The wife and I ran out of TV to watch last night so I decided to play a game. After humming and hawing for a bit I chose Borderlands again. Somehow the action of running around shooting things while looking for better weapons got the better of me. This type of game where you slowly get stronger and get better stuff really appeals to me. I've sunk countless hours in to games like that, even when the game itself has a few flaws (hello Sacred 2).
People have tried to characterise that kind of loot drop grinding, where you do similar things over and over to try and get better stuff so you can be better at the action of getting better stuff. It can be an endless cycle. However if the act of doing the loot acquisition is fun it really is a great way to spend time. At least in my opinion. Another game that I got for a whole $1 on PC via steam was like that. Torchlight is a small game that has that same get stronger and get better stuff loop. It is something I play late in the evening when we are away in the caravan, clicking away on dozens of monsters and watch them explode and die. When I think back, a lot of the games I enjoy are like that or if they include some form of progression mechanism it improves how much I enjoy them.
I don't know. Not sure who would be interested in my thoughts on this. Just struck me when I was playing last night. Clearly this type of game is very popular and enjoyable. I'm just trying to work out why I in particular find it so. RPGs have the same sort of hold on me in that way, the gradual increase in abilities and strength that allow you to be better at the game. I suspect there have been all sorts of other people writing about this but this is me writing it down trying to think it out.
Aren't you glad you know me and the fascinating things I write about? I shall see if I can think on this subject some more and work out why it is that I enjoy these games rather than just the feeling of progression they provide.
Great, more stuff to wander around in my brain and distract me from other stuff. :-|
No comments:
Post a Comment