As I wrote last time, I'm tired. My job keeps me occupied, which most certainly pays the bills, as well as it allows me to be able to put some extra off to the side. Still though, this leaves me with little time to do the thing that I love: gaming. Reason being, is that on nights that I work, I only have about four and a half hours when I wake up to when I have to leave for work. That isn't all that much time to invest into a video game.
With limited time on my hands, I've just been spending my days playing games that I don't really need to invest in. Mainly, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on the Xbox 360. It's a quick fix of action, speed, and really cool cars. Each race lasts about five to six minutes, and is usually a full experience. Whether you're racing against the AI or the clock, each race comes down to that final stretch. I enjoy the experience because it's quick, and there's usually another race to be had immediately afterward. There is little to no investment required in each race. Pick my car, and hit the road. Though, I miss taking the time and pouring into a grandiose roll-playing game.
I have a huge backlog of games, that I will one day get around to playing. However, each one of these games does require a certain mood to play. My backlog spans the board of genres, from platformers, to shooters, to Japanese RPGs, to classics that every gamer should play, but I just haven't gotten around to playing them simply because I just don't feel like it. I really don't have the time to do something like start up a new game. I don't feel like the experience would go over well, or rather that it would go entirely well, and I would be severely disheartened when my experience is cut short because I had to go to work. I love marathoning games when I can, but those opportunities are few and far between these days. Yet, when the mood does strike me, I can stay dedicated to that game and finish it out rather handily.
Recently I finished Saints Row IV. I had a blast playing it. The format of the game was such that I could take on a mission at a time, and be satisfied with what I had accomplished. I played this game nearly every night, working to complete as much of it as I could. I stuck by this game to do my best to finish it. I was invested in the story, characters, and gameplay. Each element of the game drove me to the end. Part of this completion was the game for being so much fun to play, and the other was my self control and planning out how much of the game I could play before taking off for work.
An even longer while back I finished Bayonetta. The game took me about ten hours to complete, but I stuck by it even though I died time and time again, and was driven to near controller smashing madness. Yet, I did no such thing. I saw it through, and I feel proud of myself for doing so, and for beating a tough game. It was a thrilling experience to be able to finish a game, as it always is, but it felt even more so with the dedication that I had shown toward Bayonetta.
A few weeks ago, PBS Game Show had posted a video proposing that games are too long. I had a discussion with a friend about it, as we were both a bit skeptical of the hosts analysis and execution of the idea. I, myself, enjoy games no matter the length. Games can be whatever length that the developer, or player desires them to be. If a game is a complete, and satisfying experience, then I think that is fine. Dragon Age: Inquisition is a recent title that claims to have over eighty hours of gameplay from the main story missions alone. That is indeed quite a bit, though if the game doesn't jerk you around, and it gives you a good experience, who is to declare the value of that? What if you take the time and complete the game and all of it's side activities? Did you enjoy yourself? What if there were times when it felt like a grind to get through? Does that take away from the experience?
I understand a developers desire to put in as much content as possible for their players, $60 is a lot for a game. Gamers want the most bang for their buck, as do all consumers. Though, it always bothers me when folks start to complain about the length of the game, even though the experience was really good. I remember having this discussion with the same friend over The Last of Us. I really enjoyed the game, and recommended it highly, though he wasn't willing to pay full price for the game. It made sense. $60 for a thirteen to fourteen hour experience. That's $4.29 an hour. But can you measure the emotional endeavors of a game like that monetarily? I don't think so, but then again, video games are what I like to spend my money on. I am single. I do not have a wife or family. I have a job, of course, but the only bills that I need to take care of fall well within my budget. I can willingly and freely spend my money on things such as video games. It's different for everybody. I think that games are a worthwhile thing, and that they should be enjoyed. The great thing about games is that players still have that agency to take as much or as little time as they want with the game. Even though some of that time might be taken up by being stuck at a really hard part. Either way, video games are art, and they should be treated as such. While they can take up a lot of our time, we should have the ability to discern what is worth our time and money and what isn't. This applies to everything, not just video games. Time is constantly fleeting, so you should spend it doing things that you enjoy: be it video games or no.
No comments:
Post a Comment