Do you enjoy losing?

[Oesophagus]

OK this is a reasonable question.

Because from my own experience, I don't acknowledge such a thing as multiplayer. So what I'm referring to is being beaten by the AI. Of course, you can say that this is the result of my sucking cock at strategy games. But still, even though I'm probably shit at games like MTW, I stil enjoy playing them. Maybe this is something to with my Potato roots, but in my playthroughs, not being conquered by the germans is as much a succes as conquering other lands. So, my question is, what's your reaction to setbacks in strategy games. Do you save/load spam, or do you prefer ( like I do) to play the game through, even thogh you know that you might end up losing badly?

btw, if anyone has a way of running Medieval: Total war1 on windows vista, I'd very much appreciare iit

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Getting close to losing is...exhilarating, but then you turn things around and win. Even more exhilarating!

People who actually enjoy losing are, well, losers.

 

[Carrion]

Winning doesn't really feel like much unless you get your ass kicked at some point, so yeah, I guess I enjoy losing to some extent. I don't really like finishing last or even second but I do like it when I feel like I'm facing a real challenge, and usually the AI needs to beat me at first to really get me motivated and suck me into the game. If I haven't died or lost a fight during the first couple of hours of game, there When it comes to games like Total War or Civilization that have long campaigns and where failure doesn't necessarily mean "game over", I don't usually load from a previous game unless I completely fuck things up, and even then I might just start a new game instead of reloading. On the other hand I'm somewhat obsessed about eventually beating every game I've bought, so I can't imagine being happy about not completely losing a game for the fifth time in a row or anything like that. I want to win eventually.

 

[Gregz]

Getting close to losing is...exhilarating, but then you turn things around and win. Even more exhilarating!

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Any boss or milestone challenge that doesn't grind you to paste at least once leaves me feeling hollow in victory. Like when you're enjoying stealing bits of people's food and they just shrug and share it.

 

[Berekän]

The only way of enjoying a defeat is if you learn something from that defeat. One does not enjoy the defeat in itself, but the knowledge that defeat might bring is very enjoyable.

 

[Oriebam]

When I enjoy games I usually enjoy playing them

 

[Gragt]

I don't really enjoy losing but it needs to be a reality of the game for victory to have any meaning.

 

[SoupNazi]

I enjoy losing...





















































... in bed wrestling

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Yes. It means that the game is challenging and I have to put more effort into winning, which means more fun.

 

[Tigranes]

Getting close to losing is...exhilarating, but then you turn things around and win. Even more exhilarating!

People who actually enjoy losing are, well, losers.

You can only get close to losing if you lose sometimes.

 

[Ulminati]

I don't enjoy losing. But when I win, I enjoy it more if I lost a few times first.

 

[DraQ]

I don't enjoy losing, but a game where danger of losing is real makes winning actually enjoyable.

Any boss or milestone challenge that doesn't grind you to paste at least once leaves me feeling hollow in victory.

That's probably why Quake 2 is pretty meh.

 

[Oesophagus]

Oh, I made a thread on the codex. My drinking is getting out of hand, it seems. o_O

 

[Trash]

It's actually a pretty good question. For me it fully depends on the game. In CK or CKII losing felt very much as a part of the whole Shakespearian Drama Generator gameplay. Trying your best to keep your dynasty going and then getting a few incestuous gay dwarfen idiots as successive rulers always made me lol. Not to mention the constant stabbing in the back or losing your entire line because of the common cold. Loved it. In games revolving around dexterity or reflexes however I really don't like it when I mess up. Same with fighting against an AI that beats me through very blatant cheating. In multiplayer it always depends on the quality of the match. If you lose because your team is shit or your opponent is incredibly overclassing you it sucks. If it's however an exciting match I really don't mind.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I always "MFFRFHRG RAGE FUCK EVERYTHING" moments after I lose, but I don't really mind losing to the AI. One hour ago, I lost 30-45 minutes of progress in SMT Nocturne (Hardmodo) because of one unlucky random encounter. I was this close to punching the nearest wall but then I realized I should've just gone through that dungeon ASAP (reducing the chances of getting horrible encounter) instead of taking my sweet time. A little before that, I got through a boss with a sliver of health left, and I felt more relieved than anything.

I don't save / load spam (excet for when I just want to save time) since that takes out all the fun of everything.

That said, I don't like it, I just don't mind. Like Berakan said, no one enjoys losing per se, but the feeling of having learned something so you can do better next time.

 

[Destroid]

I enjoy losing in Dwarf Fortress (it's the only conclusion at present) and I much prefer losing to timing out in Paradox grand campaigns. There's something beautiful about the way things can fall apart in these games.

I guess it also helps that these are all more on the simulation side of gaming, I don't much enjoy losing an RTS or FPS to the AI. But I don't much enjoy playing the AI at all in those sorts of games.

 

[MetalCraze]

I enjoy losing because of my own fault.

That's why I love tactical games where the largest chance to lose is fully on player's shoulders. JA2, ArmA/OFP, Steel Panthers, early Clancy's games etc. Tactical games very often try to have enemies that are no better or worse than you which means devs have to put a lot of work into AI and encounter design.
Also Thief games.

You make a wrong call and you lose/you lose party member.
Because of this these games also provide the high level of suspense, pissing-your-pants-grade - awesome.

Unfortunately smart design like this is very rare and instead games (especially modern ones) prefer to go the retarded route of killing you by simply making enemies deal more damage and take less damage the higher the difficulty. Which for some reason are considered hardcore by morons today. I don't enjoy losing in these at all because of the stupidity of their talentless designers.

A good example is The Witcher 2 - you literally chip off HP off of enemies, while they put you down in a few hits. Instead of making a good AI or good encounters or some complicated combat - you get the most retarded way to provide at least some challenge.

 

[DraQ]

Oh, I made a thread on the codex. My drinking is getting out of hand, it seems. o_O

Out of hand and into oesophagus.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Defeat makes the inevitable victory all the more sweeter.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

I enjoy losing because of my own fault.

That's why I love tactical games where the largest chance to lose is fully on player's shoulders. JA2, ArmA/OFP, Steel Panthers, early Clancy's games etc. Tactical games very often try to have enemies that are no better or worse than you which means devs have to put a lot of work into AI and encounter design.
Also Thief games.

You make a wrong call and you lose/you lose party member.
Because of this these games also provide the high level of suspense, pissing-your-pants-grade - awesome.

Unfortunately smart design like this is very rare and instead games (especially modern ones) prefer to go the retarded route of killing you by simply making enemies deal more damage and take more damage the higher the difficulty. Which for some reason are considered hardcore by morons today. I don't enjoy losing in these at all because of the stupidity of their talentless designers.

A good example is The Witcher 2 - you literally chip off HP off of enemies, while they put you down in a few hits. Instead of making a good AI or good encounters or some complicated combat - you get the most retarded way to provide at least some challenge.

It's amazing that developers don't get this.The most satisfying challenge to overcome is one in which the opponents play by the fucking rules and still offer a difficult hurdle to overcome. Obviously, this is going to be easier in some games than others - generally those that are designed around numerical superiority like JA2 or Thief - and difficult to implement when it comes to boss battles, but it's entirely possible. There is a definite satisfaction to be had in bringing down in a cheap boss monster, but it's a satisfaction born of frustration, not exactly exemplary of good game design. Ironically enough, I think TW2 managed both; there's the fucking awful console Kraken boss fight in Act 1 on one hand, and on the other, the battle with the evil bald Twitcher at the end of the game. He has the same powers and abilities as you, and if you manage to disable him effectively, you can end the fight in less than a minute, just as he can. It's probably the only fight I remember really enjoying.

 

[DwarvenFood]

U mean something like this ?

Well I do love the challenge, especially (only?) when the AI is not cheating, but I would not go as far as saying that I enjoy AoD losing.

 

[ChristofferC]

Losing now and again makes me want to play again and do better the next time as long as I don't lose to some random bullshit, so you could say losing makes me enjoy the game more.

 

[Destroid]

Quite a few people have said similar, but do you enjoy the moment of losing?

 

[Phelot]

I like getting surprised by the AI or when it does something clever (which is pretty darn rare) if that surprise manages to make me lose, then so be it. In some games, it can actually be fun doing a suicide mission, but that might not count since I go in knowing I'm going to lose.

Myth1/2 comes to mind, especially in a few maps where you're suppose to be avoiding enemies. Crusader Kings (and many Paradox games) can be somewhat entertaining fighting a losing battle, knowing you're going to lose, but trying to stall or kill as many enemies as you can. Make it painful for that smug artificial intelligence asshole!