Unlockable content.
Unlockable content.
Unlockable content makes me feel quite ripped off in most cases. Paying for a game and only being presented with half of it up front pisses me off. I hate putting a game in to play with wife and saying "Well it will be cooler once I play it by myself for a couple days. Then we can try again..." Like the challenges on Brain Age, mini games on Monkey Ball, characters on Smash Bros, tracks on Mario Kart. I want the fun right away. Getting sick of it!
Let my legs shake me to sleep, and don't wake me when I sweat on my sheets.
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lordofduct
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It depends on the kind. If it's a kind of unlockable where it's a super powered character or ability or a stage that is very unbalanced but very fun, then that's fine. But if it's just more fine tuned characters, abilities, or stages or whatever that perfectly blend in with the existing content, then they should have been in there from the start. I hate when I play Soul Calibur or Smash Bros Melee at someone's house without a fully unlocked save file, because my best characters are unlockable ones usually.
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Gamerforlife
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I think unlockable content should be the gravy of a game. It's quite good without it, but having it adds a bit more to the experience.
If you look at Resident Evil 4, the main game alone is enough to warrant the price you pay for it. However, they threw in the Mercenaries mini-game. Mercenaries is a ton of fun and many players have put quite a few hours into it just to get the highest possible scores. Is it good enough to stand on its own? Nope, but it's far better than any mini-game should be and is perfect as an unlockable. It's fun enough to feel like a genuine reward for beating the game, but the game doesn't actually need it.
I agree that unlockable characters are annoying. These are not rewards. They are main features of a game. You could not sell a fighter or Dynasty Warriors game without a full roster. Giving players these characters as a "reward" is insulting to our intelligence. It's not a reward, it's a part of the damn game, not an "extra". You're not actually giving us anything, just artificially lengthening your game by making us jump through hoops to get the content that we paid for.
I also don't like unlockable difficulty levels. What? This is a reward? Oh goody, now I can use something that should have been in the options screen to begin with.
That's pretty much it. Rewards should always be "extras", not important features. However, as Mozgus sort of said, I hate pointless unlockables. I don't give a damn about unlockable costumes. They add nothing whatsoever to a game. I generally like unlockables that are gameplay oriented. New weapons, mini-games, extra stages that the game didn't need but are still fun to play, that kind of thing. I think new game plus features are the BEST kind of unlockable to have in an rpg.
So it's hard to make a choice for this poll. Unlockables are cool if done right.
If you look at Resident Evil 4, the main game alone is enough to warrant the price you pay for it. However, they threw in the Mercenaries mini-game. Mercenaries is a ton of fun and many players have put quite a few hours into it just to get the highest possible scores. Is it good enough to stand on its own? Nope, but it's far better than any mini-game should be and is perfect as an unlockable. It's fun enough to feel like a genuine reward for beating the game, but the game doesn't actually need it.
I agree that unlockable characters are annoying. These are not rewards. They are main features of a game. You could not sell a fighter or Dynasty Warriors game without a full roster. Giving players these characters as a "reward" is insulting to our intelligence. It's not a reward, it's a part of the damn game, not an "extra". You're not actually giving us anything, just artificially lengthening your game by making us jump through hoops to get the content that we paid for.
I also don't like unlockable difficulty levels. What? This is a reward? Oh goody, now I can use something that should have been in the options screen to begin with.
That's pretty much it. Rewards should always be "extras", not important features. However, as Mozgus sort of said, I hate pointless unlockables. I don't give a damn about unlockable costumes. They add nothing whatsoever to a game. I generally like unlockables that are gameplay oriented. New weapons, mini-games, extra stages that the game didn't need but are still fun to play, that kind of thing. I think new game plus features are the BEST kind of unlockable to have in an rpg.
So it's hard to make a choice for this poll. Unlockables are cool if done right.
As others have said, it depends a LOT of how it is done. Purely cosmetic changes can always be unlockables as far as I'm concerned. Extra characters (or tracks, in games like Guitar Hero) is more dubious.
I think above all, I'm fine with any type of unlockables, as long as there is the option of using "cheat codes" to allow 100% unlocking (this goes for more than unlocking extras. Many games work with "levels" - which, when you think about it, are basically "unlocked" by beating the previous levels - there should always be cheat codes for level select IMO).
A player might not be good or have time to jump through the hoops unlike some other more skilled player (or one with more free time), but is IMO still entitled access to all the goodies / content. If a cheat code is used, however, it shouldn't display that the player as accomplished the things that would otherwise unlock stuff. Example: In many games finishing the game puts a symbol (often a star?) in the title screen and gives access to a higher difficulty level. For skilled players with little time, they may want to skip the "normal" difficulty, hence there should be a code to get access - but using the code would only allow to play in "hard" mode, it wouldn't put the symbol in the title screen.
Ivo
I think above all, I'm fine with any type of unlockables, as long as there is the option of using "cheat codes" to allow 100% unlocking (this goes for more than unlocking extras. Many games work with "levels" - which, when you think about it, are basically "unlocked" by beating the previous levels - there should always be cheat codes for level select IMO).
A player might not be good or have time to jump through the hoops unlike some other more skilled player (or one with more free time), but is IMO still entitled access to all the goodies / content. If a cheat code is used, however, it shouldn't display that the player as accomplished the things that would otherwise unlock stuff. Example: In many games finishing the game puts a symbol (often a star?) in the title screen and gives access to a higher difficulty level. For skilled players with little time, they may want to skip the "normal" difficulty, hence there should be a code to get access - but using the code would only allow to play in "hard" mode, it wouldn't put the symbol in the title screen.
Ivo
For me, it depends on how you get the unlockables. If you get them just by beating the game, that's fine, but having to go around finding items (ie. the skulls in Halo 2) is just retarded. Like Mozgus, I hate playing Super Smash Bros. without all the characters unlocked, since I mostly use Ganondorf. The worst kind of unlockable, however, are games that have you go to some high building, nearly kill yourself, and when you go enter your reward is: "Here are pictures of the developer's families." I don't give two shits about some level designer's daughter.