Do game devs need to respect our time better? Can shorter games be better?

[LegitHyperbole]

SvennoJ said:

LegitHyperbole said:

I totally agree the last of us 2 is far too long even though it's great and kind of gets a pass but it dragged and Ragnorok is brutal because it's so long and bland at the same time unlike GoW '18 which was perfeclty sized and paced but surely you can see in the opposite direction to and see that those games are too short (if they are full price) doesn't matter about replay cause some people may not want to replay. 

First off, are you sure these games are that short on the first pkaythrough? Like I can beat Sekiro now in 4 hours but that game took me 100+ hours to beat, main + sides the first time. 

If not then how can you justify spending full price on games that short, regardless of replay. What if you were to only play it once, would you see that as a minus? People perceived value differently. I for one can't justify full price for games at all anymore even if I know I'll spend weeks on it and love it before hand and I have become obsessed with finding cheap indies that have massive fun factor that exceeds their low price but I end up spending a lot on those games cause of all the failures I come across but man, Refunct is a fun game with great replay value, infact the whole idea of the fun of the game is knowing how to beat it fast enough as it's a very simple game, even visually basic game that's 45 minutes the first run and 4 minutes at like top speed run. Yes you'll get more out of it than 45 minutes but it is priced accordingly at under 5 euro... 2.99 if I remember correctly and that's great value. To think that this could be priced at 70 euro and you'd be okay with it is mind boggling to me. 

I know I made this thread but perhaps I'm seeing the light a little when it's taken to this extreme. Last year I was so happy with Vampire Survivors releasing at 5 euro and ending up having 70 hours in it, it was so much fun and filled with content. I felt like I was stealing from the devs so I bought the DLC without any intention of playing them. 

Those are times from time to beat. Xenon 2 took me longer simply because the PC I played it on was slow lol. Which made it easier too of course. Prince of Persia was hard, took me much longer to finally beat it. However those games never put me to sleep like Ragnarok or grinding for materials and xp. Spiderman-2 also dragged on. (14 to 30 hours) Great gameplay but no desire to replay, while I loved replaying Infamous Second Son. That's already 10-15 hours and people complained it was short :/

I've always wanted a setting for games for length next to difficulty. Selecting story length instead of story difficulty. I don't want a piss easy game to enjoy the story, I want a story cut version. Reign in the enemy fodder, repetitive corridors, cull unnecessary mechanics and filler side quests. Declutter the world and map, I rather explore a more empty map with more valuable things to find than have something pop up every couple steps. Ghost of Tsushima became a drag because of all the repetitive extra content. A couple times is fun, then it becomes a chore to unclutter the map... Repairing became a drag in TW3, just an annoying mechanic. Plus I set the difficulty lower there to simplify the combat. Way way way too much loot fodder in that game.

But what if there's something important in there...

Loot drops started to feel like a punishment in TW3. You beat this area, now go clean it up :/ Am I a Witcher or a garbage collector lol.

Yet it depends on the game, Fallout 4 had a reason to collect fodder which I put to good use!


Same in TWD S&S, hoarder mode

But I did feel more like a scavenging game than horror/adventure. So many drawers and cabinets to open! At least TloU and RE8 don't let you open every single drawer and cabinet, 90% empty!


Hence I'm advocating for 'story cut' options for games. Even on the fly. You want to do more filler stuff, turn it on. You getting exhausted from all the loot and extra mechanics, turn it off. In PoE2 we now ignore most of the loot, just want to play, don't want to constantly compare and do the inventory puzzle. HZ FW I also played on lower difficulty, I never bothered with traps etc. That's my way nowadays to simplify games and remove all the bloat mechanics.

Without that available I'm replaying Tlou2 on 'story' difficulty to get through it faster. It makes for some chaotic shootouts since you're nearly invincible and have plenty ammo, which is fun too. (See how many you can take on without dying, run around round em up and shootout lol) I just can't fathom going full stealth through such a long game again. And I still didn't make it over the holidays. Although PoE2 is also to blame for that haha :) (Which is also full of bloat, but playing together is the price there, 111h on it already lol)

Games are like the extended version of LotR, plus all the extras and rewatch with commentary track. I watched all that and enjoyed it but perfectly fine with the theatrical version if ever rewatching again. We need a (optional) director's cut for games that make them shorter, more focused, more suitable for people with jobs and busy lives!

I'm at a stage in life where the value for money equation works the other way around. Time is worth more now than money. I rather spend more for shorter, more intense experiences than less for time I don't freely have to spend. Hence VR, where I still don't finish most games.

Compared to movies, $30 for a 4K blu-ray, running less than 2 hours, most I never rewatch. I could buy the cheaper blu-ray, stream it, but rather spend a bit more for the more impactful version. So $70 for a 5 hour game, perfectly fine to me, as long as it's a polished, memorable, replayable experience.

Anyway it's simple imo. If you (the publishers) want me to spend more money on games, make it possible for me to complete more games. Time is the limited factor for me. (Not saying money is unlimited, just time is more limited) As it is now, I'm also gravitating to indies, not for the price, for the shorter game lengths.

Transistor at 6 hours was perfect! I want to feel satisfied at the end of a game, wanting more. Not getting in a state where you either quit or take a long break (likely also quit) or push through to reach the end.

You make a great point about having a bloat slider, that's really smart and perhaps someday they will implement something like that, many will say it's up to you to ignore it but that's like saying there is right and wrong ways to play a game. 

However, I disagree with The Witcher 3s loot, if playing on the highest difficulty you need all that shit and to prepare master weapons you have to be Looting everything just like it is in Fallout 4 with the building. 

I fucking hate when they have empty drawers, it's happening in Alan Wake 2 and is properly annoying. 

But yes, Directors cuts need to be part of future updates like NG+ modes are. When FF7 remake finally finishes I hope for a directors cut of those three games to makes a concise experience more closely related to FF7 and by directors cut I actually mean cut, not adding stuff in like in films. Exactly to your point.