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I hate what video games have become

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Re: I hate what video games have become

#571

Post by rchaud »

ghostDancer wrote: post #568
cwkoss wrote: post #566

This is happening to all IP industries and leaking into other ones. You no longer buy a song, movie, ebook, or game and truly own it. You get a non-transferrable license that only last as long as you don't do anything to anger the fickle platform overlords. You can't lend IP you've purchased to a friend. You can't resell your content to others. Even consumer electronics are becoming increasingly worthless, as they re…

The new generations are being taught to not have anything but to have access to it, songs, games, movies, ... . They don't know anything else and the ubiquity of access to everything makes them think it will always be there. I see it with my son and friends. And when I try to explain them they look at me like an old man shouting at the clouds (it's almost literal). When I try to explain my son that is better to buy b…

I think most people snap out of it though. The turning point is when they go on Netflix/Prime and type in a TV show, and see the autocomplete, only to be shown a screen saying they don't actually have that show.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#572

Post by oneoff786 »

LargeWu wrote: post #536
oneoff786 wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How bad can this really be without ceasing to be a realistic feeling game? Like I would imagine you’ve got just a few stats like speed, endurance, ball handling and kicking accuracy. What does the game look like with base F2P characters vs top tier characters? Are they just laughably faster on the field?

Yeah, speed is one of the key meta aspects, and having a boost in that area is a major advantage if the player is good at other aspects as well. At some point your players just can't keep up. A new version of the game is released end of September every year, and by Christmas it's borderline unplayable unless you keep escalating. Additionally, there are daily/weekly/monthly challenges that require you to do certain th…

I find that really funny. How much faster are the best units? And these are real players presumably so… are they alts of the same person?

Please tell me they’re doing a gacha Christmas alt of top tier soccer players

Re: I hate what video games have become

#574

Post by dkersten »

kkjjkgjjgg wrote: post #478
dkersten wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem I have with these games is they are almost universally tuned to make them very time consuming and grindy if you don't pay. That is, instead of the game being balanced for what feels good to play, they are balanced so that they feel good when you pay more and otherwise are not so annoying that you quit, but annoying enough to push you to pay. Its not: here's a good game, but you can buy these things with r…

That is just certain games that rightfully have a bad reputation, not all F2P games. As others said, in rocket League or Fortnite you don't get advantages from buying things. You can buy levels in Fortnite, but they only unlock cosmetics.

It depends on the game. If cosmetics are the only (or primary) reward a game offers, then I still feel that it matters. If cosmetics are a purely orthogonal thing, then I agree that its not an issue.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#575

Post by zzo38computer »

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #430

The fact that all consoles charge money for "online play" irks me. I mean the internet is there for a reason.

You should not be required to use the official servers; you might set up your own, which could use LAN if you wanted to do, I should think. However, not all games (and other computer programs) are designed in this way.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#576

Post by MMS21 »

DaveSapien wrote: post #308

At great expense to my carrier I have out and out refused to take part in creating these predatory practices. If you could hear the contempt that "some" game devs have for their customers, you might never buy a game ever again. It really is quite shocking...and the contempt exists from top to bottom, its everywhere. That isn't to say there's not a vast number of of honourable people in the industry, not at all. It's…

Basically, if you see the trap you aren't the target. Wow I never thought of it that way.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#577

Post by colinmhayes »

spiderice wrote: post #541
philipov wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of pay-to-win games, but LoL is not one of them. LoL has cosmetics, and pay-to-progress, but there's nothing you can buy that will give you an advantage in-game over people who play for free. Unlocking new characters with RMT is not pay-to-win, because all the characters are obtainable for free without requiring unreasonable effort. You're not forced to get them from random lootboxes like Gacha games…

You and I clearly have a different definition of pay to win. If I start the game on a new account, and don't have access to the same champions as my enemy from game 1 unless I spend money, then the game is pay to win. Period. The fact that I could pay money, in that moment, to win, means the game is pay to win. Edit: Further, here is an article[1] breaking down how long it would take to unlock all champions without p…

But you're not paying to win. You're just paying to have a different experience. In fact, when you start your best shot at winning is with the champions they give you, since they're the easiest. League is better described as pay to lose if anything.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#578

Post by somehnacct3757 »

DaveSapien wrote: post #308

At great expense to my carrier I have out and out refused to take part in creating these predatory practices. If you could hear the contempt that "some" game devs have for their customers, you might never buy a game ever again. It really is quite shocking...and the contempt exists from top to bottom, its everywhere. That isn't to say there's not a vast number of of honourable people in the industry, not at all. It's…

Having worked in the games industry on Facebook and mobile games, I don't think your perspective is representative.

Most f2p games are targeting a % mix of whales, dolphins, flounders, guppies. You might shoot for 0.1% whales, 10% dolphins,40% flounders, 50% guppies.

The whales will have an outsized impact on revenue for their count, and you largely can't plan for them to arrive. They're typically (very) wealthy people for whom spending $10,000 on a game is cheaper than the watch on their arm. Game companies absolutely set up a VIP customer service team for these players, this is the experience they expect everywhere in life. It's the difference between them playing your game for 2 months or 6 with a significant revenue impact.

Dolphins will be upper-middle class big spenders. They might try to collect every premium hat in your game, or regularly spend during special events. Again to them dropping $200/month in a game is not a hardship. In fact it's cheaper than most other hobbies they could do with their affluence like golf or skiing.

Next is the flounders, the goal is just to get them to spend at all. There might be some singular obviously valuable purchase in the game such as a season pass. This is basically game subscription services repackaged for the modern day.

The rest don't pay. You keep guppies around in hopes you can graduate them to flounders at some point down the line. In the meantime, they are cannon fodder for your matchmaking queues.

None of these psychographic groupings aim to exploit easily manipulated people. Rather the pay bands expand to match the disposable income of various economic classes. This is the same thing that has happened in other industries for a very long time. Some people rent skis, some bring their own, others hire personal trainers, and some rent the entire ski club for a private event. Go to a concert and some have nosebleed seats, others are front row, some watch from boxes, others pay to meet & greet the band after the show.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#579

Post by blaser-waffle »

screye wrote: post #556

I don't agree. The industry has begun splintering in the same manner as Hollywood. Disney releases popcorn-entertainment and makes money off merchandise. Indie studios are creating quality movies of a tier that we never used to see before. Lastly, have some quirky bigwigs (wes anderson, Edgar Wright) who reliably create highly-stylized memorable if familiar works. Epic, EA and Ubisoft are the Disney equivalents. Nint…

Nintendo is definitely Disney or Warner Bros. They've been around forever, have lots of family friendly IP, and occasionally break out the lawyers and smack the hell out of groups that aren't even vaguely infringing on their IP. They say "be afraid of the mouse" but also be afraid of Mario.

Penguinz0 has a whole series on youtube as to why they're a terrible company.

You also left out Activision/Blizzard, which is not yet M$ property, and is arguably a Disney, far more than Epic.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#580

Post by HWR_14 »

yomly wrote: post #404
HWR_14 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people have enough money that they don't care about the money. But other people become addicted and end up spending money they don't have. Just like some people dropping 100k in Vegas in a weekend are paying for the experience and VIP treatment and others just need one more bet to replenish Johnnys college fund.

sincere question - how big of a problem (in terms of #people suffering) is there of people spending beyond their means on online cosmetics? I could see How common is the pattern for paid-for lootbox cosmetics (as compared to buy-it-now) cosmetics? Wouldn't say I'm particularly deep in either the RL/Fortnite ecosystem..!

I only have anecdotes, not stats. But some people do ruin their lives with F2P gaming addictions.
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