Yakoob on 20/9/2012 at 21:58
Quote Posted by Muzman
The personal theory is that after enough years in the game, journos don't want difficult, long and involved games any more. Particularly triple A sorts. They've got too many to get through in a week.
Frankly, it's not just journalism, I actually started to notice that change in myself too. Somehow I'm increasingly less able to "loose" myself in a game world for hours on end, partially because of time, real life events and, frankly, gamer fatigue.
what do I mean gamer fatigue? After you've played an 'escpae prison scenario' 50 times, yet another one doesn't feel as exciting anymore, and I'm kind of thinking "ok I get the gist, let's move on now."
This doesn't mean I don't want to be challenged or made to think (like with the ridiculous "guard told me no, so I didn't do anything" example), but it does mean I've been increasingly prefering games that deliver the punch-line (so to speak) faster and more directly.
Another good example is getting "stuck" in a game. You know the good old RPG / Adventure games where you'd spend 2 hours running back and forth talking to people you already talked to, or clicking every item combination possible, until you finally stumbled upon the right one that progresses the story. If I already tried everything I can think of, I'm much more apt to just look up a walkthrough at that point than waste 2 hours running back and forth like a tard.
Muzman on 20/9/2012 at 23:31
I think that's absolutely true too. But I'd reckon that journos get there slightly faster, what with it being work.
At least in the old days da yoof were the ones who wanted games to shoot for the moon (well, at least a little rather than almost not at all). Maybe they still do just enough. I hope so anyway.
Jason Moyer on 20/9/2012 at 23:39
I can lose myself in an immersive sim for hours and it's ok. I played Operation Flashpoint Resistance (which I'd group with immersive sims, despite not sharing superficial/aesthetic aspects with the LGS games - it has the open/simulated world and unlimited ways to complete objectives) finally, despite having it for 10 years, and I was sad when the campaign ended even though it was hard to commit myself to initially playing it. A good RPG, whether it's the Black Isle/Obsdian model, the Elder Scrolls model, the Bioware model, or the Torchlight/Titan Quest/refusing-to-credit-Diablo model can hold me captive for hundreds of hours. A good racing simulator, one that rewards skill and practice even if it's not ultra hardcore, I can play those forever.
On the other hand, a scripted shooter that's longer than 10 hours? Good fucking luck, pal. A strategy game that takes 50-100 hours to finish? Yeah, no.
Vae on 21/9/2012 at 00:28
Quote Posted by Muzman
At least in the old days da yoof were the ones who wanted games to shoot for the moon...
Well, I ain't no spring chicken anymore, but I still say shoot for the moon...hell, why not Alpha Centauri.
Yakoob on 21/9/2012 at 04:29
OH GOD Alpha Centauri, or Civ for that matter. It's frikking crack. One more turn, one more turn...
EDIT YOU BASTARD. My mouse is hovering over the installer now. I need to wake up at 6am tomorrow. LOOK WHAT YOUVE DONE
Vae on 21/9/2012 at 07:23
Quote Posted by Yakoob
OH GOD Alpha Centauri, or Civ for that matter. It's frikking crack. One more turn, one more turn...
:laff:...I've been there...
and I mean deep in there.
Quote:
EDIT YOU BASTARD. My mouse is hovering over the installer now. I need to wake up at 6am tomorrow. LOOK WHAT YOUVE DONE
Well, think of it as a serendipitous treat, regardless of sleep...and let your soul fly free the way it's meant to be...:angel:
SubJeff on 21/9/2012 at 09:45
Well this is idiotic nonsense of the highest order. I'm unsurprised though given the climate. I do have to ask who these playtesters were though and why they weren't just taken aside and talked to? Talking to people about simple things can often reveal hidden idiocy and in that case good grounds for removal from the playtesting program. You don't get illiterates to proof read, innumerates to check the books or idiots to playtest games that are made with puzzles and such in mind.
I'll still get it because I'm an optimist. I'm prepared for the worst now and by that I mean Bioshock all over again.
As to Alpha Centauri; I still think this is one of the greatest games even and I wish it would get a HD remake. Same mechanics, just a gfx overhaul so I play it on a big widescreen monitor (or 2).
faetal on 21/9/2012 at 10:43
Alpha Centauri 2 is so high on my "games yet to be announced" wishlist, that if you stood my wishlist on its end, the game would be in spitting distance of its namesake.
I wonder if the act of play-testing itself creates a bias towards making games simpler. In the sense that perhaps the play-testers aren't brain-dead morons - perhaps they just become less patient and forgiving at some stage of the play-testing process. Sure some of them may be morons, but I do wonder if it is some kind of participant effect.
demagogue on 21/9/2012 at 11:34
Alpha Centauri had a kind of sequel made, the alien invasion one where the original inhabitants of the world come back. But it still doesn't diminish how cool it would be to have a full on high def remake now. Civilization thrived very well in each of its new iterations, so I don't doubt AC could be well made today too.
faetal on 21/9/2012 at 12:39
Alien Crossfire was more of an add-on. A few modified rules and a few extra factions. Not really a sequel.
