Arcades and Payment (Destiny)

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Monday, August 17, 2015, 01:46 (3484 days ago) @ Miguel Chavez

Are video games supposed to be places where nothing bad ever happens, or where every aspect of the world is under the complete control of the player, even when there's more than one player?

I wouldn't say complete control. There'd be no challenge then. But I think the ability of the player to overcome the challenges should rest solely in their control.

Gotta disagree. The player is not God. Most challenges? Sure. Possibly even the vast majority. But all? No. Sometimes you just have to run away, and sometimes there's no getting out alive.

That probably does explain the whining about the endings of Mass Effect 3 and Fallout 3, among other things.

I feel better about game universes where the player isn't the biggest or only thing there is.

You've just triggered a connection in my head. I realize now how being an arcade junkie in the 70's/80's made me the kind of gamer I am today.

Asteroids and Defender imbued very key concepts firmly into my medulla.

Thanks Narc.

You're welcome?

Not sure the connection you mean.

Myself, personally, I had a complicated relationship with arcades. My mom was not a fan of them (whose is?) and myself I felt the way about them that people feel now about MMO grind and stuff designed to addict players. The only way to play a game to completion without paying more than the initial quarter was to be good enough at the game to not die. The only way to practice was to play and die and pay over and over. That, to me, sort of felt like abuse, rather than challenge, because you couldn't possibly know what to expect until you'd seen it, and you had to pay to see it. Most games were not made so as to be beatable on first play.

Ironically, though, I'm not necessarily upset by the idea of paying full price for a game and then being unable to access all of it's content because I'm not good enough, because at that point practice only costs me time, not more money.