Gameplay and game development has really changed over the years. It used to be that almost any game you could spend countless hours trying to solve puzzles, mysteries, and how to defeat certain enemies and bosses. Now a days you can play about 80% of the games that take less than 6 hours to beat. And I really think boss fights have gotten a ton easier in most games. Can I get an Amen?
I also think though that the most recent crowd of gamers are used to games being more fast paced and hint filled now. Think of it from this point of view:
1. Developers and publishers are all about making profit. The best way to do that is make the game as enjoyable as possible with the least amount of programming possible so that it can get out the door fast and earn the company profits on its sales. Many game developers rely more on faster and faster production of their games. They very rarely now make a game that have so much encapsulated into one gaming experience.
2. Most gamers now want a game that they can run through quickly to get the experience, defeat a big boss at the end and complete it within a few days so that they can move on to the next experience in a different game. People are also much more fast pace now and it relates into gaming as well. Most gamers just simply want a quick compelling story....I think this is where the definition between totally hardcore gamer and Casual/somewhat hardcore gamer gets blurry. Some of the Major hardcore gamers want to play games that have tons of exploration, adventure, unlocks, and time consuming. They want to be totally immersed in a game for months like it used to be back in the 80s and early 90s when all tasks seemed to take more time. Gaming now days has a much larger casual crowd and most games have just naturally gotten shorter.
So in all it seems todays world is more fast paced, and there are a lot of gamers that want their games to be fast paced so that they can experence the next adventure in a new game quickly. I for one have likes for both types of games. I love the in depth games that force you to solve puzzles and complete tasks on your own. It makes me feel like I have accomplished more and overcome more. But also I like to play some games that take me quickly through a story and quickly comes to an end, because I want to experience other games that have fresh stories and new challenges. Its a mix of both for me.
