thought it'd appeal to me.

Helm · « **Reply #25 on:** July 18, 2007, 09:00:15 am »

Quote

Me and my girlfriend spent about 100 hours

ptoing · « **Reply #26 on:** July 18, 2007, 09:24:49 am »

Quote

Me and my girlfriend spent about 100 hours

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/upload/news/main.jhtml?xml=/upload/news/2007/07/15/ncomputers115.xml

Doppleganger · « **Reply #27 on:** July 18, 2007, 02:00:43 pm »

In all fairness it was over the course of a good long while. In actuality it's nothing compared to what some people spend playing WoW in any given month. But on the flipside, those 100 hours were spent on a really awful game. XD

As for the starving children thing, I have no children so I'm still good. Ha!

@Dusty:
FFTA has nothing on FFT. Although I'm just one of those naysayers who doesn't think having soccer rules in a strategy game is a grand idea. But, if you've never played FFT, I would suggest it.

ndchristie · « **Reply #28 on:** July 18, 2007, 03:21:09 pm »

I'm onyl a short ways into FFXII (for those who have played, the last thing i remember is the lost princess is hiding out for now and i need to go south during the rainy season after that crystal blew up some airship fleet)

FFT has as much to do with FFTA as apples has to do with adam's apples. They may sound like the same game, but the first game is a decently written (for the most part), in-depth, story-driven, extremely difficult strategy game. The second is poorly written (for the most part), lacks depth, pisses on story, and is only difficult because of annoying rules put in there to distract you from how thin the rest of the game is.

Granted, FFTA is a pretty game; that's the only reason i downloaded it. Of course, it's not pretty enough to buy. I own the seiken densetsu series up through GBA, which i suppoes is proof that i do enjoy videogames, particularly ones that manage to be attractive and have good gameplay.

AdamAtomic · « **Reply #29 on:** July 18, 2007, 03:26:41 pm »

heh i'm stuck at the same part in XII adarias, there's some bigass frog-monster bounty that keeps whipping my ass, and preventing me from going south properly...as for FFTA, i don't remember it being difficult at all. There were a lot of character classes that were way unbalanced, later in the game my friends and i were doing battles in under 5 minutes, one-hit kills etc. Mostly the game was just DULL. The environments weren't varied nearly as much as the original game, and the removal of charge time as a major gameplay factor basically neutered the entire strategy mechanic.

Helm · « **Reply #30 on:** July 18, 2007, 03:39:12 pm »

Having recently investigated on FFT by downloading the iso and playing it on emulator I can testify, to my taste at least, that this game feels very dull and pointless as well. An 'epic rpg' about kids in armor running behind the enemy and hitting them on the back for extra damage. A sacred cow for nothing.

Turbo · « **Reply #31 on:** July 18, 2007, 04:35:37 pm »

You guys only play japanese games. Other than the sporadic Blizzard title.

Helm · « **Reply #32 on:** July 18, 2007, 04:38:53 pm »

I personally don't. Here's my top10 list that I mailed to indygamer for their thing they're doing:

Quote

1. N
2. Quest for Glory 2
3. Indy and the Fate of Atlantis
4. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
5. Captain Blood
6. Alter Ego
7. Dreamweb
8. Shinobi 3
9. Albion
10. Nikujin

Of those only Shinobi 3 and Nikujin are japanese. Before anyone asks where Shadow of the Beast is, I love it but it's not a very good game. And where is Flashback and Another World? I simply forgot about them. I'd take out Dreamweb and put Another World in there.

ptoing · « **Reply #33 on:** July 18, 2007, 04:50:48 pm »

DODONPACHI >>>:::OOO

FFT is apparently quite deep tho, so I can see why people like it. I myself quite enjoyed FFTA on the GBA and even finished that

huZba · « **Reply #34 on:** July 18, 2007, 05:32:31 pm »

Played FFXII to a part that has fran's relatives around in some enchanted forest. I mainly played it cause it's pretty looking and the voice actors are fun to listen

Put it down for a while and kinda forgot the whole game.

Really can't name one favorite game, cause there's so many, but Chrono and Xeno series are among the best ones, even though Xenogears was released only half done and Xenosaga 1 and 2 suffer from horribly paced levels and below average gameplay. The story makes it all good tho. Then there's Ninja Gaiden and Devil may cry 3, both really hard but fair. Moving away from action games, Freespace 2 is by far the best space sim i've played and it's now open source and updated by fans, so everyone should get it.

Still some gems worth mentioning: R-type, X-wing alliance, Falcon4, Ace combat, Gran turismo, Esp.ra.de., Garou:mark of the wolves, Zone of the enders 2 aaand the Zelda Series.... and a ton more... i used to play a lot.

These days it's an hour or less a day and an occasional gaming marathon weekend. Oh and a funny note, seems like helm's top10 is the few games i haven't played, except for Indy. Flashback and another world are among my favorite games tho... haven't really bumped in a similar atmosphere after those.

Dusty · « **Reply #35 on:** July 18, 2007, 06:07:12 pm »

Just started getting into Dark Cloud 2, surprisingly addictive game. I like leveling up the weapons and such and getting the different final weapons

I think we need an off-topic video game thread!

robalan · « **Reply #36 on:** July 18, 2007, 06:49:04 pm »

Quote from: Helm on July 18, 2007, 04:38:53 pm

Quote
1. N
2. ...

I definitely agree; N is an excellent game. Though 88-4 still continues to confound me. That's the only level I haven't beaten, despite having poured several hours into it. Ah well; I'll get it eventually.

Helm · « **Reply #37 on:** July 18, 2007, 09:12:41 pm »

Let's add Real Lives (good edutainment) and Dodonpatchi to that list of good games I've mentioned, they don't have to be a top10 forever.

ndchristie · « **Reply #38 on:** July 18, 2007, 10:22:13 pm »

helm, the first chapter is not nearly as good as the rest. still, not everone likes it.

favorite games:

1 - Suikoden 2
2 - Myst
3 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
4 - Seiken Densetsu 3
5 - FFT
6 - Medieval: Total War (the original)
7 - Conquest of the New World
8 - Flashback (it was too short to be any higher)
9 - FF7
10 - Megaman Legends

although if it's a party....:
1 - Counterstrike
2 - Super Smash Bros
3 - Halo
4 - Halo 2
5 - Counterstrike 2 or whatever it's called

Crono Trigger was excellent, should have been on my list just above SD3 and bump everything down one, i knew i was forgetting a game.
Crono Cross was sub-par, imo
Xenegears was great, what do you mean about half finished? Xenosaga sucked for its lack of story, gameplay, and good design.

Dark Cloud 2 almost made the list, but i was too pissed off that they wanted me to play the last dungeon without monica. Plus, the island king sword looked too rediculous...

Helm · « **Reply #39 on:** July 18, 2007, 10:48:19 pm »

Quote

(it was too short to be any higher)

What does this mean? I don't understand this mentality. Flashback is a damn difficult game and it takes a new player 10 hours or more to finish. Why should it be any longer? It's not a LIFETIME, it's a video-game. I tell you rpgs like Final Fantasy that require 100 hours of gameplay just to finish once are more broken that short and sweet games. And Flashback isn't even short, it's medium-length. How long did you take to finish Flashback without any cheats and stuff?

Xion · « **Reply #40 on:** July 19, 2007, 12:15:24 am »

Look what you did, Adarias, you got Helm's panties in a bunch!

Wierd how I don't like any of the games in your top ten, Adarias, except for Flashback (but I think Out of this World/Another World was better). I especially hate Myst.

Never been one for final fantasies. When games get too long I just lose interest. But then with short games I feel cheated.

ndchristie · « **Reply #41 on:** July 19, 2007, 02:16:11 am »

Never played another world. what's wrong with Myst?

well the thing about flashback is that it wasn't necessarily too short, although it was short, 10 hours sounds like a good estimate (there are cheats for that game? besides level passwords?, it just felt like things really didn't develop much... The gameplay really wasn't good enough to really call it something you'ld play just for the fun of it once you knew how it went and how to get through the puzzles, which there just weren't enough of (see Myst at the top of the list?

). The last stage just felt a little too much like the first to be any higher than 8th. If it had any replay value, the length wouldnt matter, but it doesn't. Besides, 8th is a good place to be!

A good rpg takes about 25-35 hours, otherwise it risks getting way too long, but a few more hours are alright if the story needs it. Still, i've never spent more than 47 (original suikoden, it just dragged on and on....i just checked my memory cards since you got me curious). 10 hours is a breeze for a story-driven game.

The way i see it, to have a good story, a videogame needs nearly ten times as much time to tell it as a novel, because the other 90% is spent with playing the game or reminding unattentive players what was happening. I read the grapes of wrath in 3 hours, and it was fantastic, so that a good game could take 35 hours seems pretty reasonable.

Also, i play very few games that don't offer either good strategy or good story. I hate all shmups i've ever played, sidescrollers too except sonic (and i guess flashback, it's sidescrolleresque), i don't even like mario or metroid.

another game that should be up there is Homeworld, which managed to have both strategy and storyline. The only real annoyance was the lack of terrain (it's in space afterall). Strategy suffers a bit when there's only formation, no plain of battle or obstacles. Everything is dogfight dogfight dogfight or "let's watch the frigate-line".

Does anybody but me like a good wargame?

Zero · « **Reply #42 on:** July 19, 2007, 02:55:39 am »

About gameplay time, I don't like how RPG's get so detailed and complex. You shouldn't have to make such a complicated game for 100 hours of gameplay. I prefer the simpler, addictive games. With most RPG's, once you're done once, you're done for good. But take for example, Super Smash Bros Melee. I just checked my stats and I've played about 425 hours of it. (I've had the game for about 6 years, so don't go yelling that I have no life.) The point is, simplicity is what keeps games fun. IMO anyway. Look at Pacman, that's been aound for over 25 years now.

On the original topic of the thread, now that it's summer I play video games about an hour a day. Usually it's not that much. But I spend much more time making games.

ndchristie · « **Reply #43 on:** July 19, 2007, 03:06:18 am »

but does anybody ever actually spend 100 hours to beat the game once? or even half that?

As for me, it really doesn't matter what the game is, once i beat it, i almost never go back more than once, unless it's a strategy game or a party game, so i'd rather get 30 hours out of a game than 2-5, knowing that unless it is stellar or doesn't allow you to save your progress (sonic, flashback) i probably only give it one go.

I played medieval the other day for a couple of hours, and Fil sent me a link to a flash game he did that was way too fast-moving for me. Like lv9 tetris but you had to build a staircase o.O. He say's it's easy ^^

Dusty · « **Reply #44 on:** July 19, 2007, 03:35:20 am »

Hmmm, RPG's. I never really got into FF7 like so many others--I haven't even beat it yet. I did enjoy FF8 though, even if I didn't beat it.
Only RPG's I've ever really got into were Kingdom Hearts, Dark Cloud 2, and FFX.
I have about 78 hours in DC2. I have a Island King+43... even though I hate that sword. I can not imagine what the hell was going through their heads when they designed it... out of all the cool designs, to make the strongest one so... ugh. Now I'm going through getting some of the cooler looking swords.
Hmm, FFX, I have an 84 hour file. I spent a lot of time after I beat the game getting the ultimate weapons, making my characters insanely strong and such. Though not to the degree people talk about on forums and stuff. I still can't beat a lot of the monsters in the Calm Arena.
And Kingdom Hearts... only 42 hours, but all level 100 characters(Sephiroth is still a pain in the ass to bear), and all the ultimate weapons.

I really do like the more action-oriented RPG's a lot(don't even get me started on Zelda!), but as for traditional RPG's... I dunno, some appeal and some don't. It seems pretty random for me. I've tried so many RPG's that get high ratings and I never get but a few hours into them and just forget about them. Even FF6 and such don't really do it for me. But I loved FF8 a lot, even though it's like the bane of all FF fans...

I agree about some games being too long. Games should give you your money's worth, but as what I wrote above shows, it should be in the extra's. All those hours I clocked in RPG's was after I beat the game. Let me beat the game and then I'll do stuff I like. Sometimes I'll beat the game, toss it aside and won't come back for a while, but when I do it's for the extra's. 100 hours to just beat a game? I'd get bored with it, especially since it's just beating the game, it's not anything extra, so won't be a lot of varying stuff, especially if it's an RPG.
...I'm pretty sure I have some insane hours on Mario Kart/SSBM/Timesplitters...

Zero · « **Reply #45 on:** July 19, 2007, 03:44:37 am »

Okay, so I exaggerated the 100 hours part, sorry. But my point remains.

ndchristie · « **Reply #46 on:** July 19, 2007, 03:56:41 am »

and yeah i guess i should say complete, not beat. 108 stars of destiny, best weapons, secret levels, etc, should still come in under 50 hours or it isn't worth it.

78 hours....are you just biding time now? Why not go kick the guy's ass! There's a whole massive final dungeon waiting for you afterwards. Like i said though, you can only use max, no monica. As a note: any game which removes half of its own features during the extended play is shooting itself in the foot, the face, and the testicles, with the same bullet. I barely scratched the surface of that final dungeon before not caring anymore.

And like i said, i pretty much only play games once in the same way that i only read good books once, although there are some, mostly short-stories or plays, that i reread all the time. "the chrysanthemums" is imo the best piece of literature i have ever read, and "death of a salesman" is always good no matter how many times i read it. Some movies too, like "the lion in winter" and "annie hall" and "casablanca" i watch over and again, but most i don't/can't. Some people like doing the same thing several times, but for me, unless it is beyond good, i just don't.

Dusty · « **Reply #47 on:** July 19, 2007, 04:08:17 am »

I beat Dark Cloud 2. I do all the extra stuff AFTER I beat my games. I'm in Zelmite Mines just leveling up weapons(I've beat that too). And you can use Monica after you get so far into the mines(not that far, I believe).

ndchristie · « **Reply #48 on:** July 19, 2007, 04:25:47 am »

oh really? perhaps then i should think about actually playing further, i sort of assumed that once gone, she was gone for good. still, those dungeons seem pretty boring to me, when the only thing you get is more outfits and ridepod bits.

we're OT now but i think that's allowed.

Darien · « **Reply #49 on:** July 19, 2007, 04:35:48 am »

Quote

7. Dreamweb

Dreamweb is one of those games I was talking about that I feel are worth my time, not just something as entertainment. I played it about a year ago and I was really surprised on how different it was from any other game I'd played in terms of atmosphere and moral ambiguity. I don't know how much of that reaction is just a result of my own ignorance about that era of Western gaming... back then I was only playing Japanese games, and hardly an adventure game. But it made enough of an impact on me that I consider it one of my favorites even though it may not be the best in terms of gameplay or puzzles.

Replay value and length to complete don't really enter into the equation for a good game for me, I think that so many games would be so much better if they were more compact. Sort of in writing how you are supposed to hack out everything that is unessential. Brevity grants you a sort of impact, I think, that you forsake when you are going for long play time (like in a short story). I know a lot of people see a 50 plus playtime and think of all the hard numbers entertainment, but I think that there's probably 25 hours I shouldn't be spending to get to the core of the game. I do see why people are concerned when they are shelling out 60 bucks for a game, though.

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Author Topic: Actual impact of Video Games (Read 12185 times)