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I hate what video games have become

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Re: I hate what video games have become

#461

Post by gigaflop »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #395
Fire-Dragon-DoL wrote: post #379

You can play those beautiful single player games that have none of these problems, or play rocketleague for the gameplay instead of trying to play "pimp my car" while playing rocketleague. I think it's good training for life: practice with temptetion with something as cheap as a videogame and stretch your "resistence" now, so that later when your income increases even further, you will avoid spending on way more expe…

> You can play those beautiful single player games that have none of these problems I was never a small studio lover, until all the large studios started really sucking. Tunic, Subnautica, Hollowknight, Outer Wilds are absolutely must plays. Tunic being the latest which has been the closest I’ll ever get to playing A Link To The Past for the first time again.

The big studios sucking has, for better or worse, reduced the amount of time I spend on games.

They don't survive if they don't do something right. Compare that to the big studios who churn out their yearly releases, and get by because they're still milking a cash cow that dominates the 'gaming' headspace for people who prefer to turn on a console and stay busy.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#462

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

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..!

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.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#463

Post by paulmd »

gigaflop wrote: post #443
paulmd wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Monetisation strategies like microtransactions, loot boxes, etc. are also part of the game. However, the goal of such parts is not aligned with that of the others. The game is compromised by the introduction of the monetisation strategies. Yup, I think this gets lost in the "visual-only cosmetics are fine/gameplay-affecting is bad" position. The problem is that in most cases, even if the cosmetic is purely visual,…

If you're at the pro-level, then why does cosmetic choice matter? If it's actually a competitive environment, with people of similar skill levels, then you should be able to have some amount of trust in the skills of other players. If I were on an actual team of people, I'd expect cosmetics to only matter for at-a-glance identification of a specific player.

because tf2 largely isn't centered around the "pro experience" even if the players are at the top of the playerbase. Comp is its own thing with its own rules, and "casual" gameplay is what the game is designed and balanced around. Comp usually bans about half or 2/3rds of the weapons in the game and imposes additional rules (class limits, no weapons pickups, etc). It's a completely different thing that happens to run on the same engine.

Most games you will play with 23 other randoms who you will never see again after a couple hours. And that is actually the problem - on an actual competitive team your entire team would be decent and everyone would be there to play seriously and get stuff done. But in public games you need some kind of fitness signal to figure out which players are going to be a waste of a team's scarcest resource. How do you tell that from a bunch of players jumping around a spawn room like monkeys for a minute during the setup countdown? Cosmetics. Plumage.

(and actually Valve have gone out of their way over the years to remove other potential signals, like sprays and chat...)

Plumage evolved in nature for a reason, it's still functional and important even though it's "cosmetic-only". Games are a social phenomenon and plumage is still important to them too and that still affects your gameplay too.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#464

Post by crtasm »

paulmd wrote: post #419
qwery wrote: post #211

Earlier 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…

> Monetisation strategies like microtransactions, loot boxes, etc. are also part of the game. However, the goal of such parts is not aligned with that of the others. The game is compromised by the introduction of the monetisation strategies. Yup, I think this gets lost in the "visual-only cosmetics are fine/gameplay-affecting is bad" position. The problem is that in most cases, even if the cosmetic is purely visual,…

> you can point to Elden Ring but even then they are introducing "cooperative" mechanics that fundamentally exist as a way to get an "always-online" server system into the picture as a platform for MTX.

What? Co-op/PvP has been a major part of From Software's souls games going back to Demon's Souls in 2009. They can also be played entirely offline if you wish and have zero microtransactions or Denuvo.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#465

Post by gmadsen »

SentientNo4 wrote: post #236
qwery wrote: post #211

Earlier 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.

I think people usually mean there is no competitive advantage with cosmetics.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#466

Post by akira2501 »

failrate wrote: post #428

There are so many new and dufferent games being created at all times, I defy you to even point in a general direction and say "this is what video games are". Coupled with that is the horrible viewpoint that the money for your game is now "wasted", which assumes that most everything we buy is kept, when in reality, most of what we buy is transient: food, energy, garments.

I think people play games looking for an escape. So a game that attempts to bring the "transient reality" of everyday life as part of it's core mechanic is severely missing the point.

Then again, Roblox has kids literally "working" for each other. So, what do I know?

Re: I hate what video games have become

#467

Post by mcphage »

jcranmer wrote: post #388
mcphage wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or... you could just buy it all from Steam, where right now it's going for only... $384.89. Huh.

If you're going to pick up EU4, wait until one of the times it goes on sale (it does so frequently). You'll be able to get a bundle with the main game and most of the expansions for ~75% off the bundle price (itself a decent discount over buying everything individually).

The person I was responding to mentioned that it was on sale in a Humble Bundle for $20—I was just amazed at how big the price difference was!

Re: I hate what video games have become

#468

Post by nanochad »

dado3212 wrote: post #7

I 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…

No post body was provided.

Re: I hate what video games have become

#469

Post by [deleted] »

akira2501 wrote: post #466
failrate wrote: post #428

There are so many new and dufferent games being created at all times, I defy you to even point in a general direction and say "this is what video games are". Coupled with that is the horrible viewpoint that the money for your game is now "wasted", which assumes that most everything we buy is kept, when in reality, most of what we buy is transient: food, energy, garments.

I think people play games looking for an escape. So a game that attempts to bring the "transient reality" of everyday life as part of it's core mechanic is severely missing the point. Then again, Roblox has kids literally "working" for each other. So, what do I know?

[deleted]

Re: I hate what video games have become

#470

Post by dfxm12 »

It's good that there's plenty of games the author probably hasn't played yet.

I get pressing back against what seems like to be a growing trend of exploiting whales (although that doesn't seem to be the exact point they're trying to make), but on the other hand there are a few Castlevania games I can play on my 3DS that I missed when they first came out. I'd just as soon play one of those than worry about what's on Steam.

And on the other finger, even if you only care for contemporary games, Elden Ring just came out and has a TON of content before having to buy any DLC/whatever.

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