tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post2130842575285025404..comments2023-10-10T05:18:50.863-04:00Comments on The Jones Report: The Pablum EraScott C. Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584082553675139762noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-25492682988711392282011-09-12T09:42:35.373-04:002011-09-12T09:42:35.373-04:00I have mixed feelings about this very topic. I thi...I have mixed feelings about this very topic. I think that, to accommodate the "casual" market, the games have had their difficulty diluted.<br /><br />Also, I don't have as much time to spend on games as I used to. Maybe that's another factor? After going to work, picking up the kiddo, cooking dinner, chilling with the fam...<br /><br />There is not a lot of time for thumb-busters. I like to feel like I am making progress in the game that I play rather than have to chew my tongue off in frustration at having to repeat something that took a half hour to complete in the first place.<br /><br />I have mixed feelings about this - certainly a game like Gran Turismo 5 is an example of an awesomely frustrating game. But games like Assassin's Creed or Driver wouldn't be as good of an experience were they to have me start at the beginning every time that I died.Jorgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08136277099299207769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-64075980598957127052011-09-06T20:13:19.062-04:002011-09-06T20:13:19.062-04:00I find it funny you posted this and also find it q...I find it funny you posted this and also find it quite a coincidence as I was having this exact thought this past weekend: I recently downloaded Zelda II onto my 3DS, which is a game I never played back in the day, despite playing and completing most NES classics. Having completed all Zeldas on all other systems, I felt an obligation to pick it up and play this one, despite passing it over many years ago (most likely because of its odd game design compared to the original) I dominate most games and for the past 10 years thrive on online competition and dominating noobs all over the globe, I am pro. But I gotta say, this game is kicking my ass. Start game, 3 lives, onslaughts of enemies/pitfalls, dead dead dead, "GAME OVER", start back at the castle, gotta walk 10 mins back to the location on the map I was attempting to get through and try try again. Despite Zelda II pushing the limits of my frustration, and many times coming close to launching my 3DS across the room in a fit of rage, I do find the challenge bringing me back to play everyday, clawing slowly to get that immense amount of satisfaction once you do finally complete some minute goal. Like you described, without the challenge in today's games you don't have that same sense of satisfaction you used to get. I'm just sad for this generation of gamers, I'm not sure if they will ever know what us old folks/real gamers experienced. (I guess this will be my version of "I used to walk 40 miles to school" type story...)AnotherJoenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-57696135401760861932011-09-06T10:24:34.807-04:002011-09-06T10:24:34.807-04:00K.V., I think you need to start your own website! ...K.V., I think you need to start your own website! Always enjoy seeing your comments here.Scott C. Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14584082553675139762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-17766644903753484612011-09-06T00:42:42.555-04:002011-09-06T00:42:42.555-04:00Pablum, indeed. That's not to say I don't...Pablum, indeed. That's not to say I don't like the occasional de-constituted treat. But like pablum, after the first few tastes unless you're really hungry you start to grow bored. Sometimes these games feel like cheap, one-night stands-- a fun romp which you may or may not regret (or confess to) in the morning. <br /><br />It's a fine line between what is a poorly designed game in which you wander around for hours (I've literally spent hours poring over every detail in a game wondering what to do next only to discover that I'd overlooked some poorly rendered button lost in a sea of pixels) and have it spoon fed to you. There is some play in the perfect balance, sometimes you want more, sometimes you want less, and each person is ultimately different. I do worry about the deterioration of gaming as it becomes increasingly "accessible". I have a nightmare in which all games have gradually been pureed into cheap-to-produce variants of Angry Birds or Bejewelled. It's not that I think all games should be on the scale of Demon's Souls in their challenge level, but rather that I want to a range of types and challenges persist. Sometimes I do feel like a few flicks of Angry Birds, and other times I want nothing more than to be the whipping-chick at the mercy of Demon's Souls. <br /><br />When it comes to feeling good in a game, I think the best high is from honed skill and a sense of accomplishment… when I think back to some of the highs I've experienced, most of them have come from serious challenges that I've had to invest to overcome (or, as you say, to extend staving off failure). There's a limited pleasure in super simplicity, but it can't compare to say nabbing every star in Mario Galaxy, finishing an iteration of Megaman, defeating Meta Ridley or Metroid Prime, et cetera. There's hollow ego-stroking, but it can't compare to the serious ego-stroking that comes from a really great Tetris skill-fest (I play Tetris fantasizing I'm in some competition, sometimes just against my last game; that fantasy doesn't just fail miserably in games like Peggle, it makes me feel dirty). <br /><br />It would be interesting to trace the path of games through to today's often overly-palatable offerings. I wonder what that might look like if we explicitly spelled it out in games? Some of those changes were driven by the state of technology: I remember when games starting coming around that allowed you to save your progress (and not just with a 30-digit code-- codes that taught me to appreciate careful calligraphy on a whole new level after a few near, soul-crushing disasters in which I copied down my zeros and ones sloppily and had to spend the next 30 minutes trying every permutation so that I could get back to where I was in Kid Icarus). Others were driven by trying to sell more games. And perhaps even other, more interesting motivators.<br /><br />Anyhow, I digress. <br /><br />Now I should stop procrastinating and get back to prepping the orientation address for my students tomorrow. Thanks for the enjoyable read, once more! <br /><br /><br />-k.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10521973210197204413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-9872451789267691832011-09-04T16:25:33.505-04:002011-09-04T16:25:33.505-04:00Can I name my band the pablum era?Can I name my band the pablum era?stoofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-60503377455436232392011-09-04T03:36:41.606-04:002011-09-04T03:36:41.606-04:00angry birds is pretty difficult..angry birds is pretty difficult..douchenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-65642479706649279292011-09-03T19:14:11.756-04:002011-09-03T19:14:11.756-04:00I miss watching the male figures in my life get fr...I miss watching the male figures in my life get frustrated over games. Throwing tantrums (or controllers), swearing at or around me, or just dismiss the game completely and go to bed. People now just do the task repeatedly or get a walkthrough and there's no fuss. Now that irks me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-39940993968486461242011-09-02T18:27:12.458-04:002011-09-02T18:27:12.458-04:00My mom used to bust my balls when Super Ghouls and...My mom used to bust my balls when Super Ghouls and Ghosts would get the best of me and I would start punching things. Doubt that happens much anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092463760286231519.post-350217733849243612011-09-02T13:56:54.254-04:002011-09-02T13:56:54.254-04:00I may be on my own here, but I miss the simplicity...I may be on my own here, but I miss the simplicity of gaming. I'm not a big gamer but I used to be. Not sure what happened. Can't play games on my phone because it's old. I do however play some games on the computer. I don't know, sometimes I think we have gotten ahead of ourselves so fast, if you're not on top of it you get lost in it all.monicanoreply@blogger.com