Poll: Worst game-lengthening scheme.
- Thread starter Aircross
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Interesting question. There's quite a bit of low tricks devs can pull to force more hours into their games. But after reading through your list, what instantly began to grind my gears just by the mere thought is: Unskippable Cutscenes.
But are unskippable cutscenes really the technically worst way to add more length to a game? After all, cutscenes... SOMETIMES, don't last too long. Whereas endless grinding can take hours.
In my eyes, I still think unskippable cutscenes are the worst because with endless grinding for example, you are still actually playing the goddamned game. Unlike with the cutscenes, that seems to throw the fact that it's a GAME out the window and says "Fuck you" while you sit there and watch.
But are unskippable cutscenes really the technically worst way to add more length to a game? After all, cutscenes... SOMETIMES, don't last too long. Whereas endless grinding can take hours.
In my eyes, I still think unskippable cutscenes are the worst because with endless grinding for example, you are still actually playing the goddamned game. Unlike with the cutscenes, that seems to throw the fact that it's a GAME out the window and says "Fuck you" while you sit there and watch.
You just had to pick the Power 4 of things that piss me off the most? Damn.
If there's one thing I that's gotta be the worst, it's gotta be the unskippable cutscenes.
Grinding, while it gets fucking painful at times, still counts for something. And it's at least got the game's gameplay behind it, which, depending on game & how well everything else is, can be a decent distraction for a bit.
Backtracking is a *****, but in some cases I'll find something I didn't see before or noticed or even bothered to check for. Or at the very least, give me some excuse to try a different path or approach. Or I can admire the scenery somewhat.
Fetch quests, as repetitive & grind-inducing as they are, still amount to something of gameplay, even it repeats itself like the hook of a Soulja Boy song.
But the unskippable cutscenes are flat out bad. In most cases, they're as boring as & if they're unskippable, longer than the Brooklyn Bridge. I don't like WATCHING; I like DOING, and I can't really enjoy things if I have to watch boring ass bullshit. All three options above at least had GAMEPLAY to their credit; this option DOESN'T.
If there's one thing I that's gotta be the worst, it's gotta be the unskippable cutscenes.
Grinding, while it gets fucking painful at times, still counts for something. And it's at least got the game's gameplay behind it, which, depending on game & how well everything else is, can be a decent distraction for a bit.
Backtracking is a *****, but in some cases I'll find something I didn't see before or noticed or even bothered to check for. Or at the very least, give me some excuse to try a different path or approach. Or I can admire the scenery somewhat.
Fetch quests, as repetitive & grind-inducing as they are, still amount to something of gameplay, even it repeats itself like the hook of a Soulja Boy song.
But the unskippable cutscenes are flat out bad. In most cases, they're as boring as & if they're unskippable, longer than the Brooklyn Bridge. I don't like WATCHING; I like DOING, and I can't really enjoy things if I have to watch boring ass bullshit. All three options above at least had GAMEPLAY to their credit; this option DOESN'T.
Generic side quests.
Mass Effect and Oblivion are two of the worst offenders I can think of, with filler quests that are clearly exactly that since they are so superficial in contrast to the main storyline. I stopped doing ME's side quests once I realised that just about every one of them would involve nothing more than driving around a generic planet for a bit, then entering a generic base to shoot some generic enemies.
The mission complete text boxes didn't help either. I play MMOs, so I've got no inherent objection to quest text, but when a game that tells its story entirely through fully voiced cut scenes starts throwing quest text at you they might as well just say "y'know what, we couldn't be arsed finishing this bit properly..."
Mass Effect and Oblivion are two of the worst offenders I can think of, with filler quests that are clearly exactly that since they are so superficial in contrast to the main storyline. I stopped doing ME's side quests once I realised that just about every one of them would involve nothing more than driving around a generic planet for a bit, then entering a generic base to shoot some generic enemies.
The mission complete text boxes didn't help either. I play MMOs, so I've got no inherent objection to quest text, but when a game that tells its story entirely through fully voiced cut scenes starts throwing quest text at you they might as well just say "y'know what, we couldn't be arsed finishing this bit properly..."
Another one for you, though admitedly not as bad as some of the ones above: Travel Time. There are two types of this I can see. You've got your Red Dead Redemption/Farcry 2 hike to the other end of the map style. Hope you enjoy staring at a horses arse/car in half hour stretches. Then you've got your Dragon Age: Origins/Skyrim style town fuckery, where you spend up to a third of playtime walking back and forth between shops trying to sell inventory.
Grinding, grinding and more grinding!
"Here's a boss! He can wipe you out with this one move he'll use about 6-7 times during the fight. No you can't dodge it. No there's no way to guard it. Whats' that? Not a high enough level? Thats ok, you can GRIND! Kill around 3547 of these birds/goblins/etc until you're strong enough to survive. You'll find 3-4 of them a time. The fight will last at least 1 minute. It'll take you another minute to find more enemies to keep on grinding. Have a nice few days!"
"Golly gee! Im oh so entertained by this repetitiveness! Why didn't they make this part of the trailer!?"
"Here's a boss! He can wipe you out with this one move he'll use about 6-7 times during the fight. No you can't dodge it. No there's no way to guard it. Whats' that? Not a high enough level? Thats ok, you can GRIND! Kill around 3547 of these birds/goblins/etc until you're strong enough to survive. You'll find 3-4 of them a time. The fight will last at least 1 minute. It'll take you another minute to find more enemies to keep on grinding. Have a nice few days!"
"Golly gee! Im oh so entertained by this repetitiveness! Why didn't they make this part of the trailer!?"
Grinding. Backtracking can be pretty bad sometimes but it can be done in a way that is enjoyable when effort is put in to making it. Making you grind in a game takes no effort at all from a developer. All they do is make your next enemy have a higher level than it should. So you are left doing the same monotonous thing in the same place for God knows how long for comparatively little reward. At least if you backtrack you are doing it for some kind of shiny thing you couldn't get before, or for story reasons. With grinding it does nothing but destroys the experience of the game. It brings the story to a halt and ruins the mood of the game up to that point. And the worst thing is that it usually comes up in games which already have the most dull and tedious battle systems anyway. I can't stand grinding in games. It's a relic of out-dated game design which is lazy, unnecessary and can completely destroy an otherwise good game. It needs to stop now.
Can you define how a game makes you grind? Do you mean, like, endless "kill X monsters" quests?
Anyway, I chose cutscenes because, as mentioned, if I keep having to rewatch it over and over again it makes me rage.
That said, fetch quests are a close second. I don't mind fetch quests that are like "there's a sword of uber bad assery in the dungeon. Bring it to me so I can enchant it for you." No, that's cool. I hate the Fable shit. "bring this stupid fucking letter to this retard" followed by "bring my reply back to that ass fucker". Fuck you, fuckers. Use the post. *rage subsiding*
Anyway, I chose cutscenes because, as mentioned, if I keep having to rewatch it over and over again it makes me rage.
That said, fetch quests are a close second. I don't mind fetch quests that are like "there's a sword of uber bad assery in the dungeon. Bring it to me so I can enchant it for you." No, that's cool. I hate the Fable shit. "bring this stupid fucking letter to this retard" followed by "bring my reply back to that ass fucker". Fuck you, fuckers. Use the post. *rage subsiding*
I remember playing WOW when I got cataclysm for christmas when it came out and I just got pissed off because of the fetch quests, my god they take forever to do!!! I'm not ungrateful but damn it did annoy the hell out of me
So I played (not so religiously) for 3 months, got to level 54 (I think) and then cast it to the abyss after I got bored of fetching x amount of things from enemy y that dropped it about 20% of the time.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
So I played (not so religiously) for 3 months, got to level 54 (I think) and then cast it to the abyss after I got bored of fetching x amount of things from enemy y that dropped it about 20% of the time.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
ALL OF THEM. I voted fetch quests, but all of them are equally bad.
I want to add that certain genres don't have that kind of stuff though, so I will add some genre-specific ones.
Driving games: Reverse courses (or special cups in mario kart)
Arcade action games: Boss rushes (megaman is a good example IMO)
General: Revisiting levels to find something differently (think green stars in super mario galaxy 2)
These are just examples, and most of them are really extra things. The one in the poll is basically the worst of them anyways.
I want to add that certain genres don't have that kind of stuff though, so I will add some genre-specific ones.
Driving games: Reverse courses (or special cups in mario kart)
Arcade action games: Boss rushes (megaman is a good example IMO)
General: Revisiting levels to find something differently (think green stars in super mario galaxy 2)
These are just examples, and most of them are really extra things. The one in the poll is basically the worst of them anyways.
Unskippable cutscenes are only awful when they are badly placed, which could result in you having to watch them multiple times due to a boss fight or whatever. Backtracking can be tiresome, but not as bad as the other two.
Grinding is often unnecessary yet can be annoying when it's forced upon you, but I'm still going to have to go with shitty sidequests. I can get through a day of grinding and the amount of grinding necessary usually isn't even that much, but it's not the same with horrible sidequests...
Which is why I eventually skipped all of the sidequests in skyrim and just finished the main quest. Because most sidequests in this game are FUCKING. AWFUL.
Grinding is often unnecessary yet can be annoying when it's forced upon you, but I'm still going to have to go with shitty sidequests. I can get through a day of grinding and the amount of grinding necessary usually isn't even that much, but it's not the same with horrible sidequests...
Which is why I eventually skipped all of the sidequests in skyrim and just finished the main quest. Because most sidequests in this game are FUCKING. AWFUL.
Unskippable Cutscenes
I like to watch cutscenes.... I do!... The first time I play a game, but when I'm on my fifth or sixth playthrough I wanna skip that boring conversation and shoot/stab/blow up or whatever I'm supposed to be doing!
I like to watch cutscenes.... I do!... The first time I play a game, but when I'm on my fifth or sixth playthrough I wanna skip that boring conversation and shoot/stab/blow up or whatever I'm supposed to be doing!