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Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

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Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#181

Post by lantry »

bhattisatish wrote: post #142
kibwen wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that I could recommend a hundred wildly different games that you might like, but playing a hundred games just to figure out which one is right for you doesn't sound like a good use of your time. Can you give more information? You like single-player games? Classic card games like solitaire (rec: Zachtronics Solitaire Collection)? Postmodern card games (rec: Balatro)? Deckbuilding roguelikes (rec: Slay T…

As I haven't tried many games, I am not sure what I really like. Card games are out unless I am playing in real life ;-) I haven't played board games much. I tend to zone out pretty fast. First shooters, feels immersive enough, but when they become fast paced and need quick reaction, I get overwhelmed and zone out. I guess I am looking for something that is immersive, but forgiving in it's gameplay. As I have RSI inj…

I highly recommend Caves of Qud. It's great for keyboard-only. I think it's got controller support too. The game is very confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it you can really get sucked in. Runs great on ubuntu.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#182

Post by kibwen »

bhattisatish wrote: post #142
kibwen wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that I could recommend a hundred wildly different games that you might like, but playing a hundred games just to figure out which one is right for you doesn't sound like a good use of your time. Can you give more information? You like single-player games? Classic card games like solitaire (rec: Zachtronics Solitaire Collection)? Postmodern card games (rec: Balatro)? Deckbuilding roguelikes (rec: Slay T…

As I haven't tried many games, I am not sure what I really like. Card games are out unless I am playing in real life ;-) I haven't played board games much. I tend to zone out pretty fast. First shooters, feels immersive enough, but when they become fast paced and need quick reaction, I get overwhelmed and zone out. I guess I am looking for something that is immersive, but forgiving in it's gameplay. As I have RSI inj…

By "immersive" are you thinking of first-person games like Doom? Sadly most first-person games prefer to use a mouse to control the camera, and most also reward twitch reflexes. You said you were willing to buy a joystick, so maybe you would enjoy a flight simulator? And if you wanted something more game-y, then the Mechwarrior franchise is a very immersive, slow, ponderous first-person game that makes good use of a joystick as well.

Sadly most games these days are not accustomed to be entirely controlled by a keyboard. However, any game that supports a controller should allow you to configure it to use a keyboard instead. The only games I can think of that are keyboard-first are old-school genres like MUDs and classic roguelikes. For a starter MUD I'd recommend DiscworldMUD, and for a starter roguelikes I'd recommend Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup (which is not quite "forgiving" in an absolute sense, but is relative to its genre). Both of these games are free, can be played in either the browser or a native MUD client/SSH terminal (respectively), are extremely Linux-friendly as a result, and are "immersive" in the sense that they invite you to use your imagination (although DCSS also has a graphical version).

If you're willing to be "immersed" by a game with a top-down perspective, I'll go out on a limb and recommend Moonring. It's free and made by a single indie developer and designed to evoke the classic Ultima-style RPGs of the 80s, but with modern conveniences and sensibilities. It gives you a free-form world to explore, and even if combat can sometimes be punishing you never really lose any progress for dying.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#183

Post by tumsfestival »

nemomarx wrote: post #2

I use a tracker to try and fight this, showing how many games I've started and also achievement progress in them in aggregate. But I also buy a lot of books I intend to read later, so I almost think it's inherent to digital copies? The less friction in storing them the easier it is to buy aspirationally.

>I use a tracker to try and fight this, showing how many games I've started and also achievement progress in them in aggregate.

I've tried something similar before and it worked, for a while, but I started feeling the free time I spent gaming at best felt like a chore and at worst like a job. Nowadays I just play what I feel like and don't really bother much with completing games or not, because realistically I never will finish my backlog.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#184

Post by smt88 »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #150
smt88 wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely makes sense to buy things you may (emphasis on may ) never use, especially if it never "expires". Insurance is a great example. People are buying these games knowing they're adding to their backlog and likely won't get through the whole thing, but the price is so low that the chance they'll want to play the game someday is enough. I'm one of these (apparently rather typical) consumers and will buy almos…

Tell me you don’t really know how insurance works without telling me :) You’re not “buying it and then not using it”.

> Tell me you don’t really know how insurance works without telling me :)

This will be interesting news to the insurance company I co-founded :) :) :)

> You’re not “buying it and then not using it”.

This boils down to semantics, but most consumers feel like they're "using" their insurance plan only when they file a claim.

Unused games in my Steam library are basically insurance against being bored.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#185

Post by abotsis »

I’ll often buy a game (esp an Indie game) and just not have time to play it. I don’t have a ton of free time, so if a game doesn’t immediately draw me in and keep my attention, I don’t play it. I think that’s pretty common.

I’ll also buy games on a whim and never get much past the title screen.

I have more money than time these days. But when I was younger I had more time than money. So I’d pirate games. This is kind of my way of atoning.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#186

Post by nemomarx »

tumsfestival wrote: post #183
nemomarx wrote: post #2

I use a tracker to try and fight this, showing how many games I've started and also achievement progress in them in aggregate. But I also buy a lot of books I intend to read later, so I almost think it's inherent to digital copies? The less friction in storing them the easier it is to buy aspirationally.

>I use a tracker to try and fight this, showing how many games I've started and also achievement progress in them in aggregate. I've tried something similar before and it worked, for a while, but I started feeling the free time I spent gaming at best felt like a chore and at worst like a job. Nowadays I just play what I feel like and don't really bother much with completing games or not, because realistically I never…

also very reasonable. there's no sense doing any of it unless it's enjoyable, and "getting your money's worth" out of a book or game you just aren't liking is a bad consequence of caring too much for the sunk cost and etc

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#187

Post by MisterSandman »

crazygringo wrote: post #162
qnleigh wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the point is that, on the whole, sales manipulate consumers into spending -more- money than they otherwise would have. Of course this isn't true for every person all the time, but on average I suspect it is; sales are common partly because they actually lead to more revenue, despite the discount.

That's not why sales lead to more revenue. They do because people who can't afford full price will wait to buy on sale. Whereas people who can afford full price will often just buy it when they want it for instant satisfaction. So they get mostly full price from people who can pay full price, and make it accessible to people who can't afford it at full price.

Citation needed?

Are you saying Amazon does Prime Day so people who previously couldn’t afford an air fryer can now afford one? Are you saying Black Friday is actually a massive charity event by companies so people can buy their products?

I’m pretty sceptical of this whole “make it accessible” logic - I can only imagine very few parts of my life where a discount was actually the only way I could afford something (back when I had limited pocket money). A game going from $80 to $60 doesn’t practically make it any more accessible to most people, it just makes people feel better about their purchase.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#189

Post by kibwen »

lantry wrote: post #181
bhattisatish wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I haven't tried many games, I am not sure what I really like. Card games are out unless I am playing in real life ;-) I haven't played board games much. I tend to zone out pretty fast. First shooters, feels immersive enough, but when they become fast paced and need quick reaction, I get overwhelmed and zone out. I guess I am looking for something that is immersive, but forgiving in it's gameplay. As I have RSI inj…

I highly recommend Caves of Qud. It's great for keyboard-only. I think it's got controller support too. The game is very confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it you can really get sucked in. Runs great on ubuntu.

Though if they play Caves of Qud, I'd recommend playing in either Roleplay mode (which enables autosave checkpoints at settlements) or Wander mode (where most enemies in the game start off neutral to you, and you gain XP by exploring rather than fighting). Classic mode would be intolerable for anyone but a hardcore gamer.

Re: Most people who buy games on Steam never play them

#190

Post by seventhtiger »

bhattisatish wrote: post #153
Levitating wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what games you like. One game that I recommend to anyone is Firewatch. It's a beautiful, linear story game with easy to understand mechanics. And it only lasts a few hours, so it's a small time investment. I can also recommend Outer Wilds. It's a puzzle story game. It gives you a lot of freedom, with the downside that it's somewhat easier to get stuck. For this game you should buy a gamepad. If you like…

Thanks for the reco. Anything that requires mouse is out. I have a RSI on my wrist, and anytime i use the scroll wheel it flares up. I am ready to buy a gamepad. I guess I will need to explore which one I should buy. Outer wilds looks interesting. Something I will explore one of these weekends.

PC games generally assume you have an Xbox controller. I'm not sure about Linux compatibility but based on a quick search it should work fine.
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