"I realised I don’t play games for the challenge. I
don’t need or want to be punished by a game for making mistakes. I play
games for what Ron Gilbert calls "new art". I play to see the next
level or cool animation. I don’t play games to beat them I play games
to see them. Coming to that realisation was actually sort of important
for me."
– Gabe, at Penny Arcade
(Quoted
because this is exactly why I play games, too. This is similar to why I
love Rock Band so much: it lets me immerse myself in the fantasy that
I’m a rocker the same way sandbox games let me immerse myself in the
fantasy of the game’s world. It also explains why I vehemently hate
fighting games.)
Word.
-or-
I am intrigued by your new ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
I also got a shock of recognition when I read that. It explained so much.
100% with you on this one, Wil. I play games because games are fun. I really couldn’t care less about being good at games, which explains why I’m not. I’ve been playing video games in one form or another for nearly 25 years and I still suck.
David Jaffe has a post on his blog that expresses a similar opinion. Though he’s prematurely ranting about Ratchet and Clank, the general thought still rings true. A sample quote:
“FROM START TO FINISH, with NO deviation from this, games need to be hard enough to be engaging but easy enough so they don’t get frustrating.”
Here’s the full entry.
http://criminalcrackdown.blogspot.com/2007/11/aaaaaaaaannnnnnnndddddd-scene.html
this post sums up EXACTLY why I don’t feel bad when I enable God mode so that I can play through Half-Life 2 or other games that I really enjoy. The thing that originally attracted me to Half-Life 2 was the story. As a rule, I hate FPS games. But I enjoy the story of HL2 and treat it like an “interactive movie.” I enable God mode and then just play along.
I thought the same thing when I Gabe posted that. Just because I like the video game, doesn’t mean I am any good at it. 🙂
I like easy games…I don’t want to be very challenged, I just want to enjoy the story and the fantasy world. I love the action RPGs like X-Men Legends, and Ratchet & Clank games are great too. I always felt like a geek loser because of my attitude toward games, but I feel a bit better now!
Me too! People give me a hard time for using cheat codes when I get stuck in a game… but it’s not about me actually beating it as much as it is about me getting through to see what happens next. 🙂
I totally agree. I play to see the next level and see the art and I like the story aspect of games. I also hate to be frustrated by a game. I play to relax and hang out. RPG’s are good for this. I’m working through Final Fantasy (again) right now. 🙂
Oh yeah, tabbyfoo, I totaly use walkthroughs and cheats when I get stuck. I don’t need to finish it myself sometimes.
Thanks Wil. I never though of myself as a gamer, because I fall pretty much into this category as well. I figured that excluded me, and it’s nice to know that “cheating” or looking up hints to be able to continue on does not necessarily relegate me to the status of low-class game player. 🙂
Wait a second. Let me clear something up here: I don’t cheat, I don’t use walkthroughs. Back in the Infocom days, I didn’t even like to use the invisiclues&suptm;.
What I got from Gabe’s post, and what I was trying to convey, is that I play games to experience the game, not to beat the game or another player.
I play games the way they were intended to be played because I know designers and writers put a lot of thought and effort (usually. There are obvious exceptions) into making the games challenging while still being fun.
This is why I like Portal so fucking much, and why it’s my favorite game of the year.
Very true. I’m the same with movies. Beowolf is a perfect example. I didn’t particularly need to see it in theatres, but the animation was stunning. The modeling was stunning.
I mean, you could see facial hair (and I don’t mean the beards)!!! You could see those little hairs move in the wind, stick up in the cold, etc etc…
It was incredible. And it made Beowolf a much better movie. Games are the same to me. It’s why I liked Guild Wars so much. I was constantly amazed by the quality, so much so that I wanted to BE there!
This goes the same for me. I want to *play* and have fun, not break the game. So I have no problem with using walkthroughs to help me get past insanely-stupidly-hard boss levels.
Of course, the worst games are the ones with obscure/non-existent methods of saving. Why do they punish us for having lives? Why can’t I stop whenever and whereever I want. It is lazy game-making.
When a game is just fighting, as in the old “Mortal combat” type, I’m not too good at it nor do I have that much interest in it. Games that have puzzles, quests, goals but are extremely linear are boring. Currently my fave is Destroy all Humans 2. Quests, side quests, goals, and lots of amusing references…I like it.
Amen, brother. I think of it as game tourism — I came to see the sites and appreciate the work, not to pay over and over again to see the sites.
I’m a big believer that a game should make you feel like you’re doing something that would otherwise be too dangerous (or impossible) to really do. Jetpacks. Racecars. Shooting Stormtroopers and swordfighting the Vizier. It should make you feel like you’re awesome.
It should not say, “I’ll make you a deal: Jump over fifty of these pits and I’ll show you something cool.” Jumping over the pits had better be fun, too.
Alas, I have ASSASSIN’S CREED in mind as I write this.
I haven’t played Portal,, but have you played Enigmo on your Mac? It had me addicted for a while. A great puzzle/physics game.
I read Gabe’s post 3-4 times because it resonated with me as well, Wil.
I almost didn’t go to PAX this year because I wasn’t sure that I would fit in. Would I be considered a real gamer even though I’m not (and don’t really want to be) a Halo frag master?
Thank god I did end up going, despite my doubts. I had one of the best times of my life there and your keynote address left me feeling proud to call myself a gamer. I still shied away from telling people what games I really enjoyed, though, since they weren’t FPS.
Gabe’s post was the final validation for me; a mini-epiphany. Yes, THIS is why I play games: to explore and immerse myself in a new world! I love seeing what’s over the next ridge in Oblivion, exploring a new star system in Mass Effect and experimenting with the different physics of a new Myst world. Not only that, but one of the founders of PAX plays games for the same reason and no one would refute his gamer cred! My non-fragger inferiority complex is completely gone now.
Though “Frag Masters” would make a great band name. 🙂
I don’t think we were saying that you use walkthroughs, Wil. And when I say I, too, play a game to experience the art and gameplay I don’t mean that I automatically open a walkthrough and don’t bother exploring the game myself. But for me, I don’t have a lot of time to play so when I get stuck I don’t think it’s bad to look at how to get past a section. When I’m past it I don’t look at a walkthrough again until I’m absolutely, postively stuck. I think of it as if I asked a friend, “Hey, I absolutely can’t get past this. What do I do?” Getting past that section that’s got me stumped means I can experience more of the game and see what else the writers and designers have come up with.
I appreciate the thought that goes into games (usually) and would never want to disrespect the writers and designers by just trying to plow through a game without enjoying all the nuances. I guess I just identify with that quote in a way that’s slightly different than the way you identify with it. Same coin, different sides? Just my two cents.
Cheers! 🙂
The only ‘fighting’ games I like are the WWE wrestling ones, and not so much anymore. Generally I like games that help me decompress from the day. CRPGs can be fun, but its all too easy to get stuck in the “Just one more level” type of thinking. I’m not one to plow through a storyline even though I can, I want to check out all the things that are there…
sometimes I just want to wreak stuff 🙂
I think too many game designers forget to ask themselves “how can we make this game fun for the player?” instead of “how can we make it so challenging that the player wants to beat their brains out against the sitting room wall?”.
Man I can’t agree more. The graphics and colors, the ability to send you to far off fantastic worlds, or put you on the pitch with Wayne Rooney is amazing. That too is the reason most of us play games.
We simulate what it’s like to drive a 2 story high dump truck in our sandbox. Lets face it, most of us will never have the oppourtunity to do that. We most definately won’t get to join the Simpsons on their adventure through Springfield, but, and this is just my opinion, anyone can learn to play any instrument.
Playing Bring On The Night by the Police, or Limelight by Rush nearly perfect on the guitar was a satisfying accomplishment. I only hope that maybe some of the younguns out there are inlfuenced by Git-box Hero Trey to go out and get a real guitar. Maybe then we’ll have the next Hendrix, or Stevie Ray among us.
I think you can see where I’m going with this. In fact I will go with it and get a guitar. I regret selling mine so long ago and I have this urge to tackle some Cornell. A little Soundgarden, some Audio Slave. I really like the song Shadow On The Sun by Audio Slave. I’m not a big fan of Michael Jackson, but I can really dig this version of Billie Jean redone by Cornell on YouTube. Check it out, it’s pretty good.
Anyway, I’ll leave it at that cause I have to jump in my Honda F1 car and win the Canadian Grand Prix at Ciruit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The champagne spray in my living room isn’t so good though.
Peace out peeps, and Willy,
Mark.
Wil,
You may get a kick out of reading a STNG script I sent to Paramount Studios back in 1990. It was rejected for using TOS characters.
It’s called “The Gorn”. Let me know if you enjoyed it. You and anyone else, can get the PDF from my site here.
http://www.w0pht.org/StarTrekScript.pdf
I guess that is why I play too. Wil, you are a lucky guy, getting to act on Star Trek and all!
I guess that is why I play too. Wil, you are a lucky guy, getting to act on Star Trek and all!
ah, exactly. And I wish there were more games that didn’t rely on the finely honed reflexes of a fifteen-year-old boy. Games that are too difficult in that way are just plain not fun for me. That’s why I’m not ashamed of my love for Lego Star Wars. It’s easy, but so fun, with cheeky humor besides. Although really, what’s not to love in that combination?
okay, I got off track there, but you get the idea 🙂
The only reason i love FPS games, like Halo, BF2 and CS is because i get to run around and draw enemy fire while my team wastes the boogers while they shoot at me… so in BF2 i get my medikit, and run around hopping like a bunny, while i’m covered from 3 angles by snipers… they get huge scores, i get loads of dead marks, but its fun and i gladly die for my team.
Other than that, i play Supreme Commander, Total Annihilation and a bit of Scorched3D – solo.
I, like everyone else here, agree, wholeheartedly. I play games just to see what’s around the next corner .. what abilities will i get by leveling up.. which new spells will i get to conjure… which goodies or drops do i get if i kill the next high-boss … all these and the promise of a good story (in an RPG) are my big motivators ..
I understand, but can’t say I feel the same way as a large portion of you guys.
Frankly, I play to win. The game is about winning for me. Perhaps it’s a way of dealing with some kind of insecurity, I don’t know, but I approach every game with a ‘how do I win at this’.
One of the reasons why MMO games like WoW, EQ and others are such horrible games for me is that there is no clear ‘win’ in them. You can raid, and equip your character with all the top gear, but 3 months later there is something new to keep you coming back. Horrible games, those.
One of the reasons I abstained from FPS when they were all the rage was simply that I can’t keep up with the caffeine/junk food fueled 12yo and besides most of them make me car sick. I appreciate the beauty, but when I load up a game, I want to win.
This is totally why i play games. occassionally i will play a game that i enjoy so much i want to keep playing on harder and harder levels (eg Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid) and that gives me a lot of satisfaction. But most of the time its about emersing myself in another world. its about escapism. Games like Grand Theft Auto create atmospheric worlds that you can loose yourself in. It also gives you more control and lets you be more than you are. in a game you are more powerful, you are in control. you pick up an gun, or wield a sword and fight the badguys. you get to drive your car over ramps and do insane jumps. exploration and emmersion are the most important things in a game. i love racers and first person shooters, but god, do i suck at them
I’ve felt for a long time that I’m in it for exploration. The more there is to explore the better. FPS’s a great for this — if only it weren’t for all those pesky enemies and limited ammo. Just let me wander around a huge place, throw in some story, and I’m as happy as a clam.
I totally agree with what you are saying. I like to think that is why I play video games as well. I really get into playing SingStar and sometimes Guitar Hero as well, and I love to see the different costumes and environments they provide. I remember playing this game called “Dead or Alive” on my PS1, just to win new costumes and weapons. I didn’t care about winning the game. People seem to think something miraculous happens when you win the game, and then you get there and the credits roll, and you’re like “That’s it?” So I play a video game purely for moving on to the next level, just to be able to explore new places and find secret passageways and things. I love racing games as well…it’s so much fun to win new cars and paints and things, but I suck at winning. 🙂
Will, what you are describing puts you pretty thoroughly into the Explorer gaming type.
If you aren’t familiar with it, way back in the days of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons), a guy named Richard Bartle came up with a theory concerning types of gamers. It was pretty applicable to MUD players and its still applicable to those who play MMORPGs (which are after all an extension of MUDs) and even games in general. There’s some information on the concept here:
http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/wpm.htm
You can take the test itself in a number of places on the web, but I came across a nicely presented copy (Updated to refer to MMORPGs mind you), here:
http://www.guildcafe.com/bartle.php
I scored out as as an EASK:
Achiever 53.33%, Explorer 86.67%, Killer 6.67%, Socializer 53.33%
A good game design allows for all 4 types of gaming personality to have some gameplay available to them, I think. Games which restrict themselves too closely to one type of gaming activities, narrow their audiences considerably.
Hope people find the quiz interesting 😛
Hey Wil well i didnt actually read the whole thing im kinda lazy 4 that kinda stuff. Well let me tell u about me My name’s Juan Im from Mendoza-Argentina. And well i saw that E! special on geeks and i thought u had more to say about that topic. and i have my opinion about that show. but well believe it or not im a big fan from Argentina And is awesome that u r tou as a geek im a geek 2. i got beat up ay school a lot.lol well if you or anyone would like to be in touch with this crazy Argentinian you can email me to [email protected].
well c-ya
hopefully i’ll hear or read from someone…
bye
I think game designers today are too interested in appealing to the “eye candy” crowd.
I can honestly think of more games I love from the SNES era than games from the last 3 generations combined.
Games are supposed to be fun and while I do like the graphics in modern games, I don’t think they matter as much as gameplay.
As for the challenge level? Yeah, I suck at most action games but I am an RPG fan. I like to think my way out of situations, not button mash. I remember those fighting games from the 16 bit era, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, etc… I always hated button combinations for special moves. Haven’t played a fighting game since the 16 bit era, do they still make them?