It’s time for another week of discussion here on EpicBattleAxe.com, but instead of looking out into the void for our topic, we’re turning the tables to examine YOU, the gamers of the EBA Community. How you ask? Well, with the industry at a cross-roads and so many lines being drawn in the sand, we thought it would be a good time for the gamers of the world to look a bit within themselves and as why they game in the first place. Do you enjoy gaming for the challenge it provides? Are you a “story first, gameplay second” kind of gamer? What about looking at the medium from an artistic or technological point of view?
You see, unlike other mediums, gaming is vastly different at what it offers depending on what you’re seeking to get out of it. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at learning how diverse the medium can be once you start seeing some responses rolling in here. I know discussing this very topic on Skirmish 085 of EpicBattleCry opened my eyes to a lot of things about the medium, which is why we’re proud to use EBA as a platform to discuss the topic this week. So, It’s with these thoughts in mind that we post the following Member BattleCry Topic Starter question to you:
WHY DO YOU GAME?
Obviously, this is an open-ended question, but that’s kind of the point. Why? Well, because there is no right or wrong answer…there can only your thoughts on what the experience of gaming means to you! We hope this insightful look at our community sparks an interest in seeing the medium from multiple angles and we thank all of the Axe heads in advance for constructively commenting below! We’ll be picking the best BattleCry as the Member BattleCry of the Week which will be featured on Skirmish 085 of EBC.
Also, we’ve set up a poll for to address the question from a top-line perspective, so be sure and take a moment to cast your vote as we collectively Cry Havoc and Let Our Voices Be Heard!!! Enjoy!
Cheers,
DK
I game mainly because I enjoy the challenge and strategy involved.
I consider myself a hardcore PC gamer. I have been gaming since the release of Doom 95 at the ripe age of 4 years old. I play a lot of FPS, RPG, and recently a lot more RTS thanks to Starcraft II.
Whether it be sneaking and flanking in an FPS, developing unique builds for my RPG avatar, or by simply playing an RTS, I’m always looking forward to the challenge and I notice pushing myself to be the best in a given server and using strategy to outsmart the opponent.
I game because gaming is the only form of entertainment in which I am challenged, I can “lose” per say. While reading and TV/movie watching can be entertaining, when these mediums provide challenge, it’s usually in the form of convoluted plots and/or high-level vocabulary: the former is usually considered a downside, while overcoming the latter is, in most cases, not considered a “fun” activity. Gaming, on the other hand, is the only place where you can actually win or lose, providing a purpose other than curiosity for indulging in this type of entertainment, and if the game is good, you’re having fun either way.
Take, for example, the recently released Starcraft 2: in a good, evenly matched game, the match drags on for 20 – 40 minutes, and even if you lose, you’ll admit that the game itself was very enjoyable. Or, a game less known but IMO equally as good, League of Legends (I highly recommend you guys check it out, and it won’t cost you a dime to boot since it’s free), where an evenly matched game leads to players actually inviting their opponents to their friends lists. On the single player side, it falls on the developers to create that even match with their AI and level design. Usually when the developers succeed at creating that even match, the game becomes highly acclaimed, like Half Life 2, GTA 4, Mass Effect 2, and, believe it or not, World of Warcraft.
The difference between a game that is well balanced versus one that isn’t, whether in single player or multiplayer, is that in a well balanced game, the losing team is also having fun.
PS. In case you read my screen name aloud and are having trouble with pronunciation, the second part (Ersike) rhymes with “psych”, the rest is phonetic.
Lets see…why do i game.
Well there are lots of reasons, one being for competition. I love the adrenaline i get from playing FPS games where i can prove my skills with good timed reactions and just using my brain in an attempt to out think the other players. Not only that but it also helps my sport aspect in life with the improved hand eye coordination and reaction skill i believe was a result of playing FPS and other types of games over the years.
I also love the story aspect of games as well, as Brent was saying. Being able to immerse yourself in that world just for that time being forgetting about the troubles and just letting go of stresses of real life even for a little while, helps out a great deal. The game that brought this aspect to me early in life was FF7. How it changed my vision of gaming.
Last but definitely not least(lol wana keep it short) i like the social aspect of it. Just having an awesome time without even having to leave the comfort of your couch. Being able to talk to friends and interact with them a way you really couldn’t before because of certain obstacles such has a person living in a different state or country even. Iv’e meet friends through WoW and i see them as super awesome people. Iv’e never meet the people face to face, yet just the fun times we experienced in that game alone and the interaction with with these people and finding out we have similar likes and dislikes has created a bond that will last a life time.
As the Great Kevin Butler said, “GAMING! FOREVER MAY HE REIGN!”
And yes this just a copy of what i said on the forums….was to lazy to retype it haha.
Well i been gaming since the days of windows 95, and even then i was running games off dos, just the commands to run anything from dos was a challenge, and also the games themselves.
I don’t do drugs i don’t drink i don’t abuse my body. But i do game, any challenge related to a pc or some controller get in my head i can beat it.
the thing about gaming is there are lots of different situations a game can be based on, some are challenges and some are not. It comes down to weather you can beat the system and how well you can do it.
This thought in my head about games also allows me to apply it in real life also, for what i do for a living, and also the challenge of being married… I CAN BEAT IT!! haha.
Main reason i play games is story and only after that comes gameplay, challenge, social aspect etc. Gaming for me is like reading good book or watching movies. Saying this it’s clear that i don’t care about such games like NHL, NFL and other sport/driving etc games and i don ‘t care about games like all those Mario and other non-story driven platformer titles. There is no story
so those games really don’t appeal to me. Those i play only if i don ‘t have anything else to play. That’s why gameplay/challenge etc for me is minor aspect choosing games i want to play.
I game, there for I am. The main reason I’m a gamer probably comes from a love of art, both still and moving. Games, in my mind are the best joining of art forms that we humans have created yet. Painters for artwork, sculptors for models, writers for scripts and stories, composers for the musical score, and the programmers who bring everything together into the virtual adventures that we love( or sometimes hate).
When I play a great game, not only do I enjoy the challenge of it, or the game mechanics, but just finding a high point and taking it all in. Assassin’s Creed 1&2 are good examples. The details that are put in to everything are great, from the weather-torn tops of spires, to the authentic designs of the peoples outfits.
Probably my favorite game on the Wii is Okami. I love the way the games story incorporates the very artwork the game is designed from. Its the only game that I know of that, in my opinion, that has nailed the ” painting come come to life” style. Muramasa: the Demon Blade is another game that takes the “living painting” style and gets it exactly right, but in a sidescroller; which makes it perfect.
I’d like to combine my love of designing and of games into a career someday, because I really believe that gaming is the next art form that will change the world. I know that in certain ways it already has. But just as new artists take years to become known to the world, a new medium of expressing oneself can take decades to be truly accepted as art by the general populace.
I could go on for many more paragraphs on this, but I’ll end it here. Great topic. Long live EBA!
The reason I game? Wow, I could go with the “it’s fun” route. Or the “gives me a rush” excuse. Maybe even throw in “It’s my hobby” as some may say. What I will say is this. I play games because I want to play games. I also want to go watch movies and TV. Do I need to give a deep and intellectual reason for these? Not really, there are many emotions, explanations, and reasons for doing all of these. So I’ll make it short. I game because I can, because it’s there and most importantly than anything else, it is something I (Me, myself, not we, us, or them) want to do.
I game because it’s very fun entertainment, helps drown out loneliness, makes you feel connected to great characters. Get to play in worlds that are not real.
Don’t have to deal with drama or any real life things.
Because I want to die almost doing what I love.
“Here lies Neeqs, taken from us in a tragic Wii rock climbing accident.”
He would have been missed, but he never came out of his house anyway.
In all seriousness though…I’ve been a gamer since Duck Hunt on the NES. Campaigns in games much like books and movies offer excellent stories and escapes. You can literally find any genre in games that you want in any other form of entertainment and in the past decade the stories and acting have began rivaling blockbuster movies. The multiplayer aspect offers entertainment and quality time for you and friends when you just want to kick back and have fun, or lets you get your competitive fix online against other gamers for a great interactive experience that changes every game. I don’t see gaming as a superior mode of entertainment to movies and books, but highly interactive and versatile in offering what players want. You can enjoy it as a personal or social experience depending on if you lock yourself in a room for 11 hours to beat a great game or invite friends over to own in Halo.
remember building blocks,puzzles,sand castles, mud pies hide and seek, all of the made up games you and your friends played when you were a kid. well thats because as people one of our natural urges may be to be creative and competitive while having fun doing it. we wanna solve puzzles, race, fight, shoot, jump, whatever and now with online multiplayer we can do it with people all over the world, regardless of age or skill. never before could we do that. its common place now so we dont realize how amazing it is. we shouldnt compare games to music or movies or conventional art. the interactive world of games is unlike anything else we have in fact its all of those things and so much more. i love the community with all of their flaws and awesomeness. and i love all of the innovations and creative minds the world of games has to offer. im glad to have been a kid playing super mario world and being an adult playing mario galaxy and still having a great time games are the best form of escapism we all need that sometimes.
Hello fellow Axes !
The reason why Iam Gaming is mostly To step ino another World to be someone different. Explore this New World or Universe Enjoy every litte Thing That I Disvover in this new wolrd. Be Part of an Story that I probably never Expirence myself. Thats why I am gaming. Oh and for the Fun too.
Good morning gentlemen of the Axe, I like to see people using Axes the way they are supposed to.
I have many reasons for gaming but as for the first reason i feel it’s quiet obvious and is something i share with most gamers. I love the challenge of the game. With nearly every game i get i bump it straight up to the hardest difficulty possible and if theres one after that i unlock it and beat it. Many of my friends always complain that i do this but i merely say “It’s a game, it’s meant to be challenging and normal just isn’t challenging, Hard is the very definition of challenging”.
Another reason i play games is because it allows me to escape and release from the world around me where i can plunge head long into a chimeran invasion or Fight with people all over the world in Afghan. The real world has no real relavance in the gaming world. In the games we play a world is created for us to explore. When you create a world, and expand to the extent it has its own universe full of possibilities which you could even theorise about, it engulfs you so that the world becomes real and its a place to escape to.
The primary reason i play games is for the story of the game but even more than this the philosophies and themes behind the games. This might seem abit out there to some people and even you guys at the Axe but games with a story comes from a core person, a single individual who is trying to bring you into a universe he or she created in his or her mind, filling it with parts of themselves….their personality, their life, their philosophy and of course more importantly this world in their own heads. I like how this works in games like MGS or Kingdom Hearts because they make you think and consider countless things that this person was thinking. I allows you to think, expand and grow as a person. this is why i game.
Hehe well I do drugs and i do drink and abuse my body! It’s great. And so is gaming. While drunk and high! Seriously, try wii bowling drunk. It’s awesome. Play silent hill while high. It’ll blow your mind! Counter strike + vodka + red bull- fkn hilarious!
Why do I game? It’s fun! One day I’ll try it sober!….maybe. And at the end of the day, with all the idiot’s we put up with in our lives, it’s good to have zombies to take out our aggression on.
i just wanna echo some of the things people have mentioned. puzzles and books. i tend to play action/adventure, rts and where as i wouldn’t usually play rpgs i have just started playing Demon’s Souls (awesome). oh and i’ll probably be getting GT5 (god knows when).
so personally: story/plot/characters, brain teasers/taxers and a bit of technical application.
before i go i’d like to say that it must have been a pretty dull brainstorm that came up with this question. why do we play games? what else would you do with them?
why do we read books? why do we watch movies? listen to music? scratch our asses? pick our noses? eat the proceeds? why are we here?
shut up and pass the controller.
Why do i play games? Because Niko Bellic’s life is more exiting than my own. Because Cole McGrath has electric superpowers. Because there will be a 1000 cars in GT5 and zero in my garage. Because the sun always shines in Vice City.
I play games Just Cause it’s fun.
Hello Harbingers of hell-fire, inquisitors of imagination. I play games to escape reality. After a shit day at work (most days)I want to immerse myself in a world other than the real one. I started gaming on the spectrum or commodore, so long ago I can’t remember but I feel I have grown up with gaming, so there is also an element of nostalgia when I play games, especially now that there is a revival in retro gaming. The saying goes “the devil makes work for idle thumbs” and I would like to thank him for all the work done at Microsoft and Sony, except taking levels out of games and selling them back to us at later dates, devilish bastards.
HO, my comrades og cuddling, my entourage of eskimo kisses!
How arth thou?!
I got in to gaming because it was the hot new thing when i was about 6-7 and my best friend got a nintendo 8-bit(I know the atari and stuff came before that. But for us this was the first contact with video games). I think at that time the biggest appeal was that our parents didnt really want us playing, so every second we got was precious. Now adays its about 3 things really. One is playing with my friends, eaither with or against depnding on the game, both are great in their own ways. The second is escapism. My life sucks on many levels(many, many levels). But in a video/computer game I dont have to worry about any of that. This ofcourse is dumb since you cant improve anything in your life if you dont work at it. But that is still a major reason for playing. The third reason is competition and achievement. Getting that frag or beating a boss or figuring out a puzzle is insanely satisfying.
Great Member Battle Cry this week. Thanks for a great show and keep up the good work. And as we say in Sweden: Swim easy.
Mostly to escape the daily habits.
I never cared much for idle talk about the weather or other people’s social interactions, as a result I get drawn to these make belief universes – where I can be/do almost anything.
If you have the abstraction capability required to immerse yourself in these virtual environments there is no reason not to game.
Of course some people can’t get pass the “controller + pixels on the screen” barrier and chose to escape using the medium of least resistance (movies/television, etc.)
I think we all need to escape our daily routines in some way, shape or form – gamers use games.
Well i game because i really enjoy it.And i bet every one is doing it because of that.NUFF SAID.
Whats up, my grativos of grimm, my dynamites of destruction, HOW ART THOU???!!
The battle cry of the week-topic is really difficult this time. My reasons are an abundance of why I game. Mainly because I play different games. RPG’s I play for immersion and storytelling, I want to know what happens in the beautifull setting. FPS I play for both the MP and SP. SP just like with RPG’s and MP for a fun time with a touch of competition. I think the “why” I game is at the end of the day on the whole a game-to-game based problem, but for the most excellent reason: to enjoy yourself, cause else you wouldnt even play the game.
I play games because it gives me a sense of being and importance. I work all day long and don’t feel as accomplished or needed as when i’m playing as Tidus in FFX or Drake in Uncharted 2.
The challenge for games also make them enticing and extremely fun. I just love games in general. But too many people these days worry about the graphics and forget that most of their favorite games ever were back in the day, It’s like not wanting to play Star Fox or Goldeneye because the graphics arent all that great, but the game is badass.
The story to me is the most important part of a game. You have to be able to immerse yourself in a game instead of just playing a mindless repetitive game (well for me). Like I loved God of War and that’s pretty much just straight repetitive but it gave me enough story to run off that I was so pumped to complete.
I love games, if they go away I go away.
I game because TV is to passive, books are too much like work, and because no form of entertainment is as gratifying as leveling up your character so you can finally get the spell you’ve been saving up for, Because nothing feels as good as a nice juicy head shot. I game because it lifts me out of reality for a while, takes me for a roller coaster ride and dumps me back on the couch feeling much fresher than before; feeling like I did something. You don’t need to worry when you play games, you can relax; but you don’t have to give up control like you do when you watch TV. You can think, make decisions and react all in a state of distant calm. I play games because they allow for progress, because they provide challenge and because I have a deep appreciation for the tech and art that goes into their creation.Progress for progress is sake is still gratifying in its own right.
One day, Names like Ken Levine and Warren Spector will be uttered in the same breath as Picasso or Warhol.
I game because I want to be able to say that I watched gaming’s transformation to “high art” happen from the very beginning.
I game because it’s an excellent way for me to keep in touch with my friends back home. I am currently teaching English in South Korea, and while I have made a lot of friends here, my friends in Canada are all better (with the exception of my girlfriend here of course). While Facebook is convenient, it’s a lot more enjoyable to pwn nubs online with one of my buddies, while talking with them about recent happenings back home.
I’d say I game because it’s fun, but I honestly havn’t played a truly fun video game in quite a long while..
I game because it’s Fun. Now depending on what seems fun at the time of course changes. I play Katamari Damacy for pure entertainment Value, Lego Harry Potter so I can play a game with my wife, Monster hunter Tri for the challenge, Mass Effect for the storey, EVE online for the community and social aspects, Little Big Planet for it’s creative aspects, and Battle Field Bad Company 2 because sometimes I just have to shoot someone IN THE FACE!!!!!…..online…..
i play games because its fun, i love story(thats why rpgs are my favorite genre, that and i like the battle system and that there long games)but i also like action/adventure games,strategy(second favorite genre)also i started gaming when i was about 6 i got a dreamcast the first year it came out(too bad it didnt last vey long but oh well),i’ve loved gaming ever since
After thinking about it for a while I have come to a conclusion. Although I love solid gameplay and some of the story lines in games have left a lasting impression on me, I would have to say that the reason I game is to be surprised. It is this reason that My battle cry goes out to new gamers. I realized the other day while playing Alan Wake that I have become a jaded gamer. During a pivotal part of one of the missions an NPC was calling out for help from me. The moment was suppose to be very tense and I stopped to look around the building for coffee thermoses. My girlfriend was simply beside herself with grief telling me that I needed to go save this guy. It was at this moment that I realized that somehow between all the games I have played in my life and the invention of achievement points that all the theatrics of games had been lost on me. I am very rarely surprised when I play a game anymore but when I am it is very exciting and brings back that old feeling that I seem to be chasing. I envy this new generation of gamer who still get startled by monster closets, spikes that shoot from the floor or a crumbling walk way. Those who still feel wonder when they are able to crack the same Zelda Puzzles that have been in every game for the last 15 years. They are able to let themselves go and be completely immersed in everything the game designers have given them. Where as I am stuck in a world where I must save all my power weapons for the end when I sometimes beat the game with out using them. I must meticulously check every branching path In fear of missing some useless collectable or ammo i don’t need. I know at the beginning which character is going to betray me and am emotionally incapable of getting attached to them. and worst of all using all my flares to kill 1000 birds just for 20g. It is this reason I now will only game with my girlfriend present so that I may relive this excitement vicariously through her while still chasing that big surprise. Keep on gaming newbies and enjoy it while it lasts.
I wish I had a really great answer for this but I don’t. I just love to play games.
I game because of the level of immersion that simply cannot be experienced from other mediums such as movies, television, and books (eeeeeewwww reading lol). When I’m playing Call of Duty 4, I AM Soap McTavish. You cannot have this bond (James Bond? Goldeneye! Great game) with characters in a movie.
I also play video games because of the social aspect. I have met several people over xbox live that have turned into close friends. Also, a few years ago when I graduated high school, my friends and I went to different colleges and whatnot so we don’t get to see each other much in person, but a few times a week, we get together on Modern Warfare 2 and have a great time.
I play video games to shoot you all!
What’s up, my Debauchees of Despondency, my Titillaters of Tyranny, how art thou? Look, the idea behind gaming is the “escape factor”; playing games to get away. Life is hard, no doubt about it, and the hobbies we choose are our way of making that life a little easier. Vacations are great but unpractical on a daily basis; video games offer that respite without a loss of what grounds us to real life. I play all my favorites (Assassin’s Creed 2, Red Dead Redemption) because I can’t stab a person in the throat in real life, but i can in a virtual world. And the opposite of that idea as well; in the real world, when I help someone that’s in a spot of trouble, I might get a thank you and a be on my way (pleasant but insubstantial) but, in a video game, I get to see my goods deeds come back to me in real time with things like reward systems, leveling-up, even changing the entire storyline of whatever game we may be playing. Guys, all I’m saying is that in the 1800′s pushing a stick was a way of escape, in the 1900′s going to see a “talky” was the way to go, and in the 2000′s we play video games for that sweet, sweet release. And that, Gentlemen, is why I play video games.
whats up my qestioners of inquisition , my galacticos of gaming , how art thou
on a perfect day , i love going to the game store to pick up my new game that has just come out without delay, i love getting it home getting it out of the box and smelling that new smell it has , i love playing the game finding out all the new things iv never seen in games before , i love the challenge it brings that test my abilitys with a standard controller , i love the story that makes me stay up all night just to see whats round the next corner , i love completing the game and feeling that iv accomplished something and the journey iv taken was worth it , i love playing the game a second time and finding all the secrets i missed , i love playing online with other gamers for a real competition , and i love chatting with my friends about the game telling my story of what iv done and then i love hearing what you guys with the axe think of the game as tony intoduces DK s puns and brents battle crys.
I game for many reasons, that I am sure are obvious for all who are gamers and take gaming seriously. I mean sure it’s obvious to game for entertainment, or fun. But games give people a challenge and for some people, me included, it fulfills the need to do something. Which then they want to do more of it. It’s kind of an obsession to keep playing games, and it get more addictive if you bring in your friends and socialize over games. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING. This is an AWESOME thing. What other type of media can entertain groups of friends and families for hours on end, deeply immersing them into the world where they may want to learn more about it. I find game worlds to also be far more creative and whimsical than that of any other media (Psychonauts is a prime example.) Therefore much more interesting, than let say movies. So in the end, I play games, for fun, alone or with good company, in a new world in which I can achieve goals and feel like I’m doing something great! I LOVE GAMES!
What’s up my Downloaders of Devastation, my Condemners of Content(Exclusive Pre-order that is), how art thou? There are many reasons why I game. One reason being that games are a perfect way to tell a story. Most games are way longer than any movies and because of that there is a lot more time for character and plot development, which in turn draws you deeper into the story. Another, and probably my main reason, is to have a few laughs with friends. I have spent countless days and have made countless memories while just hanging around with some friends and gaming it up. Most recently three of my friends and I played through Alan Wake together and had a blast just sharing the constant edege of your seat experience and holy crap atmosphere. At one point one of my friends screamed like a little school girl and he now will never live it down. That my friends is why I game!
I am probably in the severe minority here in the gaming community, but I am almost entirely focused on the single player aspects of games, and am in no way really driven by challenge. I bought both Modern Warfare titles and never touched the competitive multiplayer components on either game, though I did enjoy the cooperative aspect of the sequel.
I tend very much to be a goal-based gamer. I buy many, many games and tend to always have a sizable backlog of games that I’ve had for quite some time that I’ve never gotten around to. The complete dearth of retail releases over the last few weeks has allowed me to go back and play some games I missed from years ago (Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Dead Rising, Prototype, etc.)
Gaming for me is sort of about an obsessive check list, knocking through as many as possible and as quickly as I can. Some will fault for not FULLY enjoying a game, seeing as how I can blow through something like Modern Warfare in a couple five-hour playthroughs and feel satisfied with the purchase, while others will spend hundreds of hours online having paid the same entry fee. The feeling of satisfaction in having experienced a stellar game and freeing myself to move on to the next is what I look for in a game purchase. So in essence I look at my game purchases much like others would look at a Netflix queue. It’s not the approach everybody should take, but it’s what I love about gaming. Exhilarating entertainment, with tons of different options available to the consumer. Not all are great, but every game you embark upon has the possibility of being the next unforgettable experience.
I game for pure escapism.
Unlike a book or film (both of which I adore and both of which offer superb escapism in their own rights), Gaming offers the chance to explore, defend, solve, assault, interact, climb, sneak, race, swing, destroy, save, damn and be part of a myriad of experiences that just cannot be found anywhere else.
To those who say that gaming holds no value I say they simply haven’t ever gone looking. I truly believe that ‘Gaming’ – in it’s broad, vast and impressively diverse interpretations – has something to offer everyone who would dare to go looking.
If you need a chance to just take five and go do ‘something’ that is unique and unworldly (be it a quiet stroll through a virtual world, a complex logic puzzle, or blowing the faces off the zombie horde) – then pick up a game.
do you remember when you where a little boy/girl? and your mom told you a story in order for you to fall a sleep? i do,and i loved it,this is the little boy in me that never died,and that is why i love to play games.
Now playing a game have to have a good story for you to dive into,but it allso have to give you a new exsperience for every new game you play,when ever it is new physics/story or graphics it all have to be new,and not improved.this is allso the reason i feel like the industry is at a point where every thing has been made before,and theres nothing really new about your new bought game,because you allways think like “well this game is just like (insert game name)”.. now im not a graphics whore,but you gotta admit that there has to be something new to the game than just the plain UE can deliver,and it has to be mind blowing,in order for me to buy the game.and there has been nothing of that sort the last 9 months.
It’s really hard to put why I play in just a few words, but I’ll try to do it right:
I’ve always loved gaming, my main platform was always pc but since I started working a couple of years ago I also got a PS3 and PSP and therefore got the chance to play MOST of the greatest latest games there are in the market (in my opinion at least). As a kid I played with my father and with my friends in different kinds of games, from Graphic Adventures to platformers like the ducktales game to Captain Commando or maybe VectorMan. I Always loved computers, drawing and animation and those games really pushed the artistic view of fictional worlds with the limited resources that where available and made it really fun to play too. Since my teenage years up until now, I’ve come to also love cinema and music, as well as storytelling in a really passionate way. It’s been an incredible ride to realize that technology had allowed games to become supported by all the stuff I love, as well as also actually promoting it as their strong points.
To sum up, nowadays I look for “experiences” rather than games, wether they excell at storytelling, artistic values, or just a great gameplay, I think games have evolved into something beyond, that can truely satisfy gamers needs in lots of different ways.
Deeper into the rabbit hole: I’ve studied two years of game development down here in argentina, dropped out due to the decaying level of the institute and the fee being more and more expensive each month… but It was really worth it to learn coding, video game design theory, some history, how to write game scripts (as in story scripts, not scripting language scripts) and even the works of a graphical engine. This has expanded my admiration and enjoyment of games in an even deeper level and I am truely amazed at the gaming awesomeness I discover every time I turn my pc on and log on to the web just to wander around and check out some gaming and game dev news. I hope I can become a Game Designer someday, since I love all that makes a videogame what it is, not just the code, the story or the art, but the incredible worlds, point of views, stories, characters and ideas they communicate. (though I totally get what tony said about games not just being “fun” as they used to be, and sadly it’s partly because of this).
Sorry for the looong post, and for my english errors if you find any. Carry your axes onwards, see you next week!
My BattleCry goes out to the variety that gaming can provide. I agree with Tony that there is no one reason why I play games, sometimes I’ll buy a game because it’s funny, has addicting multiplayer, ect. But the beauty of gaming goes much deeper than that. You can literally make a good game with any idea, bring up many kinds of emotions, and go as deep as you want with it. I’ll give you an example…
Last month I play 2 very different games, but incredible games. One was about a man who lost his wife to the physical manifestation of darkness itself, spewing from his own subconscious. The other was about an Italian guy riding a dinosaur through space!!! Gaming is FUCKING AWESOME: PERIOD (exclamation point)
Hi, I’m a long-time AxeHead, first time commenter! I was compelled to share my opinion because this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
I think gaming for me is really about story, character development and immersion. Gameplay is secondary – borderline unimportant – however it is necessary as it embellishes story, through interactivity, making games more than just films.
For example, my favourite game is ‘Dragon Quest VIII’; the artwork was awe-inspiring, the music was mystifying, the characters were charming, the story was stellar and the gameplay was passable. You see, I hate JRPGs yet the engagement I had in-game meant the dreary, turn-based-combat was worth it.
Furthermore, I’m a proud graphics whore; I’ll often buy games simply to marvel at the minutiae of a tree’s texture. I think we underestimate the importance of good graphics and their ability to be utilised, to better realise a developer’s vision. I think many consider good graphics as almost a gimmick. This strikes me as slightly backward logic, considering games reliance on and furtherance of technology.
However, one issue I have with storytelling in games is this recent, misplaced emphasis on it being ‘cinematic’. The concept of games adhering to filmic qualities seems to undermine the inherent nature of games i.e. they’re not films. Games like ‘Half-life’ demonstrate that games can retain excellent stories, while still being games.
Despite all this, sometimes I just want to drift round a corner in ‘Dirt 2’ with water splashing on the screen, listening to some loud music.
WHAT’S UP MY… oh never mind you know where this is going.My Member Battle Cry is going out to why we play games. Personally I think you need a little of everything in a good game, let me explain.
First: A game has to have some degree of challenge, not too much and not too little, now that that’s said that’s not always the case, I mean just look at Demons Souls which is a really hard game, but made Game of the Year a lot of places.
Second: Social aspects. A game can be good without multiplayer but like you mentioned with Torchlight (love the game) people cried out for multiplayer. It wasn’t a bad game, by any means, but one thing that would help Torchlight out a lot is just a little something called co-op.
Third: The technology behind the games. I wouldn’t say that’s what’s on the top of my list when I buy a game, but when I see a game with bad graphics, sound etc, etc I think twice before I buy it. It doesn’t make a game worse if has the technology, just look at Crysis, great game that might just have a little bit of technology behind it. And after this has being said I still love to play an “old” game from time to time like KotOR which isn’t exactly on top of the technological scale anymore.
And the fourth: Entertainment. I don’t buy a game that doesn’t look entertaining to me, and I can’t really see why I/you would buy a game that isn’t entertaining. Take The Witcher for example, I didn’t like the game (great concept and I respect people who liked it) and I just can’t see why I should use the 80 hours (said so on the box, but I never completed it myself) getting through the game when I didn’t like it at all.
Now this is all just my opinion, and I respect if you don’t agree with me.
Due to obvious reasons different ppl have different reasons for playing games! You cant honestly say that a guy that plays mario has the same reasons as a Korean SC2 pro gamer that plays in tournaments of 80000$ first place price.
The reason why I play is very much the reason why I watch movies (tho that happens extremely rare this days), basically to burn some free time and enjoy myself. I find gaming to be the preferred medium because the level of interaction keeps things interesting. The social aspect is also on a interactive level, you could talk about a movie or show with friends but playing the game and chating/interacting with them in real time is something else.
Point being I don’t think this question makes any sense as the answers are too diverse and of common sense depending on the person. From the raging FPS player to the casual Mario family experience, to the televised SC2 PRO gamer leagues, they all have a different reason. Its like asking ppl what food they like. Hence the 3 different opinions of EBC this week (Brent like the story, Daniel likes the tech, funny how he only just got a HTC smart-phone, at least hes made the correct choice
and Tony is in for the old school proper core gaming experience )
why do I game? Whenever I play a game, I am always thinking, as DK said, about how this was achieved both technically and artistically. GTA IV had amazing physics and when I play this I experiment with the physics to see what the engine can do technically. In terms of artistic, I always stop to take a look at the environments of games like mass effect and uncharted 2. To see environments so detailed, which are both real or fictional shows the care taken in the making of these games. and also adds to the immersion.
Another reason why I game is when known actors are used as voices for characters. The best example of this in my opinion is the casting of Brian Cox (william Stryker, Xmen 2), as Visari in Killzone 2. He was able to convey that dictator authority, in the speech in the trailer. “my people, the history of these days shall be written in blood”
Whats up! my gamers of destuction, my opponents of dust biting how art thou?
I play for the challange. Too prove to my self that I can do anything and become even better. But another reason that I game is to find new freinds, and yes i´ve meet almost all of them. And it´s always niice to complete an objective with your fellow dudes across the world or country.
But there is one thing I miss about a few games in this generation, it is the aspect of lan multiplayer…many games (not all) you need 1 xbox/ps3 and 1 copy of the game / player in order to play 2v2 etc LAN. Like in any cod # game you can play 4players on 1 console but only 1v1 on 2 consoles?? I remeber the good old days when we played halo 2 until dawn on lan. Why did they remove it in this generation? greedy f***ers…
My first love is ART my second love is TECHNOLOGY….(*cough)VIDEOGAMES!! Yes my dudes and dudets, One reason why I play videogames is for the nard devastating eye popping futuristic interactive experiences that are not only fun and exciting but challenging and rewarding.
My main and ultimate reason is for story. YES! Story! I dont care if the game engine is running the latest Radeon Dehabilator Crystalizing Graphics processor, I want to experience a story that will move me and take me to places I have never imagined or been before! Thank you again this week for flawless epic awesomeness!! Peace!
Hello EBA! First time commenter, long time viewer.
I play videos games to go on an adventure. To do things that are impossible in the real world, and to go places that don’t exist. I love traversing an unknown planet full of strange creatures, using advanced alien technology to save the world, and have super powers to fight evil. Video games are the only place (aside from dreams) where this is possible.
But probably the biggest thing I seek in video games, is emotional attachment. I love characters that I can relate to, and fall in love with. I want characters that I can become so attached to that anything that happens to them, I will feel their pain, happiness, and sorrow. Sadly, there are very, very few games out there that do this very well in my opinion.
It bothers me that movies can have me captivated in only an hour, while most 20+ hour RPGs can’t even get close.
Dear epicbattleaxe,
What’s up my lords of lobotomy, my paladins of prolification how art thou.
Let me start off by saying I Have been a long time listner but Only now just joined the axe community to weigh in on this topic. I hope you at least read this because it needs to be said.
The reason I game is because video games saved my life. Allow me to explain I was always a heavy set person and in highschool was always tormented, made fun of, ect… And I never fought back due to being 400+ pounds I could have easily seriously injured them. This resulted in me bottling up my anger and falling into a deep depression which resulted in the manifestation of OCD(obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and thoughts of suicide for many years.
The Only reason I’m still alive to post this is because games gave me an outlet for my aggression, an escape from my constant hell, and some degree of solace in this world. Even now as I continue to Deal with the OCD and more recently the death of my Dog, They continue to give me the strength to go on.
I know This is a bit long but it needs to be said that video games for some transcend the barrier of hobby,art, or pastime into medicinal aids for psycological recovery and healing from mental illness.
So Please Even if this isn’t your member battle cry please read this. It’s something I believe needs discussion and More Importantly it’s how I feel everytime I play games.
Hi epicbattlecriers (?)…your show is awesome. Why do I play? Challenge…yeah i think its important (easy games without any challenge just wouldnt work…). The most important part is social aspect. Who likes playing basketball (you know…real version) alone? Games are like sports. Yeah there are sports that doesnt require friends. But those that require usually gives us more fun. Recently I played L4D 2 with friends. L4D2 + team speak = shit loads of fun. Next day you meet and you have loads of fun talking about Jockey humping your friends face. That example shows that actually social aspect can generate (even more) enterntaiment value. Hate MMOS thou…:D freaking waste of time ;p. DK got a point too. As a future game graphic I love admiring game as a well made “machine”.
The most important thing is to always enjoy gaming. FUN is most important…ohhh and CRY HAVOK (always wanted to say it…my first battle cry!
)
Hello there, EpicBattleAxe!
What’s up, my combatants of cataclysm, my crusaders of catastrophe! How art thou?! Awesome show as always.
Thinking about “why I game” is very difficult, but it all comes down to escapism, which is why entertainment media has become so popular in the last fifty years or so. There’s really nothing like enriching yourself into a world full of new experiences, new people, and new places, and a deep lore. Coming home after work or school and playing a game is one of the most relaxing things I can think of. Multiplayer is good and all, but there’s really nothing better than waiting all day to come home to a great single-player experience, where you can kick back, relax, and enjoy a new world. Thanks for reading keep up the awesome work.
Hello!
I enjoy listening to podcasts (bear with me) and it’s interesting to see what activities I can do while listening to them. Keeping track of when I’m actually listening has been a really interesting window into understanding my own brain. Walking down the street, I have no problem focusing on what NPR’s Planet Money has to say, but when I have to make a decision about which chocolate cereal I want, the part of the brain is then taken away from its podcast joys to deal with the task at hand.
Similarly, I can happily mine planets or shoot Geth in the Mass Effect games while being delighted by the Guardian’s Science Weekly, but when it’s time to navigate my way through a tricky conversation, that’s it – the part of my brain that was listening to the podcast is now needed to seduce the girl with the nice bum.
Anyway, the point (yes, there is a point) is that I think I enjoy games because they use up all of my brain – I need to make decisions, react, memorise, coordinate and empathise. No other medium comes close to that kind of engagement.
PS: Fallout 3 is still in Spanglish
I game because i grew up with a PS one and played Spyro since i was 4 which is as far back as i can remember and it was one of the only ways i could connect with my older brother and my father. I was never a pro at football or soccer or baseball and living out in the country didn’t really play them because there are no people there but playing games gave me something to connect with and let me connect with my family which is great because now me and my brother play Call of Duty every now and then when hes out in college still on a playstation and still with my family.
First off I’d like to say that I’m not from an English speaking country, so if there are any major oddities in my grammar or spelling, please let me know (I’m never going to improve if no one corrects me).
I play video games for a number of different reasons. Some games I play purely for fun (a lot of first and third person shooters that are light on story fall into this category). This is kind of interesting, at least to me, because I NEVER let movies get away with little to no plot. The reason for this is really that I find it a lot more fun to control, say Rico Rodriguez in Just Cause 2 while he’s blowing sh#t up, than to watch some generic action hero in some generic action flick doing the exact same thing (well, maybe without a grappling hook and an unlimited number of parachutes at his disposal).
There are some I buy mostly because I was really intrigued by the premise and setting (Metro 2033 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat are some fairly recent examples of this), though I often ask someone I know about the quality of the writing and voice acting in these games (I had to change to Russian dialogue with English subtitles in order to take Metro 2033 seriously), because awful writing or voice acting can sometimes be deal breakers for me when the narrative is the main selling point (and, of course, decent gameplay doesn’t hurt these games either, especially when the gameplay fits the tone of the game). Personally, I also think that decent graphics and sound effects, and, well, pretty much anything that adds to the atmosphere is very important for this category.
Some games I play (and these are kind of like the previous category, but I like to differentiate these two categories because, well, I feel there is a severe difference) simply to enjoy the fantasy and creativity that the people who put it together must have had in order to do just that. These are games like Limbo, Flower, and so on. I look at video games as an art form, and these are the video game industry’s form of abstract art. They’re mainly indie games, and I usually play them when I’ve gotten tired of generic military shooters for a while.
I play real time strategy games mostly for the, well, strategy, kind of like a good game of chess, a sort of exercise for the brain. This is also mostly the reason why I sometimes like tactical shooters like Operation Flashpoint and Arma II.
Some games I play for a combination of these reasons, and these games I tend to enjoy a lot, since there is more than one incentive for me to play it, (I’ll use Metro 2033 again here, just because I freaking love that game, and I actually enjoyed the gunplay a lot, unlike what seemed to be the majority of reviewers on mainstream gaming websites. This was mostly because you felt very underpowered, which made combat all the more exciting, though I’ve only played the PC version, so I don’t know how the 360 version is) or at least if I’m in the mood for it.
“If I’m in the mood for it” is really a key phrase here, because it really does depend on the mood I’m in. I probably won’t play Limbo and Uncharted 2 when in the same kind of mood.
So I guess the bottom line here is that I play video games for a plethora of reasons, way more than the ones I just mentioned here. I am not part of the “video games should just be about gameplay” faction, nor am I really part of the “screw gameplay, video games should be as artsy as possible” faction (OK, so I’ve never really met anyone who thinks like that, but I’m sure there are someone who thinks like that out there, and I’m perfectly fine with that).
My point is that I think that there should be games out there that put gameplay WAY over story and atmosphere, as well as games that are polar opposites to that, because I enjoy the hell out of both of those kinds of games (well, if they’re well made and I’m in the right mood). I can actually tolerate pretty abysmal gameplay as long as the atmosphere and story is good (and atmosphere is really one of the things where I think video games have potential to be way better than any other form of entertainment).
That’s my conclusion, pretty much, I play video games for a plethora of reasons, and I think that that’s fairly common, at least among the ‘games are art’ crowd.
Oddly enough, I just wrote an article on a website that I contribute at about why I game: http://bit.ly/bfNvWJ
Here’s why:
“In the real world, we all accomplish things also. However, I think we accomplish our goals and tasks in less propinquity than we do in RPGs and video games in general. In Oblivion, you start out in the Imperial City prisons and end the game the hero of the land, a strong and hardened man or woman. In the real world, you have to go to school for 12+ years just to graduate and try to be somebody. There is no guarantee you will ever be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or become President of the USA no matter how hard you work. In an RPG, if you do the quests and kill the monsters, you will level up and you will progress the story as long as you perform the necessary actions for that is the nature of the entire experience. Some games it is very hard to reach the end level, but it is always necessary that you reach it if you perform the correct actions, no questions asked.”
i feel that i can channel my emotions through the games they are interactive and they provide experiences that i cant really do in real life but what i most like about game or the game that i think are amazing are the one who surprise me and i don’t mean only giant monsters but for example simple stuff that i never thought i could do in a game before for example the game bayonetta there is always some thing crazy or read dead when i found out that i could hunt for treasures or the streaks in call of duty or the dynamic story that mass effect have or puzzle games like portal and limbo where there is not much you can do but still there is always something new in each level that usually need a different strategy what i am trying to say is that i play games that give me new and fresh experience games that surprise me i said that twice
I live to game, and I game to live… enough said
What’s up my hookers of devastation, my courtesans of decapitation?! How art thou? First on my list of why I play games is story. It’s presentation and a way it is narrated. I would say that a story is a soul of a game. Gameplay and design are bones and flesh. All that should create an intimate relation between game and a gamer. And it is that intimacy I hope to have with each game that I buy. Ufortunatly after Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Ice Wind Dale 1,2, Planscape: Torment, games for me are lacking soul. There are few that with this generation of technology provided the experience I look for (LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dead Space). The relationship between product and consumer should be provided for loyalty, that might be born for a specific publisher or developer.
Sorry if it has no sense and sorry for my english.
PS
Cheers.
I would shit my pants if I could talk with you guys on Epic Battle Cry. It would be awesome
I game for entertainment, I game for story, I game for mystery, I game for challenge, I game for accomplishment, I game for catharsis.
But in the end it all comes down to one thing:
I GAME FOR FUN!!!
Hey! Great episode, I think you all had really good points! I registered here to say I found the results of the poll surprising. I voted the social aspect and was amazed how little votes it had got.
I can sort of understand the results, though. Most people seem to vote just the entertainment value. Maybe they kind of count the challenge and the social aspect in it. And that’s why technological and artistic appreciation is at second place.
I voted the social aspect because, well, it’s true. I don’t play on PC until I have someone to play with. On PS3 it’s a little different story because I play singleplayer games on it as well. I just don’t find them very fun. I rather go play with other people online if it’s possible.
There isn’t a game that I could play with my brother and my friend(s) right now, so I’m mostly just surfing the net. English isn’t my native language; I don’t usually comment, I just like to read. I’m following closely Guild Wars 2′s development. It’s my most anticipated game followed by Diablo III.
Quoted for truth! I have a strong feeling GW2 will excel at everything you mentioned.
It will be an amazing EXPERIENCE!
If I allow myself to try being a bit heady and intellectual I would say that I game because I feel a slight disconnect with reality. I’ve always sort of felt that I want to do things that matter, but somehow I can’t find them: I don’t really have a cause. I don’t have a war (I’m swedish, we haven’t had one for almost 200 years). I don’t have a political conviction. I don’t even have a sports team. What I do have, however, are games.
I have saved princesses, worlds and galaxies. I have traversed mystical forests, beaten old gods and restored order where there was only chaos. I have seen civilizations rise and fall, taken part of several zombie apocalypses and beaten down evil regimes. I have seen the end of the world and I have seen the start of it. Our world can at times seem frightening to a single small person and atleast I find it comforting that I can take part of something bigger by just slipping a small disk in my console or PC. That’s one of the big reasons I play games.
Great show, and keep being asskickingly awesome!
PS – Love the puns DK, rock on!
Gaming for me has always been ridiculously ambiguous, it completely depends on how I’m feeling. Fundamentally though I look for an engaging and emotional experience over a visceral trigger happy title.
I’ve always been a massive fan of the Final Fantasy titles, and to this day, even with characters I create based off myself in Bioware’s epic titles, I’ve never been as drawn by a narrative as I was with Final Fantasy 6, 7, 8 and 10. Even though I essentially sucked at them, the games were long enough so that as you reached the climax you felt you really knew the characters even if the exposition had been poorly translated from Japanese.
It wasn’t the quality of the writing, it was the fundamental scenarios and concepts that brought these games up beyond most RPGs. The death of Aeris, and the Tidus’ revelation, on a purely literate level weren’t that strong, but the bonds you craft with these characters over the 20 or so hours of game play make these moments on all the more potent and emotional.
I think it’s such a shame games in general are denounced as childish and mindless when a lot of the time they seem to be at the pinnacle of modern culture, often parodying life in an incredibly engrossing way. I think those who do shun games really need to be exposed to this so that the games industry can gain the definition and respect it has deserved for a while now.
Epic show guys.
What’s up, my assailants of ass-kickery, my generals of gamestop bashing, How art thou?! The reason I game is for the shear entertainment value. I play to drown out all the crap that is going on in the world today. I play to ignore the irritating wife and to wind down from the drudges of adult responsibility. I like the games that have great story that allow me to disengage from reality. I do also enjoy the art and technology that goes behind these games because it takes alot to create these games and the art that accompanies some of these masterpieces (God of War 3, Mass Effect 1&2, Bioshock, just to name a few of my favorites). I also game with friends which can be fun to work together to complete a co-op campaign or to talk trash about who is better in some multiplayer frag fests (which can lead to some heated debates through IM or in person at work!)
i really game to be entertained but further that i game to really relieve stress. getting a few head shots and being on top of that board actuarially makes you feel a bit better. and some times, honestly, i game cause a few of my friends are online, thats probably why im still playing cod
What’s up, my desperados of douchebaggery, my ambassadors of ass-kicking, how are thou?
I game because no matter how I feel on, there is always a game that suits my mood. Sometimes I feel like completely diving into another world, so I play an RPG. The next day I might be frustrated with only half an hour of time before I have to leave home again, so I’ll play some Left 4 Dead. So it really doesn’t matter if you have a lot of time or only a couple minutes, if you feel happy or sad, you can always find a game to enhance your mood (and make you feel bad-ass if needed). It’s a hobby you can put in as much or as little time as you want, so it doesn’t have to interfere with your “normal” life, unless you get addicted of course, but that’s a different story…
Keep up the great site and the great podcasting (love the new “Force Feedback”).
Cheers from Switzerland, we love you (well, at least I do).
What’s up my slayers of S.A.R.Fs(Stupid Ass Retarded Fuckers), my warriors of wickedness, how art thou?. I enjoy listening to your show and i hope it continues for a long time. I play games just to enjoy them, that’s what I think games are for, being a form of entertainment that allows people to put themselves in many universes and enjoy it and have something that can pull us out of reality for a while and depending on how good the game is, it can be judged appropriately.
Why do I game?
On the surface, I think it’s escapism, pure and simple. There’s nothing like getting a great game and becoming so enraptured with it that the outside world utterly evaporates. I can completely forget about the doldrums of daily life and the problems of the world, and focus only on the game. Of course, this is possible with any form of entertainment if it’s engaging enough. What separates games is probably a conglomerate of what all of you mentioned: becoming enveloped by the story, characters, and atmosphere, marveling at the wonder of technical achievement, or getting wrapped up in the competitive spirit of facing challenges and playing against other people.
Deeper than that, however, I think there is something more powerful that draws many people to games, myself included. This would be the strong sense of accomplishment and reward that games bestow upon you. This feeling is one that is often difficult to come by elsewhere in life. Whether it’s finally completing that quest (and all its f’ing subquests) in Fallout 3, or dominating all night long in Modern Warfare, or just barely beating the clock in some crazy comet challenge in Super Mario Galaxy, the deep feeling of gratification and achievement is the same. Moreover, with games, this feeling is fairly indiscriminate. No matter your race, gender, location, appearance, or physical abilities (save for dexterity in some genres), you have an equal opportunity to experience this sensation. It’s undeniable that this is a fantastic feeling to have. While books and movies can certainly satisfy and entertain in their own way, when is the last time you got that same feeling of accomplishment from one that you did from a game?
So for the hordes of us with unsatisfying jobs, or otherwise humdrum lives, games can provide a valuable source of nourishment for your feeling of success. I can speak from experience, in being unemployed for a long amount of time and searching for a job, there aren’t a lot of places to draw confidence from. Gaming has provided a great escape and boost for my psyche that I probably wouldn’t find elsewhere.
What’s up? MY HAMMERS OF OPRESSION, MY AVENGERS OF PUNISHMENT, How art thou?
BattleCry: Because my heart tells me to.. Since a kid I’ve been gaming.. To Mario Bros.. To Contra.. To some other famous old games.. To the gameboy.. To the pc.. To the ps2.. to the psp and ps3.. And I’m only 15 haha..
I do it cuz I feel a passion for games.. I’ve linked it to my heart.. Every moment I play it feels like it was worh it.. I can miss school and play, but I won’t regret it.. It’s just the half of myself?
Whats up, my warlocks of agonizing death, my priests of renewal? How art thou?!
GRATZ guys, greatshow always!
Well i game because…… games dont call me fat(tear).
No its really because for me games are a form of art. (bet everyone who doesn’t game would deny it) Why? because there is always something to like about it, its never (maybe sometimes) the same and it always radiates the many years of hard work put into it by developers.
Another important reason for me is the Technological and artistic appreciation, from early age i could always love the way they did this or made that, for me the choices the developers made are more important than playing trough the game.
The most important reason why i think people play games is because you can see games developing. Everything gets bigger, looks better etc. For example: when i bought god of war i knew Santa monica would show their development by making god of war 2 a better game, by learing from mistakes, better graphics, the way of story telling etc.
It fills my hart with joy to know that developers listen to their players and learn from their mistakes, they show this by making better games. It’s Almost as good as seeing you’re kid grow up
The developers have shown there fruits, the games we play today.
Hello there! My gentlemen of genocide, my butlers of butchery, how art thou?!
I’ve watched the show for a while now but never have I accomplished writing a battlecry, so this episode I thought I’d better get crackin’ with one.
The main thing I want in a game is a great singleplayer, and in a great singleplayer usually is a great story and script. A game like Uncharted is a great example of this. So for me it’s a form of entertainment, a film I get to actually be a part of and interact with.
Also the social aspect, be it co-op or competetive is something I want out of a game. Nothing beats sitting with friends giving each other advice and talking shit. Offline multiplayer is definitely a more favourable option though for me, it’s a lot more fun as you can see your friends disgruntled face when you pull off an amazing headshot or an awesome free kick.
Great show and keep up the good work.
I game because it’s the only way to experience a medium quite like… well, games. I don’t care how good a movie is, there’s nothing quite like seeing your in-game actions have real in-game effect on an environment. Whether that’s watching a Colossus topple, realizing how fast and high your guy can run and jump in Crackdown after you seek out those orbs or reaching out and touching someone countries away… with a headshot. Videogame developers (when they’re doing it right) create amazing worlds that are just a joy to play around in.
And on that point, I’d like to take a moment to chime in on last week’s topic (because I was too forgetful to do it then). I was going to say that videogame reviewers should look to the example of Play Magazine and how they look at games. Unfortunately, they’ll never be able to do that (since this past Spring) because now Play magazine is dead, and as a long-time subscriber, I can without a doubt say that that is a detriment to the gaming community. Over a year ago, Dave Halverson and co. did away with game scores altogether, allowing the reviewers to simply wax poetic about the games they’ve played and how they were. I would value their opinions over anyone else’s because it seemed that every person on staff was dedicated to simply being a gamer who liked certain genres and wrote about them. They weren’t trying to be over-the-top, they oftentimes refused to even acknowledge the mainstream viewpoints and you always felt like you were reading pure words from pure gamers.
I think too often people write about games to further some sort of agenda, but when Play existed, I was always looking forward to reading how Dave and the crew felt about each big title because they reviewed like I game: for the love of the experience and nothing else.
P.S.
The people at Play had some of the best artistic eyes in the industry. Whether you looked at their covers, their pullouts or just the way they organized the words, pictures and captions on the page, flipping through the pages was like nothing else.
Sh!t, now I’m really bummed about this again… and I’ve been “over it” for a while.
I guess the reason I game is the same reason I watch my favorite TV shows and films. It’s the “wow” factor. It’s a mixture of being immersed in a game so much you have empathy for the characters involved. It’s about appreciating the work, effort and artistic achievement put into the great titles. It’s about kicking up my feet and killing some time, having fun and being entertained. It’s about sounding off on that awesome kill on forums and with your friends.
The reason I game is because it’s the only medium that these factors last. A film can remain good, but after watching it 3 or 4 times, it stops becoming a talking point and most TV shows don’t have that level of artistic depth you find in movies and games. Video games offer so much for longer than any other artistic and entertaining medium. Pinning it down to one factor would be tough.
i game because its an entertaining way of experiencing the otherwise impossible in a way that movies, music, tv, etc cannot. because when you game, you control what happens instead of just watching it all go down.
also i like a good storyline or plot to a game, its like reading a good book but more visual and exciting.
Online opened up so much competitive multiplayer for me. I used to chase stats on halo 2 all day. You can beat another person in a way that feels real, it like catharsis. Single and multiplayer games have gotten better. Street fighter is the best for settling arguments….shit it’s fun. Shooting stuff is jokes.
what’s up, my marauders of malice, my troopers of tenacity, how art thou?
My battlecry is a reflection on skirmish 82, in which was discussed wether the publishers and/or retailers understand the gamers. I agree with the comment that they don’t understand us, because, being one of the gamers of the older generation (NES/SNES was my gaming start) I remember how publishers used to give us full value for our money: engaging experiences that came as a whole and became our property as soon as we payed our money.
But nowadays it seems we have to pay more and more in order to get less and less…
And this is where I also agree with the comment that they got the gamers figured out… in the sense that they’ve got the young generation of gamers figured out: the kids that got into gaming when the 360/ps3 came out… they don’t know any better than getting screwed over.
The publishers aren’t concerned about the customer, they’re concerned about their profits and only their profits. How else could it be that a game, targeted at young children, such as Toy Story 3(the game) gets a ps3 exclusive (: ps3 owners can play as Zurg)?! what where they thinking? This just doesn’t make sense… and their screwing young children with a 360 over, as well as their parents…
there’s no good in this whatsoever…
I don’t really know if I made a clear point… put i’m just crying havoc, letting my voice be heard and standing up to the melavolent publishers of today…
J for Joren,
Devoted axehead from Belgium
What’s up, my marauders of malice, my troopers of tenacity, how art thou?
My battlecry is a reflection on skirmish 82, in which was discussed wether the publishers and/or retailers understand the gamers. I agree with the comment that they don’t understand us, because, being one of the gamers of the older generation (NES/SNES was my gaming start) I remember how publishers used to give us full value for our money: engaging experiences that came as a whole and became our property as soon as we payed our money.
But nowadays it seems we have to pay more and more in order to get less and less…
And this is where I also agree with the comment that they got the gamers figured out… in the sense that they’ve got the young generation of gamers figured out: the kids that got into gaming when the 360/ps3 came out… they don’t know any better than getting screwed over.
The publishers aren’t concerned about the customer, they’re concerned about their profits and only their profits. How else could it be that a game, targeted at young children, such as Toy Story 3(the game) gets a ps3 exclusive (: ps3 owners can play as Zurg)?! what where they thinking? This just doesn’t make sense… and their screwing young children with a 360 over, as well as their parents…
there’s no good in this whatsoever…
I don’t really know if I made a clear point… put i’m just crying havoc, letting my voice be heard and standing up to the melavolent publishers of today…
J for Joren,
Devoted axehead from Belgium
(sorry for reposting, I wasn’t logged in when I first posted)