Odyssey's planetary gameplay is already damn near unplayable on desktops. You wouldn't want to play it in VR
It doesnt look bad but why would someone grind for that.
I know it does, that's probably a good 100 hours of it.
I got myself from 0 to Cutter twice, and I love flying around and seeing the sights, and I am not ashamed of it either.
Now I have 270 hours in No Mans Sky, that's much worse, especially since I can't remember a single moment I really enjoyed the game.
But, I just really enjoy laid back games these days. just listen to music or some podcasts and play something not too involved.
I admire your abundance of freetime!
Yeah, especially if you can play with said friend. It's worth the investment. Steam has me clocked in at just under 100 hours, which is a lot more than most games I bought at around 12€.
What I hate about this game is the grind was deliberately designed into the mechanics because fundamentally the developers are lazy cunts.
Yeah, especially if you can play with said friend. It's worth the investment. Steam has me clocked in at just under 100 hours, which is a lot more than most games I bought at around 12€.
My life has me clocked even at over 1000 hours vacuuming and dishwashing, but that doesn't make it a meaningful experience either.
All games are essentially pointless, but the thing about games like Elite is that you spend your precious spare time with things that are not only pointless but repetitive and boring as fuck.
All games are essentially pointless...
All games are essentially pointless...
That is an interesting philosophical subject. What is the point of anything, what is the purpose of life, and how should we spend our time?
First of all it's important to realize that there is low quality shit and high quality stuff everywhere. Some stuff can be outright detrimental while other stuff can enhance your personal development. This applies to everything, books, movies, friendships, outdoor experiences and games.
Obviously, you should aim for the high quality stuff when deciding how to spend your time.
Having gotten that out of the way, I think video games are better than their reputation. Games have traditionally a bad rep as useless time wasters. I think this is hypocritical and bias against the "new thing". People are always prejudiced against new technology, like they thought trains were bad for you when the steam engine was invented, because the human body wasn't made for that acceleration and it would squash your brains...
I need someone who regards gaming as useless time wasting to explain to me, how reading a book, visiting a museum of fine art or going to the theater is better than gaming. All of the aforementioned activities are frequently considered to be worthwhile and illustrious, much superior to gaming. But I see no factual basis for such a judgement - a well crafted game is a combined work of art of hundred of individual artists which allows something that any other art form lacks, namely interactivity, thereby in a way transcending all other art forms.
Gaming also holds up well not just compared to other art forms, but also to experiences. Many people say life is not about things, but about experiences, and I tend to agree. But due to the interactivity and immersion, a good game is also an experience. Maybe this is different for some people, but thinking back to real-life experiences I had, they occupy the same "memory space" as all my hours sitting in a TIE Fighter, being immersed in the world of the Witcher or in the wild west of Red Dead Redemption. All of these are real experiences in my head that shaped who I am.
A video game is not a complete replacement for real-life experiences, and I do think it is important to also go out there and have real experiences, to stay in touch with the world. But it is the next best thing. And in many ways allows to have experiences and explore worlds that are impossible in the real world.
Games can also be a great teaching tool, since play is the natural way for mammals to learn. I got my interest in history, geography and cultures from playing Civilization, and I owe my career as a software developer out of the desire to create my own games, which motivated me to learn about computers and programming.
So, back to the original statement, are all games essentially pointless? Well, games can be pointless time wasters, especially dopamine-powered, addiction inducing mobile games like candy crush. But a high quality game is among the greatest artistic and technical achievements that human culture can currently accomplish, so you could do worse with your time that spending it with such.
And what high quality games can you name?
All games are essentially pointless...
That is an interesting philosophical subject. What is the point of anything, what is the purpose of life, and how should we spend our time?
First of all it's important to realize that there is low quality shit and high quality stuff everywhere. Some stuff can be outright detrimental while other stuff can enhance your personal development. This applies to everything, books, movies, friendships, outdoor experiences and games.
Obviously, you should aim for the high quality stuff when deciding how to spend your time.
Having gotten that out of the way, I think video games are better than their reputation. Games have traditionally a bad rep as useless time wasters. I think this is hypocritical and bias against the "new thing". People are always prejudiced against new technology, like they thought trains were bad for you when the steam engine was invented, because the human body wasn't made for that acceleration and it would squash your brains...
I need someone who regards gaming as useless time wasting to explain to me, how reading a book, visiting a museum of fine art or going to the theater is better than gaming. All of the aforementioned activities are frequently considered to be worthwhile and illustrious, much superior to gaming. But I see no factual basis for such a judgement - a well crafted game is a combined work of art of hundred of individual artists which allows something that any other art form lacks, namely interactivity, thereby in a way transcending all other art forms.
Gaming also holds up well not just compared to other art forms, but also to experiences. Many people say life is not about things, but about experiences, and I tend to agree. But due to the interactivity and immersion, a good game is also an experience. Maybe this is different for some people, but thinking back to real-life experiences I had, they occupy the same "memory space" as all my hours sitting in a TIE Fighter, being immersed in the world of the Witcher or in the wild west of Red Dead Redemption. All of these are real experiences in my head that shaped who I am.
A video game is not a complete replacement for real-life experiences, and I do think it is important to also go out there and have real experiences, to stay in touch with the world. But it is the next best thing. And in many ways allows to have experiences and explore worlds that are impossible in the real world.
Games can also be a great teaching tool, since play is the natural way for mammals to learn. I got my interest in history, geography and cultures from playing Civilization, and I owe my career as a software developer out of the desire to create my own games, which motivated me to learn about computers and programming.
So, back to the original statement, are all games essentially pointless? Well, games can be pointless time wasters, especially dopamine-powered, addiction inducing mobile games like candy crush. But a high quality game is among the greatest artistic and technical achievements that human culture can currently accomplish, so you could do worse with your time that spending it with such.
And what high quality games can you name?
I named a few in my post.
The Witcher 1, 2 and of course 3, tell as good a story as any book and include a few life lessons to boot, while featuring beautifully crafted world building, art and music. Same thing can be said of Red Dead Redemption 2.
The Civilization series is a playful way to learn about cultures, history and technology.
TIE Fighter is just an excellent, deep space combat sim, giving an experience that is obviously unattainable in the real world.
Then there's also Minecraft, that has probably taught a million kids about Java programming, computer graphics, 3D modelling and animation, due to the engaged modding community. Also the redstone systems playfully teaches about circuitry, an I know kids who have become very interested in minerals and geology thanks to Minecraft. Others have been motivated to explore nature and survival and go on hiking and camping trips thanks to Minecraft. The best games for kids and young people are the likes of Civilization and Minecraft, that playfully introduce them into a wide range of topics and thereby raise new interests in the real world. Another great example of such a game would probably also be Kerbal Space Program.
I'm mentioning the cream of the crop here, with a focus on edutainment, but like Witcher or RDR, I think games that have a good story to tell are also worthwhile of anyone's time. Even some mainstream action-oriented games like Assassins Creed (e.g. 1 & 2) tell a great story while introducing the player to cultures, cities and landmarks of the corresponding age. There are a lot of high quality games.
What is a low-quality or even detrimental game? Well, as mentioned, a lot of mobile games, a la candy-crush, with simple puzzles to solve or regular upkeep to reap some rewards and get a dopamine kick, that is the equivalent of a "friend" that you just hang out with to smoke weed while chilling on the couch. A lot of multiplayer shooters, like Counter Strike, Call of Duty, etc. are probably also not the most worthwhile things to spend your time on.
MinecraftAnd what high quality games can you name?
Assassins Creed (e.g. 1 & 2)
Only a self-gratifying piece of shit rips something out of context to direct a pointed insult.Only a complete moron would begin a list of quality top games with Witcher 1,2,3.
So which "life lessons" did you learn from the Witcher?
God, man, I sincerely hope you are trolling here. Implying that educational-entertainment games are greatest artistic and technical achievements of our times, or saying that witcher games include a few life lessons is rather bold.
What next, you'll be praising star wars as deep drama?
God, man, I sincerely hope you are trolling here. Implying that educational-entertainment games are greatest artistic and technical achievements of our times, or saying that witcher games include a few life lessons is rather bold.
What next, you'll be praising star wars as deep drama?