Poll: What does it take to get you hyped for a game?

[Zhukov]

A slick CGI/cinematic trailer will get me interested.

A healthy chunk of continuous gameplay, like 10-15 mins, will get me excited.

For example, with The Last of Us, this got the game on my radar, got me interested:


While this made the game a definite full-price buy:

 

[happyninja42]

Cinematic trailer, though I add the caveat of "GOOD" cinematic trailer. I don't get super hyped for anything game related anymore. I will be optimistic, and looking forward to it, but I don't lose my shit and froth at the mouth for games anymore.

That being said, a good cinematic trailer, with good animation, and driving music, will be the one thing that pretty much gets my blood pumping for a short period of time.

The Deus Ex trailers, both Human Revolution, and Mankind Divided are examples of this for me. The level of perfect blend of imagery and music (from a guy that I really love musically, seriously Michael McCann is just awesome), in those trailers definitely gets me psyched. Though, to be fair, I am more psyched for Mankind Divided, because I have the quality of Human Revolution to build my hype off of. I was not as hyped for Human Revolution before it came out. I thought the trailers were very good at trying to establish the tone of the world setting, and they did that brilliantly. But the game itself could've been shit. It wasn't at all in my opinion, and was a game that I loved to death. So seeing the next trailer for Mankind Divided really got my psyched for more the same goodness of HR.

But I'm still patient, and more than happy to wait. I'm not prowling the web, looking for every piece of news about the game that I can find, but I've never been that kind of guy anyway.

Damn, all this talk about Mankind Divided makes me want to go listen to the song again. Seriously, Michael McCann is awesome.

 

[Arshaq13]

I can't seem to find myself as anything but cynical when I see a gameplay trailer nowadays.
So yeah, playable demo it is for me.

Nothing has influenced my gaming purchases with such magnitude like those demo discs you would get in the PS1 days.

 

[Nazulu]

It's usually a game play trailer, and it has to be showing something that's actually worth a damn to get me hyped now.

 

[kasperbbs]

Gameplay trailers, but i don't trust them anymore since i got burned with Watch dogs and Colonial marines. I suppose it's mostly brand recognition now and a combination of various info that i find while browsing the net.

 

[Remus]

Depends on the game. If it's a part of a series that I enjoy, gameplay trailer, or even just the name with a number or sub-title beneath it. Like, oh say, HALF LIFE......wait for it......3. BWOOOONG Giant Tri-pod alien turret wrecks game title with a laser blast.

But if it's a completely new IP or re-envisioning of an old title, gameplay footage and a beta key. I'm great at testing fresh products, and in-game items just for beta users are a nice purchase bonus after all.

 

[SFMB]

I've noticed that when I got hyped about a game (or anything else, for that matter), buying it right at the release was a huge letdown. That's why I don't get hyped anymore. Some franchises are fun, but I do not wait for their sequels. It's nice if it happens, but even then I'm waiting for reviews and real gameplay before even considering purchase from a sale.
I suggest you guys do the same.
And never, ever buy an early-access.

 

[babinro]

Voted Screenshots/Previews as the closest to suit me.

The specific answer is actually these two things:
1) Name brand
2) Media Coverage

Name brand means a LOT to me as much as I hate to admit it. If you tell me Blizzard is coming out with Warcraft 4 (as an RTS) then I'm instantly on board and hyped. I don't need a screenshot, gameplay or anything. Name alone and confirmation that it's the same genre as those before it. Done. TONS of brand name games will sell me on the sheer value of their prior installments. I'm instantly hyped and am eager to learn more.

Media Coverage is what hooks me for new IP's and Indie games. I probably won't read your IGN/Escapist article but if I hear them talking about Defense Grid 2 being awesome on the Podcast then I'll start to get hyped. I got hyped for Shovel Knight because of Caddicarus, Continue, The Completionist, ProJared and the like. Not because I was sold on yet another NES/SNES inspired platformer.

 

[CaitSeith]

I check playable demo, because that's what has sold me most games; but in reality it depends on the game itself. I got hyped by ZombiU when it was revealed as initial release, and the video showed the intended gameplay (some wasn't implemented, but really, shaking the gamepad to shake a zombie off was kinda of a bad idea). And although I didn't it buy in day one (hype was transformed in high hopes-low expectations), when I saw the Wii U + ZombiU bundle, I went into "SHUT AND TAKE MY MONEY!" mode right there. At the end of the day, ZombiU is much better than most of the Wii library, and that's good enough for me.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I know I shouldn't, but concept art tends to be enough for me. Just looking at the concept art of Guild Wars 2 built most of my hype. Then I played the game and realized that the game looks just about nothing like the art, which would have been fine if I didn't dislike the game either.

One day I'll smarten up and not be smitten by the pretty concept art, and with any luck that day will be--

Spoiler

Damn.

 

[Xeros]

Gameplay trailers by far. If they showcase mechanics and ideas that are just my cup of tea, I'll salivate over a game until it's released, and well after if it's actually awesome. Though the trailer can also get me far too hyped leading to massive disappointment if the game is crap, or just kind of "meh". Borderlands didn't disappoint; Watch_Dogs dropped a boulder on my face. No Man's Sky is currently soaked to the bone with drool, and I'm on my hands and knees begging for it to be as awesome as it looks.

 

[Phasmal]

It kinda depends.

I love character creators, so if a character creator leaks- I'm all about them hair options.
A good trailer gets me hyped too, I loved the Bloodborne and Dragon Age: Inquisition ones.

I don't get too hyped any more, and I always am prepared for the game to be secretly shit, isn't that sad.

 

[Riot3000]

For me right now it is gameplay footage and a playable demo or build and not that endless free 2 play beta nonsense but a demo.

I remember playing the Dragons Dogma demo and I have loved that series since. And Square has been taking feedback from the FF XV demo which gives me hopes for that game being even better.

Now the others ones can get me hyped depending on factors but those two I would put first on the list.

It kinda depends.

I love character creators, so if a character creator leaks- I'm all about them hair options.
A good trailer gets me hyped too, I loved the Bloodborne and Dragon Age: Inquisition ones.

I don't get too hyped any more, and I always am prepared for the game to be secretly shit, isn't that sad.

Not if too the extreme.

I was hyped for Batman Arkham Night but all that WB shenagins dropped it low. A little bit of weariness is healthy with how a lot of games have been over delivering at times.

 

[snekadid]

Mechanics, pure and simple. If theres a talent tree, SHOW IT TO ME. if theres different types of skills that go beyond basic crap, explain it to me. I get super excited about customization and planning out concepts. Because my gameplay style is all about the journey and not the goal, I love when theres tons of possibilities.

 

[go-10]

a mix of cinematics with gameplay and most importantly amazing music is usually all it takes for me

 

[Kae]

None of those things, if I'm honest the only thing that gets me hyped anymore is the Devs, there are some that I follow, for example whatever Supergiant is making after Transistor and Bastion, I'm on board, it doesn't matter what it is, Obsidian more specifically Chris Avellone, I'm probably in as well, Remedy, pretty much all they do is gold for me by which I mean Max Payne 1 & 2 and Alan Wake and American Nightmare proven by the fact that Max Payne 3 is shit, they have such a great meta-satire vibe while also feeling so honestly like the thing they are satirizing that I can't help but love their stuff, I mean I've looked at 0 pictures and seen 0 videos of Quantum Break but I'm 100% on board.

So anyway it's pretty much that, also whatever Deep Silver Dambuster Studios is making, I'm on board of that which you may say "Those guys have done nothing, I don't think I've ever seen a game by them!" and I say well yeah but they were Crytek UK before and before that Free Radical and before that Rareware, so yeah I'm hyped for whatever it is they're making.

Anyway there's that, other than that until after the game is released hearing what the critics say about them can actually get me hyped but it's pretty rare for me to be hyped by a new game.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Depends whether it's a new IP or part of a franchise. If it's part of a franchise that I like then it takes significantly less to get me hyped, because while there have been plenty of shitty instalments in various franchises, it's generally safer to make assumptions based on previous instalments. For a new IP, it tends to take quite a bit, due to having virtually no trust in the industry and it's hype factory at this point.

 

[Cryselle]

It's mostly developer pedigree for me. There are just too much information that comes out before games and is just downright deceptive nowadays for me to truly get my hopes up no matter how pretty the art is and how cool the concept is. Devs or IPs with a proven track record of producing games/content I like will get me on board, but otherwise I need to see something real. This is why I find first impressions videos like the ones TB makes to be a valuable part of my gaming purchasing. I don't always agree with the guy, but he shows me the real game and I can judge for myself at that point.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

The industry has done a pretty good job of hammering cynical nails into my hope-wood.

That came out wrong.

Point being, I now subscribe to the idea of completely limiting my expectations for titles so I'll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't suck and justified in my smug dismissal if it's terrible.

In other words, release the god damn game already.