Here's my thought for the day, somewhat related to my previous post on addiction. I'll make this short and sweet.
1. The best game for me is one that can get me addicted to it. If it's just meh, that means it's boring and I won't play it. Hence, in my universe, a really good game is addictive. It makes me wanna play it.
2. If a new game can't hold me for more than 15 minutes, chances are it's boring. So I won't play it. Those first few minutes are crucial and they can make or break my impression of the game.
3. Finally, a good game in my book should also have high replayability. I won't mention WoW here (oops I just did) but Diablo (especially D2) is a good example.
I am forever searching for games that fulfill these basic requirements. Unfortunately these days they are few and far between. I haven't played another game apart from WoW for years, simply because there hasn't been one good enough to keep me interested. I tried Fallout 3 (having played the previous two excellent episodes) and I couldn't do it for more than an hour. I'm not giving up hope though. Once in a blue moon I come across a rare gem such as Borderlands and let's not forget that Diablo 3 is on the horizon. Viva el addiction!
Patch 1.0.5 commentary
12 years ago
19 comments:
You should apply for the Starcraft II beta and give it a try. I've never been big on RTS games, but I have to admit that this one is quite addictive. But I'm really looking forward to Diablo 3 as well.
How about changing how you play wow? Become a weird pvp spec or try your luck at mastering the auction house?
In my opinion what you wrote does not refer to addiction. I would say that 1), 2) and 3) are the "top three" points that make a game fun and worth playing it.
That said, even chess is amazingly fun (for some) because it involves tactics, patience, etc. But what if you play chess all the day? It becomes and addiction.
A good book can be amazingly addictive... that you could finish reading it in one or two days. That's great. But what if you start reading books all the time, skipping important tasks, sleeping less hours at night and so on? It would be bad. It would be an addiction.
It's not WoW or -more in general- gaming. It's "how you dedicate to your passion". Do you do that in a healthy way OR do you find yourself trying to stick to your PC as soon as your wife turns to the kitchen and leaves you 5 minutes "to check if that chest will drop a rare ring..."?
That's the main difference between "hobby" and "addiction". WoW is just an example, it could be any kind of game. It's just that WoW is developed in a way to drag you in a kind of infinite loop.
Yo Darth, I'd like to invite you to try "Just Cause 2". There is a nice demo that will make you cry for more when it finishes.
It's an action FPS with a very interactive/destructible world (Crysis anyone?), full of crazy physics and a UBER SUPER HUGE world, TONS of vehicles, weapons, etc.
The main character (you) is a sort of 007 super hero: you can do amazing tricks, fly with your parachute, drive ina "stunt-like" way and so on.
Missions can be re-done when you fail (Grand Theft Auto anyone?) so if you die 2-3 times in a row you just quit, do something else and try again next time. No hurry, no stress.
Is it addictive? Yes, because it's full of places to visit (AMAZING landscapes, trust me), full of missions and much more. BUT it's a "nice" addiction, you wont feel the need to play 4 hours on a row, every single day.
Try it. The 3D engine is incredible, I can run it at (almost) full detail, 2X AA, 16XAniso on a GeForce 8800GTS @ 1280x1024, 2Gb ram, Intel dualcore (a bit old).
@Medwards I don't know man, though I've dabbled in Warcraft 1/2/3 and Starcraft + Broodwar, as well as the C&C and Red Alert series, I never had what it took to actually finish the damn single player campaigns.
@Markco thanks but no pvp for me and I'm kinda tired of making gold. Right now I'm just taking a long break from WoW.
@Dalaila I took a look at JC2 and it looks very similar to Crysis. Though I finished FarCry, I couldn't finish Crysis. It got frustrating at some point. I'll see if I can get a demo of JC2 but right now I'm having too much fun in Borderlands.
@ Darth
I did not like Crysis too. I finished it because I spent the money for the original game but to be honest I hated it. JC is much better imho, give it a try (demo)
I'll try it when I have some time if you promise to try Borderlands :D
I never used to play any type of fantasy games untill World of Warcraft and most games couldn't hold my attention. One day while watching Xplay, they reveiwed Planetside and I was amazed at the concept. A first person shooter on an epic scale. Hundreds of people fighting in the same locations. When I got my hands on it the game was addictive. Three years went by before I was looking for something else and that was where WOW came in.
I just came across an article saying that Sony was in the works for a Planetside 2 and Blizzard is working on a first person MMO also. This should be interesting.
I officially
HATE
Borderland's inventory system
Damn it!!!
Hey Darth! Was sad to read ur takin it easy..this was one of the better blogs in the wow-o-sphere..anyways all goodie, im breaking from wow now too after 4 or 5 yrs, jus feel its getting too repetative. Anyways started playing Fallen Earth and im totally head over heels for it! Was thinking u should give it a shot if ur looking for a good game to sink ur teeth into...plus its very, very, solo friendly
@ Darth
Borderlands kicks a**! I love it.
@ Darth
I miss a chest... damn the inventory and items management are hooooorrible :|
@Anonymous hey thanks man! I don't think this is such a great blog though but I really appreciate the compliment.
@Dalaila yeah the inventory system kinda sucks because they ported it over from consoles. Though I don't know if you're playing it on console or PC. They didn't adapt the interface for PCs which is a great big shame.
The inventory gets easier to maintain later as you approach levels 35-40 because at this level I have 39 slots. There are quests along the way (Claptrap Rescue) in most areas which reward you with an extra 3 slots.
At this level however, I've also collected a lot of nice guns which I don't want to get rid of. I have, for example, 2 rocket launchers with different elemental effects, 4 sniper rifles with various effects and so on.
I'm really glad you like the game!
@ Darth
I'm on PC version. I've ot the demo then downloaded the full game to "test" it before buying. Yesterday I spent those 29 bucks on the Steam version.
Graphics are pretty good and fast. I just removed the intro videos and the black border around models, now it looks MUCH better.
Heh heh you're already hacking it. Does removing the black borders make it look better?
@ Darth
Yes, it's MUCH MUCH better. Graphics still look cartoonish but in a good way. I feel the black border is too much and removes some beauty of the engine.
What's your nick? I could add you on Steam or Gamespy.
I don't play this online and I don't want to. It's sort of a WoW cure if you will :) Besides, I really don't want to get involved with Gamespy.
@ Dart
To be honest it's really different, much like playing Diablo online... with MUCH less people around. No way to get addicted.
I hope I'm not the cause of a WoW relapse, but Children's Week has just started.
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