For those that want the free games, but don't like the dark patterns, I feel like I need to mention https://f-droid.org/en/categories/games/index.html where you can find a lot of good games. Most are simple and with basic graphic, but for a quick time waster they are great. I've sunk a lot of time on these: - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.shatteredpixel.shattered... - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.lonami.…
I hate what video games have become
291–300 of 690 posts
Re: I hate what video games have become
#292Games, like many things lost their soul around 2007 with the release of the iPhone. The world has gone in a different direction, the worser timeline perhaps.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#293I play Fortnite which is from the same company as Rocket League (afaik). I think their model is extremely fair. You can play for free, and you can buy outfits that don't give you any advantage in the game.
At first coming with "old gamer mindset" I also thought "who would ever pay for that nonsense". But now I simply see it as supporting a creation I enjoy. I buy the "battle pass" every season (maybe 8$), and every couple of months perhaps a funny skin.
Back in the day, I think a World of Warcraft subscription was 15$ per month, so I still pay far, far less than I would have paid for WoW.
There are other games that annoy me, as they basically push gambling onto my kids. They will literally have a push notification telling them to try a spin on the lucky wheel.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#294As a (non game) developer, I can say, thay free to play is instantly dead on arrival for me. The moment something is known to become or becomes free to play is the moment I lose all interest. The dishonesty in the system itself is what makes this unbearable for me. Developers need to eat, Managers need to eat, Marketeers need to eat... And sometimes psychologists doing evil mindtricks and supporting gambling addictio…
What for example is dishonest about the "free-to-play" of Rocket League or Fortnite? It literally is free to play.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
One complaint I've had with RL recently is that it seems like they've put all their energy into new visuals and cosmetics while leaving the game mostly unchanged. The standard multi ranked map sometimes feels boring and I've wondered why they don't add different types of maps to the mix; spheres, tubes, different physics, goals in the center, figure 8 map(?), embankments (like map in season 1), etc. I guess it's simp…
Fair criticism, but one that is only relevant in the first place because of freemium. Prior to that business model, there was no such thing as a company continuing to provide regular, ongoing support to a 7 year old game of the non-subscription variety. I mean, how or why would they? You release something; it makes 90% of its lifetime revenue in year 1; if you continue working on it for 6 more years, you're out of bu…
> there was no such thing as a company continuing to provide regular, ongoing support to a 7 year old game of the non-subscription variety.
Minecraft still gets significant updates.
> I mean, how or why would they? You release something; it makes 90% of its lifetime revenue in year 1; if you continue working on it for 6 more years, you're out of business.
I think a lot of these companies have found that it's the opposite—that games make 90% of their revenue in year 1 because nobody continues working on them. If you keep working on it, however, you can continue to get sales, because the more you work on it, the better the game becomes, and so people buy it just to see what everyone else is talking about.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
One complaint I've had with RL recently is that it seems like they've put all their energy into new visuals and cosmetics while leaving the game mostly unchanged. The standard multi ranked map sometimes feels boring and I've wondered why they don't add different types of maps to the mix; spheres, tubes, different physics, goals in the center, figure 8 map(?), embankments (like map in season 1), etc. I guess it's simp…
That's like saying they should change the rules of football. Rocket League is a seriously competitive game and even the slightest change to the physics would have a big impact. I like that they have kept the core gameplay intact. It's beautiful and pure.
> That's like saying they should change the rules of football.
They do that pretty regularly. Not in major ways, but the rules of football do change over time.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#297A few years ago, Nintendo made a wonderful game called Super Mario Run. It was simple - Mario automatically runs and you tap to jump - but surprisingly deep. The timing of the jumps and the height of jump was paramount, and there was a ton of replayability in trying to get out-of-reach coins and finding shortcuts. It also captured the aesthetic of the Mario World games with modern graphics. I was VERY skeptical of a…
> "in the future we will consider not only a single set price, but other methods that incorporate a wider variety of elements that allow as many consumers as possible to play"'
Iirc, they released a 3DS game with DLC, where you could haggle the price down in-game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty%27s_Real_Deal_Baseball
Re: I hate what video games have become
#298As a (non game) developer, I can say, thay free to play is instantly dead on arrival for me. The moment something is known to become or becomes free to play is the moment I lose all interest. The dishonesty in the system itself is what makes this unbearable for me. Developers need to eat, Managers need to eat, Marketeers need to eat... And sometimes psychologists doing evil mindtricks and supporting gambling addictio…
This is absurd. So you also don't use any software products which are a) free to use or b) habe a free tier?
I dont think an f2p game and your typical "open-source" software have anywhere near the same business model.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
The whole 'preying on the vulnerable' thing kind of puts me off. But I want to respond to this: > The items that you buy have absolutely no impact on gameplay and are just visuals Cosmetic items are not just visual though. They are real elements in the game. Cosmetic items are interactive. They are unlockable, collectable, wearable items. Further, visuals do impact the gameplay. You could argue about the difference b…
> Cosmetic items are not just visual though. They are real elements in the game. Yes, I really hate this argument that cosmetics are not gameplay. Visuals are a huge part of what makes a game, no one would be happy if games shipped without textures and shaders and people would have to pay to unlock them.
And just another example. Path of Exile is a game known for its visual clutter when you reach the end game. You have so many mobs and skills flying around it is very difficult to tell what is going on. You can buy cosmetics to make different skill gems appear different when they are cast, including mobs. Often, these alternative skill cosmetics create a greater visual clarity than their default. My point is that if there is a skill that can one-shot kill my character i'd like to see it as clear as day when it is coming. Paying money in Path of Exile gets me that.
Re: I hate what video games have become
#300I have basically the opposite opinion of this article. I often hold up Rocket League as an example of a great free-to-play game. 1) You 100% can unlock a lot of cosmetic items through free play. 2) The items that you buy have absolutely no impact on gameplay and are just visuals. For the same reason that people wear nice clothes in real life, why are you surprised that some people want to look cool in a video game? A…
Even with Rocket League microtransactions are a bad idea. It incentivizes the developer to make attaining items through gameplay a slog in order to get you to skip that by paying up. If there was no way to get those items through mtx, they'd make the process of getting them fun.
Also, games are supposed to be a form of escapism, where the gameplay matters, not who you are and how much money your parents make.
You can argue in favor of the game itself being free allowing people to save 10 or 20 bucks. But gameplaywise Microtransactions inevitably make the gameplay experience worse, without exceptions.