Want to make that 20oz bottle of Coke have the same value as Two-Liter? Pour the 20oz bottle into the bigger container, then fill the rest with water. While not all games are like adding water to hit that seventy hour mark, it is what we usually end up with. Every game hitting that seventy hour mark tends to be water added. I can only think of a few exceptions to this fact. This process is commonly referred to as the grind. However it bares many other names such as fluff, filler or something that is made to look like more than it really is.
Now grinds maybe good for some people who feel having something to waste time away on a game with minimal reward is great value. Perhaps its time those people explore iPhone/iPad/iPod games if that is their poison instead of investing in four hundred dollar game consoles and sixty dollar games and complaining because the value is condense to a pure more concentrated form.
When I was younger and had more time, I would not only love, but demand my games gave me extremely long experiences, something that made me gravitate towards RPG’s most of the time. But these days, I barely have time to play a 5-8 hour games. I can take a twenty hour epic once in a while, but I just cant handle it if every game I get in my hands happens to be something like that anymore, especially now that I have the cash to buy multiple titles and would like to actually play them all. I never finished ‘Skyrim.’
I don’t mind long games but I do appreciate it when they are broken down into sections. ‘Last Of Us’ did that really well. The under-appreciated, ‘Alan Wake’ too. Even if you’re playing through in one sitting, it does a good job of regulating the sense of pacing. Breaking up the overall narrative into chapters or volumes, each with its own defined story arc that rises and falls is a great way to let the player take a breather now and then without feeling like they’re missing anything. It also lets you really relax since you don’t need to worry about whether any action you take might get you into a three hour rabbit hole when you have laundry to do. It’s amazing how our preferences change as we get older.
Even though I have a more busy life now, I still want that game experience that I can explore and/or grow with. Whether that means leveling up a character or improving a score or finishing a side story of a seemingly ever expanding world, or whatever. I just want more my from my games. I don’t want less that what I was getting years ago. We have the ability and know-how to keep the content and experiences that we have and love now, we just need to repackage it for the increasingly fast-paced audience.
Personally, I’d really like to see the industry make a shift toward smaller, cheaper games. Build an engine and make six or seven three-hour games that are creative and risky and tightly told rather than two epic games with soaring budgets that pad themselves out to justify their value and then you have to retire the engine and rebuild because, ‘Oh My Glob! It’s been six years.’ Games would get easier to consume, cheaper to buy, cheaper to make, and could tell more cohesive, riskier stories.
The best part about shorter games is that inevitably it means there will be MORE games. Instead of spending 3 years making a $60 game, a studio can spend 3 years making 3 games for $20. That gives players more choices, and purchasing habits can better inform what types of experiences are good/bad without punishing studios as much when there’s a flop.
Short or long? Whatever length it is, make my time with your game awesome. Do that and I will happily give you money. I’m just glad the market is diverse enough to reward players of all types with plenty of options to satisfy their tastes.
-Dagobot
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