Let's talk about beating games

[BoneSnapDeez]

1) Do you have problems focusing enough on a game to beat it?

Generally I only play games that are "beatable" (so no MMOs and the like) and I tend to focus on one game at a time. Exceptions do occur - for example I will occasionally take a break from a lengthy RPG to play a few short arcade or Atari games. If I know that a given game will require a significant amount of time and energy then I typically won't even start it until I'm in the right frame of mine.

2) Other than losing interest, is there any recurring reason why you abandon games?

Punishing old-school difficulty, mainly. I've "abandoned" Ninja Gaiden, Rastan, and Mega Man multiple times - though I'd like to think I will finish them someday. Some others are difficult and uninteresting - those go right back on the shelf, perhaps for good.

3) Conversely, is there something that makes you far more likely to beat a game?

Generally speaking, I play and complete games I find entertaining and enriching from a aesthetic, technical, historical, and "fun factor" standpoint. It doesn't take me too long to figure out if a game is "clicking" with me.

4) Do you finish bad games or games you are not enjoying too much?

Sometimes a game is so bad I feel compelled to see it through just to mock and revel in its terrible design. Secret of the Stars is a fine example of this. I knew it was awful going in, but SNES RPGs are my thing and I needed to see what the worst of the worst looked like.

5) Have you ever tried to beat a whole series? Which one? Did you succeed? (Falcom hates him! You won't believe the series BoneSnapDeez will beat next!)

Well, Ys. I'm trying to complete every console entry, various ports included. I have a few more to go. Also on deck are Seiken Densetsu (I still have Heroes of Mana), Xak (just the console ports), (the good) Final Fantasy games, Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Phantasy Star, and many others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Bonus X) What's the game that required more effort from you to beat?

Well I finally beat Ghosts 'n Goblins. That was no picnic.

Bonus Y) What game you would really love to beat but won't for the foreseeable future?

There are plenty of great-looking 7th generation RPGs I likely won't get to until they're retro. In 2030 you'll hear me raving about how awesome Opoona and Monster Hunter Tri are.

Bonux Z) Aren't you ashamed when you open your Steam library? Shaaaame

Nah. I mainly stick to physical console games.

[SNESdrunk]

I still do my best to get through them, so I've beaten the likes of the SNES Pit-Fighter port, Cliffhanger, Street Combat, and Brutal: Paws of Fury.

[laurenhiya21]

1) Do you have problems focusing enough on a game to beat it?
Unfortunately I do, but I have gotten better. I want to play nearly everything in my collection at the same time, so sometimes I'll start Game A but then think that maybe I should play Game B, but then Game C looks neat too... So when that kind of thing happens, it makes it very difficult to beat anything ha. Backloggery has really been helping me with this though.

2) Other than losing interest, is there any recurring reason why you abandon games?
See above for one. Sometimes I have very little time for games, so if I'm playing a long RPG I might put that on hold... Also if a game has a lot of cheap deaths, a lot of required boring grinding, or some other boring/frustrating thing to lengthen the game then I might abandon it.

3) Conversely, is there something that makes you far more likely to beat a game?
If the game is fair in it's difficulty so I'm not super frustrated if I die or mess up, then I'm much more likely to keep going. Even if it is a bit frustrating, if it's super short I might push through anyway. Good music also tends to help.

4) Do you finish bad games or games you are not enjoying too much?
Sometimes. I have finished very short games that I didn't really like (like 3 hours or less). Other times I'll just feel like that I can't lose to a certain game, so I'll keep on pushing through. Most of the time I try and stop if I can't see myself enjoying it in the future though.

5) Have you ever tried to beat a whole series? Which one? Did you succeed?
No... There are series that I want to do that with, but I just don't have enough games in single series. So far I'm interested in doing that with Kirby, Katamari, Atelier, Ar Tonelico, most of the Zeldas, and maybe Ys. I think I may have beaten all the Trauma Center games, but I didn't set out to beat all of them... I just played them all without realizing ha. (not sure if I beat Trauma Team though)

Bonus X) What's the game that required more effort from you to beat?
Probably Conception II because there is a TON of required grinding and I hate grinding so much. I probably shouldn't of beat it but that was one game I just couldn't leave unbeaten... for whatever dumb reason ><;

Bonus Y) What game you would really love to beat but won't for the foreseeable future?
Cladun X2. Whenever I seem to have a spare chance to play it, either I get super busy or my PC breaks. I don't even know if I would like it or not but I really want to play it gah.

Bonus Z) Aren't you ashamed when you open your Steam library? Shaaaame
Not particularly. Most of the games I have I bought for super cheap, so I don't mind if they have to wait a little while before I play them.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Great topic.

1) Do you have problems focusing enough on a game to beat it?

No. I have a vast library of games, but I rarely have more than three or four games going at a time. Usually, I have something going on on of my handhelds, a console game I am playing with my children, and a console game I am playing by myself. Occasionally, I will also have a console game that I am playing with my wife. I play each one at different times of the day or week; so, I really don't have any trouble focusing on them.

2) Other than losing interest, is there any recurring reason why you abandon games?

I feel compelled to beat every game I start, and the only game I have ever abandoned is Odin Sphere. (I loved the art direction and gameplay, but when the game made me, basically, start over again after 20 hours, I put it away for good.) I "test out" a lot of games, but once I have put more than an hour into anything, I am very, very likely to see it to the end.

3) Conversely, is there something that makes you far more likely to beat a game?

I will plow through a fun, well-designed, and reasonably challenging 2D platformer or 2D action game. I grew up with that genre, and it is still my favorite.

4) Do you finish bad games or games you are not enjoying too much?

I have certainly finished my share of "bad" and "flawed" games, but I try not to start them in the first place.

5) Have you ever tried to beat a whole series? Which one? Did you succeed?

There was a time, not too long ago, when I had beaten every game in many classic series (i.e., Castlevania, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Super Mario Bros., etc.). The "retro revival" diminished my efforts, however, and I have some catching up to do for each series. I do plan to get through all of the newer entries, however, and I expect I will in the near future. I also would like to get through some newer series (i.e., LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, Sly Cooper, etc.) as well.

Bonus X) What's the game that required more effort from you to beat?

I very often get frustrated trying to become proficient at classic arcade games or first generation "looping" games. They are very repetitive, and it often takes quite a bit of will power for me to continue practicing them until I am good enough to consider them "beaten" by my own completely subjective standards (i.e., achieving an Activision patch, looping on a single credit, etc.).

Bonus Y) What game you would really love to beat but won't for the foreseeable future?

Great question. I would live to achieve my subjective completion goals for Kaboom! (3000 points) and Burgertime (looping all six boards), but I am pretty terrible at both of those games. Accordingly, it may be a while before I get through them. R-Type Delta is also really, really hard, but I am going to make another run at it this weekend. (Wish me luck!)

Bonux Z) Aren't you ashamed when you open your Steam library?

I don't have a Steam account, but I have a vast library of games. I am not ashamed of it. I love collecting video games as much as I love playing them, and I enjoy having any game I want to play at my fingertips.

[isiolia]

1) Do you have problems focusing enough on a game to beat it?

It can vary. If I'm just playing single player games, I will usually pick one or two out with the intent to beat them, taking into account how feasible that'd be for me. Things that I know wouldn't be enjoyable, I just won't approach that way.

2) Other than losing interest, is there any recurring reason why you abandon games?

Being distracted by other games, FFXI particularly, or other MMOs if I dabble in one. Sometimes, it's an extended break - I've had several RPGs that I put aside for months, only to come back and beat later. Others, like the Souls, Witcher, or Elder Scrolls games, I haven't gotten back around to, and/or have have multiple false starts.

3) Conversely, is there something that makes you far more likely to beat a game?

Ability to pick up where I left off, ability to make consistent progress, and likable characters or good story.
Frankly, if it's a game with the 3 lives, 3 continues, start at level 1 every time...I'm probably not even going to approach it with the intent to beat it.

4) Do you finish bad games or games you are not enjoying too much?

I don't tend to abandon a game just because it isn't great across the board. I've pushed through some objectively poor games, like X-Blades, though probably more average-ish ones. I tend to feel like it lends perspective for playing other games. It seems to become very easy to write off very well done games (or parts of games) if you're only ever comparing them to outstanding games you loved every second of.

5) Have you ever tried to beat a whole series? Which one? Did you succeed?

Last year, I played through all of the (then available) canon Metal Gear games in game-timeline order. Still leaves out a small pile of titles, of course (Snake's Revenge, Portable Ops 2, Ac!d games, and the GBA one). I also played through most of the FPS Halo titles, save for ODST.
There are other trilogies and whatnot that I've played, like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Uncharted, and so on.

Bonus X) What's the game that required more effort from you to beat?

If thinking about the continuing over and over and over until I "got it", I'd say a lot of those are in the unfinished pile (Bloodborne for instance). Some of the more recent ones with that where I did beat them would be Platinum games stuff, Metal Gear Rising and Legend of Korra. Select segments just got rough, like the final boss in Rising, which relied on the first-person slashing stuff that just didn't grok for me.

Bonus Y) What game you would really love to beat but won't for the foreseeable future?

Quite a number of RPGs, which I'd like to see the story/characters of, but would be unlikely to set aside XI for tens/hundreds of hours to actually beat.

Bonux Z) Aren't you ashamed when you open your Steam library?

Not really, as few games in it were purchased for full retail, and most that were I made a point to beat.

[Luke]

1) Do you have problems focusing enough on a game to beat it?
2) Other than losing interest, is there any recurring reason why you abandon games?
3) Conversely, is there something that makes you far more likely to beat a game?
4) Do you finish bad games or games you are not enjoying too much?
5) Have you ever tried to beat a whole series? Which one? Did you succeed? (Falcom hates him! You won't believe the series BoneSnapDeez will beat next!)


Bonus X) What's the game that required more effort from you to beat?
Bonus Y) What game you would really love to beat but won't for the foreseeable future?
Bonux Z) Aren't you ashamed when you open your Steam library? Shaaaame

1) Not at all. When I start a game my intention is to beat it.
2) Only if the game is completely terrible*. And I can't tell you why, but for some reason I'll still beat Rampage on the NES for reasons I don't even know.
3) Challenge. Success is the best revenge and so on.
4) Yes sir. Even with Blitz The League I play until the end.
5) Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, GTA, SMB, Metroid, Wonder Boy... and a lot more.

X) The original Castlevania and Zelda II.
Y) According to "Howlongtobeat.com" it takes over 20 hours to beat Borderlands. That's too much for me.
Z) 90% of the games I play are at least twenty years old. No steam for me.


Good idea for a thread and for discussion. Good on ya!

[noiseredux]

wait, Luke - 20 hr games are too long for you, but you beat the entire GTA series?

[Ack]

wait, Luke - 20 hr games are too long for you, but you beat the entire GTA series?

20 hours might be too long for him now, but not necessarily in the past. And if he sees the original GTA games and the modern GTA games as separate series, then he might mean the original.

[noiseredux]

wait, Luke - 20 hr games are too long for you, but you beat the entire GTA series?

20 hours might be too long for him now, but not necessarily in the past. And if he sees the original GTA games and the modern GTA games as separate series, then he might mean the original.

that's what I was wondering. To me GTA 1-5 would be the main series. And 5 is way longer than 20 hrs!

[MrPopo]

You guys are overlooking the part where Luke implies that Rampage on the NES isn't worth playing, when it's totally awesome.