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Do developers purposely make their games feel like a damn chore?

levyjl1988

Banned
Why is it that most of the games I come across feel like a god damn chore.
Destiny 2 being one of the big ones.
There are bounties, dailies, weeklies, for incremental progress only for developers to simply take the finish line and push it even further.
Shoot this enemy with this shitty gun 1000 times. It just doesn't feel rewarding, the journey is not fun, it's perseverance in the worst ways.

Destiny 2 feels like a second job.
It was initially groundbreaking when it first came out despite the skeleton vanilla and later improved on some QoL features like locking items and adding collections to help clear the vault of clutter.
But some of its designs are counter-intuitive to its intention.
eg) Destiny 2 update removes Ramen coupons from inventories of Guardians because they want to reduce clutter, meanwhile introduces more clutter similar to the Ramen coupons like the Bray Tech Gift Certificate. Like WTF?
Remove useless items and then introduce more useless items.

Games such as these don't feel fun anymore. It doesn't feel intellectually thought out. The overseer of the project just can't imagine it from the player's perspective.
It doesn't get to the core value of mystery and curiosity and challenge. Only one game was to satisfy that thirst and it was Dark Souls, I have never come across any other game parallel to that experience.

Do developers purposely make games feel like a chore? It feels like constant fluff instead of set-piece upon setpiece experiences.
Games right now lack entertainment value. It seems like time wasters instead of carefully crafted well thought out designs with problem-solving encounters like Dark Souls.

I was just watching this video and I whole heartily agree. I don't complete games like I used to, they feel like a damn chore. It's like developers just fucking poisoned the well.


Collectibles aren't what they used to. They just feel tacked on to satisfy a quota. I enjoyed Alan Wake until I saw big fucking thermoses to collect and the experience turned into a just a game and I stopped playing midway through, it was immersion-breaking.


Fuck, why do these companies pay these game designers if they put out trash like this in the market.
We need a higher bar for acceptable game design, I mean the industry has been polluted with exploitative practices like loot boxes and garbage design that appeals to the reptile brain that we don't get thoughtful experiences anymore.

Fuck. I'm so over with games including weekly challenges and shit.
Back in my day on the N64 games like Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, we didn't have that shit.
We didn't have bounty boards with repetitive tasks, we didn't have weeklies, dailies of shooting of killing x enemies.
Then it happened and I'm like I have to get out of the way and think about what to shoot and with which gun that doesn't feel at all fun.
Players are doing it, but sometimes designers should ask, does it feel enjoyable.
Games that take up players time SHOULD fucking feel enjoyable and NOT feel like a second fucking job.
When I see games with microtransactions such as "time savers" as they both introduce a problem and a solution by paying for it just means it's a game that you should never have bought in the first place.

Fuck games that feel like a god damn fucking chore.

/rant
 

Aion002

Member
Yes they do.

It's the mobile game concept of finding ways to keep the player playing it for the longest time possible, they do it by limiting the playtime per day or access to content or progression... Sometimes they use all 3.


Destiny 2 limits the gear progression by making the only way to progress via daily and weekly missions that give better gear.


That was the main reason that I stopped playing D2.
 
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Moogle11

Banned
Those types of games definitely do. They’re designed to keep people playing daily and weekly and get addicted to the hamster wheel grind on hopes of creating whales who spend a lot on MTs for cosmetics etc.

For single player games that are long and grindy and don’t have MTs the goals are 1) generate sales on a market where length and content are often equated with value and 2) keep people playing than bearing quickly and trading in/selling second hand and taking away some full price launch window sales.
 
I miss games like FF7 where you could grind if you wanted to and the result was you were OP as F and could slap arounds bosses. Or explore to get rewards or side story that you wouldn't get otherwise, it wasnt intended to be a gate to keep you from completing the game in less time.
 
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Cob32

Member
Look at this (it’s everyone’s favourite male feminist Danny O’Dwyer but a good video).



Designed that way to keep player engagement and spending. Looks like you’ve finally broke the spell. As someone posted above, when the fun stops. Stop.
 

Withnail

Member
It's a hamster wheel. Endlessly filling up progress bars to make it feel like you're achieving something, but it's really just there to keep you busy.

That's not to say these games aren't fun, but sometimes the gameplay design can be pretty cynical.
 
S

Sidney Prescott

Unconfirmed Member
You're playing the wrong games. Destiny is one of the worst offenders for feeling like a chore. You play a lot of the same content over and over again to get better gear.

Try branching out a bit and playing some lesser known titles.
 

kyussman

Member
I think with large games like what Assassins's Creed is nowadays you have the option of not doing everything and still getting a good experience,you can spend 30hrs or 80hrs and I like that design.....but live service games,they can fuck off.....I play games to relax and enjoy myself,not to feel like I'm going to work,lol.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I can't speak to GAAS/online games like Destiny 2 because I've never been into them really, I don't have enough friends who game regularly to always have someone to coop with and without that I find them borderline pointless compared to SP games.

If you don't personally feel a reward comes from doing things in games then why bother. I stopped 100%ing even some games I really loved recently because it isn't worth it. I say "personally feel a reward" because I mean the game might not physically give you something to use for the gameplay but maybe you get to see a nice vista or the like, I consider that a reward if its done right, but yeah in many games nowadays its trash, like the later AC games.

I collected all the chests in AC games up until Unity just because I just liked seeing all of the hand crafted world - I didn't really gaf what was in the chests, it was more about the "journey" than the reward - and I would liken it to Easter Egg hunting IRL (Or treasure/scavenger hunts if you don't celebrate that where you live). When they started expanding the scope from Origins onwards this also meant it was less bespoke so I didn't feel it was rewarding to collect everything anymore, wish made me realise a big part of what I liked about those games was exploring the world. I'm told Valhalla is better in this regard but I'm not sure if its going to be up to the old games.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I think with large games like what Assassins's Creed is nowadays you have the option of not doing everything and still getting a good experience,you can spend 30hrs or 80hrs and I like that design.....but live service games,they can fuck off.....I play games to relax and enjoy myself,not to feel like I'm going to work,lol.
I'm coming around but I need to start thinking like you, I find it really hard to not explore every nook and cranny and I get burnt out because of it. I do prefer dense smaller environments though overall but I can see exactly why you like the newer ACs.
 

Phase

Member
As long as the gameplay loop is fun I don't mind. I've never been a completionist and I never will be.

I have recently been playing The Division 1 and am loving it 25hrs in. The events in the game are repetitive but varied enough within to stay fresh. That's the hard part; developing a fun game despite their other monetary or playtime goals.
 
It’s MMOization of the gaming landscape. You know, game that is so full of content you absolutely have to do every day or you’ll get left behind and it takes you so much time and effort, you don’t have time or stamina to play anything else. I advise you, don’t ever start FF XIV and especially don’t take it too seriously, then you’re done. It’s psychology, it’s FOMO, it’s 🐹 wheel etc, everything already mentioned. But...people like it, keeps them busy and focused on one game, probably way cheaper in the long run.
 
That’s one reason I try to stay away from GAAS, mobile and those online/multiplayer only games. Greed and grinding just comes with the territory.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
They do when they also sell you the means to make it less of a chore via microtransactions. It's a shitty incentive feedback cycle.
 
Usually within 20 hours or less of gameplay, I get tired of playing so I just stick with the aspects of the game that I enjoy. In Valhalla, I spent most of my time exploring, checking out the details and beauty they created while hitting up things along the way. I didn't base build or play much of the story nor did I surpass much beyond 20 hours but I just accept the experience of what I played for what it was and don't worry about trying to complete everything, find all of the hidden whatever's or get concerned that I no longer find the story interesting. With Destiny 2, I just played for a little while until I got tired of shooting enemies and moved on to a different game, the thought of unlocking stuff isn't what gaming is about unless that's something I found fun and entertaining to do.

I only play games sporadically when I"m in the mood so I just stick to what is entertaining me for the moment.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
My guess is that it‘s a consequence of the whole reselling issue from the PS3/360 gen. Keep the gamers playing as long as possible so they do net resell quickly.
 

Lethal01

Member
I miss games like FF7 where you could grind if you wanted to and the result was you were OP as F and could slap arounds bosses. Or explore to get rewards or side story that you wouldn't get otherwise, it wasnt intended to be a gate to keep you from completing the game in less time.

I'm the opposite, always hated when game would let me get OP and miss out on a challenging boss fight because I was enjoying fighting mobs for too long.

When I select normal difficulty I want to have a normal level of challenge regardless of what I do, same for hard.
 

Hnjohngalt

Member
To think that us older gamers use to complain about cheap deaths to insert more quarters to play. Those were the days....
 
Which is exactly by design - GAAS games are made to monopolise your time and attention. The less time and money you have for other hobbies and games, the more you can spend on a given GAAS product.
I will never understand why people play these games if they are aware of them wasting their time just to keep chasing better loot.
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
I will never understand why people play these games if they are aware of them wasting their time just to keep chasing better loot.
I would say majority of people are not aware these games are very carefully constructed to prey on them. Which is why it’s so dangerous and disgusting. Everything down to the shape and colour of the animation of a e.g. loot box has thousands of hours of data and metrics behind it. The beauty and danger of anything digital is that you can measure everything.

I remember an article when one source mentioned that the most aggressive monetisation schemes come from developers, not business folk. Do not believe an image of a clumsy, nerdy dev crunching and being exploited for profit - they know exactly what they are doing.
 
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This is why I hate MMO style games. I don't have enough time, nor do I want to feel like I have to play everyday, and I usually dislike meaningless tasks. The older I've gotten the more I can't stand these games. They are a time suck with little reward....
 
Ubisoft has built it's empire lately on this idea. Their games have so much time wasting BS in them
This is partially true, and yet quite different from a game like Destiny. In Destiny the best gear is stuck behind daily and weekly tasks, whereas in most Ubisoft games all of those meaningless tasks can be completely ignored if wanted. Ubisoft games let you play through just the main story if you want, or you can spend 100 hours doing dumb little tasks if you want.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Sorry guys... I genuinely like Ubisoft games. I totally understand the criticisms, but as long as the core gameplay loop is fun, I honestly don't mind the content bloat.
 

Strider311

Member
This has always been my biggest problem with the Destiny series. I love Destiny: I love the art, the gameplay, the tone, lore... but I hate that it always devolves into a treadmill/chore to see the best content. It really seems like you can’t play it and have a real job, family, life, etc.

To this day I’ve only ever seen one raid to completion. I don’t have the time or number of friends who play to be able to ever see them. And that is a major bummer.

The AssCreed series has also become a giant checklist feeling like a chore. I just want great gameplay and stories.
 

Life

Member
There are many well-known games that have filler activities/fetch quests/hours of driving/riding - all of which take you away from the good stuff.Why? Because the good stuff is probably only 5 hours long at best - so they gotta distract you with chores to make it seem like a 30-hour game.
I quit playing RDR2 for exactly this reason. Would finish a mission successfully - but now I gotta ride back to camp - or ride across the map to the next available mission etc. When I realised the riding is taking longer than the fucking missions, I quit. Traversing the map is fun when you're actually exploring and find rewards. But when you know you just gotta get from A to B - and you have to do that 100 times? No thanks.
 

MrA

Banned
what if you made a game that was quite literally just doing chores? checks animal crossing sales, apparently you make a lot of money.
 
If it's fun to them that's all that really matters. Games can be argued to be a waste of time in general.
If you are having fun then it's not a waste of time, but if you are doing it for the singular purpose of getting better gear and you don't even enjoy the grind that sounds like a waste of time.
 

Kev Kev

Member
I felt the same about no mans sky. I always felt like I was just on the verge of something cool and fun, annnnnd oh wait a minute you have to go here first, then gather some of this, then talk to this alien, then go back to the space station, then teleport here, and on and on and on... it was exhausting tbh. I still go on and fly around once in a while (in VR) but I gave up on actually playing the game... for now.
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
Dude. You’re playing a shitty, greed fuelled GaaS. That’s what they’re designed to be. Play something else. SMH.
Exactly.

I have such a cynical eye for games these days, “are you trying to jerk me off? Then do one, I have limited time and many options, I ain’t playing into that.”

Just play something else, games with these psychological triggers are a grim way to live your gaming life.
 
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