3 ms·

I gotta ask you, as a gamer, don't you find Clash of Clans to be... well kinda bad? I mean the tech stack behind it, with replay functionality and async multip

by seivan 11y ago

I gotta ask you, as a gamer, don't you find Clash of Clans to be... well kinda bad? I mean the tech stack behind it, with replay functionality and async multiplayer is cool together with its "Battle.net like" integration is also working great for mobile. But as a game, it isn't better than any random mod on WC3. It's essentially build, purchase crap, and attack. Sometimes they give you the false notion that anything you do impacts the game itself as you attack. You get "bombs" to drop and etc, but as a game... it's essentially just a shallow graphic layer on top of numbers. I understand you can say the same thing about most games, but somehow my brain just rips apart Clash of Clans or Boom-beach easily, while it won't treat Star Craft same way. Just needed to ask.

shostack 11y ago
Oh, 100% awful. The urge it solved for with me was the part of my gamer mind that likes to see visual progress over time from upgrading various things. Recently started playing Torchlight 2 again to get that same leveling up my appearance effect. As someone who does digital marketing for a living, I'm not only acutely aware of all the tricks they are using, but also the "shallow graphic layer on top of numbers" as you described it. Sometimes I can even visualize it kind of like Neo in the Matrix. Initially there might be some stimulus for me, but it tends to wear off quickly and that has been my big issue with finding a good long-term game to sink my teeth into. It also is incidentally the reason why Casinos hold no appeal. I tried slots once and the moment my brain registered that I didn't need to wait for the wheel to spin, and I could hit the button as quickly as I wanted to generate the results, I thought "wow, this is like a game with absolutely shitty graphics I have to keep paying for that has no skill involved." And just like that I had zero interest in Casinos. So I see all this going on in my head, but then there are things like Dungeon Robber[1] that for some reason keep attracting me back. And they literally give you the tables and such for the dice rolls as they are occurring. There is even less of a veneer of graphics on top of the numbers (although in this case I love D&D and I think it reminds me of my younger tabletop days). That is what makes a lot of this stuff insidious for those that are less self-aware. I can recognize when I'm getting the dopamine hit, and it can be fun to experience, but for people who don't see it for what it is, I can only imagine how devastating that could be. These days I find myself (with few exceptions), gravitating towards team-based games that are played in rounds (like Rocket League) that have a heavy emphasis on skill so I can pick it up, put it down, and not feel obligated to grind at all. Those seem to hit the sweet spot at the moment. [1] http://blogofholding.com/dungeonrobber/index.php http://blogofholding.com/dungeonrobber/index.php

by seivan 11y ago

shostack 11y ago

Oh, 100% awful. The urge it solved for with me was the part of my gamer mind that likes to see visual progress over time from upgrading various things. Recently started playing Torchlight 2 again to get that same leveling up my appearance effect. As someone who does digital marketing for a living, I'm not only acutely aware of all the tricks they are using, but also the "shallow graphic layer on top of numbers" as you described it. Sometimes I can even visualize it kind of like Neo in the Matrix. Initially there might be some stimulus for me, but it tends to wear off quickly and that has been my big issue with finding a good long-term game to sink my teeth into. It also is incidentally the reason why Casinos hold no appeal. I tried slots once and the moment my brain registered that I didn't need to wait for the wheel to spin, and I could hit the button as quickly as I wanted to generate the results, I thought "wow, this is like a game with absolutely shitty graphics I have to keep paying for that has no skill involved." And just like that I had zero interest in Casinos. So I see all this going on in my head, but then there are things like Dungeon Robber[1] that for some reason keep attracting me back. And they literally give you the tables and such for the dice rolls as they are occurring. There is even less of a veneer of graphics on top of the numbers (although in this case I love D&D and I think it reminds me of my younger tabletop days). That is what makes a lot of this stuff insidious for those that are less self-aware. I can recognize when I'm getting the dopamine hit, and it can be fun to experience, but for people who don't see it for what it is, I can only imagine how devastating that could be. These days I find myself (with few exceptions), gravitating towards team-based games that are played in rounds (like Rocket League) that have a heavy emphasis on skill so I can pick it up, put it down, and not feel obligated to grind at all. Those seem to hit the sweet spot at the moment. [1] http://blogofholding.com/dungeonrobber/index.php http://blogofholding.com/dungeonrobber/index.php