Calibrator: "Dumbing down" games makes them more palatable to people like me. There's NO WAY that I want to have to study a PHD-level course manual to play a game.
First of all not all gamers are created equal ;-)
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I don't want to worry about all the nitty-gritty details of most gaming subjects, nor do I have the time or patience; I just want to PLAY.
So you are more of a casual than a hardcore gamer: You don't want to read manuals, you want quick successes, you like action games more than adventures and RPGs - and you probably hate strategy games or simulations that involve a large investment of time.
Don't worry - you are a pretty normal fellow! ;-)
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If the game is inherently complex, I want an interactive, in-game tutorial that holds my hand while teaching me the deep workings of the game.
This is one method to make the interface easier to understand and it's exactly what I meant with making a game more accessible - which I said is the only "dumbing down" I tolerate.
What you don't exclude with your statement is that you don't reject a game that is complex but easy to control - which is more or less what I said.
Give me complex games like the Thief-series anyday, but don't expect me to calculate the arcs my arrows should fly by hand and enter the numbers manually - I also want an easy to use interface with a mouse and some buttons/keys.
Some people claim that (PC) games are often dumbed down for games consoles which is a statement I don't plainly support. There are many very complex RPGs on games consoles and when comparing them to a PC classic like Baldur's Gate they don't seem to be "dumber" at all.
People confuse the ability of console games to be controlled with a small gamepad with less game complexity (and maybe content).
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I've tried to play several games in my time that seemed that you have to come to the game with a PHD in the subject ("Virtual Skipper 3," for example) with no in-game tutorial. At some point, micromanaging and studying REMOVES you from the game fantasy, rather than immerses you in it.
There are people - and you made yourself quite clear that you aren't one of them - who love to indulge into such stuff. Hardcore-sim-freaks are just one example, strategy game fanatics are another bunch, learning all the data about the units etc.
These folks already enjoy such a game while reading the manual. You maybe would call it "work", they call it "pleasure".
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A flexible game engine is preferable to a super-technical/realistic game engine, in my opinion.
It was always my opinion that you can perform the most complicated procedures (like flying a space shuttle) with a simple enough interface. As the interface is part of the game engine I agree with you.
Calibrator: "Dumbing down" games makes them more palatable to people like me. There's NO WAY that I want to have to study a PHD-level course manual to play a game.
First of all not all gamers are created equal ;-)
I don't want to worry about all the nitty-gritty details of most gaming subjects, nor do I have the time or patience; I just want to PLAY.
So you are more of a casual than a hardcore gamer: You don't want to read manuals, you want quick successes, you like action games more than adventures and RPGs - and you probably hate strategy games or simulations that involve a large investment of time.
Don't worry - you are a pretty normal fellow! ;-)
If the game is inherently complex, I want an interactive, in-game tutorial that holds my hand while teaching me the deep workings of the game.
This is one method to make the interface easier to understand and it's exactly what I meant with making a game more accessible - which I said is the only "dumbing down" I tolerate.
What you don't exclude with your statement is that you don't reject a game that is complex but easy to control - which is more or less what I said.
Give me complex games like the Thief-series anyday, but don't expect me to calculate the arcs my arrows should fly by hand and enter the numbers manually - I also want an easy to use interface with a mouse and some buttons/keys.
Some people claim that (PC) games are often dumbed down for games consoles which is a statement I don't plainly support. There are many very complex RPGs on games consoles and when comparing them to a PC classic like Baldur's Gate they don't seem to be "dumber" at all.
People confuse the ability of console games to be controlled with a small gamepad with less game complexity (and maybe content).
I've tried to play several games in my time that seemed that you have to come to the game with a PHD in the subject ("Virtual Skipper 3," for example) with no in-game tutorial. At some point, micromanaging and studying REMOVES you from the game fantasy, rather than immerses you in it.
There are people - and you made yourself quite clear that you aren't one of them - who love to indulge into such stuff. Hardcore-sim-freaks are just one example, strategy game fanatics are another bunch, learning all the data about the units etc.
These folks already enjoy such a game while reading the manual. You maybe would call it "work", they call it "pleasure".
A flexible game engine is preferable to a super-technical/realistic game engine, in my opinion.
It was always my opinion that you can perform the most complicated procedures (like flying a space shuttle) with a simple enough interface. As the interface is part of the game engine I agree with you.
take care,
Calibrator
take care,
Calibrator