Narrowing Tastes

[The Boston Crab]

When I was younger and had played fewer games, I tended to just see games as games and would play whatever I had because I didn't have much. I also had little discrimination, critical appreciation or hard preferences. These days, I have certain expectations. I have a lot of expectations, in fact, and 'I know what I'm looking for'. I acknowledge that this is a restrictive outlook.


I adore FF7 because of nostalgia but I will never finish another JRPG because I know that fans of those games also have certain expectations which don't appeal to me. I've tried several over the years and enjoyed a couple of hours but I have no interest in classes or party members or combining perks or any of that D&D dullardry. Likewise, almost anything which requires no physical skill is unlikely to hold my attention at all.


A thread I made some months back about 'the only real game genres' was somewhat facetious but definitely reflects my own preferences and narrowing expectations. That said, I do find that shmups, fighting games, platformers, racing games and sports games are overwhelmingly the most rewarding because I can feel myself getting better at them, rather than the character. And this is also why I love the Souls games, despite the levelling up of stats and gear. I am the one who improves, in reality.


This doesn't mean I'm not open to trying different genres but I feel that as with all media, games have become more and more splintered to appeal to their specific niche. And so shmups are almost all geared towards the twitchy enthusiast. Fighting games are overly complex and visually and mechanically confusing. JRPGs are drawn-out slogs with tits and monocles, etc. Because that's what fans of those games generally want. Where games try to have greater mass appeal and a lower barrier of entry, they are an amalgamated mulch of skill trees, collectathons, waypoints and baked-in automation. Retard soma. But again, this does appeal to a certain audience and I respect that.


Are your tastes narrowing and/or do you think that the industry is becoming more fragmented to appeal to specific communities and is that even a bad thing?

[falafel]

I tend to divide it into 'games that are about mechanics with maybe a bit  of story on top', which I find occasionally diverting but ultimately unfulfilling and a bit depressing; 'games which are like bad movies with button pressing', which I find occasionally diverting but ultimately unfulfilling and a bit depressing; and 'weird games', which I want to enjoy but find ultimately unfulfilling and a bit depressing.

Uh

Real talk edit:

It's easier to say which elements of games I don't enjoy, because I'm open to exploring different approaches and perspectives on the rest and don't really have a preference.

Turns irritate me in games, even though I love board games. Or rather, maybe, turn-based games against AI. I could manage a turn-based X-com multiplayer. Does that exist?

Conversely, action-oriented multiplayer I find insufferable, but I am happy to play singleplayer action games.

Backtracking and revisiting places except in Dark Souls, can't stand that.

Endless games just feel like I'm gambling with my life. One day I will die and I'm damned if proc gen levels will take up any of that precious time.

Yes, the industry is fragmenting and genres are everything and it is incredibly restrictive.

Thread closed.

[Huxleys Babkins]

I think it's more that the AAA industry is narrowing and leaving a lot of the genres and themes I enjoy at the wayside.

Indie developers have done a good job of picking some of those genres back up again but there's a horrible feeling that they are just retreading the same ground, trading on nostalgia and making unbranded clones of games we loved rather than pushing on and making something new.

[The Boston Crab]

I suppose that's one of my concerns with indie games. They are also at this point very conservative and treading very established paths.

[Zetetic]

Nah. You risk conflating your decision to retread the same paths with developers doing the same.

I could manage a turn-based X-com multiplayer. Does that exist?

Investigate Frozen Synapse and its sequel, perhaps.

[The Boston Crab]

No, I'm looking at the Nintendo eShop release schedule, is what I'm doing, but in fairness to the point you're making, that probably does only cover the most readily marketable chunk of the indie releases. You've mentioned plenty of PC stuff previously that I've never even heard of.

[Zetetic]

And I'm obviously being a bit of git.

It's not like I'm terribly well-travelled here. gout_pony would be a far better guide, although you might find his suggestions seem wilfully esoteric and off-putting. I'm not sure if that's always a bad thing though.

[The Boston Crab]

Having seen a few YT vids in previous arty games threads, I'm not interested in that software, for the most part, but I do respect its originality. Maybe my own apparent fixation on the mechanical robustness and tactile pleasure of games is the limiting factor, but that's like asking me to appreciate food primarily for its texture rather than flavour, which I can attempt but it's a pretty academic exercise.

[seepage]

I could manage a turn-based X-com multiplayer.

Another couple are Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games and Fallout Tactics

[Z]

TBC, what're your opinions on Super Hexagon?

[The Boston Crab]

B / E / B+

It's great at what it does, very pure mechanical engagement, but it isn't actually enjoyable for me. There's no depth of the kind I appreciate, it's a bit simplistic for me.

[Thursday]

I think 2017 broke me in this regard, because there were so many games coming out that year, and I felt like I wanted to keep up, but it burnt me out.

Although it might just have been me realising that open world games aren't really for me anymore. Mainly looking at Horizon Zero Dawn and Assassin's Creed Origins here, which I actually really liked for the first few hours, then realised I'd got all the enjoyment I was going to get out of them, but there was still 40 hours left.

[Junglist]

I know what I like now and basically just buy those. I used to play so many different games but over the years I've narrowed it down.

Adored FPS way back, but now I'll barely play them unless they're a bit different. DOOM remake and Borderlands are the only ones I've really enjoyed in the past five years or so. Prior to that I was playing every generic war shoot mans.

Sports games can get to fuck, bar golf games, which in their very nature are slow and relaxing, Forza Horizon games which, whilst being open world, at least have the decency to allow you to traverse it at high speeds, and Football Manager. Tried Fifa last year, absolute drek.

Nintendo output can do one bar Zelda, Metroid or Mario Kart. Never truly seen the Mario hype bar Super Mario World. Odyssey was good fun but once the story was done I couldn't be arsed.

Some third person games, mainly Dark Souls style. I don't mind GTA but never bother with the world once the story is done.

Alongside those I basically just play indie roguelikes. Isaac/Dead Cells/Slay the Spire et all. Simple drop in and out games.

I still try games outside (or within but away from my usual hype) these genres, but I cannot be fucking arsed after five hours or so. They're mainly bought due to widespread acclaim though. I find Naughty Dog's output shite, but have bought every one. God of War was good fun, however.

Hate RTS, hate traditional RPGs.