Games must be a nightmare to develop when you think about it. Aside from the general cost and sheer volume of work, one thing I’ve always wondered about is how developers deal with pacing. The individual habits and variation in time people spend playing per session is just so different person to person.
Usually when producers make films or TV shows they know they need to create a set amount of content to fit within a certain time frame. With games it’s different as developers need to cater for people that will play an entire 10 hour campaign in one sitting and folks like me, who play everything in small bite-sized chunks. It must make pacing an issue, although usually they have chapter markers to split the content up.
I guess it’s not much different to people binge-watching an entire TV series, although usually a series will have individually wrapped epsiodes with small stories that are resolved per episode and an over arching story that runs through the series. The closest I can think of that I’ve played in the games world is The Walking Dead, which had self contained episodes, or possibly Beyond: Two Souls, which doesn’t play out chronologically but is broken into lots of clearly marked chunks of gameplay.
Since I had children my gaming time has been reduced to a few hours of an evening and I guess that has made me more selective in how and what I play. I fell into the routine of playing offline for an hour then online for an hour.
That suited me perfectly as I could make progress in whatever story-based game I was playing and have a few rounds with friends. But a lot of people I speak to are playing games through in one sitting, which I just don’t think I could manage. Even shorter campaigns that span 5 or 6 hours would be a step too far for me. There are exceptions to the rule – games such as Uncharted 2, Borderlands 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mass Effect 2 and GTA V to name a few – where I’ve sunk 3 or 4 hours straight into a title without even realising it. But it’s a small percentage of the overall number of games I play.
Something I’ve found interesting in talking to others who have played through games in very long stretches (or even listening to people discussing games on podcasts etc.) is that they often complain of games being boring as the design is so repetitive. This is, of course, a valid point but I do often wonder whether these gamers would’ve still felt that way if they had played the game in smaller chunks – thus partly breaking up the repetition.
A lot of the time I’ve played the same games and, while they might not have set the world alight, I found them to be a lot less repetitive and more fun than the guys who playing them for long stretches.
I also think sometimes people are just in a rush to finish whatever they are playing to get to the next title on their list (I am also guilty of this, just a small chunk at a time!) rather than soaking it up and savouring it. Media in general has become more disposable and quick to use so I guess it’s no surprise games are also suffering this fate for some people. The increase in releases doesn’t help matters, especially having most of the big games stacked back to back in Q4 every year.
I feel increasingly like I am part of a dying breed of gamers, and that almost everyone else I speak to plays for 3, 4 or 5 hours straight regularly or gets through big open world games in 12 hours and are done with it. But am I alone – does anyone out there share my play style? If you do usually play for long stretches have there been any games you only wanted to play in smaller chunks?
Damigos
You are not alone
Blair Inglis
I just don’t have much time for games these days myself. I’m either so busy with TSA stuff or Uni work that I find the only time I can play them is by sleeping a few less hours than I should each night, which probably isn’t good for me.
When I’m reviewing a game, however, that gives me an excuse, and it’s more than likely I’ll play that in as few sittings as possible, as it’s something I need to get through.
Greg Turner
That’s another interesting point – if you’re reviewing something like GTA or Assassin’s Creed do you ever feel like you’re not enjoying it as much as if you were just playing it naturally and weren’t subjected to a deadline?
When I played Assassin’s Creed 3 I found the smaller side stuff to be much more fun/engaging than the main storyline but I might’ve missed a lot of that if I was playing to a deadline.
Blair Inglis
No, reviewing games doesn’t affect me now, because I can’t play games naturally any more. I’m always taking mental notes, even if I’m never writing about the thing.
But no, it doesn’t change my enjoyment due to the timing. I don’t have time for most of the side stuff anyway, and would probably do more when reviewing. In fact, playing BioShock Infinite straight through from the evening until the next morning, so I could write a review for the next day was one of my most enjoyable gaming experiences and I’m glad I did that.
mrfodder
Like yourself I have kids which breaks up gaming time. Though I usually pick one game for an evening and settle in for anything from 1 to 3 hours, whether it is online or offline.
If the kids are up I go single player (bloodless) adventures accepting that I will have to continuously pause for large period of time. Batman is great for this.
Looking forward to the PS4 update to allow sleep mode with games paused.
Greg Turner
Out of interest did you play longer when you didn’t have kids? That has meant less daytime sessions for me but even then I probably wouldn’t play more than 2-3 hours max at a time.
Youles
Interesting subject – I guess if I was a developer I’d just concentrate on making a decent game the way I wanted, and let people play as little or as much as they like. For example, I think The Last of Us is one (if not the) best game I played on PS3, however I could not play it for more than 1-2 hours at a time since the game was pretty repetitive and rather slow (story – sneaking – shooting – repeat), with the gameplay often broken up by story. I’m sure some people wanted to know where the story took them, so played it non-stop. I guess it’s down to individuals to make the right decision. Had I played it for longer I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, but that was up to me to do it the right way, for me.
Similarly, I’m really enjoying Tearaway at the moment and could happily sit through a lot of it in one sitting. But since I’m enjoying it I want it to last longer, so am sticking to one chapter at a time.
Most shooters or adventure games are repetitive so the only ones I can seem to play for a long period in one sitting are RPGs (just one more quest), online FPS or FIFA.
Youles
Also, my gaming time has significantly been reduced since having kids – not only do I have less time for myself but I’m also more tired. Wouldn’t change it for the World mind. My son who turned 3 in October can already complete the first level of Sound Shapes without any assistance.
Greg Turner
It’s great isn’t it :) My daughters 3 and 6 love Joe Danger, Katamari and Skylanders. Nice to see kids getting to grips with the controller!
Youles
Indeed…its amazing how quickly they pick stuff up! Unfortunately Felix does struggle with the size of the controller a bit lol
simplebob
Very similar situation for me – 1-3 hours gametime of an evening when I can, providing theres nothing on TV me and/or my wife wants to watch. I have a self imposed rule that the PS3 doesnt go on while my 6 year old daughter is up so game time has reduced recently. Often find it harder to get into games than I used to, with it taking a very long time to complete certain titles. Trying to complete Mass Effect (the first one) and War of the North, both of which have seemed hard work at times. Still have The Last of Us to complete, as finding it difficult to be in the right frame of mind to play it even though it is a superb game.
pdannysan13
I noticed the same since I am at med school. Sometimes I get that special Saturday where I play for a long period of time. But I cannot do that most of the time.
I have PS+ and the games are just coming and coming and coming each month and I rarely finish a title.
The weekdays are just so packed for me that I have no time. Weekends are spent with my girlfriend, taking a siesta because the week was to stressful or travelling home and back.
I want to buy a Vita this Christmas, maybe I will get more gaming time that way.
I too have become very picky when it comes to games. It’s like every game has to be really good and it feels like a big investment. It just adds stress to gaming. Which is exactly what games DON’T represent for me. Games were always the blowing off steam machine for me. Being an overweight kid in 8th grade and with a speech difficulty they were an excuse for me. Now I lost more than 60 pounds and can yell 2min straight to someone if they piss me off.
Just the act of sitting down and turning on the console feels like someting ‘big’. Immediatly the chain of to-do things comes to mind as I sit down: you can’t play for that long, you have to go and pick this and that up, you could be doing this instead…etc etc
I want to ‘rediscover’ gaming, I hope the Vita can help me with that. I also want to believe this is only a transition for me and calmer waters are in front of me, in turns of schedule. In highschool I was bored of what I was learning but now…hehe…now I miss having a fix schedule from 8-14 and having the rest of day off.
Greg Turner
I think it’s cool you have that viewpoint of games, the sheer event of firing one up. Nothing better that a game that opens and fulfills your expectations immediately :)
But I can also see how it might be annoying to have such high expectations all the time!
pdannysan13
I hope I can rediscover gaming. I am under a lot of stress these days and soon I will be travelling a lot. That is why I would really like a Vita.
mclarenrob2
I try to get the maximum time out of games that I enjoy or else it’s a very expensive few hours if you only play the main storyline and not the other things on offer
JTdangerman
Usually one to two hours at a time. Just gets to the point where in the back of my mind I’ve got other stuff to sort out; Uni work, going out or any other jobs/chores that need doing. Personally the most repetitive game for me is Fifa, was talking to a friend about this the other day and we both agreed we couldn’t play more than five or six games in a row, especially online!
The exact same with t.v shows, I naturally like to pace myself. I’ve never watched a whole season of something in one day as my schedule just wouldn’t allow it. Breaking Bad season four was done in a few days but that season was ridiculously good and no TV show will touch it for at least 5-10 years I’d say.
Only games where I’ve played more than 2+ hours at a time;
The Last of Us
GTA V
All the Uncharted games
Mass Effect
Modern Warfare 2 (Online and Offline)
The Walking Dead
Skyrim (might have done about 5-6 hrs on this one :/)
Metal Gear Solid 4
Funnily enough they’re all my favourite
games so it must be quality related!
Andrewww
With a family it is always difficult to find the time for gaming, as there is always a lot else to do. And on top of that, many of the games I like are not at all children-friendly. So, my little ones still think the machine in the corner only plays Pixar movies.
As I am playing on a beamer projecting to a full wall in our living room, I only can play when everyone else has gone to bed. This means staying up late, and sometimes sleeping a bit less.
I regularly find it difficult to stop playing a game after an hour, and end up playing 3 or more instead of 1. Recently, I’ve tried the co-op in Far Cry 3, and after the fourth round I realised it was already early in the morning, so as sad as it was, I had to quit. But it was really good fun… ;o)
(Will probably never get the last two co-op round trophies, due to the rubbish match-making in the game…).
bigchrissyc
I could easily play 5+ hours at a time. But rarely get the chance too now. Ive found that Batman Arkham Origins played much better playing for an hour or so, as its really repetative and the story isnt very exciting either. I like a game that you play for only a few hours then spend most of the day excited to carry on playing it as the story or gameplay is just that good. Skyrim was exactly this for me.
Greg Turner
I still haven’t put enough time into Skyrim – need to go back to that for sure.
zb100
I’m currently playing through Skyrim in 50 minute chunks – I’ve got my spare PS3 in the upstairs office at work, perfect for lunch hours!