BioShock, Fallout Designers Say Console Gamers "Lack Patience"

[Enigma6667]

They are correct, but stereotypical. I'm a console gamer, but I have the personality and patience of a PC gamer, pretty much. So obviously not every console gamer is like that, and since Fallout 3 & Bioshock have gotten universal acclaim and sold a bajillion copies, there are others who are patient with menus and shit like that.

But then again, console gamers are generalized by MW2 douchebags, so that says something...

 

[Anti-Robot Man]

Sometimes introductory chapters are just too long and tedious. Bioware have gotten progressively better at this: KotOR had you spend hours on Taris (the first few of which were quite boring) and made it tedious to replay. Mass Effect got the story and mechanics set up quickly, the sequel managed to do it even faster.
One of the reasons I was put off getting the newest Final Fantasy was all the talk about how long it takes before they take the training wheels off.

 

[SimuLord]

Thank the gods. I thought Todd Howard had gone over to the Dark Side.

Also, fuck publishers, because they're the real problem. I get the feeling Howard wants to make great games like Morrowind but because of the console tards and the ever-present bottom line, 2K (or whoever's distributing) wants them to dumb it down.

 

[RatRace123]

That's a large generalization, I know many console people who have limited patience for game mechanics, but there are also alot who do have the patience required.

Still, he does have a point. Console gamers are more identified with the Halo crowd, however untrue that stereotype may be, throughout all facets of console gaming.

 

[mogamer]

I guess these guys have never played Final Fantasy XIII.

 

[Dexiro]

I find that kind of insulting :/

I don't want to feel like my games are being dumbed down just because i primarily play on a console, I'd be getting these games for PC if i had the money to buy a decent one.
Hell there's no reason why console games shouldn't have keyboard/mouse support, give me more of that and I'd learn the same bucket-load of hotkeys that a PC gamer would have to.

I don't know, but why do console games (and even worse, in the PC versions of these games) always point out the buttons constantly? "You've don such and such, ENTER TO CONTINUE", "UP and DOWN to move though the menus". I can work out a menu, thanks. Please stop telling me.

I never got those, Just Cause 2 did it really bad. In some cases it was useful, like a button icon indicating you can use a particular switch (though they could have used different indication).
It takes it too far though, suddenly you get bombarded with "TRIANGLE MAKE GO IN CAR" every time you're within a mile of one, and whenever you're surfing a car you get bombarded with even more options.

There's an option to turn that feature off, but then it removes the helpful indications too :/

I don't know what possessed the developers to think that the players all have severe short term memory but i've never seen anything similar on a PC game.

 

[ZehGeek]

Well, this was definatly amusing. I only got through the first page, so meh. PC gamers have been around way before console players. Gaming like it now had a big start with PCs, atleast IMO. Then it slowley evolved with like the Atari, N64, Playstaion, etc etc.

But ususaly, there's ususaly kinda like a state of mind with these kinda things. If you use a PC for your gaming, and for stuff outside of simple web browsing, e-mail, n stuff, you ususaly have more of a understanding of PCs. You learn to upgrade the hardware to play whatever, latency, basics of how hardware works, etc etc. Consoles, you just plug and play pretty much. So I can see where people would need to be slowly introduced into things on the Console side compared to the PC. A great number of people on the Console side probably just understand "Oh, kso A = jump, B = stab, X = Reload, Y = Action, R Button thingy = shoot", plus the limitation of just having those buttons. While with Personal Computers, you have the mouse which can take care of your weapon attacks, the ESC key for menu, like F5 for quick save, M or I for easy acceess to Inventory, and the arrow keys or WASD to move. You can also rekey a number of keys so like if you wanted quick save to be E insted of F5 you can.

Point is, there's alot more customization n stuff possible with the PC, so ususaly, if you get it on PC, you tend to have some more patience.

 

[Loonerinoes]

I guess these guys have never played Final Fantasy XIII.

Heh, bear in mind this is pure speculation on my part, but I'd sooner say that they skillfully avoided mentioning it for fear of what Daniel Erickson had to answer when the interviewer decided to directly field that game as an example to him.

Not that this meant they could avoid other kinds of bias that would be thrown against them by fanboys, such as the one that will probably continue to fill this thread.

 

[Enigmers]

I guess there might be a weak correlation between the average Console gamer and the average PC gamer, but I don't think it's the kind of thing you need to worry too much about. I'm a PC gamer and I love it when games like Half-Life let you jump in and start walking like a minute or two after they start, and ease you into the controls without boring you (You, citizen, pick up that can.) Another great part was when you learn to use the gravity gun by playing with Dog (or D0g) and a rollermine. It really helps keep a game immersive, no matter what platform you use. (By the way, my spell check refuses to believe "immersive" is a word. Gamer oppression from Firefox? I think we should riot.)

 

[L34dP1LL]

DONT FEED THE TROLL.

 

[antipunt]

This is a gross over generalization about console gamers.

Still, PC games can sometimes be incredibly detailed/technical. I remember year ago, that I was turned off from old PC games because they were so 'thorough'. Of course, that's changed now, but it hadn't always been this way

 

[Deacon Cole]

I must be a console gamer, then. Despite not having any of the current generation consoles.

But it's true. Computer RPGs have a lot of complex systems and if you're unfamiliar with them, like I am, being forced to learn all of that shit is way too much like work. If I wanted to do work, I have chores around the house I could do. Games really shouldn't compare unfavorably to mowing the lawn.

I do heartily agree with the statement "But once they're into the game, the console guys want just as deep of an experience as the PC guys." Getting this tends to mean removing a lot of the fiddly crap. Yet you still get the deep experience. What does this say about the relationship between the deep experience and the fiddly crap?

 

[NSGrendel]

Also, has it never occured to anyone that "training levels" are the gaming equivalent of a 5 minute narrative before the film starts? I don't remember the training level of Doom.

 

[Wes1180]

I used to play mainly PC games but I now mostly play console ones to play with my friends, and like mentioned above somepeople are patient and others not. I don't mind having to read large amounts of text, but it is good when it is woven into the gameplay.

I enjoyed the opening for Oblivion the first time, but not so much when I had to do it each time for every character I made, and I had a few... seriously it actually put me off making new characters eventually./rant

 

[ItsAPaul]

Nah, they're right. Thats why PC gamers will always get the better version of Bioware games for $10 less than the console guys.

 

[trooper6]

I played Morrowind on Console.

But anyway, maybe PCs have all these hardcore gamers...perhaps even more hardcore than consoles--but PCs also have all these casual gamers...certainly more casual gamers than consoles. All the Bejeweled and Tetris and other actual casual games? Those are all over PCs.

 

[Knight Templar]

You know I think he is right. But I don't really like to sit through a long opening sequence when the point is to teach me gameplay. I allways perfer to do it at my own pace, more because the "discovering" of gameplay is as fun as exploring the world. I went hours in Obhlivion before finding out I could fast travel (I don't like the fast travel system and to a large degree perfer walking everywhere, but thats another story (as is how I managed to not notice fast traveling)) and it was fun figuring out how everything worked in my own time.

I don't think Oblivion's opening sequence is an ideal way to get arround a lack of patience, it did teach gameplay without boring you, but it was too long for what was being shown.