Taking It To The Next Level

Its 4am. I really should be sleeping right now.

How far can mankind be pushed?

Is this the future of games? Do we now want games that are disposable enough to be played just once?

Why is this blog so full of questions?

Anyone who answers every single question on this blog gets a cookie.

Its 4am. I really should be sleeping right now.

How far can mankind be pushed?

Is this the future of games? Do we now want games that are disposable enough to be played just once?

Why is this blog so full of questions?

Anyone who answers every single question on this blog gets a cookie.

Umm... lol, I don't know where to begin!  And I really want a cookie!!!

Anyway, the way I look at it.  Just make a fun game.  Whether or not it lasts 20 hours once or as long as halo 3 is lasting me, it's all about the quality and quanitity of content vs. price.
If something is only midly fun, why play through it again?  This is how AC is to me.  It's fine, but I really have no desire to play it.  That being said, I played through dead rising about 5 times.

Personality, I would rather a game be shorter and more polished and fleshed out than an endless game that has barely any soul.  This is sort of Fable 2 vs Oblivion or actually Final Fantasy vs. Oblivion.  Because you know what happens?  I get too sick of the repetitive boredemniss that I dismiss the game as about the average play of a game (not even a rpg).  Fable 2 has lasted me much longer than Oblivion already (granted I played the the prior 3 times through)

--- And I think lots of people confused replayability with value.  Final Fantasy and other JRPGs,WRPGs as well, are damn long games.  That being said, I really haven't played through most jrpgs more than once.  I have replayed some, but it's just impossible to play through a 100 hour game again when it took you a whole gaming month of only playing it to beat it.


------- And you know, you can't just make generalizations.  I don't mind for longer rpgs that are less replayable and shorter shooters with mp.  It's all genre specific.

Replayability is a very important factor. I think most people focus on the length of the game and little on how much replay value it has. I do think that time-and-error is a valid progression, but it all depends on how well it is implemented in a game.

I think if you have a game like SotC was for you, if you come back to it after a really lengthy period of not playing it, it will seem almost fresh again. I think this happens for people who really enjoy a lengthy RPG, they don't want to play it right away again because it's rather boring after just finishing it, but if they come back to it later on, they enjoy it again.

Seeing games only come out episodically would really suck. I can only imagine spending more money through episodes compared to paying for a full game to begin with. I think there will always be those people who are very competitive, but I think others who just want to have fun and don't care about winning can take part in gaming as well.

Good blog as usual Sweep. You should start getting to bed earlier! 

Great blog, nicely succinct thoughts for someone who is undoubtedly inebriated right now.

This is something I've been thinking about for a while, the way we focus so much on replayability in games, and it's something I've been meaning to get to. When you take something like Mass Effect, and you play through it the first time, you're amazed at the experience, and the breadth of the possibility. But when you begin to go back again and play it (As someone with 1050/1050 in that game, which takes about 5 playthroughs, I feel qualified to talk about this) the illusion begins to disappear, and you slowly start to see the man behind the curtain. You see the little magicians tricks, and begin to notice the way dialogue branches, and know the consequences of every decsion you make. I think at this point, I've seen every piece of content, every area, every LINE OF DIALOGUE, that Mass Effect has to offer. SO I'm going to experience that game in a far different way than someone playing through for the first time. In a way, Mass Effect is best experienced played only once, so you can feel like you made your choices, and they drastically altered the universe, as opposed to seeing the corridors and tricks that I do.

It seems to me that playing through a single-player game once has the most punch, and each time you ply through it again only lessens the experience. As you begin to dissect the choices and options available to you, the illusion fades, and I think you're left with a very hollow shell of an experience.

^ Doesn't that only apply to branching rpgs?
I don't understand that arguement applying to many other things. 

Unless you mean what I did to Halo 2 and 3, got out of every friggen level in campaign and performered so many glitches that only the crazed halo community could find.
Not really able to get out of the maps in the mp out of theater mode though, you'll just die.

How far can man be pushed?To its extinction.
Where does it end?Around you.
How low can we fall?To depths you would not believe.
What is the potential of our so called "humanity"?As far our minds and lives will take us.
What do we expect from our games?Honesty
Do we still want games to which we can devote countless hours of our time perfecting?Yes
Is trial-and-error still a valid narrative progression?Yes with a caveat.
Or are games now designed to be one hit wonders...Some are lifes work and move on.
Was that game designed to be repeated?Yes...sadly.
Are we SATISFIED with a game that is supposed to be only played once?Yes
How many times can you enjoy a game?Many.
Well, how many times can you enjoy a film?Many.
mind-fuck?Yes
Is this the future of games?Yes and no.
Do we now want games that are disposable enough to be played just once? Games live on a human emotional spectrum. 
Are these Left 4 Dead levels supposed to be one-timers or long-livers?I haven't played them, I have no opinion.
Is the first play-through more important than the rest?Different strokes for different games.
Portal puzzles, the cake is a lie, willpower to play through again, achievements, boredom?Yes, no, no.
Why is this blog so full of questions?You're a curious sort.
So where are games heading?Into more of themselves, what's old is new is old again.
played like episodes of a TV show?Some games, in moderation, just like sitcoms.
Or are we still stuck in a generation of leaderboards and mindless competitveness?Has been, always will be a part of ourlives.
Is there enough room to cater for both sets of the gaming community?Hells yes.

I think that's it, I was bored and no cookie for me, I like bananas, thankyou please.

Im not answering all those question! What is this!

Claude wins a cookie. Rowr wins a chainsaw bayonet to the face.

Thanks for the great comments guys =)

"Great blog, nicely succinct thoughts for someone who is undoubtedly inebriated right now.

This is something I've been thinking about for a while, the way we focus so much on replayability in games, and it's something I've been meaning to get to. When you take something like Mass Effect, and you play through it the first time, you're amazed at the experience, and the breadth of the possibility. But when you begin to go back again and play it (As someone with 1050/1050 in that game, which takes about 5 playthroughs, I feel qualified to talk about this) the illusion begins to disappear, and you slowly start to see the man behind the curtain. You see the little magicians tricks, and begin to notice the way dialogue branches, and know the consequences of every decsion you make. I think at this point, I've seen every piece of content, every area, every LINE OF DIALOGUE, that Mass Effect has to offer. SO I'm going to experience that game in a far different way than someone playing through for the first time. In a way, Mass Effect is best experienced played only once, so you can feel like you made your choices, and they drastically altered the universe, as opposed to seeing the corridors and tricks that I do.

It seems to me that playing through a single-player game once has the most punch, and each time you ply through it again only lessens the experience. As you begin to dissect the choices and options available to you, the illusion fades, and I think you're left with a very hollow shell of an experience."

Its all about experiencing the game and playing the game.  First time through bioshock and shadow I would say are experiences but second time is just playing the game for what it is. Mass effect and other RPGs are going to differ a little bit because decision making are  a much bigger part of the equation. It all depends on many things. I could understand someone not wanting to play shadow because of its deliberately wonky controls. but  a lot of people who experience the game in full want that little bit more out of it and they get the time trials and then instead of being an emotional thing the game becomes..well..a game.  and then the game becomes something different. another kind of sub experience sometimes and in bioshocks case (not considering the story) a much more satisfying one using different plasmids and alternate ways of dealing with things.

Time played and distance of playthroughs  are also a really big factor about whether a game is a one shot deal or not. I see many films some Id rather not see again anytime soon but taht doesnt mean i never want to see them again or experience them. I played final fantasy 7 a couple of years back, the first time since launch and it was very much an experience again and not just about the mechanics of the game.