What do people generally like here and aspire to game wise??
polycounter lvl 6
Idk fellows,
It always seems as though I am out of loop or not as hyped about the titles that people here often reference or make huge threads about usually aren't things I usually would play unless I got them as gifts or I really out of ideas. I usually wouldn't slam these titles, but folks often see titles I would enjoy as childish or uninteresting.
I remember I mentioned something about Mario and Luigi, and some folks jeered, while on the other hand someone made a thread about a title called "skyrim" and the thread went on for a year or so. Do folks like this "realistic fantasy" where things are realistic enough to be believable, but have things that would be real i that setting? I never really found that appealing at all, if I was going for "fantasy" it would really be more games that would be completely absurd and could never really be real.
Also there seems to be an affixation on really high testosterone driven games; I often call them by another name, however that is in the past. It just seems as these types of titles often cause the most problems in the gaming community, and have for the longest period of time. I really never got the appeal of them; it seemed as though folks often played them to seem "mature" or something of that nature; and that everything else was made for "babies".
I honestly want to know what the deal is, and why almost everything else is invisible to people, well everywhere online. Perhaps I am missing something right now or forgetting a key piece of information.
It always seems as though I am out of loop or not as hyped about the titles that people here often reference or make huge threads about usually aren't things I usually would play unless I got them as gifts or I really out of ideas. I usually wouldn't slam these titles, but folks often see titles I would enjoy as childish or uninteresting.
I remember I mentioned something about Mario and Luigi, and some folks jeered, while on the other hand someone made a thread about a title called "skyrim" and the thread went on for a year or so. Do folks like this "realistic fantasy" where things are realistic enough to be believable, but have things that would be real i that setting? I never really found that appealing at all, if I was going for "fantasy" it would really be more games that would be completely absurd and could never really be real.
Also there seems to be an affixation on really high testosterone driven games; I often call them by another name, however that is in the past. It just seems as these types of titles often cause the most problems in the gaming community, and have for the longest period of time. I really never got the appeal of them; it seemed as though folks often played them to seem "mature" or something of that nature; and that everything else was made for "babies".
I honestly want to know what the deal is, and why almost everything else is invisible to people, well everywhere online. Perhaps I am missing something right now or forgetting a key piece of information.
Replies
Everyone should play all the games!
Games can be mature without being macho, I typically prefer them that way.
I think it's te opposite, at some point in life you start narrowing down what games you play. I thinks it's a combination of maturity and also having less time to actually play as responsibilities and family begin to take up more of your time.
I have seen this behavior in me, and I've seen it in my friends/brothers as well. At some point, shooting bad guys to an awful plot/story just isn't enough to keep you entertained where there are other things on your mind. Playing a fantasy game with bare chested men gets boring because that model of hero or "manliness" is no longer applicable to your life. Meanwhile, games are being written for teenagers, who have a different sense of humor and priority, so games that once enthralled you tend to make you cringe. I'm thinking here of gtav vs the gta games I played as a young adult. The games and humor and writing haven't changed, I have.
I also think that one major reason we play games (or read, or watch movies) is for the escapism. Games are arguably the most effective method of escapism, and it's something I think we all generally need.
But the terms under which escapism is possible become more complicated with age. This is basically a paraphrase of above, but when you become more mature or complicated as a person, and you lead a more complicated life, the requirements for escapism become more specific. When we're teens we escape into daydreams of gettin the girl and beating up the bully, but as adults our needs are far more "gray area", our daydreams out of the hero worship model, out of the "get the girl" narrative.
That would all fall under 'narrative escapism' I suppose, which is generally the reason we read a book, or watch a more story informed movie. For something like 'turn my brain off escapism', which is equally valid, there are a whole 'nother set of rules which might or might not be driven by age.
If I want to turn my brain off, I don't read a book, I watch an action movie, or play a game where I get to do something reactionary, be that killing people as obstacles, or playing on a guitar in rockband, or running around with Mario and Luigi.
I don't really know what you mean by that. I get the feeling you are talking about Call of Duty, but then you say that these games are seen as 'more mature', and COD and it's brethren seems like are more associated with immaturity, even more so than Mario, which might be a kids game, but also doesn't come with the 'teenage gamer' stereotype (accurate or not).
I mean, I think part of the problem here is that 'big' games like Skyrim or other AAA titles just have more mass appeal, so there is going to be more press and discussion about them, because more people are interested. I don't think that's an inherent value judgement on other games with a smaller following, it's just how numbers and perception work.
You see a game like Journey, which doesn't get as much press as your COD's, doesn't mean that journey is worse, it just means that it has a smaller appeal. Within that smaller group however, you have people who have very deep experiences with the game, but because the way the game is built, not as many people are going to connect with it.
________________________
I really don't want my opinion here to turn into another flame-war like the "impact game" thread, so I offer this disclaimer: it's just my opinion. It's a really small sample size of anecdotes I'm thinking about, and lots of it is my own personal feelings as well. I do not think that games are bad, I do not think that adults who like "get the girl", or "hero worship", or potty humor type games are idiots or beneath me or anything resembling that. I fully recognize that escapism comes for everyone for different reasons, and since I believe the escapist behavior is a human need/necessity, that if you find enjoyment in these games, that is a really great thing.
I'd also like to point out that this post is split into three things. One discusses the merits of 'narrative based escapism', one recognized other types of escapism like 'turning your brain off', and the last is my reply to the OP, just in case people are going to want to compare apples to oranges here. I think that 'turn your brain off' escapism is absolutely just as valid is 'narrative escapism', and there are other types besides.
I think the people who narrow their gaming interests to a handful of genres or even just a handful of franchises really miss out on a lot of amazing experiences.
its really awful because they often have such a great base formula and can do alot with these games, but they just turn it into the magical cash cow franchise and stop pushing the bar, often which got them where they are in the first place.
For instance I have very little interest for any 8th gen games atm, I'm like "oh that's nice... *alt tabs back to Zbrush*"
This has however given me a deeper affinity towards indie games, where innovation, child like wonder and escapism still exist for me there.
Aswell as greater appreciation for older well made games.
It's been a while since I've been genuinely psyched for a game's release, the search now turning inwards to what I could bring into creating a game that I would be psyched for. While all this could be construed as negative towards games; I feel it's a much greater positive for me personally and games in general imo. Not just as a strive for better games, but to create that fulfilment ourselves when we can't find it in existing games
/opinion
However, when a really good game comes along, it shines all the brighter because it is immediately obvious that a lot of love went into it. A shining example of this would be the new GTA V.
So i dont really care about genres, I'll play anything! I just want games to be good, not the spoonfed yearly crap that we get as the result of the media business model we have now.
So ye im looking forward to Titanfall, Assetto Corsa, Satellite Reign, games like that.
I cant even start talking about band without going on a megarant, so ill leave it there......but one last thing....
DICE, used to be one of the best developers on the planet......what a let down to seem them releasing the same game every year. Apologises if you work there, its not a slur on the quality of art, just disappointment in the dumbing dowm of all aspects of game design, and ending up with a worse game than battlefield 2
I seem to be even father removed than I thought. Honestly when playing a game I am not trying to escape, I really just wanted to see interesting things (ie. cool special attacks,interesting locations,characters and items), I never wanted to put myself in the character's shoes; perhaps that's why I never really got into these shootery or woodland games. Also this could be the reason I tend to like things you fellows would deem "childish" because they just happen to have more interesting things occurring to me at least.
When mentioning Mario and Luigi" I was referring to the Super Star Saga games for the handhelds; not the platformers (albiet the galaxy series was one of the most interesting i've played) it's honestly one of the stranger rpgs that I experienced.
The reason why I switched from playing mainly platformers in my early years to mainly rpgs and srpgs was due to the fact that platfomers were often too short.
One could finish most of the earlier titles in a few sittings
I wanted to get my money's worth by playing difficult, lengthy, story driven tittles.
That was honestly the key factor in the matter.
When I mentioned people being "mature" I am not referring to one actually coming of age;
I was to false bravado, that goes along with "M"; that supposedly makes many fellows about feel
like "MAJOR MACHO MEN (AND LADIES)".
"WE CAN'T PLAY THOSE BABY GAMES, WE'VE GOTTA CHUG MONSTER, AND PWN NOOBS"
"THIS GAME IS SOOOOOOO REAL, IF IT'S NOT REAL, IT'S FOR BABIES"
This attitude seems to prevalent everywhere even here.
Mask_Salesman
Indeed, I always feel the need to make fellows instead of playing games for quite some time.
I wholeheartedly agree with you about the ind
As far as not seeking escapism in games, that's cool, I get it - you find games and mechanics etc interesting. I do find this stuff interesting as well, although I do also like to escape into a good story or into a good challenge as well. I still regularly play MegaManX4 for the challenge, the moves, the bosses - it's a fantastic game to lose an afternoon too.
Eh. I don't see it here too much, and if it is here your embellishment makes it seem super immature. People are allowed to like 'high octane' games without being caricatures, and I think portraying them that way is disingenous.
Think about the latest high octane game, which is COD ghosts. Take a look though the thread on it, it's mostly negative, and what positivity is there is tempered and level-headed. There is no 'LOL PAWN NOOB' circle jerk going on.
I think that part is in your head, and I find it just as annoying as if I met someone who actually was the way you are portraying them.
@mask, while I appreciate that you agree with me (might be the first time in the history of polycount general discussion), I wouldn't say that my point was that my tastes are 'refined' or snobbish. I have no idea what a 'refined' game would be, but I know for myself what interests me, and I narrow down what I play around that. I am interested in new game mechanics too, so I play games that I am not sure about sometimes too.
[ame="
I really wish I stuck with making 2d games when I was a teenager, that's my one true regret.
Overall I prefer indie games, most big games are safe designed by committee games. You'll never see main stream gaming do something totally off the walls weird like this:
[ame="
Less time yes, most definitely.
For me it was more about having less time to play games, but it didn't alter what games I wish I had more time for.
Maturity for me meant I was no longer afraid of how people would think of me for my choices, same with music.
I think the twist here is that we never mention which games are the immature or mature ones, it's about our ability to enjoy both.
It's not the best example though, journey is praised far and wide, and sold pretty well.
Most games just don't grab me, for instance 'The Last of Us' went out of my way to buy it, because of the hype, played for a good hour or 2 and it never saw the light of day again; inb4 Fwap is a heretic.
But on the other hand, all and every Battlefield and Elder Scrolls games, I snatch that shit straight up.
everyone is entitled to their own tastes and opinions on games its what makes us humans.
Fair enough, although I wouldn't call not being vain 'mature'. Certainly knowing more about yourself including what games you enjoy might be one small component of maturity, but personally I feel it's possible to also be slightly vain without being 'immature'. yes, there is probably a line somewhere, but frankly I think the world would be a slightly better place if more people were slightly more vain.
Not everyone is going to enjoy both, but we agree that no claims of maturity or not shouldn't be involved either way, which is why ValueMeals original post and follow up post annoyed me a bit. I don't buy into what valuemeal thinks of COD or other players as people who think...
He seems frustrated by how he thinks others view him, but he has no problem being rude and condescending to other people based on their game choices. Truth is that anybody can enjoy any game for any reason they want, and they don't deserve the treatment that he is expressing. That kind of stuff is just personal taste.
Journey sold huge, (I believe it was the fastest selling PSN game ever) and the fact that it was praised so highly is why it makes a good example. It's an amazing game (well, I thought it was), and yet because it's a more niche experience, it gets a lot less press or popular attention than a Skyrim, or a COD, which is what ValueMeal was complaining about.
So yeah, it sold well, but Journey didn't have these huge threads and persistently massive communities that around it, like titles like Skyrim. Not that it doesn't have these things, it just doesn't have the same number, because it has less mass appeal, maybe a smaller marketing budget.
There are tons of other games that could be used as example - amazing games with near universal praise, which despite selling well will never see popularity on par with the larger blockbuster games, even if those BBGames are maybe worse (subjectively). Braid, Limbo, Echochrome, etc.
[ame="
You assume too much,
You think I'm insecure?
Who are the people who feel the need to assert their dominance through gun based or gory games.
I just want to have conversations with fellows about games without them roid raging because I am not mentioning a "Mature" game.
Many people enjoy these tough guy games because they infact are insecure and must feel like large fellows, and throw their weight about. Seriously, what type of game fellows are more likely to get angry at the littlest things? Who are all these social justice fellows yammering on about, and what are all these negative interpretations of video games being attributed to in the media? These needlessly violent games that folks are playing; they are just no good at all.
Justin Meisse
I wasn't aware that title had such things, when I watched folks play and saw the
characters it just seemed to be the standard woodland affair.
Fwap
Indeed, following hype never seems to be a good thing, it seems as though these hyped games always just fade into obscurity over time
That's a big assumption right there.
I remember once someone got really miffed because I mentioned the We Love Katamari title "I AM A GROWN MAN, I PLAY GROWN MAN GAMES"
Also one of those social justice fellows said that this is the only venue where a "fellow can be a fellow" in an equality based or something of that nature. It was most likely nonsense though
Games get a lot of hate by uneducated people the same way books used to get hate. People dislike what they don't understand.
I don't see what's wrong with letting people play the games they have fun on. I play a lot of these "tough guy" games and it's not because I'm insecure, it's because the game is fun. By your logic, somebody who enjoys these "tough guy" games, would enjoy ALL of those types of games which isn't the case. You often see CoD fans hating on Battlefield or the opposite, or Saints Row fans hating on Grand Theft Auto.
@Fwap, you should consider giving The Last of Us another try. Personally I hated much of the game and even to this day I think it's an overrated title (it was still a great game and the devs deserve the recognition they received). I didn't start enjoying the game until I got around halfway through it. It's one of those games that starts off pretty badly but gets better as you progress, at least imo.
That guy sounds a bit strange, I wouldn't judge everyone else by it, I work in the game industry and Katamari is pretty well loved and respected.
I have no absolutely no idea what you mean by a "social justice fellow".
If you can't talk to other people about the games you enjoy maybe you should find a new group of acquaintances who do enjoy your type of games.
Hell, I'm 33 and have a WiiU and Super Mario 3D World is probably the game I'm looking forward to the most in the next month or so. At the same time, I'm playing Arkham Origins after just finishing GTAV. Those are pretty broad, but who cares, I play what I like.
What a silly thing to worry about.
Anyone can play whatever they want as far as I am concerned. (this gives me the excuse to love trials HD as much as I do...Man I am a tilty bike game addict...dont judge me!!)
Then EVE caught me. Another 5 years and really nothing in between.
Lately I started exploring PS3 titles and indie games and to be honest I feel like I missed a lot. It's cool to immerse yourself but then it almost becomes like second life and narrows you in a lot of ways.
I stay away from MMOs these days and look to cool indie stuff that's out there. I find it more entertaining than ever. Well I do play BF4 but that's simply cause I like to shoot people from time to time
Perhaps that's the lesson to be learned here ? Not judging books by their covers, that kind of stuff. There are many movies or pieces of illustrative art out there that don't seem like much at first, but actually have great things to offer below - aesthetically or meaning-wise. Similarly, not all games are dumb and vapid. Some games certainly are tho !
Personally I think it's all about embracing one's interests, and being just open-minded enough to try new things. I think that as soon as you try to split things down the middle between "colorful" and "gritty realistic boring" you are putting yourself in a very biased position preventing you from fully enjoying either. Turns out there are some very shitty cartoony games out there, and some excellent, deep games hiding behind a coat of "realism". Just play what you like !
Also, there is no shame in dropping a game after just an half hour of gameplay if it doesn't click for you. Certain people just like different things.
If you want a recommendation, I'd say pick up the first Metal Gear game for PS1 (you can get it for PS3 on the PSN store). It's a perfect blend of a game, aspiring for movie-like aesthetics but very limited by the hardware of the time, which led to great visual design choices that shaped the franchise to this day. I think you will surprise yourself enjoying a game with guns and stuff - because there is actually much more to it than that.
And metal gear aswell.
Agree with the sentiments here. Just the trailer of NITW instilled me with emotions I never get from video games. We're witnessing exciting times
With games like the newer Ratchet and Clank games, Journey, Flower, lots of indie games and some others like Luigi's Mansion 2, I feel pretty good once I finish these. They really compact the game into a nice small, but polished package. And when I consider that a lot of these games cost less than your average AAA, I feel like the price, quality and the ability to complete it all really make me feel like it was really worthwhile.
That doesn't mean that I hate more epicly scaled games though. So for me personally when it comes to game development, I want to reflect the things I like in the games I play, which revolve around smaller games with polished and unified content.
Believe me, I've played them. I remember back in the Halo days people always tried to get me to play battles maps for some reason, that was no fun at all, and I would often get bored in seconds . There weren't that many sights to be seen nor were there interesting fellows.
As that one tropes lady would say "it was a power fantasy".
I understand what is going here very clearly, it's supposedly empowering to play these ones. Also folks always get over hyped or angry when playing these ones. I never really do that for any game, even when being defeated while in a difficult dungeon or when a super boss is finally defeated .
That's what I refer to them as "meat" these games seem to invoke some sort of primal surge in the minds of those who play.
seth.
The reason they aren't saying anything about them is because these games are invisible to them. They only see games they believe as HARD CORE.
Don't believe me?
Ask anyone around about
radiant historia
M&L Super Star Saga series
Makai kingdom
Katamari
arc lad series
lunar
Ristar
or Rayman ( well more people will know about this title because there were many recent entries)
They only see the tough things.
Seriously, even if you tell them you are trying to make something Nintendo like they will instantly go to Metroid and Zelda series because that's the closet thing to tough guy thing. I remember I was trying to make nintendo like dudes, and someone said "You aren't doing it like that, try looking at Metroid or Zelda" Has anyone ever played superstar saga, kirby, staffy or the wario games, I mean come on ?
pior
I am aware of MGS I borrowed all three from a friend when I was in highschool, he insisted that I played these ones. They were pretty good, however they all proved to be rather short, this game seem to have many memorable quotes and funny things occur too. It wasn't my cup of tea but it was pretty ok. Also I have tried a couple of other games folks seem to like however I didn't like them that much. I remember resident evil being my first actual headache, and I had to shut it off.
My favorite scene is when everything gets glitched out and that Raiden is being toyed with by the fake colonel
[ame="
Another major reason I don't play many of the more "mature" games is because the first person view makes me dizzy after awhile.
Justin Meisse
It just seemed to be many people who thought that way throughout life; I am not making up the Bravado thing, I have seen it in person.
Social justice fellows are like that lady who often makes tropes, I think she made a new video.
I have a friend who is a super halo fan, you'd probably call him a "meaty fellow" because he's built like a linebacker. He also named his kids after characters from Lunar.
If you want to have a conversation with fellows about games without them roid raging then why didn't you start a thread for that? Instead of just trying to find people to rage with about certain types of people you don't like just to enforce your stereotype. But, I guess you're just trying to feel secure.
Saying that, the conversation it sparked has been cool; it was interesting to see everyones thoughts. As for me, I'm enjoying (mainly) shorter games these days.. I think our lifestyles we choose/end up with help define what kinda games we end up playing, if any... Like, I love the idea of MMOs and played a few when I was younger, but now I don't have the time to sink in hours of gameplay so doesnt seem worth it. I still like MMOs, but just don't play them. And I find I'm getting more excited about the ideas of games than actually playing them, and aspire to make certain types of games that I probably wouldn't play myself; but you know.. people have different tastes and stuff ¬_¬
Also adding to what ysalex said, with AAA games like Skyrim having a bigger fan base than games like Journey is probably not just because they're more popular or considered better by everyone, but the fact that these kinds of games last longer might come into it too. And they're also probably designed to harbour some kind of community too.
That's not the point, we have to keep telling people to stop liking what we don't like.
But you have to realize that different people like different things. You start this topic with such a seemingly inviting title, as if you're interested in other opinions. But like every other time you start something, it seems like you don't even want to hear about anything but your own views...
That's not a discussion, and it's why things tend to get out of hand in your topics often.
You seem to just want to see "meat" and 'woodland" (and anything similar) games be gone, people not speaking about them and not creating art in the style. What good is that? Why should anyone dictate their own tastes to others ?
I'm not into COD or BF or whatever, but I was really into Quake which I suppose falls into the same category. It was fun. That was why I played it. It wasn't, to my knowledge, because I was insecure.
I guess not, to tell you the truth, if that logic was applied; I would technically be a meathead because I go to the gym constantly and have large shoulders.
brwnbread
No way, I am secure as an iron pipe, fellows said I was insecure thus I said that they were insecure. I really don't play as many games nowadays either, I used to play quite a bit during the highschool era, I only played when home from seasonal breaks during college, and nowadays I spend every waking moment making fellows. I sometimes watch let's plays of old games while I am working on projects or watch them to sample some things that I would consider buying if I had the time.
Xoliul
I guess I might have said too much or perhaps I said it in the wrong way, I am sorry. I want to hear people's perspectives on things, but it always seems as though many people seem to like those games you mentioned.
Well,I wouldn't want to see meat and woodland games completely disappear, it just seems as though that is what people think of when they think of games. Like way back in the day, techtv only seemed to have videogame documentaries on woodland and gun based games.
Years ago it just seemed as though mascot types were huger and the more "mature" types of games were the ones causing the problems
[ame="
Also
More I would actually like to see the more unusual type going back to being top dogs,
and more mascot dudes would be talk of the town instead of the tough games.
WarrenM
I think I did that in retaliation, I am sorry... To tell you the truth I am sometimes envious of the community the shooter dudes have. It seems as though they can go online or irl and find many folks who like the same titles. Gaming always seemed to be a solitary thing for me most of the time, I rarely even got to trade pokemon with anyone when I played.
I never got that sense of unity, it always seemed as though no one even knew about the titles I enjoyed until I was in college. Even then, I never got the experience you dudes did.
Well, that tropes lady once said something about male power fantasies and it was only place where fellows could be fellows, that's why I brought it up.
But anyway ignoring that segway, people like different types of games for different reasons, i love playing quirky indie titles,i rarely get the chance to play them though because of time, i love playing mmos as well but the timesink is astronomical, twitch shooters are great for when im feeling competitive. They all have their place, there is room for innovation and it will happen eventually.
Well keep in mind that stereotyping all players of shooty "meat" games as muscly, insecure dudes is just as bad as saying all people that like the "mascot" type of games are childish. You're going to offend people if you do that, I think you've seen some clear examples that that is not true.
And yes, many people like those games. I think you don't realize how different the average videogame consumer is from people like us, or even just 'regular' gamers that post on forums. Those people make up a HUGE percentage of the market. Read this to get some insight: http://www.destructoid.com/facts-about-game-consumers-i-learned-working-retail-261220.phtml
To put it bluntly: the average consumer, those people from whom publishers make most of their huge profits, are not very educated, informed and don't have a refined taste in games.
That also means that what you're wishing for most probably isn't gonna happen. It's even less likely than the average Joe suddenly starting to care about the environment, social injustice, etc... (you know, important stuff that is messed up in the world today)
Well the thing is, some of these "tough games" you easily frown upon are actually excellent, extremely well balanced, fun to play and innovative. But if you approach them with a bias, you risk on missing a lot of great experiences.
I love Mario and fresh original worlds, but I'd go for BlackOps over shitty Bubsby any day
That's actually quite chilling to tell you the truth, how could one not research what they are purchasing when they cost so much or if they were topics of interest? Also wouldn't one seek out games that were of the best quailtiy or research what is good or not .
That was excusable back in 90's when you could rent just about any game from blockbuster for a weekend, and return it without consequence; but in the age of information one would have to be out right ignorant not research any topic of interest. I never got that, I remember after school on weekdays I would often go to the library and read up on random interesting topics for hours, watch the discovery channel, collect informational books, browse through the encyclopedia and practice foreign language and things of that nature. Why wouldn't folks want to educate themselves
I remember back in the early 00's I went out of my way, to find hidden gems, if I saw interesting designs and a high score, I'd more than likely buy it. 9 times out of 10 I'd find a golden game; I would rarely ever be disappointed with my purchase.
I can only recall 2 bad experiences, when
I heard an Arc the Lad game was coming out for the ps2 I jumped for joy, and I also saw that it got an 8.4 I was on it. When I
played the title I was sorely disappointed all of the cool characters had to be somewhat evil, none of the riveting old school 16-bit jazz beats were implemented instead they had really drab stock music,
compare the original arena theme
[ame="
to the ps2's
[ame="
the art style didn't transfer well into 3D either I was sorely disappointed.
(With all the sprite games that I played, I'm surprised that I didn't become a sprite artist instead of a 3D fellow)
I am still shocked that people actually play madden, I've only seen folks play it and it seems to be the same game over and over again. I never actually got the appeal of sports games at all to be honest.
Also why would someone buy a console because it a "hot item"? I've never been that materialistic of a person, but still that's outright greedy. Who are they trying to impress.
Well, the mascot thing might occur if many people start being kids mascot games at an early age; and then they will have the taste for such things later on instead of violent video games.
Pior
For the longest time I thought that the "tough guy games" were only getting popular because people were hoping on the band wagon; during high school people played certain games just because everyone else was playing. I thought that this was transferring here as well. As mentioned in Xoliul's link no one cared about esrb ratings, and people were playing things just because they were violent. I remember in highschool saying "That's M for mature, we can't play that, it's too violent", and folks would scoff at me. Also it seemed as though violent video games always appeared in the news making everything look bad for everyone else.
I remember fellows didn't want to be out of the Halo loop so they started Ito play to have fun with friends instead of actually playing cool games; I didn't seem to like anything on the Xbox's repertoire at all , so I stuck with what I enjoyed personally.
You just had to bring up Bubsy, lol. That dude would die if the wind blew in the wrong direction, speaking of which I remember when sega would release the crappiest games via this "Sega kids club" and it was mediocre platformers being churned out that lasted less than an afternoon, no one is going to spend 50 dollars on that, get the heck out here with that.
When I rate the game I take only three things under consideration:
1. Game mechanics.
2. How polished it is.
3. Quality of graphics. (this is bit vague point, but the visuals must meet certain point to be good enough to do not bother me, if the game makes me stare at wall it means it have exceptional good or bad visuals).
Beyond those points anything else is not important. I couldn't care less if play little pony or if story is most ridiculous thing ever.
Story won't make game for me, if one of three above points is flawed.
Man I'd do anything for there to be a proper 3rd game but unfortunately the sequel sold like shit so EA is just sitting on the IP.
Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective
For me, graphics are the least important factor to a game. Brogue, Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft are some of my favorite games. Brogue & DF simply use ascii art and my girlfriend always wonders why I play Minecraft because it's so blocky looking.
I love the art style in Proteus, it's so lo-fi and simple but there's so many beautiful and poignant moments in there.
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Now I'll go against my initial statement and post a 'game' that has amazing environment art that's worth the price alone. The fact that there is a kind of mysterious story conveyed by poetry throughout the game made it more interesting.
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I hate to break this to you but it's because they don't give a crap. Other people are not you and like or dislike things differently than you would. Even if you don't understand their reasons for playing something like madden doesn't mean you can't understand that.
Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it has no intrinsic value. That's really kind of a self-centered viewpoint man. :V
I agree with a lot of people here; aesthetic is more important than having the most realistic graphics. And aesthetic is only a small part of why I truly enjoy a game. In fact, I've only played four games all the way through (the main story) in recent years. Journey, Skyrim, Dear Esther, and Alan Wake. And Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, over and over and over and over again. I haven't even played Amnesia all the way through.
None of these really have anything in common, except that they're compelling. Journey is modern and designey looking. Minimalistic, almost. Skyrim is borderline realistic and gritty, but at times very beautiful. Dear Esther is gloomy and Victorian. And Alan Wake is straight out of a Stephen King novel.
The only time I enjoy Call of Duty is while playing online. And I play it because it's fun, not because I enjoy shooting people, or throwing my weight around. I'm not drawn toward the masculine as an archetype. I don't get upset when I lose; I tend to laugh, actually. Because it's fun.
Interesting thread.