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I hate what video games have become

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Re: I hate what video games have become

#651

Post by ddaalluu2 »

homerhomer wrote: post #82

Steam is the best thing to happen to gaming. My library is always updated. I'm able to play most of my catalog of games on Windows, Linux and here soon on Chromebooks. Since I started to use Steam I have amassed a HUGE library that I periodically have dig into and find stuff. It's really is amazing. Yep, I can't sell old games and yes there's a bunch of freemium games that are focused on addicts but who cares. Yep Ro…

Yet you can't sell off old games and you can't speak freely about their shortcomings

Re: I hate what video games have become

#652

Post by ddaalluu2 »

Lazare wrote: post #201

I dunno. First, there's more non free-to-play games out there than ever before, and some are truly amazing and innovative, so I'm not sure about what "games have become". In the last couple of years my top games by hours spent have probably been... 1) Valheim, a truly lovely indie game with a traditional "buy it upfront" model. Don't regret that purchase at all, great game. 2) Final Fantasy XIV, a traditional MMO mod…

God you're so naive. I wonder if that's intentional or genuine

Re: I hate what video games have become

#653

Post by hypertele-Xii »

ddaalluu2 wrote: post #650
hypertele-Xii wrote: post #626

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My society provides free food and housing to everyone. Funny enough I literally forgot that's not universal (yet).

Your society?

The Republic of Finland.

Also free health care, electricity, water, and Internet.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#654

Post by ddaalluu2 »

kgwxd wrote: post #396
bambax wrote: post #160

> once you stop playing a game 100% of the money you spend on it disappears, you can’t recover any of it, not 50%, not 20%, just nothing (...) Can you imagine if other art mediums were this ridiculous? Well, we're getting there. Streaming services, and all subscription offerings, are systems where you don't own anything, and you lose everything the moment you stop paying.

When I go to the movies, 100% of the money I spend disappears. It's ridiculous.

Obviously the paying to watch a movie concept is outdated. I always wondered who pays for a streaming service when you can't watch the movies or series once your subscription expires.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#655

Post by ianbutler »

s_trumpet wrote: post #635
ianbutler wrote: post #446

Counter points: literally every indie game, Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, God of War, all of Nintendo (they have other issues though) and the literally hundreds of triple A games that aren't live service. I'm quite sure I'm missing a lot, but these are just top of mind. They've chosen a very narrow definition of video games to be disappointed over.

Sadly, this curse is nearly inescapable if you want to play modern online multiplayer or PVP games. MOBAs, MMOs, shooters, racing games, etc. are almost all like this now.

I play all of those, I buy cosmetics because I have the cash and realize it’s an optional part of the game. But it’s amazing the quality of game people can play for absolutely free and never spend a dime. My friend for instance has probably gotten at least a couple hundred hours in Apex Legends now without ever spending a cent. On one hand I’m absolutely against micro transactions that give tangible gameplay impact but Im hard pressed to find issues with pure cosmetic purchases other than maybe how sometimes the marketing around them is manipulative and the Skinner box that is the loot box. I think Chivalry II has probably the ideal implementation of this. No loot boxes, just pay cash for the visual you want but it doesn’t effect game play.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#656

Post by comrh »

PaulHoule wrote: post #432
Strom wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to pay for champions, they are not unlocked for free.

You can get some for free. You certainly might be attached to a particular one and want to buy it, but the game is balanced enough that you can easily win with a champion that is easy to get. I had a lot of luck with Sona, for instance, who I got for free right away. (Sometimes I think it would be fun to play League again but I can't stand the thought of being tied up for 45 minutes)

Take my advice and stay away, easily the most toxic online gaming community I've ever seen mostly because of the 45 minute time sink.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#657

Post by Dylan16807 »

iforgotpassword wrote: post #259
SentientNo4 wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

> no one would be happy if games shipped without textures and shaders and people would have to pay to unlock them. Not a meaningful comparison. A game without textures would be hardly playable at all. The same can't be said for skins or accessories to your character/vehicle. You don't get eye-cancer with the default skin. If you feel you need that virtual Louis Vuitton bag to fully enjoy the game then well be a sucke…

> A game without textures would be hardly playable at all.

It'd be fine. No textures doesn't mean everything is gray.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#658

Post by yomly »

HWR_14 wrote: post #580
yomly wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

financially? ie they played an f2p got hooked and spent dumped their money into oblivion such that they couldn't financially recover?

Getting addicted to an F2P game and losing your time, while sad, is not within the scope of this discussion

Re: I hate what video games have become

#659

Post by yomly »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #462
yomly wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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..!

Paid for cosmetics? Not likely to be very many people bankrupting themselves. But Pay-To-Win games like Clash of Clans? I don't have any research, but if I was a gambling man, I'd bet at least a few thousand.

So I haven't played Clash of Clans but know Clash Royale exceptionally well (with a some dedicated training could probably shoot for global 10k league finish)

So speaking from experience: there's probably a finite sum you can spend on Clash Royale. I found the beginning highly addictive and I did spend hundreds when I probably shouldn't have, but the acceleration/frustration and advantage you can buy is very quickly eroded by skill. Once you have a maxed deck, it's pretty hard to buy victories and any new card might buy you some wins but will quickly get nerfed, and players better than you will still beat you (and matchmaking will converge you onto that 49% win rate).

I doubt I'm a typical player but at this stage I've probably extracted more value (by time) from clash than they've extracted from me - even if I spent 2k (a very very generous estimate), amortised over 5-6 years of play, that's not a lot of money (30 a month which is a AAA game every other month, less than a coffee a day) and has definitely given me more than that in enjoyment. And at this point my expenditure has completely plateaued.

Can I see people staying in that honeymoon phase moving from game to game? Yes maybe - I suppose by law of large numbers it's more likely than not Clash Royale peaked at like 100M players so 1k having issues is believable.

I'm all for regulation in this space (it's pretty crazy that it's not that regulated) but without data, my own personal experience feels like this is not nearly as dangerous as gambling or alcohol/drugs. The game milks you of money but doesn't create those boom-bust cycles that the traditional vices do

Re: I hate what video games have become

#660

Post by colinmhayes »

rovek wrote: post #648
colinmhayes wrote: post #534

Earlier quoted context omitted.

League of Legends is the most popular competitive game in the world, and is free to play. Calling the competitive aspect and matchmaking worthless in f2p games is incredibly naive.

My experience of two games going free to play, PUBG and Rocket League, is that in the former 100% of games now have cheaters in and in the latter ~25-40% games have people playing on fresh accounts to keep their rank artificially low.

Haven't played either, but I can tell you that cheating is exceedingly rare in League and that their ranking system does a good job of figuring out if a new account is from an experienced player or a legitimately fresh face. By the time you've played 10 games you are given a reasonably good matchmaking experience. Perhaps that's why League is so much more popular than PUBG and Rocket League?
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