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People Don't Understand Games
TheHatter
Member Posts: 2,547
I've noticed this for awhile, but it wasn't until last week that it really hit me how ignorant many people are about what a game actually is. I've known that alot of people really don't have a strong concept of what game mechanics are and what an engine in is, but I never really knew it was this bad.
Last week, I got into an argument with this guy about God of War and Star Wars: Force Unleashed. Basically, it came from me mentioning to someone else that they are basically the same game, just with different stories and different graphics. (Both fun though)
The argument, was basically me trying to explain to him that I wasn't talking about what they looked like, but how they played and the underlying mechanics of the two.
He literally said:
"I'm not talking about graphics. Where, in God of War, does Kratos shoot lightening bolts out of his hands? How is that the same?"
And I literally facepalmed. I honestly couldn't help it, it was just an involuntary reaction. I mean in the same breath, he completely contradicted himself and didn't even realize what he was saying. Now, this is a guy who probably plays more games than I have ever thought about playing and it's pretty much his life. Now, I'm 26 and he is about 21-23ish, so we weren't high school kids having an argument.
Has anyone else ever ran into any similar situations either in person or online? Is this becoming a more and more common thing among gamers today? Do gamers, generally not have any idea that some of the games they play are exact replicas of other games that they've played? I wouldn't put it past alot of developers, to completely copy a game, replace graphics, and replace the words in the storyline and release it as a new ground breaking game. I wouldn't put it past any of them at all, they don't care and people don't see it. I mean, a game where there was basically no programming differences at all.
I seem to find it alot when people debate on whether or not a game is a WoW clone on this site. They completely misunderstand the meaning in one direction or another and the only way to explain yourself, is to basically explain every little detail in full.... which is an extremely time consuming task and it tends to get a bit old after awhile.
I came to find out later, I didn't now it at the time I was just talking about the basic gameplay, but Force Unleashed isn't just a clone of God of War.... it basically is God of War with different graphics. It actually uses a licensed God of War engine. lol Some things were probably modified slightly, ofc, but still essentially the same game.
Edit:
I'm not knocking either game, I actually like them both quite a bit.
Comments
He was obviously talking about the "lightning bolt" skill thats built into the engine. Just being able to turn that switch on or off takes a 4 year degree at least and years of experience. Give the guy a break.
welcome to reality, more than 90% of people playing games got no idea about games they actually play and there are just driven by marketing and nothing else, they dont have a personal opinion.
Their best argument is, woo x game was good, it was cool...
And then i ask why there are shity games outside that sell copies...
Now, if i want to kill 90%(not only the gamers part) of human population i will be a bad blood thirsty criminal??
I really do not care about the "underlying mechanics" as long as they operate correctly. Really, I enjoy learning how to play the game with others and the need to "be better than" or "smarter than" does not fit into the game for me. If that makes me ignorant, well than, sticks and stones may break my bones...but whips and chains excite me.
Yeah I meet people like this all the time. In fact, I can't avoid them. I call them every day, normal people. Most people are very dumb. It's just how it is.
Bah, it's not just video games. It works for every damn subject. You can't compare 2 similar things without someone trying to prove you wrong. It's really frustrating.
I've ran into the Echelon of moronic thought before. Welcome to a world of idiots. The cool, blue world of deception...and the reason they are idiots is because rather than spend the first 20 years of their life with studying, experience accumulation and learning...They did so playing games and running a life with nearly zero motivation. Welcome to the internet, the ultimate time-killer. ^_^
Gaming does help in meeting people but it can only go so far before reaching a limit. ^_^
I wouldn't really blame it on the internet. I mean, look where you are posting!
That said, I blame it more on the fact that a lot of gamers like the one noted by OP simply don't bother to look or understand the game beyond a certain point. There's a reason why companies keep releasing the same thing over and over again, even if it's the exact same thing, and it's because it works. Re-skins everywhere, sequels of the same thing with no improvement, etc. Hell, people buy that new NFL game every year just for a roster update.
You really can't ask too much from the general mass-market audience, or you'll end up debating something where, even if you are right, you can never win.
Anytime I mention an MMO with my best group of friends I instantly get labeled something along the lines of "Go play your D&D fag". So yes, on a weekly basis, I know your pain. If it's not Madden, it's lame apparently.
EDIT: I understand this wasn't exactly on topic, but simply hinted around it.
I do have constant arguements with some of my online buddies in regards to the similarities/differences in many online games. I won't go into detail like you did to save me froming writing a wall of text, but lets just say it pertains to Diablo 2 and other games in the constant "Is it an MMO debate."
i understand his frustration, I generally have a better play experience with intelligent people than the people he mentions. Like the random heroic i was doing in wow, we had 2 people down, i was healer and the tank just kept on plowing ahead while i'm rezzing, then gets pissed when I don't heal him cause he is way ahead of the entire team trying to solo the dungeon. He and the one other guy alive just cusses me and quits the dungeon. Intelligent people tend not to act that way, though they sometimes can.
Sometimes but rarely people just dont get the point of the post. Typing doesnt add inflection like talking does.
I try to use italics and bold to emphisize the main point of a sentance. But Im still loth using it as much as I should.
"I understand that if I hear any more words come pouring out of your **** mouth, Ill have to eat every fucking chicken in this room."
To be fair to Joe Public, games are actually very complicated things and code etc and all that stuff with numbers can look like a lot of mumbo-jumbo and put people off ! Marketing spiel really does not help also. Additionally ppl probably put their "entertainment head" on when playing games and like not having to think too deeply about Mario & co.
. That said, as others have said, a lot of situations, not just games, involve a lot of talking at cross-purposes most of the time. Eg there's thread comparing or more accurately, trying to rank which dynamic content is better Rift of gw2 let alone actually collating all the available information or propounding adv/disadv for each and generally exchanging information or views at this early stage... zzzz
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Diablo 2 isn't an MMO.
Yup, had these conversations plenty of times. Halo: Reach multiplayer comes to mind. I've got friends who are sold that it's soooooooooooo much different than Halo 3.
I almost wish games had never gotten this popular and they were still for us "geeks". I miss RPGs, to be honest.
I'm so adding that quote in my signature!
I tried to look at the origin of thie quote, and the only thing I found is that it's apparently from Bob Covino, although I have no clue who he is, nor does Google seem to know.
Yeah, I cant remember where I read it. I want to say it was a book, Guardians of the Flame series I think.
Had a bunch of great and sometimes snarky quotes at the begining of the chapters.
"I understand that if I hear any more words come pouring out of your **** mouth, Ill have to eat every fucking chicken in this room."
@MadnessRealm
I will give you an example.
You joined these forums in 2009 and have 1500 - 1600 posts. I joined in 2005 and have 200 - 300 posts. Now I am not calling you a severe case, but there are plenty of people who say "I have a life" and their life is having 2000 - 3000 posts in 3 - 4 forums in a 1 year period.
In turn what happens, you get these people who sit in a chair for 8 - 12 hours a day, looking at their favorite forums and posting while chatting through IMs and playing their games...and they do it for years at a time. If that is what one considers life, to each their own.
@ everyone else.
The real world and the Online world do have a reflective contrast I would love to point out. In the Online World people get mad other's can not understand the games they play....and are quick to snicker at people who can't pick up a game in a few hours. In the real world, people get mad at people who don't get involved in the latest "anti-social/social" mechanism.
I live in a city where anywhere you go, the majority are spaced out and shouting on their cell phones. When they are not using cell phones, they are either wearing an MP3 player or a radio (those still exist). If I walk around a college campus, coffee shop or anywhere with a table, you find people on laptops and netbooks all over the place. I go to a bus, people are either reading a book or using tablets to read books.
These are the same people who when you initiate a conversation, their reactions are slow and usually at one point tell you "oh you can find me on Facebook and (insert messenger service here)." The same people who everywhere you go, you see them texting and emailing. Spending time ignoring everyone and when it comes to study are the same people who I've warned many times to stop giving up real information in favor of the quick fix.
The average gamer does not read the manual. They expect a TUTORIAL LEVEL to learn how to play the game. They also expect a game to be "right on the level" when it comes to challenge and difficulty. The reality we see is quite often a disappointment.
What saves me, (and the reason my replies are long) is due to the fact I can type very fast, without looking at the keyboard. I can type as fast as my thoughts appear to me in my mind. There are some people I like in these forums, even though I am not so open about as to who I like and why. ^_^
I find it quite ironic that the OP is complaining that people don't understand games yet in the same post prove that he himself knows nothing about the games he uses in his example. God of War 3 and The Force Unleashed are nothing alike, just because they are of the same genre doesn't mean that they are alike. Both use a completely different set of gameplay mechanics.
And no, they don't use the same engine. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed runs on the LucasArt Proprietary engine called Ronin. God of War 3 used a completely new engine build from the ground up.