Gaming in the Real World
April 3rd, 2008
I realized something last night. I’ve had Bioshock lying on my coffee table, unfinished, for about 3 months now. Bioshock - a game of the year, a franchise starter, a serious case for games being considered art - and yet there it is, incomplete and stacked under a magazine.
What have I been playing instead? Super Smash Brothers Brawl matches and Rock Band songs.
It made me realize how different my gaming routines have changed as I’ve (arguably) matured and entered the working world. I look back on the open-ended schedules I used to have. When Wind Waker came out for the Gamecube, I played straight through the 20+ hours of gameplay over the course of 4 or 5 days between classes. My roommates and I in Baltimore were addicted to Animal Crossing and Timesplitters 2 for an entire summer. And during one grad school semester break, I managed to plow through the 70+ hours required to beat Tales of Symphonia - probably the most time I’ve ever spent on a single player game.
I used to love those marathon play sessions, but now it’s more difficult to find the time to do all that, particularly due to a consistent work schedule. When I come home and plop down on the couch, there’s no way I would want to tackle a 70+ hour game now. It would have to be split up over weeks or months of playing, and the chances of me making it all the way through would be slim. I would probably go a week or two without playing. I would probably forget where I was in the game, what I had to do, and why I should care. Bioshock is apparently a 20-hour game, but even that seems daunting to me (although you can save at any time, and objectives are easy to keep track of via menu screens).
So when I’m playing with a limited amount of time - as little as 15 minutes and no more than 2 hours - I gravitate towards the bite-sized experience instead. I’ll play a few online Smash matches or a few Rock Band songs, and feel satisfied and content. But it pains me to know that I have this incredible “longer” game sitting on the sidelines, falling victim to the time constraints of the professional world.
Man, I miss summer vacation.
Jason Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I can relate. I rarely finish a console game these days, and I much prefer collaborative games, or at least multiplayer games I can play with my friends, over one-player games. I’m more interested in the socialization that can form around games than anything (probably why I’ve been playing WoW for 3 years and still haven’t hit 70
), and then investigating the interesting bits of visuals, music or gameplay secondarily — which doesn’t require me finishing the game, either.
Stephen Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Hey there Dave!
I’m in agreement with your blog post. I have now shied away from time-consuming games or games with too much filler. This mostly translates to me avoiding turn-based JRPGs.
Do you have Rock Band for the PS3 or Xbox 360? Super Smash Bros. Brawl is fine offline, but even to this day, there are still online lag problems.
Dave Werner Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Jason - good to hear I’m not alone!
Stephen - I’ve got Rock Band on the 360.
Stephen Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 11:58 am
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply. My friends and acquaintances are equally divided between the Xbox360 and PS3 versions. I am split as to which version to get ultimately.
I think you may actually be better at casual games than I am.
Dave Werner Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
They’re basically identical…you’ll have fun with either version (as opposed to the severely crippled upcoming Wii version).
scott Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I haven’t wanted to admit it, but I’m in the same boat. I try to pretend like I have plenty of time to play huge games, but I haven’t finished a game in a long time (except Zelda on the Wii…I had to finish that one).
I’m really afraid GTA4 is going to end up sitting on my shelf before I’ve had the chance to finish it. Stupid real world…