Rampant Games - Want players to finish? Let them quit!

Roi Danton said:

I don't agree. Having a good quest log in RPGs for example should be standard practice but isn't. In some games if I stop playing for a week or so (on vacation, traveling on business, etc) I can't jump back into the game because I forget some stuff. If the game has a working quest log that shouldn't be a problem. But some RPGs just don't have that.

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Writing down notes on what to do next just takes a couple of minutes.
No quest log can provide for what a player was about to do six months ago.

Well, I think the problem with modern games is that they have way "too" good quest logs it tells you exactly where to go and what to do, eliminating any kind of challange for the player.

Of course if they'd start doing it in the right way instead ( having a log which actually tells you what happend , instead of what you're supposed to do ) that'd solve all of the problems.

turian said:

the market is big enough to handle every developer!

and there are games out there for every kind of player.

your a nolifer? play p2p mmo!
you a family man? play f2p browsergames!

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Would be too easy. And too sincere.

The goal is more to capture the bigger segment of market possible and customers know that. They will push for all games to be according to their tastes.

The article is not forcefully about players who have no life. It is also about players who favour novelty over steady playthrough.
This guy might sink more hours in gaming playing various games for the taste of novelty than some other players who play one game at a time from start to end.
This guy might play enough hours to play a game from start to end but prefer to jump from one game to another for the taste of novelty.

Usually for this kind of player, finishing a game is just a filler between playing two new games.

What is asked will have permanent consequences just like adding the AH to Diablo has had.

Compromizes usually bring different features in. Especially when the compromizes are called on shaky ground: an already started game is seldom a match with a unplayed game when a player looks for tasting novelty first.

GothicGothicness said:

Well, I think the problem with modern games is that they have way "too" good quest logs it tells you exactly where to go and what to do, eliminating any kind of challange for the player.

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Developpers, over the years, have tried to make their game more accessible, especially when it comes to discontinuous playthroughs. They have tried to make it as easy as possible to quit and reconnect with the game later.

Players keeping asking for more, even thought developpers have gone as far as writing what to do next, show that the demand by players is problematic and while developpers try to fulfill the demand, they might fail because the demand is not the one players express.

When players look for freshness, only fresh games can provide. It is quite useless to expect already started games to provide that fresh feel only unplayed games can provide.

Of course if they'd start doing it in the right way instead ( having a log which actually tells you what happend , instead of what you're supposed to do ) that'd solve all of the problems.

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Probably not. Developpers have listened to their players, especially for this kind of games, as they have tried to tackle the issue as they could.
Players want to reconnect as easily as possible.

I fit this article exactly. I grew up at the dawn of videogames and I do love to play them. But with a job and family it really can be tough to get through a long and deep CRPG.

Consider two very different games - Gothic 3 and Oblivion. Both were released in 2006. I like games like Gothic 3 more than I do games like Oblivion. That isn't to say I didn't like Oblivion, just that I liked Gothic 3 more as its gameplay features and stronger narrative are more intersting to me.

But back in 2006 I had a lot going on. I started and stopped G3 twice, each time with many months passing by before I came back to the game. And each time when I came back I was just lost and started over again. It wasn't until my 3rd attempt sometime in 2007 when I actually finished the game - I broke my ankle and was out of commission for 2 weeks and so I had the time to marathon through it.

Oblivion on the other hand - I played just 1 playthrough of the game over about a 4 year period. Many times stopping for weeks and months at a time. But the way Oblivion was setup, it was so easy to just pick up where I left off.

So while I like a game like G3 better than Oblivion (and G1 and G2 even moreso), G3 was terribly difficult to resume after taking an extended break. With Oblivion's quest system, hand=holding and all, it was just easier to get back into.

I'm always a big supporter of games accomodating different play styles. For those with the time and inclination, they should be able to make their game more challenging by being able to increase combat difficulty and turning off hand-holding features.

But for people like me, it's nice when a game is setup where I can leave it for a really long time but come back later and be able to resume where I left off. If I had the time, I wouldn't mind maximum challenge - I have had my fun back in the day doing things like mapping Wizardry 1 dungeons. I just don't have that kind of time anymore.

The hardest part about picking up the game again after a long pause is remembering the keyboard combos. Making the interface easy to pick up would resolve that problem. Most RPG have at least a decent level of journaling so you can remember where you were at. But there are a few exceptions where the game relies on your memory to store clues, which can be a significant problem after a long layoff.

rjshae said:

The hardest part about picking up the game again after a long pause is remembering the keyboard combos. Making the interface easy to pick up would resolve that problem. Most RPG have at least a decent level of journaling so you can remember where you were at. But there are a few exceptions where the game relies on your memory to store clues, which can be a significant problem after a long layoff.

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I am currently playing Geneforge 1, which I enjoy, and I found that it has a good system of keeping track of things. In addition to the usual quests journal, you also have the ability to 'record' conversation in your journal; not all conversation, just the ones that you pick and you think are important for your journey. This keeps journals less cluttered, and allows you to easily cross reference your quests with the record entries that you have selected.