About 75% of what I play is single player. Why on Earth would I watch someone else play a game I've been looking forward to, when I can get the full experience first person. That's absolute insanity.
Why do you want the full experience?
Because that's the only way one can truly judge an interactive art form to it's fullest representation.
I can't understand why you would bother to "judge" it... After playing SO MANY video games myself... There doesn't seem to be a huge difference in the Journey to completion.. It boils down to trading time away for the designed rewards system..
So what do you really "GET" that's new at the end.. "potentially"... the story, or a new take on the story...
But the interactivity itself... I find it lame to be playing the 20th 3rd person game that's got the same mechanics with some new visuals.
You'll get no argument from me about 'same-feelness' in the industry, but the idea that you liken playing games to being like how a rat might gaining access to cheese by completing a maze seems to tell me that you don't really like playing video games.
First I must iterate that I love video-games, but there has been some growing out of
Turtle.. I don't think our perceptions are in conflict...
I am merely pointing out the fact that after having gone through enough gaming... there isn't much except the completion stat at the end, and w/e story they managed to impart..
And if THAT is what I am after... why shouldn't I just short cut it using youtube..
Well do you fast forward to the ending when watching a film, or skip to the last page when reading a book? Or rather, have someone fast forward for you really.
Then what's the point in even playing a game or saying you enjoy them? You saw the reviews and read the wiki, therefor you played the game? Or watched it through a let's play, that defeats the entire notion of what a video game is which is an interactive experience. It's hot media.
That's the way it was meant to be consumed, I agree.
But let me give you an example..
You are being taught some basic 2nd order differential solves.. eventually you can do much of it in your head..
You are given an exercise book..
If they don't ask you to show your work..
Do you bother to write out everything.. OR do you just run it through your mind... and get the solution.... and hand it in for the resultant Cookie, with the stamp that says YOU WIN...
This is how I see video games, after having played so many of them thoroughly and to completion.
Well I know a lot of designers, artists, and programmers that would be heartbroken over you outlook on video games but I don't think your in the majority with it. Have you tried slot machines?
I think many people who do not, or have stopped playing video games intuitively adapts the way I've described... Many people with large steam back logs.. I believe also demonstrate some similarities to this trend..
If machine gambling wasn't BY DESIGN forcing the player to lose, I'd probably consider it..
All that machine gambling is for is to bring money into the state governments. And it's fundamentally crooked.
Thread-derailment... I need an adult... I need an adult...
JK... I consider myself almost an adult...
The machine gambling does indeed bring money into the state.... but I don't think the mere labeling of the system as corrupt is meaningful/ useful..
It's the way it is for a reason... There is a limit to social concord because we can not give equivalent information to all the players, nor can any individual handle ALL of the information required for perfectly Rational-Play-Choices...
The corruption could instead be looked upon as the cost (inefficiencies) of joint-human-efforts...
I believe many of the strategies we've employed to combat these issues are in fact TOO SIMILAR in principle to the cause of those very issues.
You can chastise ONE GUY for doing something bad... but could you effectively do that to EVERYONE? do you have the resource to do that...
Which is why I believe Punishment "after the fact".. is mostly for show..
I really wish they would put "ethics" into early educational courses... and NOT ONLY educate the children... but the PARENTS as well, because depending on background.... it may be the case that several generations of people misunderstand what it means to live-socially.
