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On Videogame Length - Less Is More?
Thanks to Eurogamer for their opinion piece criticizing the excessive length of videogames. The author initially states: "It's the woe of every committed gamer: piles of uncompleted games. We all swear we'll go back and complete [games] but the sad reality is most of us will - most likely - never get around to resuming our valiant quest to conquer these epics." He points out the relative lack of time most players have: "For the majority of gamers, squeezing in the time to play games means - pretty much - not spending much time doing anything else in our leisure time", and goes on to advocate episodic content, arguing "I long for a future when games are delivered in short sharp chunks like all the best visual entertainment is."
When games cost 20 dollars new, I won't mind if they're only 5 or 6 hours long. At 50 bucks, it's just not worth it. Max Payne 2 is a really great game, but it is not worth 50 dollars because of it's length. Bring it down to 25 or less and short, quality-packed games are A-OK with me.
I am just starting Morrowind - Great game, lots of content. I will be going back to this one for years, I just love it... Daggerfall was on this list for me as well.
I love games with more content - they are going to be the ones I go back to year after year. Fine if you don't have the content, I guess I will just win it and chunk it on the shelf going "what a waste".
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
Don't have time to beat Mission 10 solo with a sniper riffle on elite in Ghost Recon to unlock Sgt Slaughter? Just use god mode. Seriously that's what all these cheat codes and walkthroughs are for. Skip over stupid missions and levels you know you can beat and move on to the interesting ones you want to do. I do this all the time. I don't feel like I'm any less of an uber gamer for doing it either. It's all about games/life balance.
You don't have to finish a game. There I said it. Don't advocate getting less, they might just give you what you want. I wager that if games actually got demostratively shorter, more people would complain games are too short.
What games sell well? Madden, GTA, THPS. Giant games that can be played in small bites. The public has voted with their dollar that this is what they want. This is what we will get.
Yet another rant from a know-nothing bitter fanboy. This one is extra-special because it actually asks value to be removed from games. What kind of person asks for value to be removed from a product? This guy gets 30 games a month to review then actually has the balls to throw it in the public's face and complain. Out of touch much? He called big games bloated simply for the fact that they are big. Thats not bloated, thats big. You know what, forget it, I give up.
Its about 1-2 weeks before all the big holiday games are on shelfs, most rae hitting now, and this is the best news anyone is submitting?
If you really want short chunks of gameplay, stop buying games and just download some demos! If you keep downloading & playing every demo that shows up on http://www.aixgaming.com/filerush/, it'll keep you busy for the forseeable future.
Remember Sierra, back in the day?
I remember playing Space Quest II my Freshman year in College, in Fall of '91. Yeah, I realize it was dated by then, but I'd already played IV, the re-hash of I and III, so I wanted to play one that was supposedly one of the best.
Trouble is, after you go through a handful of these Sierra games, you get the knack for solving the puzzles. And once you get the knack, you've finished the game in 2 hours, with no replay value.
Why spend $50 for 2 hours' worth of entertainment? You could go to a 2-hour movie back then for $5 on opening night. What the hell?
If a game gets shorter, it better have some great replay value (see Diablo) or a lower price (see the copy of "Space Channel 5" I got out of a bargain bin for $5). Otherwise it's not worth my money to purchase it.
I expect a game to entertain me for at least 10 hours, and that's a bare minimum reserved for games that are especially good; 40 hours is more likely.
Finishing the game isn't really the issue. The question is, as the gladiator asks, "Are you not entertained?"
I would say .hack has proven the medium's potential for success already, and with shorter episodes too.
"Neque enim lex est aequior ulla, quam necis artifices arte perire sua."
We all swear we'll go back and complete [games] but the sad reality is most of us will - most likely - never get around to resuming our valiant quest to conquer these epics...For the majority of gamers, squeezing in the time to play games means - pretty much - not spending much time doing anything else in our leisure time...
/. kind!) Don't break open the piggy bank for a new game just because the graphics are flashy and the advertising has brainwashed you into believing this is a game that you "can't live without!"
Yeesh, what a spoiled, whiny brat! So, you don't finish a game? Don't do anything else with your free time, but play a game because it's long? Who's fault is that? Because you have a short attention span and can't manage your time effectively you want the game designers to change the way they make the games that I'm playing? Why stop there? You could just as easily say "You see, I really liked Snow Crash, but lately that crazy Neil Stephenson's books are so darn long! He should write shorter ones!" Please.
Here's a word for you: moderation! (and not the
Personally speaking, I play a game...ONE game and that's it, until I'm through with it. Right now, I am really enjoying KOTOR and it's precisely because of it's length, depth and complexity that I am! I've never finished playing a number of games, but at least I'm not blaming other people for my lack of follow through! When every thing else in our culture is being dumbed down for shorter and shorter attention spans, it's a huge relief to see a segment of the electronic entertainment industry that's *NOT* trying to do this! And if games are long or short whatever they end up being will be because that's the way consumers are voting with their dollars!
Quod scripsi, scripsi.