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What, exactly, draws you into gaming ?

Hellraizah

Hellraizah

Member
I started to think about that while reading the thread about FF and DQ possibly coming to PS3 and Xbox 360.

As I hate RPGs with a passion, I was wondering : "What the fuck is drawing people into this type of gaming ?"

So, after thinking about it for a few seconds, I came up with :

-Attachment for characters in the game
-"Greed" .... more or less wanting your character to become stronger and stronger, kinda relates to attachment for characters
-Passive management (magic points, items inventory, life points, etc...)
-Curiosity (finding secret stuff)
-Strong story (wanting to see what's next, the end)

That brings me to question myself about what draws me into gaming. I normally play fighting and puzzle games, 2D shooters, some first person shooters online.

-Skills based. You can always get better but not passively, the character you control always stay the same, to get better you got to practice.
-Multiplayer competition. Possibility to directly test your skills against someone else, at the same time, in the same game.
-Insane replay value, as the goal of the games I like is not to "finish" a game but to get better at it.

So, what draws you into the types of games you play ?
 
D

DenogginizerOS

BenjaminBirdie's Thomas Jefferson
Being able to sit idle in front of my TV for hours while my arteries clog, while my wife has an affair, while my daughter plays with matches, and while my friends point and laugh as they go out and socialize with REAL people.
 
M

Mihail

Banned
Holy crap, Hellraiza, I agree with absolutely everything you said. I could've typed all that stuff out for all I know, and you could be Tyler Durden.

Skill-improvement, mastery, and finding out your own limits is exactly what gaming is about to me. I don't get these people that play games because something cool happens or to get a good story. They're perfectly entitled to it; I just don't get it.
 
T

Tarazet

Member
I'm a tactile kind of person, because I grew up with the piano. Anything that lets me use my hands is going to get more attention from me than something that uses my eyes alone.
 
Hellraizah

Hellraizah

Member
Mihail said:
Holy crap, Hellraiza, I agree with absolutely everything you said. I could've typed all that stuff out for all I know, and you could be Tyler Durden.

Skill-improvement, mastery, and finding out your own limits is exactly what gaming is about to me. I don't get these people that play games because something cool happens or to get a good story. They're perfectly entitled to it; I just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Preach it, brother.

For me, gaming is all about dexterity and self-improvement, not about getting your character stuck in a forest battling out with slimes until you got enough levels or experience points to go on and having an easier game afterwards.
 
K

Kangu

Banned
NPD threads. I never actually play or buy games. I just read reviews and looks at sales numbers and then try to muster some righteous indignation when the sales of a certain title don't match my perception of its quality. I usualy fail.
 
I

Ignatz Mouse

Banned
Kangu said:
NPD threads. I never actually play or buy games. I just read reviews and looks at sales numbers and then try to muster some righteous indignation when the sales of a certain title don't match my perception of its quality. I usualy fail.
Click to expand...

You are not alone.
 
D

Dsal

it's going to come out of you and it's going to taste so good
Challenge
Fun
Seeing something I haven't seen before
The two-way art of games. Half of this is the artistic expression of the game's creators. It's similar to storytelling, but different in that they are setting something up for you to experience and manipulate in a novel way. The other half is the art of playing a game. The journey you carve out of the game using the game's rules and your skills becomes your own self-expression.
 
H

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
To pratically be able to do and enjoy any experience I can nearly want.

Racing in a faraway city in an expensive car. Taking on fighters in various dimenions from the 2D to 3D. Crazy gun battles be it realistic military or futuristic sci-fi. Even be a sports legend. Being a hero or survivor facing all sort of opponents and monstrous; from the terriflying to the awe inspiring. The mastery of characters either through stats and strategy to realtime quick responsive skills. From the most intimate and simple to the grandest and massive worlds with characters and stories that are waiting to be heard and experienced. It's all there.

That's why I love gaming.
 
O

OpinionatedCyborg

Member
I only find RPGs appealing if their battle systems require a bit of strategy. A lot of hardcore RPGers will disagree, but on its own, the story can't make a game fun.
 
R

ronito

Member
To me gaming is the ultimate form of escapism. I don't have to watch huge battles, I can be part of it. I'm not just seeing an adventure I'm participating. I don't have to hear about a story, I can be in the story.
 
J

Jiggy

Member
In order of importance from least to greatest:


7) Believability and consistency. This doesn't mean realism, necessarily; I didn't mind the fact that Bond could take multiple shots in Goldeneye, for example. But if I'm Spider-Man and I can lift up cars, why in the world can some random thug hurt me with a punch? It kicks me out of my suspension of disbelief and makes me start thinking about philosophy and physics instead, which is probably the last thing the game makers intended.

6) Good music. If I have to turn the sound off to enjoy the game, it's not a good game--no exceptions. This would actually be higher up on the list, but you asked what draws me in, not what pushes me away. I can't really say that I specifically play a game for the music to the same extent as some of the following things, but a good soundtrack does lend a game some credibility more often than not as far as first impressions and memorability and...

5) Replay value. Almost universally, a game isn't worth getting if it's not worth beating more than once. There are some exceptions like Wind Waker (and even then it's arguable), but games such as Banjo-Kazooie and Jet Force Gemini really hampered the replay value they would have had thanks to their collect-a-thon principles. Other notables include Valkyrie Profile and Pokemon Colosseum due to spending too much of your time watching instead of playing (in VP, the cutscenes; in PC, the battle animations), Lunar and Final Fantasy Tactics due to just being too much of a chore to do all over again, or Paper Mario and Ogre Battle due to slow walking speeds.

3t) Customizability. At least to some extent. Basically creating the world in Legend of Mana or FFTA is too much customizability to me, but there should be at least some level of player input. This may mean character creation options such as in AKI's N64 wrestling games, or it may mean numerous different gameplay options such as in SSBM, or it may just mean branching paths and character relationships that I can influence such as in Tactics Ogre, Tales of Symphonia, or Star Ocean 2. I want to feel that I have some part in what's going on, but not necessarily "play God" for that world. Like the real world, I do want some circumstances to be out of my control; if there's no adversity that can affect me, there's no sense of accomplishment.

3t) Endearing characters. To some games such as Meteos or Tetris, this doesn't apply, but to the great majority of games that do involve characters, it does. If I don't like the character I'm playing as, why should I care if he or she succeeds? More to the point, I might not just not care, but actively root against them. I didn't want standoffish pricks like Cloud or Squall to actually accomplish their goals because I'd rather have seen them fail. It's one thing to have an unappealing main character in a story or a movie, but to actually ask me to play as that character--to try and assume that role--is going too far. Sometimes it might even be better to have characters with little to no personality just because then there's no risk; I can't despise Link if I have no clue what his motivations in life are all about, nor do I spend my time worrying about whether a Harvest Moon farmer has a history of alcoholism or murder or something.

2) Interesting ways to play. This may or may not involve innovation, and may or may not involve a variety of gameplay styles, and may or may not involve deep strategy, and may or may not involve a difficult challenge, but tends to incorporate at least one of the four. Katamari Damacy offers innovation. Kirby, Wario Ware, and Pokemon offer variety. Fire Emblem and Advance Wars offer strategy. Soul Calibur, F-Zero, and (non-Battle Network) Mega Man offer challenge. All are important factors that keep my interest and make the games easily distinguishable from others.

1) Fun. Yes, this is obvious.
 
S

Spruce Moose

Member
I do it to escape reality. It's not that I really enjoy it, it's just a way to momentarily distract me from the horrors of real life.

It's either that or I go drinking and do drugs.
 
H

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
Spruce Moose said:
I do it to escape reality. It's not that I really enjoy it, it's just a way to momentarily distract me from the horrors of real life.

It's either that or I go drinking and do drugs.
Click to expand...

Damn, and I thought I was pessimistic about life. Sounds horribly depressing. :|
 
R

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
These days, the only thing I play anymore is RPGs.
Part of it is getting the 100% completion. Then there's the stat handling, getting all the equipment, finding everything, and completing it all.
 
Z

Zweisy1

Member
Challenge
Fun

I mostly like fun, addictive and short games with plenty of replay value.

Well I for one cant stand majority of RPGs anymore. RPG battle systems are MOSTLY pretty much devoid of any strategy or skill.. the B grade anime quality stories are not enough to make up for that either.
It actually used to be one of my favorite genres 5 years ago or so. Gotta admit I still have a soft spot for Dragon Quest, Valkyrie Profile and Grandia though..
 
D

dog$

Hates quality gaming
Challenge.

Anyone who uses the word "fun" in this thread is short-changing their own intelligence.
 
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