155: My Big Fat Geek Wedding

[Lara Crigger]

My Big Fat Geek Wedding

"The Wedding Planning Game, he said, is a never-ending fetch quest; a months-long hunt for vendors, reservations, orders and contracts, culminating either in a successful ceremony or your premature death. It's like Pokémon: the perfect photographer, florist, caterer, DJ, officiant, jeweler and bridesmaids - gotta catch 'em all."

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[Cat Rambo]

I'm forwarding this to a couple of friends getting married this week. Fun piece, great editor's choice.

 

[Novan Leon]

I cried a little in my heart when you mentioned "Aria di Mezza Carattere" from Final Fantasy VI. I have many fond memories of FFVI, in my mind possibly the best RPG of all time. The Opera scene was epic and beautiful. The music was simply gorgeous.

Thanks for bringing back the good memories, and best wishes to you for your wedding.

 

[Sylocat]

Normally I love playing old, out-of-current-memory games, but I think Marriage: The Wedding Game is a little too old-fashioned even for me. For one thing, it's WAY too expensive. No antique should be that expensive, it's ridiculous. For another thing, I've seen firsthand that people get bored with it really quick. My mom and dad entered co-op play six months before I was born. They stuck it out for 22 years, and it was a fucking nightmare for both of them. Every time anyone I know plays this game, it's fun and exciting for the first year, and then it turns into a grind-fest.

And don't even get me started on the expansion pack, Marriage 2: Babies. It's a money-pit that preys on the unwary, dragging down all hopes of tranquility, stability and financial independence along with it. And what's worse, you can't buy Marriage without your parents and every other member of your family putting constant pressure on you to get Babies too. The advertisers just won't leave you alone!

 

[Dom Camus]

The basic flaw in these wedding-themed games is the assumption that their subject matter should inherently appeal to a bride knee-deep in the planning process.

Umm... I'm not sure the target audience is actual brides. In much the same way that porn isn't for people who have real-life sex. ;-)

 

[Novan Leon]

Normally I love playing old, out-of-current-memory games, but I think Marriage: The Wedding Game is a little too old-fashioned even for me. For one thing, it's WAY too expensive. No antique should be that expensive, it's ridiculous. For another thing, I've seen firsthand that people get bored with it really quick. My mom and dad entered co-op play six months before I was born. They stuck it out for 22 years, and it was a fucking nightmare for both of them. Every time anyone I know plays this game, it's fun and exciting for the first year, and then it turns into a grind-fest.

And don't even get me started on the expansion pack, Marriage 2: Babies. It's a money-pit that preys on the unwary, dragging down all hopes of tranquility, stability and financial independence along with it. And what's worse, you can't buy Marriage without your parents and every other member of your family putting constant pressure on you to get Babies too. The advertisers just won't leave you alone!

I think one of the reasons some people burn out on the game so much is that it's difficulty level is very high, in fact, most people stink at the game. People that stink at Marriage: The Wedding Game also tend to stink at it's sequel as the second game tends to build heavily on the first. For those who are up for the challenge, both games offer an incredible and incredibly unique experience. Also, the better you are at the game, the more lasting value the game holds for those determined to stick with it.

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

I think one of the reasons some people burn out on the game so much is that it's difficulty level is very high, in fact, most people stink at the game. People that stink at Marriage: The Wedding Game also tend to stink at it's sequel as the second game tends to build heavily on the first. For those who are up for the challenge, both games offer an incredible and incredibly unique experience. Also, the better you are at the game, the more lasting value the game holds for those determined to stick with it.

Like so many games these days, all the best elements of Marriage were cribbed from its boardgame antecedent: Living Together. Nobody knows their history anymore, so nobody acknowledges the debt that modern forms owe to their historical predecessors.

Fact is, you can get all the tactical co-op bliss out of LT that M:tWG provides, without the ridiculous expense, just as people have been doing for thousands of years before the advent of modern hardware. But nobody wants to be old-fashioned, and nobody's got the attention span for it.

 

[Lara Crigger]

I think one of the reasons some people burn out on the game so much is that it's difficulty level is very high, in fact, most people stink at the game. People that stink at Marriage: The Wedding Game also tend to stink at it's sequel as the second game tends to build heavily on the first. For those who are up for the challenge, both games offer an incredible and incredibly unique experience. Also, the better you are at the game, the more lasting value the game holds for those determined to stick with it.

Like so many games these days, all the best elements of Marriage were cribbed from its boardgame antecedent: Living Together. Nobody knows their history anymore, so nobody acknowledges the debt that modern forms owe to their historical predecessors.

Fact is, you can get all the tactical co-op bliss out of LT that M:tWG provides, without the ridiculous expense, just as people have been doing for thousands of years before the advent of modern hardware. But nobody wants to be old-fashioned, and nobody's got the attention span for it.

I hear ya. We played Living Together for quite a long time, at least a couple of years. Got a lot of mileage out of that one. But I gotta say, nothing beats the feeling of breaking open the shrinkwrap on M:tWG and running that first scenario, Lakefront at Sunset: The Proposal. Worth the first 100 hours or so of tedious Stationary Store hunt-the-pixel.

 

[Novan Leon]

I think one of the reasons some people burn out on the game so much is that it's difficulty level is very high, in fact, most people stink at the game. People that stink at Marriage: The Wedding Game also tend to stink at it's sequel as the second game tends to build heavily on the first. For those who are up for the challenge, both games offer an incredible and incredibly unique experience. Also, the better you are at the game, the more lasting value the game holds for those determined to stick with it.

Like so many games these days, all the best elements of Marriage were cribbed from its boardgame antecedent: Living Together. Nobody knows their history anymore, so nobody acknowledges the debt that modern forms owe to their historical predecessors.

Fact is, you can get all the tactical co-op bliss out of LT that M:tWG provides, without the ridiculous expense, just as people have been doing for thousands of years before the advent of modern hardware. But nobody wants to be old-fashioned, and nobody's got the attention span for it.

It's true that even though M:tWG does come at an additional cost, it also provides a number of enhanced features that LT never had. That said, the additional cost, higher learning curve and greater difficulty is proving to turn people away from M:tWG in exchange for the cheaper, easier and more accessible LT.

In today's society, people gravitate toward having multiple short pick-up and play sessions of LT rather taking part in single, longer and more difficult play sessions of M:tWG.

 

[SlayerGhede]

That last page pierced my rough craggy exterior to find my soft-spot.

... Who am I kidding, I'm softer than uncooked dough. Still, that was beautiful.

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

In today's society, people gravitate toward having multiple short pick-up and play sessions of LT rather taking part in single, longer and more difficult play sessions of M:tWG.

Pick-up sessions of M:tWG are just as common these days (seems like half the time they never get to the ending cutscene), and epic-style LT play is as amazing as any game I've ever played. My current campaign is over ten years old now, and my playmate and I have no intention of giving it up.

 

[Novan Leon]

Pick-up sessions of M:tWG are just as common these days (seems like half the time they never get to the ending cutscene)

Sadly, this is true.

 

[CanadianWolverine]

=D

Haha, this thread is as much fun as this article, thank you, to all the contributors.

BTW, I am enjoying a LT game that I modded to resemble the M:tWG and its expansion pack, had a play session that has gone on for 10 years. Its interesting, if you have any passion for game design, its quite easy to produce your own home brewed mods that IMHO are more meaningful then the traditional store bot fancy frills games. Its all about the passion to dedicated design and play testing, so you maintain the core design while still reinvigorating the game experience. The result: One of the best co-op games I am aware of.

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

The result: One of the best co-op games I am aware of.

Play on, brother. Play on.

 

[Jordan Deam]

This is why I love our forums.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

The result: One of the best co-op games I am aware of.

Play on, brother. Play on.

I've heard that co-op is really good. Versus mode, however...

-- Steve

 

[Susan Arendt]

Sadly, the first time I tried M:tWG I ran straight into a griefer. Really ruined the experience for me.

 

[Lara Crigger]

With the amount of time and money that M:tWG and the expansion ties up, the Massively Multiplayer version can only be a grind-fest the likes of which we've never seen (and probably never want to).

 

[caustic]

wow. what a refreshingly bizarre game article! the escapist = not-skim milk

hey Lara, can i just suggest that an even "geekier" wedding would be to not give the life-sucking wedding industry a single fucking penny ... instead give all that money to people who desperately need it ... then just have a big party to celebrate your marriage (and how unbelievably generous and forward-thinking you are). send evites and make your color selections with html. paper (even newport blue paper) is for wanks.

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

Oh god. Aria di Mezzo Carattere.

Your wedding will be absolutely beautiful, regardless of anything else that's arranged or happens - as long as that song plays just before you tie the knot. Weddings are meaningless to me, in religion, in ceremony, and in "public declaration" - but I know yours will be beautiful, because you have a beautiful love and a truly beautiful theme for it.

Enjoy life in co-op mode. I hear it's better that way. :3