Gaming Do You Still Play Games for Fun?

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]The question may seem silly at first, but hear me out. I'm curious how people's perception of gaming has changed over time and experience. It's obvious that a person plays games first and foremost for fun, but then that fun extends to competition and tournaments, along with getting the highest online score, or releasing every character and secret in a game.

Sure, those are all fun things to do, but any gamer has to admit to doing quite a few things that felt like chores in order to achieve fun. Take Soul Caliber II and other similar fighting games, where you have to play as every character and beat the game over and over, not to mention playing the other extras. Sure, they are supposedly designed to increase the replay value, but I've always seen those extras as a tedious chore that I needed to get out of the way before I could have fun. Am I playing the game right, or is the game no longer fun?

This idea also goes into tournaments and competitions. Do you go out to play other people and see how good you are, or do you go out to "get back at Bob who humiliated you in front of a group of people"? High scores are no different: you get so close to beating it, and you know in your heart of hearts that you can beat it, so you keep trying, keep getting frustrated, but still not stopping, even though the game has lost its fun factor.

Now, I'm not saying that people who experience these things don't play for fun. I'm just saying that there are things in games nowadays that are just not fun, and I'm wondering if people have experienced such a thing and, if so, do they think that's alright.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Shinmaru]

To be honest, I've never been interested in entering a gaming tournament, and I doubt I ever will be. I'm probably good enough at certain games to do decently in a tournament (though I hold no doubts that I would be trounced eventually in any tournament that I enter), but playing against strangers has never appealed to me. If it were a tournament with a few of my friends, I'd be all over it, because it's more fun, for me.

I will admit that I've been drawn in by the lure of beating my own and other people's high scores, and getting obscenely frustrated when I've failed at it, but most of that was when I was younger lol. I still like going for high scores, but when it gets to the point of me being really pissed off and frustrated, I like to take a step back and let myself cool down, haha.

I think that I was a bit more competitive when I was younger, actually. I'd play with my brother (and beat him :p ) a lot, and I was just really competitive in general when it came to gaming; too bad I never had anyone to play with, haha. Now, I'm just more concerned with having a good time when I game. High scores can be fun, but I see them more as a last resort to have fun with a game now. Tournaments, when played with friends, can be good fun, in my opinion.

[roxybudgy]

Right now, the only game I play is Harvest Moon Friends Of Mineral Town. And one of the things you can do in that game is buy a Vacation Villa for 100 000 000 gold. Right now I have 700 000 gold. So sometimes I play for fun, but mostly I'm aiming on making more gold to get the Vacation Villa.

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]I've actually had thoughts on this subject every now and then, while playing various games. My conclusion is that I will do "unfun" things in games for various reasons, but there's a limit to how far I'll take it. And that limit is usually the point where I stop caring about whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish because it's just not worth sitting there any longer, doing something I don't enjoy.

A good example would be F-Zero GX's story mode. I played through the entire thing on its normal difficulty setting, and quite a few levels were frustrating to the point that I wasn't having fun. But I kept going because the levels weren't frustrating beyond the satisfaction of finally having beaten them and getting the prize at the end. So while playing through story mode was somewhat of a chore, it was still more overall fun than it was frustrating, making it worth it to me.

But on the other hand, when it comes to playing through story mode on the hard and very hard difficulty settings to unlock the F-Zero AX racers ... it's not going to happen. For me, the required hours and hours of playing the same levels over and over again in order to beat them just isn't worth the fun of being able to play on the AX racers, so I don't bother playing story mode anymore. I'd rather just play grand prix mode on the racers I do have instead.

Also, on the subject of tournaments, a good example for that was when I participated in a Mario Kart: Double Dash!! time trial tournament on N-Sider.com. Normally, I barely ever play time trial in racing games because I have more fun playing grand prix, but the competion made it fun. Yeah, racing the same track over and over again and restarting whenever I made a mistake got to be boring and frustrating after sitting there for a couple hours, but it was the competition that kept me coming back to keep trying each time I'd stop playing. So while the process of getting better and better times wasn't that fun in itself, finally achieving good times and watching myself move up in the rankings was a very satisfying feeling. And when it was all said and done, even though I didn't get first and win the prize (a GBA SP and Fire Emblem), the experience was, overall, more fun than frustrating and I'm glad I participated.

So personally, I look at all the factors involved; I don't just ask myself "Am I having fun [i]right now?[/i]" and stop playing if the answer is "No." Doing a certain thing in a game may not be fun at the moment, but I weigh that against how much fun/satisfaction I'll get from completing that thing and then decide whether or not it's worth doing. But if, after that, the answer is still "No," I will stop playing and go do something else.[/color]

[Brasil]

The following post was written whilst consuming some Yuengling Lager, so let's see how alcohol affects my posting quality.

I'd like to focus on Tourneys, actually. While the individual goals of the gamer (unlocking everything, maxing out play-time, getting the fastest times, etc) are good points of discussion, it seems to me that the best assessment for judging a player's attitude towards a game is when they are placed into a competitive situation.

I'd actually use my Pittsburgh trip as a reference point (incidentally, the gaming society there, OGS, has recently sent out an email about a major LAN Explosion Extravaganza to be held in early October, by the way, so I'm hoping to get out there for that).

I think it's safe to say that every gamer is a competitive gamer in some way. Whether that gamer is merely playing against his siblings, like Shinny here and like myself on occasion, or the gamer is participating in a large, 40-person Melee Tourney, they are still incredibly competitive.

Also, I think most competitive gamers are competitive because it's fun. There's a very awesome thrill and exhilaration at walking into a TV lounge and hopping right in to an 8-player Double Dash LAN game, and the same can be said when the Melee Tourney begins. With the right people, it's insanely fun. I know from experience, hehe.

But when does it stop being fun and just become tedious in Tourneys? The answer is simple.

When the trash-talking starts...and this trash-talking shouldn't be misconstrued as the fun and goofy stuff we see in OB Literati games, either. The trash-talking that sucks the fun out of gaming, in my opinion, is when that trash-talking is nothing more than virulent and mean-spirited verbal rubbish. I mean, how is it fun when your opponent is going, "You ************* *****...you ******* suck. I'm going to rip your ******* lungs out, you puny little worm" and they actually mean it?

At that point, the game isn't worth playing with them. Games are designed to be a social event, yes, but the social event shouldn't be negative, and that brand of "gamer hating" is fairly similar to AW's "get back at Bob who humiliated you in front of a group of people" comment.

Those types of attitudes are simply just vindictive and are signs of people who play for the wrong reasons, and I [i]do[/i] think there [i]are[/i] wrong reasons to play games.

Games are meant to be fun, and having a whiner or...the term is "griefer," I believe, in terms of Online MMORPGs, cheapens the experience.

So, to answer your question, AW, I feel that a game is no longer fun primarily when the human element degenerates. Yes, tedious game design and content is always an issue, but it's far more aggravating to have a griefer playing against you.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

I play games pretty much exclusively "for fun," because there are only two games I play "competitively"--Smash Bros. Melee and Killer Instinct. The latter I only play competitively with my brother (because he's the only competition around, heh).

And even Smash was the purest casual play until recently, when I have had to play smack-talking acquaintances who "turned out" to be mediocre Smashers. One of them in particular has almost made playing not fun, but only because the poor guy is in denial. He refuses to acknowldege that my Link is not a "fourteen-year-girl", despite the fact that I have beaten his friend's "best Link I'll ever see" in front of his face and actually taken down his (not the friend this time) "ultimate Link killer" Sheik twice (2-0, so far) with my Link (which, if you know what kind of a mismatch that is, means something--Sheik is indeed supposed to be a Link killer).

Anyway, while it's kinda fun to keep pounding him into the ground in response to his smack-talking, it's almost annoying because he won't acknowledge my victory no matter what. Every time it's "you're always keeping your distance, why don't you stop running?" (it's Link vs. Sheik/Peach... is he insane?) or "eh, playing without items is boring" or something else along those lines.

Well, whatever. Right now I'm playing KOTOR for fun (I'm a bit behind on RPGs, so Fable's gonna have to wait), and yeah it's lots of fun. I like the Morrowind-ish/Neverwinter Nights-ish music.

[Semjaza]

The only reason I play games is for fun. There's no other reason to. I have no interest in formal competitions. Random online games and multiplayer with friends is all I do. I enjoy trying to beat high scores and such, but it's not become a "sport" for lack of a better world.

In that vein, I find that what actually interests me is getting few and far between. I used to be in a situation where I was buying a new game every week or two. Now I buy maybe one every couple of months. I don't think this is due to lack of interest, because there are still some games I'm incredibly excited about coming up. I think I've just become too jaded and as I get older, I'm just not as easily amused by the same old same old anymore.

I'd rather drop $20 on random, interesting titles like Gradius V or Katamari Damacy than the same price for yet another run of the mill, violent action game. I think certain genres have just become way too saturated.

[James]

[color=#707875]I think everyone plays for fun, but people experience fun and satisfaction in different ways.

For example, the Gradius games can be insanely tough. And when I'm playing them (particularly if I'm continually dying), I tend to become really frustrated. At that point, if you asked if I was having fun, I might say no.

However, when I actually pass a level that I've worked hard to beat...there's an immense level of satisfaction there. In many ways, I actually find a high difficulty level satisfying, particularly when I view myself inching further and further in the level.

Most games do tend to have that kind of pay off. Sometimes certain things are frustrating, but you know that there will be a reward at the end (either mere progression in the game itself, or some kind of new item/object/level/etc).

So I would say that people have different kinds of fun. I can only say that I play games a lot less than I used to, but I still enjoy games from time to time (Viewtiful Joe is the one that really hooked me, in recent memory - and it had plenty of challenging-yet-satisfying moments).[/color]

[Attimus331]

I personally think a game's appeal come's partly from the so called fun factor, but also the ability to satisfy the player. Have you ever felt the satisfaction of beating a very difficult game, or knowing that you're better than all of your buddies? Well, if you have then you know it's a good feeling, a very good feeling. There are the games people can just pick up and play, those are the fun games, but the real good ones can give you that certain satisfaction, like halo or super smash brothers.

Another thing is the ablity for a person to feal emotion while playing a good game, or watching a good movie. When you see those ninjas pull off those awesome moves, and it goes into slow motion, you just think to yourself, damn, i wish i could do that, that'd be so cool! Yeh, well there's that emotion i was talking about. Or it could be from playing a good rpg, that'll defianately get you feeling, especially if your character goes through some serious pain, or even dies.

And then there's this one other thing...people like to win, there's no denying it, we just can't get enough of it. For a lot of people winning and losing has a direct effect on how much fun they have. Just watch a little kid play a game and win, they go crazy, but then if you beat them they pout and get all sad. It's not this way for everybody but it is for most. I personally love rubbing it in when i win, it feels good!

And yeah, i do know what you're talking about, i often do play through games simply to beat them, instead of having fun. The first thing that comes to mind for me is Ninja Gaiden, i don't know why, it just does. I personally think it's a great game, but i didn't have a lot of fun playing it, i just really wanted to beat it, so i kept on playing until i did.

I have the most fun with multiplayer games, mainly halo and super smash brothers for me. God i love getting together with friends and just beating it out with each other, good times good times.....

[satan665]

My most recent experience in this line of thought was Final Fantasy 11. I was really excited to try it out and I did really like the game at first. It was also the first online game I've ever played so meeting people and working with them was novel and interesting. I think I made it to Level 25 before the love was lost.

The problem with the game is that all most people want to do ever is level their character. The best way to do that is to go to a specific map and fight a particular monster over and over again to get EXP. This is all fine and good for a while, but what I found myself doing mostly was log on, spend an hour trying to join a party of 5 or 6 people, then killing crabs repeatedly (or something like that). The thing is though, you level to 18 then get your subjob. Then you level your subjob, then you level your main character up to 30 and try to get an advanced job. Blah, blah, blah... Really You spend hours and hours gaining just one level, not exploring and not advancing the story. I finally got fed up with it and just never played anymore. Its funny but it took me a week of drudgery to give up completely because there's the hope of getting powerful and whatnot. I don't know why I put myself through that much tediousness.

[Iori Yagami]

I always try to play any game for fun. The only time I play competitively is when somebody decides to get on my bad side, I'm playing against friends or I'm playing someone of equal skill and anger control. The second and third option is always the best but the first option always comes once in a while...

[LizerisCnh]

As a Role Play Gamer, I typically don't play games for fun. I'm more interested in unlocking the story and maximizing stats. If there were ever to be a console RPG that would enable gamers to engage in arena battles, I'd be very interested. Of course the game would have to be robust enough so that there can actually be countless techniques and approaches. I look forward to the day.

As a side hobby, I'm a competitive gamer. It isn't unusual to see me arcade sharking Capcom, SNK, and Namco titles or playing Nintendo party games with buddies. I find it fun, but it isn't the game that I'm enjoying, it's the act of playing with friends. It adds a new depth to friendship. For example, I was a Final Fantasy XI beta tester, but I was bored. I've recently been invited to join some friends in it, I'm excited to do so. As they've described it, the spend more time playing around and exploring as a group than they do battling. They'd rather play Hide & Seek than go level their characters. I find that so adorable.

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

I've always played videogames for the sheer pleasure involved in doing so, and to be honest I don't think there's any other reason for playing them. I agree with James point that there are of course different levels of satisfaction when you play a videogame. For myself the sheer sense of accomplishment when I finished [b]Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time[/b] was one of the most fun gaming moments I've had in a long time, even if the ending was a little dodgy. Other games such as [b]GoldenEye 64[/b] are just a kind of a hectic mad kind of fun that you look back on and laugh in nostalgia, at least I do.

When it comes to tournaments or games where you're playing over the Internet I think fun departs a little, not a huge amount but you're playing to beat someone else and that's what you focused on. Before I used to play [B]Age of Empire II[/B] over the Internet and I can safely saw that I was so consumed with annihilating my enemy it wasn't all that fun an activity. However I did feel great satisfaction in destroying a particularly resilient enemy as well as a sense of respect for them.

When it's boiled down I think games are played to be fun even if it's not fun in the traditional sense, there's a difference between enjoying a game while your playing it and the sense of accomplishment when you finish it.[/size]