CNN: Why most people don't finish video games

[Yoda]

I'll quit a game over difficulty too, but I'll do it if it's too easy. I understand that we challenge gamers are rare, but I'm hardly alone. I just don't understand why developers have abandoned difficulty levels that allow gamers of all skill levels to play your game. Increasing the health of the enemies isn't enough -- the game is still just as easy, but it takes longer to win. I'm talking true difficulty levels.

I prefer one difficulty level. Well-balanced to require some proficiency to complete the game. With added objectives/achievements that require you to master the gameplay mechanics. I'm ok with a second easy difficulty if you make it clear that it's not the preferred experience. I mean if a game has like 5 difficulty levels how do you know what the 'real' experience is. I hate 'nightmare' difficulties that are designed with the goal of being pretty much impossible.

As for game length, aside from RPGs which kind of march to their own drum, I think the sweet spot for game length is about 8 hours for the core experience. When games get much longer than that I almost always feel the 'padding'. I'd rather have a tighter and shorter experience if that's the trade-off. Also I probably dig short games a little more these days because I know my backlog of games is probably measured in thousands of hours.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I finish almost every game I start. But then, I mostly play intensely story-driven games and platformers. The former fits into the original poster's definition of games that usually don't just end; the latter usually harbors a very clear-cut and identifiable progression system which often makes them less daunting. (And shorter, too.)

 

[FreezeC77]

I don't think I've ever played a game that I purchased that had an actual ending to it that I didn't finish... I feel like I didn't get my money if I don't finish it. I have a backlog, but it's to games I have yet to start so they don't count

There's been plenty of games I rented where I played a little and didn't like the game so I didn't finish it. Then of course there's always the occasional bugged out game which either makes it impossible to finish or actually has no ending to it. Kind of like the old atari E.T. game. Wasted too many hours as a kid thinking there had to be some kind of ending/point to the game and I was just not able to figure it out lol.

 

[SPCTRE]

I'm sorry, there actually was one game I didn't finish. It was an MMORPG which is why it doesn't quite count since not finishing that kind of game is intrinsic to it being an, well, fucking MMORPG.

I'm not going to bother to name it here because we all know which one I'm talking about.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I agree, those don't count as they're always being updated to alter the caps. They're meant to keep you playing and paying and aren't designed for ends in sight.

 

[Reverend]

^Ah, MMORPGs...the merry-go-rounds of the video game industry. Or are they the one-armed-bandits? I can never decide.

Personally, I finish *most* games I start, but not all. Off the top of my head I don't think I've ever finished any C&C game besides RA2. Mostly because I spent most of my time on those games playing multi player against a mate or on 'vs. CPU battles.

Aside from those; after my third attempt I still haven't completed KOTOR. I got as far as that water planet (after doing Tatooine & Kashyyyk) and just lost interest. I'll probably come back to that save at some point but just ten minutes running down all those boring corridors (and possibly a little gaming fatigue) just stopped me in my tracks.

Never did get very far with Oblivion either. But that had more to do with the plot and world just utterly failing to grab me.

There are a few others I haven't finished, but to be honest, when I buy a game I don't expect to play it to death and be done with it in less that a fortnight (like some gamers.) If a game can keep me interested on and off for a year or three (or longer in some cases) then I think I've gotten more than my money's worth.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Aside from those; after my third attempt I still haven't completed KOTOR. I got as far as that water planet (after doing Tatooine & Kashyyyk) and just lost interest.

Yup. Manaan is definitely the weakest part of the game. But the base is fun and the underwater part offers its own brand of suspense.

Just remember that as so as you finish it, the game gets awesome.

 

[Owain Taggart]

KOTOR is definitely brilliant. In fact, I feel Mass Effect borrowed a lot from the structure of that game. In particular, the hub planet. It was very much like Taris.

KOTOR II on the other hand, was a mess. My big problem wasn't so much that it was mostly broken or had a lot of stuff missing, but that it borrowed too much from the first game. I mean, you revisit both Dantooine and Korriban, and while they were different, it just in general felt like too much 'Been there, done that.'

 

[Reverend]

Oh bloody Taris...it wasn't until my second attempt that I even managed to get off that planet! The first time around I was just flat out bored by all the walking around the samey locations. I think part of the reason I didn't like Manaan was because it reminded me so much of Taris. The long empty corridors, the spartan art design, the rooms filled with NPCs with not a lot to say or do. I actually cheered when the Sith [<spoiler redacted>] that dump!

Since a few of you have played it; is there any point to that card game at least oen person per planet is obsessed about? Also, is there anyway to advance that droid's (I forget it's name) story line without a high repair skill? It's been a while since I last picked the game up but I didn't think my character was anywhere near skilled enough and I'm pretty sure I'm past the game's half way mark at least.

I think I agree that Bioware applied a lot of what they learnt on this game when they went on to develop Mass Effect...though I suspect that a fair amount of it was what *not* to do in a sci-fi RPG. Top of that list would have been ditching the turn based combat.

On my first attempted play-thoughs I tried to developed my character as I usually do in RPGs; a sneaky, fast talking roguish type...except I quickly discovered (after countless deaths in the undercity) that combat abilities were a bit of a must. SO my second go I built my PC as a gunslinging smuggler type so I poured a lot of the early skill points and abilities into blasters and heavy weapons. I had no idea my PC would magically develop force powers and become a Jedi, thus needing sword wielding skills after the first planet was done with so it wasn't until my third attempt that I had a character capable of hitting things with a blade by the time I got to Dantooine. Probably a good thing in the long run as I really hated all that dice rolling nonsense with the blaster fights. I mean really? How can a character who's supposed to know how to shoot straight miss a bloody great monster that's about three foot in-front of them?

Thank the Enkindlers Mass Effect did away with that gameplay style and went for the Deus Ex style shooter/RPG hybrid model instead.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Yeah, that whole dice-rollin' common-sense defying numbers weirdness really burnt my bacon when I played KOTOR. Mind you, I never played it on first release, so I guess I've been turned evil by all the action-RPGs I've played...

 

[CorporalClegg]

Since a few of you have played it; is there any point to that card game at least oen person per planet is obsessed about? Also, is there anyway to advance that droid's (I forget it's name) story line without a high repair skill? It's been a while since I last picked the game up but I didn't think my character was anywhere near skilled enough and I'm pretty sure I'm past the game's half way mark at least.

Pazaak is basically there to make money, but you hardly ever make enough for it to be worth while. The only other advantage is if you beat Suvam Tan ten times you unlock his secret cashe, but you can do that just by completing his story line.

The only way to finish HK-47's story line is with Repair of 16 (I think.) for the initial check and then 21 for the last part and the very end of the game.

There used to be a mod that put in gear that raised your repair skill, but I think it's long gone off the internet. So really the only way to do it is go Scoundrel/Consular.

The thing is, it really is worth it has his stories are the highlight of the game.

 

[Davros]

There are 3 main reasons I fail to finish a game, they are too hard, too boring, or have no end.

 

[SPCTRE]

after my third attempt I still haven't completed KOTOR.

My mind, consider it blown.

How can you not finish KOTOR? That's like saying I didn't finish reading my own name on my passport or something

 

[Reverend]

^As I've said already, I got to Manaan and my interest fizzled. I'll probably get back to it soonish. No rush.

I really ought to complete Fallout 2 one of these days too...

 

[SPCTRE]

Yeah I totally get it, it was more of a rhetorical question Although I loved Manaan, TBH

 

[Lindley]

The worst part of KOTOR for me was the podracing. It was simply too difficult to win some of the later races.

I'm told others have no trouble with that, so who knows, maybe it was a framerate issue with my machine.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Ahh, yeah, I remember the podracing now. Something that I tried to forget after I finished it. I had a lot of trouble with it as well. Thankfully that wasn't part of the sequel.

 

[SPCTRE]

^ Actually, it was. Swoop racing in KOTOR 2 was even trickier in some respects IMHO.

 

[CorporalClegg]

^ Actually, it was. Swoop racing in KOTOR 2 was even trickier in some respects IMHO.

Yeah. It was literally impossible to win.

I forget if it was Nar Shaada or Onderon, but one of them you couldn't win because of a bug.

 

[SPCTRE]

^ Heh, yeah. Even the non-buggy ones were really tricky as I remember.