Non-RPG General News - Is Fun overrated?

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PCGamesN suggests that the fun in video games is overrated:

'Fun' in videogames is overrated

I finished Ultra Ultra’s third-person action game Echo over the weekend and it got me thinking about the nature of ‘fun’ in videogames. More specifically, it made me consider how our industry places too much value on that word, and how games can use other means to elicit a reaction from us.

[...]
Thanks Farflame!

More information.
 
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the title is interesting, the article is incoherent and incongruent imo.
so ill just talk on the title.
first of all, Fun is subjective and is defined by each individuals standards.

some require visuals, others sounds, others really high logic, of course in various %s.

the point here is, you shouldnt be placing too many eggs in the fun basket, as ull never please anyone with it.

what really matters is promoting philosophy, and touching on as many values as possible, on the highest standards possible.

P)(philosophy accountability integrity M)(grit resolution
P)(intimacy compassion belonging M)(vulnerability
​P)(openness curiosity M)(permeability, logic
P)(authenticity M)(creativity
P)(challenge ambition growth M)(philosophy
P)(comfort security M)(awareness
P)(elegance beauty efficiency M)(intelligences
P)(control structure M)(autonomy
P)(pleasure sensuality M)(sensitivity
 
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Fun is not overrated.
What is overrated is designs that are not fun but are boring or so annoying a person is tempted to uninstall the damend thing. In my case that's grinding, racing and QTE of any kind.
 
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Is fun overrated? No! If I want something that's not fun, I read the news. There's plenty that's not fun there. When I have free time I want to relax and escape the world. I want fun! Its okay if you are a computer designer, want to be an artist, and want to make something with a message. Just don't expect a big audience. Its the same with filmmaking too.
 
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I would hate reading a book that does silly things like mess up the text on purpose as described in the article where it mentions that book. If this is this article's writer's idea of what makes a compelling game, then no thank you.
 
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Fun is subjective and non specific. When a game (book, move, hobby etc.) is fun, I can list bullet point reasons why I think it's fun. Absent of such list, a game for me won't be fun and I wouldn't play it. So no, fun is not overrated.
 
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this is a troll article

fun is the only purpose of games

not making a game fun is a mistake developers make when they get caught up in some other aspect of their product.
 
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There are so many different definitions of "fun". Basically every single individual has his/her own definition of "fun".
 
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Emotional experiences of most stripes can be fun; even frustration, rage, and horror. Just not boredom.
 
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this is a troll article

fun is the only purpose of games

not making a game fun is a mistake developers make when they get caught up in some other aspect of their product.

Why is it a troll article? It discusses whether games can have other purposes/functions than just being fun, to which (correct English?) you can agree or disagree. As I understand "troll", a troll article would be something written only to provoke. Can't say I find much of it here.

When I read a book, usually I do it to relax and be entertained. Typically, I want something uncomplicated, a page turner. But not always. Sometimes I want something with a more thorough emotional impact, or something which makes me think. Currently I'm reading two kinds of books, in parallell. One of them is a series of crime novels by John Connolly, mixed with a healthy dose of Sci-Fi. The other is "Shikasta" by Doris Lessing, a Sci-Fi novel (yes, she wrote 5 of'em) which is a much more difficult read, but also ultimately more rewarding. Similar to what I expect if I'm going to an arts exhibition.

Games can have aspects like that. I usually play games only for fun. But I could certainly play a game where the main focus was something else, if I found it rewarding. My all time favourite game is PS:T. I certainly had fun playing it, but I've had more fun with other games. But PS:T is the only game that has made a lasting impression on me, which has something to do with it's setting, all the different incarnations of mr One, the questions, and … something else. And that's what puts it at the top of my best-games list, not likely to be dethroned any time soon.

pibbur who for once decides to drop the pibbur-who-ism.

PS: I won't say fun is overrated. But it doesn't have to be the only, even the main purpose of a game. DS.
 
Games can educate without letting the player strictly know they are doing so.
Education can even be embedded within fun.
Just look at the Sesame Street.

Besides, a comment from there :

If "Fun" is overrated, so are video games… because as far as I know, video games are games… they suppose to be fun, and if we are not having fun, why play video games? What's the point?

I agree to that. A game is a game, not a drama or a prophecy. It is an inherent part of games not to be part of any kind of literary genre, for example.

A comedy is a comedy, for example, but not a game.
A drama is a drama, for example, but not a game.

Especially concerning board games.

If a game has a horror theme, like with Ctulhu, is it still a game, then ? Is "playing with ctulhu" something that defines a game ?

Or, isn't a Ctulhu-themes "game" already something else ? Something we don't have a word for, except maybe "virtual novella" ?

In my opinion, "game" and "play" belong together; you can't take a ball and say "you can't play with it anymore". Or "this is something you on't play with".

If you take a game and say "you don't play with a game", then it isn't a game anymore, by definition that a game is something o be played.

You can't take a meal and say "this is not a meal".
 
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I played educative games on computers when I was in grade/high school. Some where just quiz type games, but there was one that was like an adventure game with a story.

But educative games to be successful needs to be fun. ;)
 
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Uh... If I'd want to have "fun", I'd attend a kids' birthday party. Or join the lads for a game and a couple beers. Maybe see a comedy. But likely not play PC games.

Maybe it's an age thing, since I seem to remember playing games for the fun of it, back when. Or maybe it's just my narrow definition of "fun": feeling giddy with excitement, tickled to tears and anticipating more of the same around the next corner.

I don't think I picked up a book for that anytime lately, and I think I have the same attitude towards games and music, and even films. I immerse myself in them to scratch a variety of itches on my soul, taking my mind and heart to places and emotions my life does not afford or not in this manner. Is that fun? At times, at most, I guess.
 
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Education? How so?

Or are you talking about kids games, learn to read with Bobo the Bear or whatever?

Some apparently play games to learn English. Or something approximating the English language, at least.
 
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Is fun overrated? No! If I want something that's not fun, I read the news. There's plenty that's not fun there.
Right on the money, forgottenlor. Unfun is free and in plentiful supply. My kitchen floor always seems to need washing, for example.

Regarding the "are games educational?" debate, I think Gaben said, "All games are educational, the question is what are they teaching?"

I agree with this 100%. Everyone seems to be attaching gameplay to taking a Uni course, there are other ways to learn things. Anyone who plays a strategy game is learning something about logic or systems even if there isn't an exam at the end.
 
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I see it similarly to Pibbur and Moorkh. It very much depends on what we mean by "fun". Many of my favorite movies and plays, my favourite music, can be quite dark and rough going in the moment. Yet, at the end of it, I feel like I have been stimulated and lifted in a way that is hard to define. It's kind of related to the ancient question about the value of tragedy.

I think some games can approach that effect, The Last of Us being a memorable example, for me.
 
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There is not enough games oriented on purely being fun and kind of feels some elements from other genres have wandered into other games that actually diminish it ( bloated crafting and inventory managements, survival elements, weapon durability, management, etc).
I'm playing E.Y.E at the moments, and man that game is infuriating, but immensely compelling, for other reasons.
 
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