Fun is subjective. (Rev's rant of the week) (Destiny)

by Revenant1988 , How do I forum?, Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 06:22 (3506 days ago) @ Riceamike

{Long post, warning you all now}

While there is validity to what you are saying in regards to today's carrot and stick systems in gaming, that doesn't make an investment system inherently "bad".

I'll say it again: Video games, in general, are all time wasters on one level or another.

What tangible thing do you get by replaying the campaign of Halo over and over again?

Absolutely nothing.

What tangible thing do you get by playing strikes in Destiny over and over again?

"You get a piece of loot"

No you don't. It's not tangible. You can't do anything with it. You got nothing.

In a perfectly balanced game of multiplayer, where you meet and best your opponent based purely on your skill beating theirs, what is your reward?

Absolutely nothing.

That all sounds pretty shitty, doesn't it?

Well, of course it does, because if that's how you approach gaming, with that mentality of "what's in it for me?" you're going to find that your time is much better spent doing almost ANYTHING else.

What do I have to show for myself if I sit down and binge on a videogame for 10 hours on a Saturday?

Nothing.

Video games are a waste of time. Or are they?

Being a part of the greater B.ORG community, most of us all know for a fact that there are plenty of things you can get out of gaming. What you "get" though, varies from person to person based on their needs.

This post is going to turn into an essay, so if you don't feel like reading, then I suggest you stop here.

Some people play these games because they like the exploration, or the combat, or the story, and that's all they need.

Some people play because it helps them physically with motor-skills, co-ordination, problem solving and critical thinking.

Some people play for the social aspects, the community meetings, the team work, the camaraderie.

Some people play for the rush, the possibility of failure, the competition aspects of meeting your opponent on the battlefield, and beating them.

Some people, believe it or not, like investment systems. It could be any reason- they like them because they like the rewards, they enjoy the chase, they like to level, their real lives aren't filled with much achievement for whatever reason, but goddammit, they worked hard to max out their character or chase an gamer achievement and sometimes that's all you need.

What's the difference between beating Halo on legendary in an afternoon and reaching the next level of Angry Birds while taking a shit at work?

Not much.

^^I know that's going to instantly make at least 2 specific people mad and argue differently, but you're wrong. On the surface, there is no difference. None. You get what you want out of it.

Why *I* do\do not play, should have NO bearing on why *YOU* do\do not play.

Your "fun" is just as valid as mine. If I want to play just because it kills 2 hours of my evening, who cares? If someone else wants to play to chase bounties or get that one gun, that's their prerogative. If someone wants to sit in front of a cave and shoot into it for hours, they can! And you know what? If I don't like it, I don't have to stay! It's fantastic! Maybe I want to keep playing that one encounter on AotCR over and over again and that's it- I can do that! Who cares!

Does it make my gaming experience any more legitimate or better than another persons experience? Hell no.

All the quarters I put into the arcades of my childhood trying to get to the end of the games- are those now less valid forms of fun because of the console games of today? Not on your life.

I hated CoD and GoW- but I don't shit all over the devs of those games and the people who play them because *I* don't enjoy it. And I'm also not going to go to their houses, and preach to them why I think they're wrong, that the way they have fun is bad and they should feel bad just like I wouldn't want anyone coming to mine and laying into me for spending hours in my garage making fantasy costumes for videogames.

People will get what they want to get out of their games. Fun, finds a way.

The bottom line, is that if you are still playing something and you aren't having fun*, then you should stop playing.

(*regardless of what that specific "fun" means to you in that context)

Where Destiny succeeds and fails is so dependent on the individual playing the damn game, that most of the reviews and critiques have no meaning from one person to the next.

So someone doesn't like Destiny- Ok. I'm not going to get all butt hurt over it.

So someone is having fun in Destiny- Ok. I'm not going to get all butt hurt over it.

Why, why are the above two statements so hard for people to accept?

If your argument for why Destiny sucks is that it isn't as fun as another game (because reason), why do you keep playing it in the first place?

And then why come around to a community where people ARE playing it and try to convince them otherwise?