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Video Games: Long or Short Sittings?
14 years ago
I don't know why but I have started to think about playing a new game how is it better to do a long sitting, you know, play for 5 hours or so and try to beat it ASAP, or is it better to do short sittings, about 1-4 hours?
I am unsure about how I feel about this but pretty sure short is better for me. I feel short sittings are better for me with a new game. I feel it stretches the game out and makes me reflect on what I just played. It makes things more memorable. Even though you stop playing, you are still thinking about it, what went on and what might be ahead and it is still like you are playing it in your head.
Before I even was thinking about any of this, I just played about 3-4 hours because I wanted to treat my new consoles with care... but now I don't mind going up to 6 hours. So I just wasn't thinking about how long I should play a game. But I figure it is maybe better to play for as long as I feel until I start to lose focus because then I won't remember things as much.
I wonder what any of you think. Does a game touch you regardless if you rushed through it or not? Or is it not as memorable because you didn't take your time with it? Sure even if you rushed through a game and enjoyed it, do you think you would've enjoyed it more if you stretched it out more? Maybe this creates nostalgia.... those memories you get with a game that weren't there before but in thought give you this good yet somehow sad feeling, hard to explain.
But this is only with my first time playing a game. I think when I play it a second or third time then it doesn't matter as much how long or short I play it each sitting.
I am unsure about how I feel about this but pretty sure short is better for me. I feel short sittings are better for me with a new game. I feel it stretches the game out and makes me reflect on what I just played. It makes things more memorable. Even though you stop playing, you are still thinking about it, what went on and what might be ahead and it is still like you are playing it in your head.
Before I even was thinking about any of this, I just played about 3-4 hours because I wanted to treat my new consoles with care... but now I don't mind going up to 6 hours. So I just wasn't thinking about how long I should play a game. But I figure it is maybe better to play for as long as I feel until I start to lose focus because then I won't remember things as much.
I wonder what any of you think. Does a game touch you regardless if you rushed through it or not? Or is it not as memorable because you didn't take your time with it? Sure even if you rushed through a game and enjoyed it, do you think you would've enjoyed it more if you stretched it out more? Maybe this creates nostalgia.... those memories you get with a game that weren't there before but in thought give you this good yet somehow sad feeling, hard to explain.
But this is only with my first time playing a game. I think when I play it a second or third time then it doesn't matter as much how long or short I play it each sitting.
Likewise, there are games I played for 3 hours and just don't really remember them.
It usually depends on the game, but I like playing games with a window of about 3 to 4 hours.
I like to sit down and play them, enjoy them, immerse myself into them.
This allows me to get a deep feeling for the game, but not beat it in one sitting.
It is how the games are represented to you as a player, not necessarily how long you sit and stare at a game. I remember a whole lot of things from Zelda Wind waker which i grinded to dust over 2 days, yet i still remember most of that game unlike Twilight princess which felt so....generic and underdeveloped to me.
Things like well thought out characters, amazing scenes and environments, music that really sticks to you and not just another generic orchestral soundtrack and a well told story. These are the things that makes us remember them by, and most of them goes by the old methods, Show but not tell, or tell but not show.
It isn't often we get these things today....All I see now days are the next FPS variation (Brink, Bulletstorm, Fallout Las vegas) or FPS online game (Cod:MW3, BF3), or re-releases of old games in HD and so forth. Do mind that i've enjoyed most of these games, if not all i've mentioned above, but to me it feels like i'm eating a bag of chips rather than one sophisticated slide of cake which you appreciate the complexity from all the different tastes you get.
But yea, that's like...my opinion man~
And hmm everything seems so FPS... that XCom game which I never heard of or anything but seems the reboot of it is a FPS when it was a strategy game. Just man... too many FPS games, just why? Sure they can be fun but does everything have to be FPS? To go so far as to change the genre of a game to FPS when it wasn't before? I guess FPS sells to those who are not too much of a true gamer. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some FPS but there are those who only enjoy FPS with a probably racing/sports game as their 2nd game of choice. Makes me feel those are jock gamers really and can't enjoy anything like Zelda or Mario because it is kiddie or can't enjoy anything that does not have gun or action going on.
But yeah as kids games were more fun and innocent. I find myself not enjoying games as much as I use to. Or well what I mean is that getting into new games or even old games I feel I wanna play, I don't. That whole I feel like playing yet not feeling. Such as FF games I never beaten or whatever else. I hate how that is and envy those who never tire of a game and can always go back and play Earthbound over and over or Zelda over and over.
I wish I could get into games more deeply than I can. I always fear I am growing out of games since I can't easily get into games like I use to.
In my world, limitations spawns unique concepts and executions of said concepts. Extra credits believe that this whole dark "adult" theme will eventually pass, and i have a feeling it will. Our genre is evolving today and it's not just games anymore, it's an interactive form of media, and the best kind of media ;3
Ah~ So much potential going to waste. Anyway, another issue for you might be that you should well, limit how many games you play per month ^^
I'd recommend you to try cave story (the first version), it's a really sweet game, and it does a great job nudging your old retro gamer back to life ;3
But yeah I enjoy the 2D Castlevania games and Metroid and games like that with secrets and exploration... feels good. Wish there were more games like that, and graphics do matter to me, not that they should be good but they should give off a good feel. I always feel I like the look of Super Metroid and Super Mario RPG and graphics like that. Or Zelda LttP as well, I always like that feeling of being in a secret little cave or something. It is hard for me to explain, but it is nice when something feels so secret and has the kind of graphics to provide that feel. But maybe that is my nostalgia. To think of Super Mario RPG remade with 3D graphics or bright colorful sprites like in the Mario RPG DS games... it just wouldn't feel the same. I like those dark like graphics and that angled view and even that board like maps, which I said in my last journal I believe. Or Super Metriod remade with 3D graphics wouldn't feel right either as it would lack that detail I feel that the original had, in it's characters and background.
Yeah when I first got my PS3, I was like wow, games sure have changed since I last played. Because I had only been Nintendo and never though I'd get a PS3 or 360 and just be with Wii, Gamecube, PS2 and below. Nintendo is still in ways of old and don't listen to their fans when making a game... while more modern games tend to listen to their fans more and create an experience, which is what games have become today, rather than a challenge like how they use to be.
On a side note... Saints Row 3 will seem awesome. They are moving away from realism and doing more over the top, unrealistic things, to make a game that is about the fun rather than being all serious and realistic.
I think it lies in that there is a certain charm in old school non 3D games and it's limitations, because good developers like nintendo fleshes out everything you could flesh out with every big title they made. I personally would love a 3D + Remake Majora's Mask slightly altered to change the maps a bit ^^
The game will still have the same feel, and the newly remade maps brings a new challenge again, just like ocarina of time. But yea, cave story keeps pulling the wrong moves in my book, and it's a shame, i would love to see Pixel gain a lot of height from his work, seeing how much i love his stuff.
But after all these years of being satisfied, more or less, I trust Nintendo's decisions to do the right more, and if they were to listen to us fans that would be nice, but eventually they will also take advantage of it due to the profit they possibly could make.....Capcom >.-.>.
But i believe this will cycle in time, that old barely touched genre's will rise up with something new and unique, and probably because some indie developer thought of something genius, like Minecraft, or Amnesia.
I wouldn't say that game companies listen to their fans, they simply do things because it will sell. or make a side project about a bunch of shitty hite rabbids that wouldn't possibly fit in an adventure platformer with the most idiotic story when they could be working on a new game of their old trusty icon, and not release the second title...again... and call it new. *ahem* sorry i'm getting ahead of myself here.
Nintendo runs their own race, and they always seem to step one step in front of both Sony and Microsoft in many ways, only to be copied once they've proven to have succeeded. All i see on the 360 now is good shooters and maybe a good western rpg now and then, but that's it. I've played Darksiders but it came out as a really really mediocre copy of zelda and god of war.
Whilst nintendo keeps it simple with their original titles and delivers a great experience if people gave them a chance. I see variety on the Wii, not saying that the ps3/xbox 360 doesn't have variation, i've had a great time gaming online on those systems, and I truly wish Nintendo could pull their heads out of their asses and make a proper online experience, and that is what i'm praying for with the next project Café.
Nintendo needs to step up, I don't like that their games, like Zelda, lacks difficulty settings. I mean c'mon. The Zelda OoT remake is half-assed as well. Yes I mean if they remake Majora's Mask, I am not too attached to the graphics, though it has it's charm, and wouldn't mind changes in map design here and there and add things... which is what I wanted in the OoT remake but nooo... just somewhat better graphics and that is about it. No new dungeon, no new side quests or things to collect. Nothing, bah. It feels more like it was to help boost 3DS sales.
Some remakes did a good job and well changed alot about the game. The best example I can think of is Super Castlevania IV, which is a remake of Castlevania I. I didn't even know till I read because the stages were totally different as were the bosses and level design. It wasn't just a better graphic version of the other. That is an example of a good remake. Some remakes just got better graphics like I think Battletoads, Super Mario Bros 1-3, and only recently I found out... Super Ninja Boy, which I thought was a SNES only game but seems it is a remake of the NES version.
I enjoy remakes. Those who complain about remakes, how they want a new Zelda... nah I prefer Zelda remakes at this point. OoT remake, Majora's Mask, LttP, LA... hmm. I enjoy a remake when done right, not just pretty graphics and nothing else. When a remake comes out they should add more to it, change things here or there but keep the story the same or add onto it if they think it improves the story.
Some games seem fine as they are though... I can't imagine a Zelda Wind Waker remake, just seems fine as it is. But there are just some games that should get a remake... to improve on the story, features, abilities and all that other good stuff. Super Mario 64 remake? Possibly, better graphics, change some of the stars... some seemed lazy, like they ran out of ideas. But then again it doesn't really need one.
But yeah some companies like Capcom tick me off. So greedy, sort of like Microsoft. Marvel vs Capcom 3, though I don't care for it, haven't cared for a fighting game in ages... from what I read and saw, was seriously half assed. They could have added more modes and features and better character endings and of course more characters. Bad enough they already had some characters in the game... but later comes out as DLC to unlock it... man... arg.
It is a shame how some gaming companies become... and how prices have rose. What happened to games being $50? When and why did they jump to $60? I can maybe understand how it can hard to be caring of the gamers when you have those who pirate and won't stop complaining or whatever else... man. And the thing with those who pirate games, they act like it is ok to do that, like it is natural.
Another thing is just because a game tries to do what another game does, does not mean it is bad. I hate when those bash on a game because another game did it first. Or like how people bash that iRate Gamer guy just because AVGN was first so they say iRate copies him. I know that is not about games but I think you get what I mean. It's just fanboyism that makes one cling onto whoever did it first, even if those that come after do it better.
Well anyway... that is all I can think to say right now.
But it kind of feels a bit cheap to blame it on our lack of imagination, it feels like we've done this so much to the point that we really can't stop and enjoy the view once in a while, so a break from games does sound like an ok start.
I rather enjoy the start of a game because my OCD and all, since I know the game in and out, I can be more efficient in everything. Like how I can get the best items or do things in a better manner than I could before when it was new to me. Such as Pokemon, I enjoy starting over in Red/Blue because of the memories I suppose and for the reason I just said there. Though the later part of the game is nostalgic to me as well... hmm.
yes, i love em, as much as I love Monster hunter ;3
Thankfully, if one does shelve a game for awhile, it's a good feeling to return to a game you haven't played in years.
Generally the more sympathy I feel or a goal I see, the more determined I am. *nod*
I won't pull out a game if I have too much going on for it, but I usually only play them for like an hour or so at a time. Aside from getting headaches, there's just a lot to do so I just do a bit at a time. Making it last longer doesn't matter, I think. I'd love to play through games quickly. Then I'd be more likely to pick them up again. I kinda like not beating them in a single day either though. Just enjoy it and go at whatever pace. If it's good you'll remember it for being good.
Some games are TOO short to be worth the price like Heavenly Swords, other games just WOULD NOT END (GTA 4) and i eventually got bored of em to the point i thought i'd never get back and beat em.
It really does just depend on the type of game. Both long and short can be equally memorable as long as their fun.
And yeah some games are just too long to where I never beat them. I get bored/tired of them after awhile and don't get back to them for months or a year or so and when I do I end up starting all over because I forgot everything. I have never beaten a FF game, aside from FF1 on GBA, because of the length. That is another thing though, I feel I play games slower than others... I dunno why or how. Maybe because I do more of the side things than others? Feel others just rush through. I see someone played a game for 14 hours and was already level 20 and beaten the 2nd boss while when I was at 14 hours I hadn't got that far yet.
Sometimes i still do that, tho more so these days cos another game comes out too soon behind one im already working on and its usually one of those ones that if i dont play it now, people will spoil it for me (Portal 2 for example)
Where as i can think of a friend or two who just PLOUGH through games on a nearly weekly basis, they'll go on and on about em while they're playin em then POOF within a month of beating em they can hardly give you any details about characters, places, events XD
For me I have bad memory so I easily forget names and places. I played Borderlands for 3 weeks... for at least 4 hours a day, maybe up to 6 hours a day, though usually Sundays I'd take off because things were too busy and active down here to enjoy gaming. All that noise and eh yeah... bit of a shame I don't have privacy to game, if I want to enjoy a game I have to wait until everyone leaves the living room and kitchen which surrounds this room. Otherwise all that noise makes it hard to listen to my game.