And yet we have Solitaire, the most widely played computer game in the world today, which offers about as much variety as beating your head against the wall repeatedly;)
What it comes down to is content vs complexity. If a game has both, then it's likely to be a good hitter, because it immerses people. If it has not enough of one or the other, people will find something better for their needs.
Personal preference still rules all, and leaves those poor hermits like me who want different things at different times at a loss.
But on the other hand, it means that people are having to spend less time learning a game and more time playing it. A lot of gamers play games for the storylines, at least as much as the action, and tried-and-true formulas let one concentrate on the game rather than the mechanics involved. It's the same argument of, say, Ruby vs Perl - take the fiddly learning stage out and you can concentrate on enjoying the experience.
Not to imply that I don't enjoy originality and innovation myself, but since I started full-time work and lost those glorious teenage all-day gaming sessions, sometimes it's nice to just pick up and play rather than learn something entirely new all over again.
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And yet we have Solitaire, the most widely played computer game in the world today, which offers about as much variety as beating your head against the wall repeatedly ;)
What it comes down to is content vs complexity. If a game has both, then it's likely to be a good hitter, because it immerses people. If it has not enough of one or the other, people will find something better for their needs.
Personal preference still rules all, and leaves those poor hermits like me who want different things at different times at a loss.
But on the other hand, it means that people are having to spend less time learning a game and more time playing it. A lot of gamers play games for the storylines, at least as much as the action, and tried-and-true formulas let one concentrate on the game rather than the mechanics involved. It's the same argument of, say, Ruby vs Perl - take the fiddly learning stage out and you can concentrate on enjoying the experience. Not to imply that I don't enjoy originality and innovation myself, but since I started full-time work and lost those glorious teenage all-day gaming sessions, sometimes it's nice to just pick up and play rather than learn something entirely new all over again.