Jimquisition: Only The Lonely

Raso719

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May 7, 2011
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Statements like the one from the Sims City guy are what makes me very weary of so many of the big named western developers. They're so quick to use marketing to tell us what we want. Rather than trying to actually identify an untapped or viable market they would rather convince you that you're playing the wrong games. Marketing and game development is to chummy and its ruining the industry.

There is a market out there for light RPGs in the vein of JRPGs, or some good, old fashion hack and slash games but as the presence of Japanese developers slips away from the US market rather than trying to tap into a demographic with little, or no, competitors the US industry leaders would sooner belittle you for playing those games in the first place, rather than waste a cent trying to make a game that actually appeals to your demographic.

It all boils down to these, big budget, AAA games, those soulless, one size, fits all experiences. Companies like EA and Activision would sooner make a single game that everyone buys than have to pander to various interest groups and thanks to the power of marketing that's exactly the sort of industry we're looking forward to, one where publishers won't greenlight anything remotely different or new. When you starve so many demographics and genres for so long it's no wonder that everything but a few sure things shrivel up and die.
 

chiefohara

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Sep 4, 2009
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Jim

You are beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, and utterly utterly legendary.

P.S. your video was good too....

Speaking as an introvert, you hit the proverbial nail on the head for me. I view games as pure escapism (not unlike the site name) and quite frankly thanks to wow, i no longer enjoy playing with other players online. Why would i ruin my free time worrying/dealing with drama queens on power trips who think that seniority in a game entitles him/her to be an arsehole, when i can immerse myself in a single player experience that works/plays/developes at my level and speed and gives me nothing but escapism and fun.
 

A_Parked_Car

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Oct 30, 2009
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This episode was bang on. This is probably one of my biggest problems with gaming.

I'm an introvert, therefore I don't want to be around people all the time. I don't enjoy going to parties, meeting dozens of new people at a time, or small talking with people I don't know. This translates directly into the way I game. I play multi-player games when I feel like it, and 90% of the time I don't feel like it.
 

CrazyCapnMorgan

Is not insane, just crazy >:)
Jan 5, 2011
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Raso719 said:
Statements like the one from the Sims City guy are what makes me very weary of so many of the big named western developers. They're so quick to use marketing to tell us what we want. Rather than trying to actually identify an untapped or viable market they would rather convince you that you're playing the wrong games. Marketing and game development is to chummy and its ruining the industry.
Shhhhhh, can you hear that?


Some of the greatest life lessons I ever learned were from playing single player games. Games like Wild ARMs, Secret of Mana, Legend of Mana, Grandia (see avatar), LUNAR and LUNAR 2 - these games have enriched my life and my point of view.
 

loa

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Jan 28, 2012
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It's not only that but the fact that multiplayer is nowadays exclusively online, basically rendering some games entirely useless if you don't have internet connection or don't have that bullshit xbox live gold subscription that will hold your multiplayer exclusive games hostage if you don't keep paying.
 

Canadamus Prime

Robot in Disguise
Jun 17, 2009
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I know I sure as hell don't want to be playing with other people over the Internet where the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory always comes into play. You know where Chungous McChungous or whatever has absolutely no social filter whatsoever. Yeah, I'll pass on that Games Industry, thank you.
 

kburns10

You Gots to Chill
Sep 10, 2012
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Wow people are butthurt easily! I am a Christian, but I've never been offended by this show or his outros. Some people just want the world to be P.C.

Anyway, great episode and I totally agree. I'm tired of seeing MP shoved down our throats. It always makes me cringe when a game like Dead Space or Bioshock gets multiplayer.
 

Maddhaus

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Nov 18, 2009
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What was the intent of inserting the brief flashes of that creature during the segment about Ocean Quigley's statement? If this is obvious to everyone else, please forgive me; a lot tends to fly over my head since I turned 40 and the world stopped talking to me. I just couldn't figure out how that creature fit in given the context of the audio, nor why the images were flashed so briefly and repeatedly. If anyone could please explain, I'd be ever so grateful!

As for the actual topic, I too share an appreciate for the seclusion of single-player gaming and do my best to encourage developers by buying games that reportedly contain strong single-player experiences.

That doesn't mean I don't like multiplayer on occasion; in fact, I'm quite enjoying Big Team Infinity Slayer in Halo 4. My wife and I used to relive our arcade glory days spending many a weekend playing Gauntlet together on the original XBox. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer my online multiplayer to be competitive, while reserving co-op to "the couch". Something about online co-op just never sat right with me - probably for many, if not all, the reasons expressed in the video and elsewhere in this thread.
 

TAdamson

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Jun 20, 2012
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While I have problems with Maxis and EA forcing multiplayer (how "forced" it is is the question; can I reject everybody who tries to become neighbours? Can I build the "great projects" or whatever they are without help from others?) basically as a way of justifying DRM, I am intrigued by the multiplayer in the new Sim City.

I've always thought the city building social games on Facebook et al. could be quite interesting if they got rid of the game lengthening grind, the skinner boxes, and the micro-transactions. The idea that I could concentrate on one particular industry and have to go onto the open market to get commodities from another is compelling. Also being affected by a neighbours pollution, and co-operating on buildings are interesting mechanics.

I can't imagine that Sim City will "force" you to interact with the people that make up you neighbours, it's not like if they forced co-op in Skyrim and you forced to cohabitate with other Dragonborn who would most likely be constantly trolling you.

I do have a problem with forced co-op al la F.3.A.R., which was obstinately a single player horror game for the previous instalments and playing with a friend completely destroys any sense of atmosphere and horror a game can provide. But thats not to say that survival horror cannot be coop, DayZ is one of the most terrifying games I have played with the other players being at best untrustworthy and at worst,... well. Let's say I've never experienced fear like running out of STANAG ammo and hiding in a corner of a dark building with a shitty revolver like I have in that game.
 

Baresark

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I agree but I hate the language he uses. Single player games aren't about wanting to be lonely. They are about enjoying time with yourself. Lonely is a negative word. It means sad because one has no friends or company, or without companions. Neither of these things are descriptive of my single player experience. I do not feel alone or without anyone when I play a single player time. I am always with myself and I'm an optimistic son of a *****. Wanting to play single player is not the same thing as shunning social interaction. Also, it's fair to say that Multiplayer games are not social interaction. Part of being social is accepting social responsibility for yourself and actions. All Multiplayer games do is give people the anonymity to to ruin someone else's game if they so choose to, what a social boon that is. Furthermore, as a social creature I like cooperation. All people benefit from cooperation. That is why I actively avoid DayZ. It seems made around griefing and in my experience with that game, that is mostly what people do. With anonymity, there is no social irresponsibility, and by extension no true social experience.

Also, yay atheism? Haha, sometimes people just seem so immature. I'm not talking about Jim on this one, but all the commentators. I know what I'm getting into when I watch a Jim show, I expect that equally ugly religion of Atheism to rear it's head. But I don't know why those parts are the central parts of some peoples comments on this thread.
 

bigfatcarp93

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Mar 26, 2012
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Maddhaus said:
Austin Mcgough said:
Yo Jim did I see me a goblinfish in this video?
Is that what that thing was?
Jim has a tendancy to drop photos of hideous-looking sealife, most notably Goblin sharks and shrimp, whenever illustrating a point about how wrong/stupid/amoral someone in the game industry is.

Captcha: Never quit.

Yes, captcha, I too hope Jim never stops with the hideous sealife...
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

books, Books, BOOKS
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Jan 19, 2011
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Zachary Amaranth said:
Why do we even need to justify our desire to play alone, for ANY reason?
Um...well, you see...reasons...I think...?

OT: I play games alone A LOT, and it's not because I don't have any friends to play games with, but it's mainly because I want to experience a game and what it has without someone taking me out of it.

Plus when I play games, most of the time, I want to be left along and decompress after a long day.

I don't see how that's hard to understand for some people (not you quoted person, you're cool).
 

RandV80

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Oct 1, 2009
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Yeah just imagine sitting down to read an eagerly awaited new book like the finale of the Wheel of Time or the next A Song of Fire and Ice installment (hopefully before my hair turns grey) and having tweets and facebook comments popping up beside the text.

In other words these publishers can go screw themselves, let multiplayer be multiplayer and single player be single player. I'm not going to go to a movie theater alone, but I'm also not going to read a book in a group.
 

Iron Criterion

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When developers create a well crafted world, with well developed characters, there's no need for multiplayer. Take Mass Effect for example: I absolutely adore the cast, I don't need a real life chum to share the experience with me, because I enjoy spending time with these artificially created companions.