

You are here: How games have become domesticated - JoshTriplett
http://nightmaremode.net/2012/02/you-are-here-how-games-have-become-domesticated-16726/

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corysama
The audience for games has expanded out of the computer club and into all
walks of life. By some estimates, the number of people playing some sort of
video game has tripled in the past five years. As it happens, different people
like different kinds of games.

The classical male introvert gamer really enjoys difficult challenges that
require focus and mastery to overcome. But, today there is a new, additional
audience that enjoys a simple pleasure of directed progress much more than the
thrill of defeating great threats. There is also a new audience of part-time
gamers who play in very short spurts, but can't devote the extended,
continuous blocks of time required to mentally log the details of complicated
situations (required to recover from being lost).

The classic audience is still here. And, after a lifetime of nearly all games
being focused on a fairly uniform audience, some classical gamers are having a
hard time adjusting to the huge influx of new games that are explicitly not
targeting them for the first time.

But, the old-skool games, full of challenges to overcome, are still around if
you are still interested. If you want a game that cruelly beats you down until
you finally get good enough to genuinely beat it back, try Dark Souls. If want
a game where no matter how smart you are, there is always a smarter way to do
it, try SpaceChem. If you want a strange and dangerous new world to trip you
up, try Zeno Clash. If you want some sarcastic fun with friends, try Magicka.
If you want to compete at any level from pants-on-head to world-champion, try
StarCraft II. If you want a game where you make incredible things come to be,
but there are no graphics to speak of, try Dwarf Fortress. And, if you need
more suggestions, here's a list of what reddit.com/r/gaming is talking about:
<http://nowplaying.gamedifferences.com/>

~~~
JoshTriplett
Note that the article specifically distinguishes between the idea of helping
out a lost player (see the paragraph about the help system in Machinarium) and
the idea of assuming that _all_ players need continuous help. The former seems
perfectly fine; the latter feels patronizing. Also note the main quote from
the article: 'Saying that "any game should be finished by anyone". is not the
same as saying "any game must be completed by anyone". The verb complete
implies a 100% goal.'

Consider the progression of maps in Metroid games. The original Metroid had no
map whatsoever. Super Metroid had an automatic map which recorded the
locations you'd seen, to help you find your way around and see what you'd
explored; that also gave you a vague idea of the size of the world. Metroid
Prime had an automap, together with an optional hint system that reminded you
of your next major objective _if_ you wandered around for too long without
doing anything; however, the hint system wouldn't lead you to 100% of items,
just the main required upgrades and objectives. Metroid Fusion put the whole
game on rails, so you could almost never wander off course, though still had
to poke around a bit if you wanted 100% completion.

A similar progression occurred in the Zelda series. The original didn't even
tell you where to find dungeons or how to get inside when you did. Link to the
Past marked major objectives on the map. The first few 3D Zelda games (Ocarina
of Time and Majora's Mask) had a map with major objectives plus an optional
hint system if you forget where to go. The two Wii titles so far have
introduced increasingly long tutorial segments (but at least they have plot),
increasingly invasive hint systems that you can't ignore or disable, and
constant reminders about established game mechanics. (That doesn't make them
_bad_ games, and they still have enough exploration and puzzles to provide a
pile of fun, but the hints and reminders got obnoxious and patronizing very
quickly.)

In both cases, I think the "automap with optional hints" approach seems like
the right balance, while "forced hints and reminders" goes too far.

I don't pine for the days when games introduced huge artificial difficulty by
forcing you to wander around until you guessed what to do; I just don't games
to drag me through the whole way without even a "shut up" option.

