Poll: Have gamers lost touch with "playing for fun?"
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I think "playing for fun" will never really be lost with medium to hardcore gamers. It's always been a part of the gaming lifestyle, but that doesn't mean there aren't other options. I've replayed some games so many times I've seen their underlying messages and themes that they're as familiar to me as Cave Johnson saying "combustible lemons."
They all seem to about 'story' these days. Like games were ever a great medium for telling stories. If not that then it's about collecting achievements. The playing to win crowd have always been there.
I think that people seem to not understand that other people find other things fun to them. This is evident in the OP as, so what if they got it handed, if they were enjoying enough to keep fighting losing battles then they got to what games are about, having fun and enjoying yourself.
I get this sort of thing all the time from people I know. Constantly I get the same conversation come up: "Why are you playing ? It's rubbish, its only a short campaign and there's not enough character development. Why not play <insert game here which without being a trolling prick, is pretty much always a valve game>? It's got puzzles and the plot's great and all the characters are really deep and interesting!" To which I normally reply "Fuck off, I just want to blow shit up for half an hour."
You might enjoy learning all the moves to win every battle, but if they're really enjoying just button mashing and occasionally getting a victory who are you to say they're not having fun?
I get this sort of thing all the time from people I know. Constantly I get the same conversation come up: "Why are you playing ? It's rubbish, its only a short campaign and there's not enough character development. Why not play <insert game here which without being a trolling prick, is pretty much always a valve game>? It's got puzzles and the plot's great and all the characters are really deep and interesting!" To which I normally reply "Fuck off, I just want to blow shit up for half an hour."
You might enjoy learning all the moves to win every battle, but if they're really enjoying just button mashing and occasionally getting a victory who are you to say they're not having fun?
Everyone wants to win, everyone wants that shiny useless achievement for some reason. It probably has something to do with how easy it is to fight other gamers on the side of the planet with today's technology, but right now I don't really care because I have a Super Nintendo with Earthbound. Now that's playing for fun...FUZZY PICKLES!
He's like 30, and we've been working on it, but not to much success I'm afraid. The type of person he is, what he really needs is his real life to get better to break the delusion, but that might be a while, so, yea. Figured it was still worth warning people about it though in-case they know anyone seeming to go that direction, including themselves.believer258 said:
This was said up top:
"But apparently, getting frustrated and using the same approach is their idea of "fun." They say they like to "learn in the heat of battle" but all they're really doing is learning a few attacks/combos and then using those few moves over and over and over...
This kind of narrow-minded thinking upsets me a little. It seems that they aren't playing the game... they're just winning (or losing, mostly); in other words, it's a competition and winning is all that matters. While I've come to expect that from anonymous people playing competitively online, it's kind of hard to deal with now that it's in my face. What's even scarier is that there's no ranking/scoreboard to spur these guys on."
This reminds me of a study I once read. A group of children were given a video game without instructions, and had their head wired into a device that gauged their brain activity. As the children were still trying to figure out how the game worked, how the manipulate the control properly, and how to solves the puzzles, the meter signaled increased brain activity. However, as they continued to play, and the controls became more natural to them, their brain activity decreased until it was equal to that of watching television.
Jus' sayin'...
"But apparently, getting frustrated and using the same approach is their idea of "fun." They say they like to "learn in the heat of battle" but all they're really doing is learning a few attacks/combos and then using those few moves over and over and over...
This kind of narrow-minded thinking upsets me a little. It seems that they aren't playing the game... they're just winning (or losing, mostly); in other words, it's a competition and winning is all that matters. While I've come to expect that from anonymous people playing competitively online, it's kind of hard to deal with now that it's in my face. What's even scarier is that there's no ranking/scoreboard to spur these guys on."
This reminds me of a study I once read. A group of children were given a video game without instructions, and had their head wired into a device that gauged their brain activity. As the children were still trying to figure out how the game worked, how the manipulate the control properly, and how to solves the puzzles, the meter signaled increased brain activity. However, as they continued to play, and the controls became more natural to them, their brain activity decreased until it was equal to that of watching television.
Jus' sayin'...
Hey! Not fair! That's how I play!Onyx Oblivion said:
I don't give even a quarter of a damn about my K/D, but I play the way I believe any military game should be played, with tactics, care, and stealth.
Yes, I play to win much of the time, but I find it more fun and rewarding to try playing like a real soldier, with only one life, then 'OKAY WE'VE STARTED!!! RUN IN RECKLESSLY AND DISTRACT AS MANY AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN KILL THEM ALL AND ***** ABOUT HOW YOU DIDN'T PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT WHEN I GET SHOT!!!!'
Admittedly, I do get habitually frustrated when I lose, but that's more of an ingrained response from having an older brother that rubbed any losses in my face for three weeks after the fact from the ages of 4 - 15...
I agree with you. I really don't like playing other people that just button mash and spam. When I beat'em they normally get angry at me for playing the game like it should be played. I normally tell them to practice or try different characters but they ignore me and call me an elitist when I'm just help them not get their asses handed to them. Note I don't play to win, I play to understand the game I'm playing.razelas said:
Pushing yourself to dominate as overpoweringly as possible is how you improve in fighting games. If you're pitted in a room with good foes, the one who doesn't try to overwhelm is the one who'll be defeated right away and the rest of them, all going 110%, will produce quite even-sided battles, both impressive and beneficial to their skills.SvenBTB said:
As for most lets say, "normal" people, I don't see why they shouldn't aspire to get there. The mentality is not about how good you actually are, it's about how good you wish to be. These people don't just wake up one day and decide to be serious since they're good, they have always been that serious about it, which is why they managed to become good.
Now, I don't say you shouldn't be a graceful winner or anything, obviously the guy who has to always rub everything he does in has some issues, but not all of gaming is like that.
Here's a story about me. I hate fighting games. Really. I HATE them. I pretty much avoid them at all costs. Fuck learning combos, fuck trying to remember those combos. But you know what game I love? Marvel Vs Capcom 3. A fighting game. You know why? Simple mode. In any other fighting game, I devolve to boring button mashing before geting trashed. In Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, I can pop on simple mode, and provide a challenge to my friends that are best at the game, giving both them and me a fun experience. Now, why do I find button mashing, learning movesets ect. boring? Because loosing without putting up a fight isn't much fun, and I can never remember complicated movesets. But with simple mode, both of these are put aside, and hell, if I win, that's even better. Then it's even more fun, the temporary gloating, the kidding "I PWNED U NOOB" remarks, and it's more fun. Playing to put up a challenge and WIN is more fun than playing but loosing because I can't remember how do to attack A or counter-dodge-clusterfuck Gamma. Winning = Fun. How does this relate to button mashing guys? They have fun playing like that if they keep doing it. I give up on most fighting games because all I can do is buttonmash. If I feel like have some skill, even if I lose, at least it was fun for me.
Playing to win is fun.
That is how i feel and here's why!
When i play games i usually play those who have a competitive multiplayer in them. I am very competitive by nature and therefore love these games. I also play these to win them.
That might not be considered fun when a person like me is too focused on winning, but they might say otherwise.
Personally, i play the game and try to play my best because it gives me a thrilling experience. To avoid useing CoD as an example i will choose Tetris. (yes tetris.)
See, in my class Tetris is all the rage right now. There are alot of variations of Tetris but this one is called "Tetris Battle" on Facebook. It basicly pits you against someone else (a bot camuflaged as a human) and then each time you send some lines it counts as 1 point and pushes the enemy 1 row closer to the top. These rows can be cleared through hitting certain points. Then there is the feature which is important to why i chose this example: Combos.
I am the best in my class at this game (according to the leaderboards atleast) and i get serious thrills of playing this game when everything goes just right, racking up a combo and getting the opponent crushed is an amazing feeling. That feeling is the exact same i've gotten in CoD, MAG, Minecraft and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. The feeling of being on a roll and unstoppable. You're playing better than ever and it feels amazing!
So the point of this horribly writen post?
Playing to win is great because it encourages some people to play their best and when it finally happens that you do play perfectly and get that well deserved victory pop-up, it's just pure entertainment.
Now, fun is subjective just as the kind of way you experience it. I get it off of these thrills and some just play games to enjoy them for other reasons and that's
EDIT: Extra things i wanted to write but forgot about:
In the example you told us about i kept thinking like some other in this thread did by saying that you might not have realised what they thought of as fun.
The picture i get to mind when reading it was of 3 or 4 12 year old kids sitting around a TV takeing turns to play eachother.
They don't know the combos, they can't even read english properly. Are these kids haveing fun? Hell yeah! They are sitting there playing a fun game by button smashing. They are amazed by every special combo they randomly execute and get all excited and starts trying to redo that combo.
They are haveing so much fun but barely knows how to play the game.
That is how i feel and here's why!
When i play games i usually play those who have a competitive multiplayer in them. I am very competitive by nature and therefore love these games. I also play these to win them.
That might not be considered fun when a person like me is too focused on winning, but they might say otherwise.
Personally, i play the game and try to play my best because it gives me a thrilling experience. To avoid useing CoD as an example i will choose Tetris. (yes tetris.)
See, in my class Tetris is all the rage right now. There are alot of variations of Tetris but this one is called "Tetris Battle" on Facebook. It basicly pits you against someone else (a bot camuflaged as a human) and then each time you send some lines it counts as 1 point and pushes the enemy 1 row closer to the top. These rows can be cleared through hitting certain points. Then there is the feature which is important to why i chose this example: Combos.
I am the best in my class at this game (according to the leaderboards atleast) and i get serious thrills of playing this game when everything goes just right, racking up a combo and getting the opponent crushed is an amazing feeling. That feeling is the exact same i've gotten in CoD, MAG, Minecraft and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. The feeling of being on a roll and unstoppable. You're playing better than ever and it feels amazing!
So the point of this horribly writen post?
Playing to win is great because it encourages some people to play their best and when it finally happens that you do play perfectly and get that well deserved victory pop-up, it's just pure entertainment.
Now, fun is subjective just as the kind of way you experience it. I get it off of these thrills and some just play games to enjoy them for other reasons and that's
EDIT: Extra things i wanted to write but forgot about:
In the example you told us about i kept thinking like some other in this thread did by saying that you might not have realised what they thought of as fun.
The picture i get to mind when reading it was of 3 or 4 12 year old kids sitting around a TV takeing turns to play eachother.
They don't know the combos, they can't even read english properly. Are these kids haveing fun? Hell yeah! They are sitting there playing a fun game by button smashing. They are amazed by every special combo they randomly execute and get all excited and starts trying to redo that combo.
They are haveing so much fun but barely knows how to play the game.
Shikua said:
Sorry but when you use Simple mode you have access only a limited selection of your moves, you may be winning against your friends now but sadly you're not that good at all since you can only do a few predictable sequences of moves over and over (and your friends are definitely not "the best" at anything if they lose against simple mode lol)
Why isn't remembering fun?
Why isn't doing cool stuff through the power of your fingers entertaining to you? Don't you think it would feel good to finally land that 100% Hp combo?
Button-mashing is only fun if you are too afraid or haven't given a proper go at the alternative. If you're inherently turned off by the prospect of memorizing your moves and their sequences it is your mentality at fault and you may have had even more fun if you stepped out of your comfort zone and put in some work. I'm not saying you're not having fun, you're just missing out on a plethora of options which enrich gaming experiences.
Simple answer: No or we wouldn't have a reason to play.
The reason the people 'play to win' is simply because winning is more fun that losing.
Any other reason that people can come up with for playing games is, inevitably, going to contribute to their own personal enjoyment of the experience.
Congrats on beautifully contradicting yourself
The reason the people 'play to win' is simply because winning is more fun that losing.
Any other reason that people can come up with for playing games is, inevitably, going to contribute to their own personal enjoyment of the experience.
Sooooo, they ARE still playing for fun?razelas said:
Congrats on beautifully contradicting yourself
Depends on the genre.
Pro example: CoD multiplayer
Counter Example: Minecraft
I personally dispise any PVP with a passion just because competition brings out the worst in anyone. Sleaze, corruption, abuse all for a shiny title. Now working WITH people against NPCS, much more fun.
Also on a side note: In order for someone to have fun in Cod, everyone else must suffer miserably. In order to get that 25kill streak the other team must suffer miserably so that you alone can enjoy it.
Pro example: CoD multiplayer
Counter Example: Minecraft
I personally dispise any PVP with a passion just because competition brings out the worst in anyone. Sleaze, corruption, abuse all for a shiny title. Now working WITH people against NPCS, much more fun.
Also on a side note: In order for someone to have fun in Cod, everyone else must suffer miserably. In order to get that 25kill streak the other team must suffer miserably so that you alone can enjoy it.
*sigh*Zantos said:
I'm not saying they're not having fun, they obviously are... sometimes.
The problem is that the game is suffering for their fun. When a match devolves into "who can spam the most" or "who can button mash most effectively," then there is a serious problem.
Yes, and you know what pisses me off most? They don't realise it's JUST A GAME. Sure, everyone wants to be no.1 (I should know, I'm second on the 'quack attack' level of Raskulls worldwide, and IT'S KILLING ME INSIDE. HNG.), but pulling away from reality, spending endless hours of practice on a game so you're classed as "sad" or "******". THAT'S IDIOCY!