Videogames as an experience

[RCBH928]

Hello,

I am not a hardcore gamer, as in I don't have it as a direct hobby, as kid I just got them because everyone else had them and it was fun, I hardly recall reaching far or completing any games in addition I stopped played games from 1998 up to late 2006 when i got a 360.

I always like to play retro games to remind me of past time, nostalgia, and play old favorite games. As I started to own more systems and have more games, I noticed that it was pretty difficult to go through all the games that I wanted to play . A single game can take up to a month to complete , and waste many hours when things get difficult or frustrating .

So I think i kind of developed a new habit in this world , I never heard of it before. I realized that I don't want to complete all those games as a challenge, truth is I just wanted to experience those games. For example I don't want to play sonic1+2+3 and beat the boss fair and square. I just want to play through it, enjoy the levels and the experience and see whats hidden in that game.

I guess what I am saying is that some videogames to me started to be like a book or a movie. I want to see and experience, not take the challenging of completing it. That means I want a cheat for everygame where I can playthrough the game without dying or need to level up.
I know this might kill the "gameplay" , but I only have so much time to "play" and I want to experience other games.

Don't take me wrong, games are to be played, and I do enjoy other games and want to complete them , either old or new. But I guess there is a catalogue of games that I just want to go through and see what happens.

What do you think of this? Did you hear of such thing before?

[Jerkface Killah]

I know what you mean. I am 23 and have been gaming since age 4 because of older siblings. I used to have plenty of spare time to play through games. Hell, summer vacations were made for beating games. But now I work 40+ hours a week and spend most of my time off with the girlfriend. It is easy to buy games, it only takes a minute. But beating them takes hours. Hours that just may not be available. I wish I could just magically have the memory of the game and be done with it. hmmm. To be continued...

[J T]

If there is no challenge whatsoever, I feel like I'm not really playing a game. However, if a game that is heavy on storyline requires too much work between story points, I get bored with the storyline or forget about it. I sort of agree with you, but it really depends on the game. With shmups, fighters, puzzle games and others, I often want progressive challenge throughout the game. With first person shooters, third person action games, and role playing games, I want to be able to get through the game relatively easily with time to just explore the game world and watch the story unfold.

[RCBH928]

J T

I understand that games are meant to be played, but this is whats the topic is all about.
I am seeing games in a different way, that you don't have to play them. I am building a new kind of hobby.

I don't really play them I experience them. No longer I want to repeat the boss fight 10 times just to beat him, I will just walk in slash him until he dies and move on.

Some how I believe this is better than movies or books. In books you read. In movies you do nothing other than watch. In games you can read, watch, and get involved which might keep you engaged for longer hours. You take out the challenge and gameover factor and your good to go.

There are a ton of games that I want to experience over beating them with all of its challenge.

[noiseredux]

I understand what yr saying (I'm 29, fulltime job, wife, etc)... but I really don't like cheats. I just accept that I will not play every game in the world.

If you pop in Sonic 2 with no cheat and play it for 10 mins, didn't you still experience it?

I just play a game that draws me to it. I stop playing it when I get sick of it. It's that simple. No cheats. Either I beat it -- and often I don't -- and I move on to what I feel like playing next.

Sometimes I start a game and get halfway thru it and then pick it up a year later.

But to me the cheats just suck the actual experience out of it. The challenge. The fun. Would you want to play a game of basketball if you were guaranteed to win? I would'nt.

[RCBH928]

I might not want to play a game of basketball

but I still want to see the other characters and new levels I won't see unless i beat the game's challenge

[AppleQueso]

Part of the "experience" IS the challenge as far as I'm concerned.

[JohnBaxterly]

I used to rent N64 games when I was younger just to see if there was a save file that had already gotten through most of the game. But in retrospect, I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with what this topic is about. I think it was just me being lazy.

Anyway, yeah, I agree with the idea of just experiencing the game. I hate when I'm starting to enjoy an RPG's story and the difficulty curve shoots up like a space shuttle into the galaxy of HOLY FUCK THIS IS HARD. Same goes for... well, any genre, really. No need to single out RPGs.

[CRTGAMER]

I was thinking about Twin Stick controllers when I read the title. Home version downgraded controller setup vs original Arcade for example. Playing the game the way it was meant such as VIRTUA ON or ROBOTRON, a part of the gaming experience. The Motion Chair in the Arcade SPACE HARRIER. Various surround sit down cabinets for that matter.

Or taken another direction a new controller arrangement on an established controller norm. Instead of a stick, the Trakball as in Atari 5200 GALAXIAN. Play that old game a new way.

Anyone try this House of the Dead sit down cabinet?
Hopefully better then GALAXIAN 3.

[noiseredux]

I might not want to play a game of basketball

I feel like you're trying to miss my point.

Didn't you already start almost the same thread as this like months ago when you played the first Zelda game by using gamefaqs and then told us all that the game wasn't that good (IE: proving the point that the "experience" had been lost on you).