Poll: Understanding Games...

[Akas]

This is a question that I've often wondered concerning games and the general populace. There are three ways that one can fail to understand games: language/translation, gameplay concepts, and story/terms.

The first is of course, a no-brainer. The language that the game is in is different from the one you speak (mainly the case with English and Japanese).

The 2nd sometimes requires a bit more explanation. Usually this is coupled with #1, but other times it's part of a strategy or RPG game (well, it was before the advent of gamefaqs). For example, understanding which pre-reqs are needed for jobs (FFT, Ogre Battle), or alchemy systems (Witcher, Morrowind). There are probably better examples, but I can't think of any right off the top of the head. Sometimes concepts aren't vital to completing a game, sometimes they are.

The 3rd is another thing that could be coupled with #1, but could also stand on it's own. Story-telling that either makes no sense (RE? I guess) or is so convoluted that it loses most people (Front Mission 3, Chrono Cross (sorta)).

What would cause you to not play these games?

 

[Knight Templar]

If i can't understand the words, then game-play story and all the fun thigs are out the window. If a game's story is just crazy, then i've got a new way to make jokes.

 

[PurpleRain]

If it's in a different launguage then what's the point of playing it? How do you know what you're doing? You would be drifting in oblivion. No point in playing a game if you have no idea what's going on. And as for the story one, did Geometry Wars have a story? It was still so much fun.

 

[Saskwach]

Only language walls would stop me from playing a game. Incomprehensible story has never stopped me. Hell most "barely there" stories I don't pay attention to anyway. Apparently Gears of War was about putting some vibrator down a dark tunnel and turning it on?

 

[Dectilon]

I'm not that bothered by language walls unless it's an rpg or something... although that's not completely true, I've played an untranslated japanese tactical rpg : P

But in general, games like fighters, space shooters etc don't have much of a story and don't need much explanation.

 

[Blayze]

I once tried to play a German version of Discworld. I gave up in minutes.

Then again, I once played a Japanese version of one of those Naruto GBA games. I didn't know what anything meant, but I still managed to complete the game by typing up a "What does what" list in Notepad for the menu options.

It was a pointless affair, but I did it anyway.

 

[Cooper42]

Surely it depends on the nature of the story to the game?

I'd happily play Japanese, Korean or other language shmup or fighter, where the story hardly matters - but I'm not gonna pick-up an untranslated jRPG.

Sometimes, though, the language makes a real difference in the context of the story. I much prefer STALKER with the Russian-speaking mod.

 

[LordOmnit]

Without any way of understanding (linguistically) in-game directions or dialouge I would not play the game. Period. It would be pointless I think. Another period.
With something that requires prior knowledge, depends:
Witcher-style- I'm not going to say that I have played or attempted to play the game, so just using what people have said about it (being that I'd need to go through a Witcher undergrad degree to fully understand it) I'd say no.
Tactical games- I'll admit it. I did not know how to place more than one unit at first in FFT and was confused by the battle system, but it was intuitive enough that those sorts of things worked themselves out.
Finally for things with convoluted plots...
Sign me up for Chrono Cross with a intrinsically complex plot and lock up things like FF7 that were strictly complicated due to the characters the plot revolved around being liars and having *shitty* memories as opposed to being amnesiacs.
Although I feel the need to play Hola now...

 

[LordOmnit]

Well, I should qualify that first statement by saying that if it is something fairly direct like Half-Life games (as far as I have played (i.e.- not Episode 2)) wherein it is easy enough to figure out you went in the wrong direction by yourself in about twenty seconds it wouldn't be so bad. I'd still feel that not knowing the story would make it significantly less enjoyable, but if I was just in there to do whatever the gameplay is, then I could kill time with it as a casual game.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Exception of the 2nd option, My opionion relies on the extent of the other 3 options. I'd play a game as long as it's fun unless the game concepts or story were absoloutly atrocious. I played Sly 3: I thought the gameplay elements were as good as pure gold: the story only "Do A three times to be allowed to do B six times. Then you can kill C to go on to D. Obstacle course. Now kill E four times." The Obstacle course part was the best, but the dialouge sounds as if the game was directed at a 6 year-old.

 

[dislea]

I think an understanding of what the game is about is important, if that understanding can only be obtained through dialogue or text then you'll obviously need it in your native language! Games like Ouendan and Taiko no Tatsujin can be enjoyed in any language, although the game has some story it's all about the gameplay! Infact I think Ouendan was better than Elite Beat Agents!

 

[raankh]

I've played games like Puyo Puyo in Japanese. Didn't make much of a difference, although it took awhile to understand the menus.

I also tried playing Soul Calibur 2 in Japanese, and that was alright until you tried single-player mode to unlock characters. Rather difficult understanding the rules of the special battles. Even so, it was certainly playable and although it took awhile to figure stuff out, it worked out fine.

Anything centered around a story-line though, nope, I'd have to understand it to play it.

 

[Katana314]

The first two I'd be confused about. But I played through all of UT3's campaign mode, had no clue what was going on, and still found it ok.

 

[Fire Daemon]

No I don't like playing games i don't understand. Good games I feel take you into the role of the hero (or villian) and make you play out events from their life. But a game that is in french or japenese or whatever language you can poke a stick at ruins that by me having no idea who I'm playing as and what I doing.

Don't get me started on how frustrating failing a game because you have no idea what you supposed to do because every instruction is in german can be.

 

[FoolKiller]

I don't think any of the three, in general, is a deterrent.

Clearly, each of them have times where the game would become utterly frustrating and would not be worth the effort. The language barrier wouldn't be that bad during a racing game or fighting game, but a text-heavy game such as an RPG would be practically useless in another language.

The concept issue may be problematic to go through although some of the stories in RPGs are worth the effort even if you don't really learn the intracacies of the combat system.

As for the incomprehensible story, that would not necessarily affect some games. Beat'em ups and shooters don't really need an understandable story to enjoy the gameplay. Even survival horror can be fun and scary even if you don't know what is going on. I had to play through each Silent Hill game more than once to figure out what on earth was going on. Even now I am clearly too dumb to know.

So I guess after all that I think that it doesn't matter as long as it is fun. Because that is what gaming is all about=)

 

[Break]

As long as I can get some kind of fun out of a game, I don't really care about much else. If the plot has all the literary quality of a shiny silver turd garnished with tarragon, but the actual game is good, then hooray. If it's intuitive/generic enough that you can figure out what you have to do, even though the instructions are in Korean, then great. Hell, I still had fun smashing people with a huge, spiky barrel on a stick in Soul Calibre 2, even though I have no interest whatsoever in timing my attacks properly, learning button combinations, or guarding. Ultimately, it's a game; if it can entertain me in some way, then it's succeeded at it's job.