Poll: "The game gets better later on"

[Professor James]

I heard this excuse from final fantasy to MMOs, the game is a grind but it gets real fun down the line. I personally don't go by this line of thinking due to my increasingly shrinking free time, other games I know I'll enjoy, and the fact that I probably have no guarantee that it truly does get enjoyable. That's not to say I don't have patience or I can't enjoy slow paced games but I prefer the sure thing.

 

[Rabbitboy]

It depends if there are things I find enjoyable about the game or stuff that shows potential I might give it more time. It also depends on the type of game, I am willing to give something like Dragon Age or the Witcher more time than Uncharted or Tombraider. But as general rule it's never more than 10 hours. If a game hasn't managed to engage me by than it probably never will.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

If I'm not having fun in the first hour or two, I'm out. Life is too fucking short.

 

[Euryalus]

Like with anything it depends on if the good parts are worth the trudge. For me people making the choice to never trudge and just want amazing right out the gate is understandable but also confusing.

Some things worth experiencing need build up or wait to them. I think the show reboot is a good example structurally if not quality wise in general.

The first two seasons it start out as a fairly normal show, but at the end of the second season and the beginning of the third shit goes down that had been building up. None of it could have happened without the stuff that came before it.

Now if you don't want to wait through that, I guess I understand, but at the same time assuming your tastes align with mine, then it's worth it.

Much like acquired tastes. I used to hate beer and coffee, but I notice more nuances than I used to and drink it differently. I appreciate that.

 

[tippy2k2]

It's the primary reason I put games down nowadays.

I'm 28 with a full time career (with overtime for the foreseeable future! Whooo!). I'm trying to get in shape because I'm sick of being a fat-ass loser so I'm hitting the gym multiple times a week. I don't even want to know what my time would be like if I had a lady (see GYM above) and *shudder...a kid...

I don't have time to play 15 hours to get to the good part. I'll give a game a few hours since you do need to build a little before I can expect greatness but my patience will not hold forever. There are way too many games I can pick up and get to the good part now. Why am I going to waste 15 precious hours of my free time slugging through shit to get to the part worth playing?

 

[duwenbasden]

Nope. If your game don't get good 30 minutes in, I am out. I don't have the time nor energy for your bullsh... I MEAN "story", and I still need to plow through my other games in this massive backlog.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

If the game isn't good before the first act finishes, I'm out.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If there is a good reason for the start to be slow (i.e. getting you up to speed on all their mechanics) and that time frame is short then I'll probably stick with it.

But when there is no reason, and they claim 10+ hours will only get you started, or worst of all this is an MMO... then I never want to touch it again, I know that road simply leads to complacency of bad design and you will keep on playing because they got you to burn all that time already on this investment, might as well keep going.

 

[Casual Shinji]

No matter what, a game needs to have something to hold my attention as it gets the ball rolling. As long as that something is there I'm prepared to give the game a bit of time to get going.

The Evil Within for example had bugger all, so I quit that within the first 2 hours and never looked back.

 

[Aeshi]

Nope. My experience with that sort of game is that the Hours spent Trudging usually outnumber the Hours spent having Fun by at least 3-to-1, maybe even 4-to-1

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Depends on why it takes so long and how long it takes. In 15 hours I could play a whole other game. If it's an hour of build up then I'll give it a shot. I'll also give it a shot if I have nothing else to do.

I tend not to like when games are too front loaded with explosive action, though. I prefer somewhat slower starts even in games that aren't narrative driven.

 

[Pink Gregory]

I 'unno, it can work the other way.

I'm actually less interested in an amazing start and a gradual peter out than a slow start. Not that I'm particularly interested in either.

 

[CitizenM]

My tolerance for "boring" is always far less than most of the people I know, so I NEVER trust when my family or friends tell me "It gets better".

I know the younger you are, the easier it is to forgive "boring" and embrace the elements of a video game, an album, a TV show or a movie that really work for you. But once you get a little older, you start to value your time far more and hate when it's wasted. This is particularly true in today's world, with so much great content made so often I can't even keep up with the number of shows, games and films I REALLY want to see. I just can't understand grinding through the far more numerous "lows" of a mediocre game/show/film no matter how good the far fewer "highs" may be. There's simply too much content out there that's better and more deserving of my attention.

Like Jeff Canatta once said; "There's so much 'great', I've got no time for just 'good'"

 

[Sarusas]

Depends on the game, i give RPGs more time than staight up action games

 

[Something Amyss]

What merits does it have before then? How long does it take to "get good?" An hour? Two? Ten? Am I having any fun? Do I like the characters or story?

As others have said, "it depends." Though MarsAtlas mentioned the 15 hour FF thing, and at that point, I think it's Stockholm Syndrome.

I don't think I'll ever slug through a game that requires double digit hours to get good.

 

[babinro]

I have before and I probably would again.
In fact...I'm practically doing that now.

Final Fantasy 13 is a game I actually like. Surprising, I know but there are some who do. That said, the game starts out WAY too slow. Many who like it say it becomes good when the game opens up. I don't mind the 10 hour hallway personally but I find the tutorial unlocks the combat options way too slow. For me...the game becomes good around 4 hours. It's a LONG 4 hours but it's been worth it for my multiple playthroughs.

The game I doing this with now is Dragon Age: Inquisition. I'm not hooked on this game at all but I'm told it gets better as you go and open up the world. I'm set on getting my money's worth so I'm sticking with the game and am just hoping it clicks for me soon. We'll see.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

It all depends on the game. Final Fantasy XIII uses the same combat system in Chapter 1 as it does...well I only made it to Chapter 11 and while the game was supposed to get...ya know, GOOD in Chapter 11, I never saw what made it good and just stopped playing. Then there are games like the latest Legend of Zelda titles. The first hour or so seems to be tutorials and whatnot; set on outset island or skyloft, those opening hours are a real slow slog but once you get to a point where you can actually...ya know, Adventure, those games get a lot better. I remember this also being the case with Twilight Princess.

I try to go through a whole game though, even if the beginning is slow. Final Fantasy XIII is a game that I just couldn't get behind and Dragon Age 2 was another one that I should have stopped but beat purely out of spite.

 

[CaitSeith]

It depends on how enjoyable is the trudge and work. A balance between work and payoff is what makes or brakes the games for me.

 

[CaitSeith]

I have before and I probably would again.
In fact...I'm practically doing that now.

Final Fantasy 13 is a game I actually like. Surprising, I know but there are some who do. That said, the game starts out WAY too slow. Many who like it say it becomes good when the game opens up. I don't mind the 10 hour hallway personally but I find the tutorial unlocks the combat options way too slow. For me...the game becomes good around 4 hours. It's a LONG 4 hours but it's been worth it for my multiple playthroughs.

The game I doing this with now is Dragon Age: Inquisition. I'm not hooked on this game at all but I'm told it gets better as you go and open up the world. I'm set on getting my money's worth so I'm sticking with the game and am just hoping it clicks for me soon. We'll see.

I also like FF 13. There are of course a lot of better games out there, but that doesn't make me like it less.