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<blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 1862301" data-attributes="member: 151">I often hear this 'video-game style of play' mentioned quite frequently, always with a deragatory air.&nbsp; I often think that the people who try use this as a broad brush to paint what's wrong with 3e haven't actually played many video games, to make that statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;Usually, this is a short-hand way of describing what is believed to be a mentality of playing the game purely as a meta-game, with death being considered an inconvienence (&quot;I've got two lives left!&quot;), the game being only viewed in meta terms (&quot;there's got to be a save point around here somewhere...the boss is coming up!&quot;) and a strong implication that the player has both a short attention span and need for instant gratification.&nbsp; Are there games and gamers like that?&nbsp; There certainly are.&nbsp; Does that describe video-gaming any more than &quot;Mazes and Monsters&quot; describes role-players?&nbsp; No, it does not.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let's look at games like, say, Silent Hill 2, about a man searching through a seemingly abandoned town filled with monsters from his subconscious, looking for clues about a note from his supposedly dead wife.&nbsp; It's slow, methodical, offers no stats to consider and is a psychological thriller with moments of genuine horror and intense drama.&nbsp; A game such as Pokemon Fire Red, on the other hand, requires a great deal of work to 'catch 'em all'.&nbsp; In fact, it's a point of pride to manage to cultivate, breed or capture certain pokemon, because it requires a significant investment of real time to do so.&nbsp; A game like Metal Gear Solid 2 or Thief is certainly more about subtlety and careful thinking than blasting away with reckless abandon.&nbsp; Knights of the Old Republic is certainly a game filled with choices that are on the same level, in some cases, as some pen-and-paper games I've played.&nbsp;&nbsp; This is not to say that there aren't many games out there that are purely about dealing out the hurt and moving on to the next battle, both RPG and otherwise.&nbsp; However, to paint with so broad a brush misses a great deal, I think.&nbsp; You might as well say that something has a board-game, parlor-game or carnival-game appeal, by the same token.&nbsp; The point being that the term video-game style of play would be like restaurant style of food.&nbsp; It can imply certain things, but isn't a terribly specific descriptor, IMHO.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="WizarDru, post: 1862301, member: 151"] I often hear this 'video-game style of play' mentioned quite frequently, always with a deragatory air. I often think that the people who try use this as a broad brush to paint what's wrong with 3e haven't actually played many video games, to make that statement. Usually, this is a short-hand way of describing what is believed to be a mentality of playing the game purely as a meta-game, with death being considered an inconvienence ([i]"I've got two lives left!"[/i]), the game being only viewed in meta terms ([i]"there's got to be a save point around here somewhere...the boss is coming up!"[/i]) and a strong implication that the player has both a short attention span and need for instant gratification. Are there games and gamers like that? There certainly are. Does that describe video-gaming any more than "Mazes and Monsters" describes role-players? No, it does not. Let's look at games like, say, Silent Hill 2, about a man searching through a seemingly abandoned town filled with monsters from his subconscious, looking for clues about a note from his supposedly dead wife. It's slow, methodical, offers no stats to consider and is a psychological thriller with moments of genuine horror and intense drama. A game such as Pokemon Fire Red, on the other hand, requires a great deal of work to 'catch 'em all'. In fact, it's a point of pride to manage to cultivate, breed or capture certain pokemon, because it requires a significant investment of real time to do so. A game like Metal Gear Solid 2 or Thief is certainly more about subtlety and careful thinking than blasting away with reckless abandon. Knights of the Old Republic is certainly a game filled with choices that are on the same level, in some cases, as some pen-and-paper games I've played. This is not to say that there aren't many games out there that are purely about dealing out the hurt and moving on to the next battle, both RPG and otherwise. However, to paint with so broad a brush misses a great deal, I think. You might as well say that something has a board-game, parlor-game or carnival-game appeal, by the same token. The point being that the term video-game style of play would be like restaurant style of food. It can imply certain things, but isn't a terribly specific descriptor, IMHO. [/QUOTE]

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