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?
bunimomike
Fascinating article, Greg. Firstly, you’re not alone. You’re just shifting demographics due to changes in circumstance. Same happened for me with my ex. She had two children and I didn’t really have time to game. I also noticed that I didn’t have much mental energy to game even when I did have the time so it was pretty much a chill-out game of Plants Vs Zombies on the PC. However, when the relationship finished, I bounced back into gaming properly and dived into a decent-sized game with hours of fun (namely: inFamous).
Sure, we have things to juggle around but it really depends on where gaming fits into all of that. Is it the first thing you reach for or does it have to wait as there’s that footie game you wanted to watch as well as a game of darts down the local with a few friends.
The one thing TSA has taught me is that there are some very, VERY committed gamers here. Possibly who should be committed themselves. :-) However, there’s room for everyone and these short bursts or day long sessions will only continue to diversify as gaming becomes more accepted as a hobby amongst all ages.
bunimomike
Also, I’ve found a game is as much fun as I have time for whether it’s an hour or an afternoon session. Then again, that depends on the game itself and whether there’s much repetition. I’ve noticed I can only manage a chapter per session for Rain. It’s just not resonating with me completely but a chapter at a time is palatable.
Greg Turner
Thanks :) Glad to see I’m not alone, judging by all the comments!
You make some great points about how gaming slots into your life for different periods of time. Gone are the days of my all night PES sessions, although I don’t miss them much if I’m honest.
It’s cool that developers can cater to such a varied market in terms of playtime, I imagine it must be difficult to get the pacing right for every type of gamer.
LeftyFlip
I find my myself in the situation where, up until very recently, I lived on my own. A general lack of interest in television meant that video-games quickly became my preferred leisure-time activity; I thought nothing of firing up my PS3 as soon as I got home from work and ploughing 4-6 hours per night (20-30 hours per week) into whatever I happened to being playing at the time.
However, I’ve just moved in with my non-gaming girlfriend. Consequently, I’ve seen my play-time cut significantly. I probably average about 10-hours a week at this point–the remote-play feature of the PS4 & Vita has helped somewhat, but that’s quite a shift. Long gone are the days of sinking 500+ hours into ‘Battlefield’, or sitting down and finishing a game in one sitting. I used to love doing that.
As far as game lengths are concerned, I’ve always preferred shorter play-times (6-10 hours). Like you said, I’ve often found that longer games have suffered from pacing issues–some more than others. Plus, now that I don’t have the same amount of time to play that I used to, the prospect of sticking 60-hours into something like ‘Grand Theft Auto’ or ‘Skyrim’ means that, potentially, it would take me nearly two months of real-world time to complete some longer games. I love those kind of games but that kind of time just seems inconceivable to me. That said, I’ll take whatever time I can get these days and make the most of it. Interesting read, Greg.
double-o-dave
I probably only play about 4-5 games a year as I’ll spend the best part of a year playing the same Battlefield game online. Seeming I work Mon-Fri daytime, if I don’t go to the pub in the evening I’ll usually fire up the PS3/PS4 around 8pm then stupidly end up playing BF ’til about 2am.
When I do finally play a single player campaign game I want I’ll usually get through it in about 3-4 sittings then it’s back to my BF routine. The only games (single player campaign) I’ve played in about the last year is ‘Max Payne, The Last of Us, GTAV & AC Blackflag. In fact I think I started The Last of Us on a Friday night & finished it Saturday midday. GTA V was similar as I started that on a Thursday night and think I did the allnighter thing through til early hours Sunday lol
As I didn’t enjoy BF3 that much I don’t think my PS3 was turned on for about 6 months until I found another game I liked. The only thing what eats into potential gaming time is the pub & if I’m pulling about some bird at the time.
double-o-dave
Also, like Leftyflip said above, I have no interest in TV which is why I sunk well over 700hrs into BFBC2. Unfortunately I think my Guitar playing will begin to suffer as my poor Les Paul hasn’t been touched since the build-up and release o the PS4.
Greg Turner
That’s interesting – did you think the pacing was ok in Last of Us and GTA V?
Or do you think you just get so caught up in whatever title it is that you’re happy to just go through non-stop?
As an aside have you played BF4 yet? What do you think of it?
double-o-dave
I thought the pacing was a bit slow at the start with The Last of Us, but once you meet Ellie I got more into the storyline and the pacing didn’t become an issue. I find it hard to get gripped into a game, it’s only Naughty Dog games, GTA and the odd Assassins Creed games that get my attention. Once I’m into the game I can’t leave them alone & feel compelled to finish it as in, “one more level… ooh its getting late… one more level… sh*t, it’s 4am… one more level… Might as well finish it now”.
I’m playing BF4 multiplayer at the moment, I haven’t even touched the single player campaign. FPS single player campaigns don’t seem to interest me anymore as the story lines never grab me.
I’m enjoying BF4 online a hell of a lot more than BF3. Its seems more like BFBC2 which I couldn’t get enough of.
Hmmmmm…I never really gave this much thought but it appears that most games where I play through the single player campaign are from the 3rd person view, then when it comes to online it seems to be from the 1st person.
Jones81
Gametime for me is never a concern as I don’t have a partner or kids, I actually broke up with my ex partly because of gaming too much so maybe I have a problem. Work full time though in a very stressfull job which often means I’m too burnt out for much gaming in the evenings, god knows what I’d be like if I had to manage family life aswell!. I also have very bad OCD and anxiety issues which affects my gaming habits and how long I spend gaming, I often spend 30 mins or more trying to decide what to play!, my compulsive tendencies also mean I feel I HAVE to buy every game I like the look of, and then get anxious when I haven’t got time to play them all. usually only play for 2-3 hours at a time except from the rare occasion a game completley grabs me- last time that happened was with Skyrim
Recently finished Killzone shadow fall which was an absolute nightmare even on normal, felt like a real endurance test and I was questioning what I was carrying on for, theres some very ‘cheap’ section in terms of difficulty in that game (or I’m just crap). I’ve just bought Doki Doki universe as it’s a very relaxing experience and should be good game to play at the end of a long day, or when my anxiety is bad
I often read about games quite obsessively, I often wonder if I enjoy that more than actually playing
double-o-dave
I don’t know whether it gets any better or not but I traded KZ SF in after about an hour of play, it was already seeming like a bit of an endurance test. I didn’t enjoy the little of what I played in the multiplayer either. It just seemed like running around in circles firing a gun which is why I only play ‘Rush’ when I play BF as you have to defend or attack objectives so the whole experience doesn’t seem pointless & serves a purpose. Even with BF4 which I love, I don’t bother playing Conquest as I just think running to a flag, then running to another flag, then back to the other flag is pointless and I’m not getting anywhere. At least on the Rush mode you know the general direction from where the enemy is attacking etc.
Jones81
Meant the sp specifically. Really want to get in to bf4 but everytime I try mp im completely overwhelmed and just dont know how to play it properly, its insane- theres shit going off in every direction!
any tips for a begginer
ps think ive spent too much time playing cod and being funneled down corridors lol
double-o-dave
This is why I mainly like Rush mode. You’ve both got different bases either side of the main objective, so whether you’re defending or attacking the objective even though you can be surrounded you still know the general direction of where the enemy is coming from. To be fair, when I first started playing BFBC2 I was quite new to online play & although people moan, I used to camp a lot just til I got to grips with what the hell was happening and the maps. The weapon system seemed confusing this time around but it’s pretty simple when you get your head around it. I think you’re on my friends list so I’d join you on there but I won’t be on it much ’til Xmas as it needs my full concentration & my mums flown over from abroad for a couple of weeks which is very distracting. I even bought a monitor for the new PS4 so she can watch the TV and doesn’t annoy but I can’t concentrate whilst hearing the TV in the background. I need a decent pair of headphones. I’m using the time to complete Assassins Creed.
Jones81
Ok sounds good, I dont even know how to get good teamwork going really so some help would be good!
on a seperate note im quite enjoying the sp, it looks incredible. I find myself gawping at textures and all the particle effects which usually ends in me dying lol
Aran Suddi
Working 35 hours a week at my normal job then helping out with TSA has massively how I play games. Most nights I’m lucky to get a couple of hours in before bed and some days I just have time to play.
I miss free time.
ArrebatoTarugo
Very interesting article.
Like others here, mi life has changed from single to having partner to having children, and my gaming time has gone from 40+ hours a week in 4+ hours stretches to 10+ hours a week in 10+ minutes stretches.
I feel that the games are repetitive now than a few years ago but I don’t think is related to my gaming habits, I think the games are getting more repetitive. (All the maps are getting bigger and the number of enemies larger, but the variety is just the same or similar. )
One thing though is that I think games are design for playing hours at the time. For me that is very clear with the checkpoints. I was playing Blood Dragon a few weeks ago and it was so hard to go through the main missions as they only are saved when you finish them. I got so annoyed when I had to repeat the same mission a few times in a row.
The feature to pause the game and go to standby is not working on PS4, isn’t it? I think I have tried a few times and it does restart the game when it wakes up.
Greg Turner
No sadly that isn’t working yet. You’ve also hit on one of my personal bugbears with games, poor checkpointing. I agree with you, I hate it when you have to start something right from the beginning when you die/fail.
I think that’s fine in a specific ‘nightmare/hard’ mode but for those of us that just want to enjoy the game it can make some parts a real slog!
KrustyTClown
A common theme occurring here. As a dad of 2, game time is hugely limited these days. As some people say above if there’s a great game I’m playing such as Uncharted etc I’ll try and throw a few late nights of 1-2 hours at a time and try and get through it.
Am currently playing Bioshock Infinite and am around 4 hours in, but such is the life of a family man, I haven’t picked up a controller other than to put a Toy Story DVD on for the kids in over 2 weeks.
Online play is a big one for me, Killzone is a favorite I like nothing more than getting on line with a few friends and teaming up for a few hours carnage, but it’s just a bit difficult to get on when you’re a working dad with a non-gamer wife who shares a lot of the same TV interests as me so many evenings are spent catching up on TV episodes etc
Short sharp bursts of games work well for me these days, chapters are the norm, 2 chapters then bed…. YAWNZ!
wonkey-willy
i can go all night!
depends on what game and what shift I’m on.sometimes on lates when i get in i can sit down with a couple of cans and play well into the night.
the last lengthy session i had was Friday night.the missus was out on a girly night.put the kids to bed and cracked on with prototype 2 next thing i knew it was 2am and Cinderella was back home..
double-o-dave
Thats sounds like it could’ve have been a close shave… I take it you managed to get Cinderella out the back before your missus returned home?
double-o-dave
What is going on lately with my English?!!! It must be something to do with writing these comments whilst working.
stueeeee
I’ve got a 15 month old and since havin Her I get maybe an odd hour every other daytime and a couple hours at night when I get home from work sometimes.
I am guilty of playing a few ‘chapters’ here and there of 5 or 6 games at a time, therefore I have a shelf of games unfinished, and sometimes struggle with controls when I next put it on! I did play gta v and beyond through but over quite a few little chunks at night.
I refuse to get ps4 til I have cleared the backlog! Maybe when little one goes to school….
DividSmythe
As most others I look after 2 magnificent children I find it hard to get game time even though I only work part-time I doa fair bit of training and attending appointments. I geta day here and there where I can play for about 4 hours but that’ll be once a week. I dud used to play for around 6 Hours a day back in times of unemployment. I’m happy to get a hour or so on some nights.