Amount of time it usually takes to know this game aint for you. (poll)

Doomsayer · July 2005

I ask you, the good people of the MMORPG persuasion, to solve an arguement for me.

How much time do you think is a good average amount of time to give a game a chance to impress/grow on you before you decide it isnt for you? On average. Don't think of just one game that totally sucked or was completely awesome from the beginning for you. But on average throughout all of your MMORPG experiences.

Supernerd · July 2005

This isnt a joke either
10 minutes

Lanmoragon · July 2005

For me it happens in either of two ways. It can happen in the first hour for me. This usually doesnt relate to an MMORPG that isnt already know as a pile of crap. The second way it happens is usually before I get to level 20 or 30, which can take a few weeks. Usually by this time I have seen the type of gameplay that I will be experiencing and if I think it sucks, then I quit.

ZivaDomini · July 2005

I've actually known within minutes. I remember one game, I just turned it on, and while making my character thought "Wow, this just feels...off." Then when I got into game and started to actually play it felt horrible. I still can't put my finger on it.

Btw said game has been cancelled and pretty much no longer exists. Apparently I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

Usually just a few hours, though.

spookytooth · July 2005

Originally posted by Supernerd
This isnt a joke either
10 minutes

Same here.
It doesnt take long to realize that the game is just another piece of crap and is exactly the same as all the rest. There all the same anyway, its pathetic.

Malachi1975 · July 2005

You left the most viable option of all out of your poll. "Long before I buy it". I can generally tell if I am going to enjoy a game or not just by following it's conception and growth. Sure, there's been the occassional title to either surpirse me or do a 180 and let my expectations down. Generally speaking though, I can tell long before I buy the game.

I have a pretty strict rule about demos and games too. While I understand that the demo is not always the same as the finished product I like to get some idea about the games actual feel ( not to mention how it reacts with my machine ) before I invest in it. I believe that game companies that don't offer any form of "trial" or "demo" generally have something to hide. Just my personal belief.

D0ZeR · July 2005

There are some games where yes in a couple of hours you can tell if you will like it or not. But normally with those games I can tell just from web site. I always give a game at least 3 to 4 weeks to see if the game will do it for me. Either way within the 30 days I can tell.

MouseHaxs · July 2005

Whenever the free trial is up ::::01::

zoey121 · July 2005

i agree with above poster, some you can tell by web site, it is not the game for you,

some you try a demo or a free trial and there were a few i tried that lasted less then 1 hour, and there are some you have enjoyed for over a long period of time, but there are so many changes, the changes just do not sit well and know it is time to move on and let go.

i have always admired the folks that got mad stated why they were angry and able to leave

accordingly, and find something else right away to dwelve into..........

Anofalye · July 2005

Well, it vary a lot.

It depend on how much info you can get about what matter for you on the game prior playing it. Such info is something you may not even know you are looking forward it with great importance.

I didnt play half the MMORPGs out there and I know they are not for me without even trying them. It took me 2 weeks to know DAoC was not for me, while it took me a year to realize the same with EQ. A 15 hours period was enought for me to realize WoW was not for me, but it came after EQ.

*shrug* A MMORPG will have a much harder time to keep me interested if it is not for me then when it was a new genre. Now at the first spot of a raiding enforcement, I quit. I rather PvP then raid. And I dont bother to PvP in this gamestyle.

Reading from the devs is enought to know if I will like or not the game, before I even try it, at least on the ''game system'' aspect, the technical would take...a few minutes to asset! Without the possibility to read from the devs, then it would take a long time, since what matter to me is in the ''End Game''. Some folks would say I could blindfolk myself and enjoy until that end game, but the fact is it matter to much for me, it change the taste and how I appreciate the game, the end game leave a lasting taste...and it is the only reason I play...even if I dont spent 5% of my time in the end game and stop playing upon reaching it.

pyros98 · July 2005

First impression is everything...

If I can't get motivated to play in the first two hours to play further...then there is no reason for me to force myself to try and enjoy a game. Enjoyment should come naturally and flow from the game the moment I start playing. A good example of this was WISH...a game that I was looking forward to. But then I got into the open beta, and I can tell you I was not impressed and the game just felt all wrong. I could make myself continue forward with testing it, and I was not surprised when they didn't launch. To the Beta nazi's, yes I did post my griefs to the devs.

eschient · July 2005

Only a few hours. There's been one or two that I didn't even get as far as entering the game, the character customization was so bad that there was no way I was going to be able to stand it. But usually within a few hours I have a good feel for the gameplay and what I'd be getting into. That's assuming that I don't get turned off by the information on the website and other player's reviews/comments.

Cenn · July 2005

I normally give a game a couple of days..

If i get a game im all excited about, i often overlook some things in my first game session... after a good few hours of playing, i sleep on it and then play again a few days later..

If it feels stale/boring on second try, then its not for me.

scaramoosh · July 2005

First min

If i don't like the way it plays and feels i'll unistall it, like DAOC the cameras made me quti after the first min

tricon · July 2005

It would be the first couple of hours. But mostly it will depends from the feel of the game.

ste2000 · July 2005

Generally 5 hours.
But I keep playing it for a couple of weeks, just in case I was wrong

spizz · July 2005

well, i cant say this global you have to classify..

the first minutes i decide if i like the design, movement & controlls, characters and short overview about gameplay..

the second decision takes about some hours to some days, i decide here more about gameplay and game depth, if the game can hold me for longer or not.

if i like a game the first minutes it doesnt mean that i will play it for longer, i.e. after trial phase...

altogether with this type of decisions i found maybe from almost more than 50 mmorpg only 4-6 i like and really only maybe 1-2 i could play for longer than only a couple of days or weeks.

its just that simple, but the diversification of mmorpgs is so rare that most of the games just fail in my opinion or are just another copy with just different colours. if you really tested a lot of the games you will really see quick how grey looks the landscape of mmorpg games and his fantasy or creative ideas about gaming. i would say there is still hope for the market but if they gameplay in general dont change a lot people will get tired if the same gameplay style mmorpgs enter the market like years before, iam already tired of most of the games and when i hear about new betas or releases with the almost same game concept ...uhm yes better i do some sport or read a book.

mmmorpgs can be very addictive but when u tried some already for short periods or beta tested a lot you know almost all games, there is not much creativity on this market still...

shae · July 2005

Well for me, whether I stay with a game or not is based on whether I get an emotional reaction and feeling to the game in question. The game has AT BEST just a few hours to establish this and if it doesn't, then why bother staying.

fisherc · July 2005

Depends on the game.

Released games that are professionally done usually take awhile to adjust to. Everyone has their favourite/first MMORPG that they've grown on and it will determine their experience with new MMO's according to it's similarity to their favourity/first MMO. I'd say it takes about a week to adjust to the new setting and then 3 weeks to fully determine whether the game is for you because at 1 month you should be far enough into the game to understand how the rest of your character's career will play out. So for professionally developped games, I'd say one month, Those who say less than one month often don't consider the entirety of the game or don't properly pre-filter their game choices. However, in some cases it can be that simple. even after pre-filtering your options.. like shadowbane, it meets all of your characteristics of what you are looking for in a game: Meaningfull Alliances, Guilds, Treaties, Combat, PvP, Politics and is touted as a massive pvp game only to find out that it's a point and clicker after you buy it. And character control is the #1 most important thing for PvP, point and click doesn't do it.

Pre-Filtering is an important process and many people who buy impulsively skip it and it's a grave mistake and leads to people buying/trying games and dropping them in less than one week. You should be choosing games that you think you'd like by asking questions that are important to yourself and how you like to experience gameplay in an MMO.

For example my pre-filter questions are: (I've never found a game that fully met all of them yet)

Is the PvP meaningful?(The harsher the PvP system, the better.)
Is the Character control system responsive and immersive?
Does Random Player Killing (Murder) have a negative consequence? either imposed by the game creators(Eg: Character 'A' kills Character 'B' unlawfully(murder), Character B's guild is then able to kill Character A without consequence or reprecussion)
Is the Guild System Meaningful?(NOT just a name over your head... like WoW and many other games make it out to be.)
Are players able to 'control' any part they want of the map?(leads to fighting over resources and fun gameplay politics)
Can outlaws take over a town and hold onto it(in the more extreme pvp it would mean actually attacking the building/possible destruction of the city), giving the lawful players a goal to take the city back?
Is the PvE environment amusing when there's no PvP action?
Are the obtainable items diverse and have variance? (EG: An Iron Dagger could be anywhere from 1-3 damage to 3-8 damage depending on it's quality)
Is character Level not the only determinant in PvP? can a few level 30's still take out a level 60? Level's should not be the only thing that makes you stronger....
etc...

The if you answer about 60-75% of your own pre-filters YES then it's likely to be a game you'd at least somewhat enjoy.

ianubisi · July 2005

I usually can tell in a couple of hours, but I give it a few days to try other race/class/skill combinations. Sometimes the mechanics of a particular class/skillset can be a downer.

daeandor · July 2005

Okay, I see that many say a less than an hour, but I say a week or two. The only reason that happens to me is because I *never* try a game I don't think I will like and it takes me a week normally to get to a point where I really know if I am going to continue.

Some of the better designed games like CoH, WoW, GW, and EQ2 took about 1-2 months before I realized the content was not going to keep me entertained. Note also that once I cancel an account it is not uncommon for me to revisit a game after they have had major patches and upgrades to see if they are worth investing time in for me.

Dis_Ordur · July 2005

Character creation and the tutorial is all you need to experience in whether a game is good for you or not... For example, I purchased Matrix Online (mine as well have set $50.00 on fire) and the character creation was absolutely horrible, and the tutorial immediately revealed how horrible MO is... The character movement is sloppy and bug ridden... Even a diehard Matrix fan who has played other MMO's could never look at someone with a straight face and say "MO is a really fun and high quality game!"....