Gaming isn't "Dumbing Down", it's Out of Time

[Dechef]

If you watch TV, you're not a gamer.

Oh look its a bull. and it appears to be defecating.

You're my hero now. If I had a quote of the day this would be it.

On topic, I agree, and that sucks because I have a lot of free time at the moment...
However I'm not so sure if this is just a thing of the present.
Remember those top down/side scroll shooters?

 

[Simriel]

If you watch TV, you're not a gamer.

Oh look its a bull. and it appears to be defecating.

You're my hero now. If I had a quote of the day this would be it.

On topic, I agree, and that sucks because I have a lot of free time at the moment...
However I'm not so sure if this is just a thing of the present.
Remember those top down/side scroll shooters?

Thanks for the support. I put a lot of thought into my sarcastic well worded comments.

 

[Woe Is You]

People like you are the only ones who really GET fighting games.

No, I also do. I get them all. Buy them, all, and understand them all.
They're really the best fun games can offer, and have the best replay value. You can play them infinitely different ways every time and are about strategy, intelligence, execution, reflexes, and mind games. What's not to like?

And the best thing? An average game lasts about a minute and a half. A whole set can last 15 minutes.

This is also why shmups are so nice. Games are short, no filler, all frantic action.

 

[BasicMojo]

Oh look its a bull. and it appears to be defecating.

Stealing this. I'll quote you on it, but I'm stealing it.

I play mostly RPG or RTS-style games, and I'm a full-time student with 20 credit hours on my plate this semester. I also have a good social life and participate in a fair share of extracurriculars. While I understand the appeal and sometime necessity of "speed gaming," I don't think that a round of Halo is always the answer, instead opting for a turn or two of GalCiv or a quick game of Craft, or the Star or War variety. This guy has a point though:

If you really want to find time, you can.

If a show you want to watch is on at nine, and you don't think you can play through a level of Little Big Planet in time to see it, you have other options than throwing in Resistance 2:

1. Read a book.
2. Get a string for your cat.
3. Cook some decent food to enjoy with your show. Most recipes I know don't take more than 20 minutes.
4. Call your girlfriend, if applicable.
5. Post on Escapist forums.

When I game, I want to make sure that it's a special occasion. I want to make sure that the event is something that I can sink my teeth into and really enjoy, even if it's only for half an hour at a time. Thus jumping into a deathmatch for no other reason than time constraint has very little appeal for me. If there's not enough time to sit down and enjoy a game, I can find something else to do until there is.

 

[Wargamer]

To address specifically the point of "Save anywhere", that does not particularly solve the problem.

I like entertainment in packets. If I'm watching Futurama, I want to watch the whole damn episode. If I'm playing 40K, I want to get the full six turns. If I'm out paint-balling, I want the full game.

I understand many games cannot be beaten in one sitting, but the point still stands; if I'm playing Zelda, I don't want to quit until I've cleared the Dungeon. If I'm playing Rome: Total War, then I want to play until I've wiped out Pontus. We can split our games into acceptable 'chunks' of entertainment.

Save Anywhere is undoubtedly handy, but it is not ideal. Once again, many of the games that really need that feature are the long, saga-driven epics like Final Fantasy; games that are actually hurt by people dropping out at the wrong moment.

One of the things I often like in the Final Fantasy games, and it appears in MGS4 as well, is the Save Prompt. It's an excellent tool. It's typically a blank screen, with a message that says "would you like to save?"

That's the clue you've just beaten a good chunk of the game (or sat through an hour of FMV), and there's another big chunk (of FMV) on the way. It's time to Save, go grab a drink, and step outside for the first time in eight days. These features help break the massive games into manageable chunks, as well as providing a catch-net for if you botch the next section of play... but even so, I find it disrupting.

There is something really, really satisfying about a massive RPG session; starting an arc of the story, following it, watching it build, build, build, then the climax, and the gentle afterglow as all that you've accomplished sinks in, and though there's still so much more to do, you can walk away from the game feeling you've really done something. Sex is like gaming; a quicky is satisfying, but the proper experience should take a few hours... and it is worlds apart in quality.

 

[Simriel]

Oh look its a bull. and it appears to be defecating.

Stealing this. I'll quote you on it, but I'm stealing it.

I play mostly RPG or RTS-style games, and I'm a full-time student with 20 credit hours on my plate this semester. I also have a good social life and participate in a fair share of extracurriculars. While I understand the appeal and sometime necessity of "speed gaming," I don't think that a round of Halo is always the answer, instead opting for a turn or two of GalCiv or a quick game of Craft, or the Star or War variety. This guy has a point though:

If you really want to find time, you can.

If a show you want to watch is on at nine, and you don't think you can play through a level of Little Big Planet in time to see it, you have other options than throwing in Resistance 2:

1. Read a book.
2. Get a string for your cat.
3. Cook some decent food to enjoy with your show. Most recipes I know don't take more than 20 minutes.
4. Call your girlfriend, if applicable.
5. Post on Escapist forums.

When I game, I want to make sure that it's a special occasion. I want to make sure that the event is something that I can sink my teeth into and really enjoy, even if it's only for half an hour at a time. Thus jumping into a deathmatch for no other reason than time constraint has very little appeal for me. If there's not enough time to sit down and enjoy a game, I can find something else to do until there is.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Feel free to use it. I do often.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

This is the one thing Valve don't seem to get with multiplayer games. Sometimes I don't want to play for 2 hours, sometimes I want to play for ten minutes. Its the main fault of TF2 and L4D.

If you watch TV, you're not a gamer.

Oh look its a bull. and it appears to be defecating.

I see no copy right. I may have to use this.

 

[Spleeni]

This is the one thing Valve don't seem to get with multiplayer games. Sometimes I don't want to play for 2 hours, sometimes I want to play for ten minutes. Its the main fault of TF2 and L4D.

Ah ah ah, you touched my Valve, now you get punished.

Or corrected.

Anyway, those two games are their own little breed...that are actually pretty well defined as TV episodes. L4D is quite like (and takes about) an hour long sitcom. You know the routine, and it doesn't differ quite that much from the last episode; but every time it's unique. Not to mention the social aspect of it, and you don't have to do it with your friends to have fun with the social aspect. It's downright frightening how many friendly people there are in L4D.

TF2 is much the conventional shooter, but even it has it's own time-slice. The average round of TF2 takes how much time? Half an hour? An hour? While it has some of the social aspect that L4D has, the gameplay is most definitely different every time...and by different I mean people pick different classes.

And by people, I mean about 10% of the team.

...
Okay, I kinda disagree with how TF2 was made, but it still has it's own niche.

 

[blunted]

People like you are the only ones who really GET fighting games.

This is totally true. This is also the reason I haven't finished Okami

 

[SomeBritishDude]

This is the one thing Valve don't seem to get with multiplayer games. Sometimes I don't want to play for 2 hours, sometimes I want to play for ten minutes. Its the main fault of TF2 and L4D.

Ah ah ah, you touched my Valve, now you get punished.

Or corrected.

[text]

I love TF2 and I like L4D.

But you can't play either of them in short doses. Thats the problem. The fact that they're great multiplayer experiences doesn't take away from that problem.