Does anyone feel the same way? For me, I can't seem to get into complex games anymore. It feels sometimes more like work (which I have plenty) than fun. Complex games are tiresome. I would love to invest brain and time in games, but I feel tired. But I would love to be able to manage that, since it is sometimes very rewarding. Opinions? Maybe I am just too old?
I don't mind complexity, as long as it's *fun*. Too many games these days are simple, but they're just mindless grinds. Some games are better at disguising it than others, but once a game's recognizably a grind, then I end up just regretting whatever time I invested in it, and I feel worse than if I'd spent time investing in a complex but ultimately more "game-like" game. One game that did it pretty well, IMO, was Sim City: BuildIt. It felt, initially, like a SimCity game, and it was only a week or so into it when I realized it was *just* a grind with none of the mechanical "charm" and complexity that made SimCity actually fun. Yeah, getting a new building was rewarding, but *what was it rewarding* other than mindless investment of time? For me, a game has to have something - strategy, social interactions, *something* to differentiate *me* playing it from some automaton with infinite time. And while SimCity had some cosmetic differentiation and it even had some minor superficial rewards to better "object placement", it was just a timer, in the end, and anyone who spent the time would basically end up with the same result.
I know what yoy mean, in principle, and simple mindless fun is perfect sometimes. But complexity can be FUN to master. The key, though, is easing you into it, so it's fun from the start. Many games don't do that, and then there's a not-so-fun "pay your dues" phase. Better to add elements gradually, or--my favorite, when it can be done--make the complexity be there all along, but you don't realize it until you get good enough to play on another level.
totally agree with you... i can't seem to find the strenght to power up the play station and have a 1 hour of session of metal gear or some rpg..
I agree with most of the posts here so far. For me, it all depends on the game. Immersion, is the biggest factor. I still find time to read books and comics, but if a game really pulls me in, i even at times forget that i still have reads to finish. As far as "chore" is concerned, im actually feeling this, not because of the long-session games, but more of what the game demands of me to maximize efficiency into that game. That said, the current example i am playing is Marvel Future Fight. The chore part is to make sure that none (or at least as little as possible) of the stamina is wasted. That means waking up in off hours to gather stuff, or play a few rounds, or just stopping whatever im doing to accomodate the game first to get the most off of it. Sometimes i dont feel like playing MFF (like when im playing LOL with some friends), but i have to open the app and autoplay missions while my mind is in LOL. I also dont use insta-complete-missions coz that means losing out on Group XP and a few other perks. And to talk a bit about immersion and game complexity, one huge example for me is Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. I have spent over 3000 hours into this series already since even back on the PSP, and it still draws me in. The good visuals the skill-based gameplay, the rewarding kills, the loot, the equipment, everything about the game is also packed with polish and quality that only really a few titles have achieved. Im glad this is on mobile, and i never even thought of the game as a waste of time, not even failed missions, although they happen rarely.
I have a game of Dungeon Hunter (the first one!) still sitting there all these years. Last I left off, I'm at a point where I don't know where my next "way point" is, so I wander around aimlessly hoping I trigger the next check point. In hindsight, I should've sucked it up and just see if there were any FAQ or walk throughs online to get moving along. Final Fantasy IV... I was lovin' it. FMV cutscenes, redone 3D graphics, and some slights all around made me glad I skipped the re-release for the Play Stations (not that I had any of those systems). However, I figured I beat the SNES version easily, so I choose hard mode. BIG MISTAKE! Since this goes by the original, harder Japanese difficulty, it's actually a level beyond hard! I actually had to re-attempt 3 boss fights that never gave me any problems! The fourth one... I'm actually stuck! I have an idea of how to execute a plan, but actually doing it has proven difficult! Furthermore, I don't know if I have the option of leveling up, although I guess I could dig up an older save point as opposed to the Quick Save. Even then, the battle layout may be such that the leveling up may not be applicable to help me! That's right... I need to check to see if that post will help. For more details, I started a thread here... http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=267447&highlight=final+fantasy FRUSTRATING! This is one of those moments where I wish it were f2p/freemium so I could at least have the option of throwing some $$ at the problem! Castlestorm: Free To Siege First tried this on a Wii U. I was amazed they did a good job translating this to iOS. Then I got initially fed up with the lack of gems being a pay wall or "wait wall" (to level up Equipment beyond initial levels, and to purchase some of them outright). I learned that It's good to have at least 50 gems on hand so that when you get introduced to any new equipment that had to be purchased, you could take advantage of the 1-time offer to get it at 50% off the usual # of gems. Due to this, the chore here is watching ads for gems. Do NOT regret paying to become a VIP Gamer, as that doubles my XP, removes ads throughout the game (not the ones for gems), and gives you 2500 coins and 10 gems per week, so if you're patient in the longer term and be sure to "check in" often, you'll rack up enough of those in-game currencies via "interest. Also, Raids get renewed every midnight (except when crossing into Sun.? When I'm more free!), and consist of 3 levels. You need to wait 2h 40 minutes between each one (or pay gems to speed things up), so it has artificially tethered me to my home wifi for certain parts of the day, and more so than usual :x During that initial "fed up" period with this, I actually went out and purchased the Steam version for $15 (includes 2 expansion campaigns). There are some things in the iOS version this doesn't have, like daily levels that require online access, but not having to deal with gems, 28" screen, and keyboard + mouse really do have their charms as well Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time I used to grind away, watching ads for coins. Alas, they didn't let me buy plants and upgrades that costed real $$, nor those that costed gems, but it did let me use Boosts to get through some tricky levels rather than spending too much extra time on them. I'm now at $384K, so I'm pretty confident I've got all I need there. Speaking of which, I also used to grind for gems by replaying levels to hope they drop randomly. Sometimes to meet a deadline of buying limited time plants. Now, I'm flush with gems (there was a surge one time period via Pinata party), and combine that with not many new things to purchase with gems (i don't care about customes), I'm flush with those too at 200+. Speaking of which again, it sort of became a chore to play the daily Pinata party levels that would renew every midnight local time, but even with just wifi on an IpT, I learned that I could start the level, and could replay the level when I went off wifi. Pretty handy to play later in the day at work, or at a rest stop. Otherwise, they're fun. Sometimes I throw coins here to just beat them quicker, or period. It's 50% fun, 50% to earn rewards.
