Greetings all. This is my first blog post but i wont elaborate on that fact because it always comes across so cheesy.
Anyway, i invited you all here today to talk about what i consider a very important element of a good game. That would be the want to play it. Yes, obviously theres a want to play a game but perhaps my explanation would benefit from an example.
I recently picked up the long awaited Final Fantasy XIII.
I had high expectations, just like everyone else, for the game. I popped in the disc and i watched cool cutscenes.
I ran across lovely while linear HD environments. i took the only deviating paths to the floating treasure spears. I grinded levels, summoned eidolons and synthesized weapons.
And i might add that initially it was enjoyable.
But there were things about the game that really irritated me. I found the combat, for lack of a better word, boring. I thought that very few fights were optional later in the game seeing as to how everything could just catch you and attack. I found the design choice to include enemies in cramped halls that you must repeatedly traverse very poor. Many times i felt there was nothing to do but run amock veiwing the scenery(lame).The gil and exp farming did a number on my nerves. And when i finally reached the open world chapter, i was as lost as roger ebert at a gaming convention.
Everyone knows that if you like a game, you accept its flaws and continue to enjoy the game. But one fateful day, a stray thought changed everything. I had not played the game for between one and two weeks. I didn't particularly want to but more so felt i should play it. The train of thought went something like this:
"Man, it's been a while since i played FF. I really NEED to play that, i mean i did spend sixty hard earned bucks on it."
So i had got up and went to put the game in when it hit me.
I did not WANT to play final fantasy, but felt as though i needed to in order to validate my purchase.
That feeling is the topic of this post.
Should i have played it then, it would not have been for entertainment or enjoyment purposes, but because i felt obligated to it.
I'm here to inform my fellow gamers that this feeling is simply unacceptable.
Video games as we know them by there very nature, are to provide fun, happiness, and be something you look forward to. Not a daunting that sits in the back of your mind, taunting you, reminding you that you wasted your money on it.
I haven't played the game since.
I actually took it in last week, and combined with a coupon gamestop emailed me, the game was worth 32 bucks, nearly half what i paid.
I put it towards my copy of Super street fighter, which i must say is pretty good.
The moral of the story is this: If you ever feel as though you are playing the game because you have to, or it begins to feel daunting, put it down. That wasn't the developers intent.
Count your losses and take it in, put it towards something your fairly certain you'll enjoy.(IE, super street fighter 4)
Play games that you enjoy, games that you love, that you'd play nonstop if you had the option. Your not doing yourself or the industry any favors by playing because you feel obligated.
Now if you really like a game, the achievements/trophies may become a kind of chore(like the warrior and voyeur achievements from blazeblue did this past weekend) but thats ok since you love the game and are working towards a milestone you can take pride in. Also, because you enjoy the game, those achievements only work to further an already positive experience.
Play what you love and NOTHING less. thanks for the time, see you at my next post.
One of my personal favorite cutscenes.
I initially enjoyed the combat, but once the newness wore off and the repetitiveness sunk in, my taste for it waned. Don't hate me for this, but i spent the majority of combat time mashing X.
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I felt the same way on some games. FF13, what little I played, was like work. If i am going to work, I need more of a reward then just some digitized trophy.
but even then fetting the platinum felt like a chore. I don't think any game should have players platinum during grinding. It should be timed with some epic moment in the game, I.e. Felling some massive UNIQUE Beast
Excellent Blog Post my friend. I enjoyed it and you brought up great points. I am a huge FF fan and I've also felt some of these same feelings with the latest installment. I still get a lot of fun out of it personally, but I can absolutely see how it might turn out this way for me down the line.
In the end you bring up a very startling realization and good point that sometimes games become something like a homework assignment. I think partly this comes from history with a franchise. We feel like we HAVE to get the latest Call of Duty even though its the same game over and over again. Great stuff, keep up the good work.
I'm very much a "first hour" gamer. Hook me or it's over. Most importantly, show me exactly why I should play during the tutorial. Don't give me story to compel me... I just don't care about story... but show me why the mechanics are compelling. If it takes hours and hours to explain even the most simple depths of the gameplay... like FF13, I'm gone. Shadowrun is a great example. They give you the entire tech, magic, and race matrix during the six-round tutorial. You learn exactly what's so compelling by the end of the first round.
@ Hitman
Yes, that makes sense.Kinda like a friend of mind went out and snatched up resident evil 5 cuz he loved 4 so much and found himself sadly disappointed. There is only reason to play a game, and that reason is fun. Thanks for reading!!
@edgeofblade
Thats a good theory blade. either im hooked or i'm not, though one hour might be just a bit short in my opinion. This furthers the idea that ALL games should have some sort of playable demo. I havent tried shadowrun but i have heard it was underrated, plus its cheap so i might give it a shot. Thanks for reading!