Why rewards always devalue the game experience

by Ragashingo , Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, April 19, 2013, 17:42 (4235 days ago) @ Cody Miller

That's also why in a sense I don't enjoy actually beating games, because once it's over, that's the end of the inherent pleasure in playing. There are no more situations left.

Yeah. I enjoyed the story of Bioshock Infinite, the gameplay and character moments of Tomb Raider (seriously, stick around Lara's friends when you get a chance and talk to them, there's a bunch of good non-main-plot dialog to be heard) and the sneaking and planning and execution (heh, talk about a double meaning of a word :p) of Dishonored… but then they all ended.

Then there's Skyrim. In that game the storyline is secondary and gameplay is primary. Something like two years later I can load up a save, point in a direction, and just explore. Maybe I'll go fishing. Or scavenge for alchemy supplies, or raid a crypt, or fight a tense battle against a bunch of bandits. I like good writing in games. I think gamers have been pretty fortunately lately to get a bunch of good storylines. But there is still something to be said for a game that doesn't end after 10 hours, or 50, or 100.

Bungie has said that they have a ten year plan for Destiny. They also said repeatedly that, yes, there will be a storyline, but they also want to make the world itself something players will want to come back to. I like those implications. :)