Maybe games should be shorter?

[misterbobperson]

Think about it. A lot of games these days feel pushed to be really, really long because of the space on the disk and they end up repeating the same thing over and over and over again.

How about we just make games shorter?
Same quality, same good little ideas just not as repetitive.
Heck, why not order a disk with a custom choice of small entertaining looking games on the same disk? You just punch in what games you want at the store and the little machine burns the disk and spits it out with the 3 or 4 games you wanted.
Any thoughts?

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Some games are maybe better if they are short but an RPG or Strategy game that doesn't stay entertaining for a long time is pretty weak in my opinion.

 

[loc978]

Knee-jerk reaction answer: no. Second thought answer: ye gods no.

After thinking about it awhile, I guess I've failed to play any games I consider repetitive (recently. Haven't tried an MMO in the past couple years). They've all pretty much had a satisfying progression to 'em. Guess we don't play the same games, or we don't value progression the same way...

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Two word answer: Fuck no!
Why would I pay anywhere between $40 to $60 for less than ten hours of entertainment? It's just a horrible investment on my part.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Because I'd rather have a Bioware and Bethesda game last me days then hours. Stores will charge you 60 bucks for the game regardless of the amount of gameplay, so more is better in this case.

Besides, less time to become repetitive isn't a very useful excuse for cutting out gameplay. Kane and Lynch and Army of Two become repetitive early on and never add anything to the formula. These games usually only last you 4-6 hours as well. Bad games are just bad games, regardless of their duration.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Things like shooters, I would honestly get bored of them if they were longer than 8 hours or so now. Unless they started adding some serious depth into them.

 

[malkavianmadman]

Here is my thing, I dont think games should feel short. Now if im playing a game and it takes them 6 hours to tell the story, but the story is well done thats good. If they pad it out to 30 hours for a 6 hour story i get annoyed. A game should feel neither too short nor too padded. That said some games can pull off being epicly long and others are better as short games.

 

[Magicman10893]

The problem with short games is that games cost a lot nowadays. A brand new game is $60. For that price I want a game that can entertain me longer than a weekend. Short games to me (and many others) feel like a waste of money. This is why games are including an online component because it is easier to sink hundreds of hours online than it is to make a campaign that lasts the night you buy it. For instance, The Force Unleashed I beat the night I got it. After that there was nothing left to do so I sold it and felt ripped off. Call of Duty Black Ops my friend and I both beat the night we started the campaign, but then spent 7 complete days online, it felt like my $60 was well spent. Fallout New Vegas I have spent nearly a hundred hours on, money well spent.

Based on this experience, games like Wet I have wanted to play, but $60 is way too much for a game that will last less than 10 hours, so instead I have opted to wait for the price to drop down to about $20 or less or buy it used for really cheap. This is not what game companies want, they want the game to bought at launch and at launch prices. Buying it for $10 a year later doesn't make the game look good and buying it used gives no profit to the company. So if they want my money, they need to make a game that lasts longer the weekend. And that is why you see Dead Space including co-op and why Mass Effect 3 is rumored to include multiplayer.

 

[misterbobperson]

Hell no. There are only a handful of games released that I can't beat in a single sitting any more, such as Dragon Age. If anything, they need to be longer. Games like Gears of War and Fallout 3 that can be beaten in 15 hours or less are ridiculous.

Ok half of this is a good point.
Sandbox games I'm fine with being really long, but pretty much everything else not so much. For example Infamous has fancy ideas and has a nice plot from what I've seen but the sewer sections feel like unnecessary padding.

 

[sharinganblossom25]

Two word answer: Fuck no!
Why would I pay anywhere between $40 to $60 for less than ten hours of entertainment? It's just a horrible investment on my part.

Absolutely agree. It just wouldn't be worth it in the slightest.

 

[XT inc]

I am sorry, but the logic here is flawed. If something is good, like it's supposed to be at the get go, would you not want it to be longer? I go out and buy (Ha I rent everything now because games are so short)the rare new release it better be good and last me a long ass time.

Games these days are 70 dollar annualized farts from devs who release a new one every year, They wonder why no one wants to play a 6 hour game with crap multiplayer,while trying to shove project 10 dollar and four 15$ dlc packs all in span of the 12 months before they drop a sequential number and witty title on it.

Bring Back the games that took 3 years to make and lasted 60 hours. otherwise stop pissing on indie titles game length, you know why they can skeet buy with 5 hour games because it only cost 10 beans.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Umm... no. First of all, developers make games long for the players, not because they don't want to leave part of the disc empty. Even if games were shorter, the amount of space used would be pretty much the same.

Secondly, hell no. 60 bucks for 3 or 4 hours of entertainment, not really worth it. I'd rather just watch a movie. Games are short as hell as is.

 

[JoshGod]

just not as repetitive.

Nearly all gameplay in all games is repetitive, it's just how good it is/how much you enjoy it.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

I think the real point is "wouldn't it be nice to have a bit of variety in side quests" Tipsy Giant

 

[Zantos]

The problem is games run out of ideas. Keep the games the same length (unless they're CoD or Halo, where they should be extended) and liven it up a little.

 

[Ulixes Dimon]

Hell no. There are only a handful of games released that I can't beat in a single sitting any more, such as Dragon Age. If anything, they need to be longer. Games like Gears of War and Fallout 3 that can be beaten in 15 hours or less are ridiculous.

On Fallout 3... Did you JUST play the story mission?
Thats why

 

[misterbobperson]

Hell no. There are only a handful of games released that I can't beat in a single sitting any more, such as Dragon Age. If anything, they need to be longer. Games like Gears of War and Fallout 3 that can be beaten in 15 hours or less are ridiculous.

Ok half of this is a good point.
Sandbox games I'm fine with being really long, but pretty much everything else not so much. For example Infamous has fancy ideas and has a nice plot from what I've seen but the sewer sections feel like unnecessary padding.

inFamous I beat twice in two days, once good and once evil. Also a pretty darn short game. Why not add extra padding? We're paying $50+ for these games, whereas a three-hour movie is only $7, so they should give us a long-lasting experience. Preferably one that we're inspired to play through more than once.

but padding ISN'T fun.
personally I like to play a game and think "that was a nice story" instead of "that was a nice story besides the unnecessary parts"

 

[loc978]

Sounds to me like inFamous (I've never played it, nor do I have any desire to) just needed better creative direction.
Why not pad it? Because it's a lazy, terrible practice for game designers that results in large pieces of the game lacking any entertainment value. Why not make it shorter? By most accounts it was too short anyway. The last thing a game developer wants is for their customers to feel ripped off, having just payed $50+ for a game they finish in a single afternoon.

 

[cannot_aim]

no no no no and once again no.

 

[FarleShadow]

6 hour games should be 'shorter'?!

Get out, all games with a constructed storyline take me less than 6 hours for my 30 english pounds.

So no. NO. NO NO NO NONONONONONO.

Also no.