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>There's another big problem right there: this isn't really true anymore for most multiplayer games. I was recently introduced to the game Rust. In chat within

by serf 4y ago

>There's another big problem right there: this isn't really true anymore for most multiplayer games. I was recently introduced to the game Rust. In chat within a server a player asked "How do I keep my base from being destroyed when i'm offline?", the answer that the crowd provided him was "Set your mobile to alert you when your base detects people near it.". It then dawned on me that there are probably quite a few players who will wake up out of a sound sleep, dash to their computers and rush to defend a virtual base from players in distant lands -- sacrificing their personal lives and sleep health not due to the enjoyment of the game, but simply because someone somewhere antagonized them in an environment they were disconnected from entirely. I can understand pulling late/all hour sessions due to a personal obsession ; game/coding/hobbies/etc. I've done that way too many times throughout my life; but the marathon represents to me a stream of enjoyment and fascination. It's tough for me to consider pulling late sessions and deriving myself from sleep as a constant response to antagonism in an always-on persistent world. I guess what i'm trying to say is that I totally agree with you; games aren't only played for fun now -- they're played sometimes in an entirely reactionary form to either gain from the current limited time event, a fear of missing out, or a fear of loss of competitive advantage -- and all of these concepts are being orchestrated by the game developers and the industry at large. I have absolutely no idea what to do about it, but I recognize the problem and absolutely agree. The move from pastimes being an entertainment value to a constant worry surely plants more asses in seats, but it feels entirely unhealthy and psychologically damaging.

omnibrain 4y ago
> I was recently introduced to the game Rust. In chat within a server a player asked "How do I keep my base from being destroyed when i'm offline?", the answer that the crowd provided him was "Set your mobile to alert you when your base detects people near it.". About twenty years ago there was this german browser game "Ogame" (It's still around, but I have no idea how it works nowadays). I was looking for my scifi gaming fix, found "Ogame", decided to try it out and encountered the o so usual game mechanics for the first time: Timers, timers timers. Everything took time. from minutes, to hours to days. I noticed on my first day, that even to have modest progress I would have to set my alarm clock at arbitrary times to start the next "process". But it gets even worse. You build your fleet and the only mechanic to not have it destroyed by random other players while you are not around is to send it travelling from one star system to another. So you had to set an additional timer/alarm clock. Not just to progress, but to avoid having all your progress taken from you.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
  That sounds like a browser version of Eve Online.
- nocoiner 4y ago
  Oh man, I remember that “game”! Ironically, I lost my fleet while I was on a plane to Germany to visit a friend doing a semester abroad over there. I logged into a computer lab at his school, bore witness to the destruction of my fleet and shrugged my shoulders and logged off that game for the last time.
JamesSwift 4y ago
It sounds like you just dont find that fun. Theres been a pretty popular online game called Utopia which is a 24/7 kingdom management game. Its been out for over 20 years and even won some Game of the Year awards [1]! You have cooldowns on things like attacking other kingdoms that are, e.g. 3 hours long. The most dedicated kingdoms used to set their alarms to get up in the middle of the night to attack other kingdoms if in a war. This was fun as a teenager / young adult. I wouldn't find this fun now. You just arent the target market, I dont think theres anything deeper needed in the analysis. [1] - https://mud.fandom.com/wiki/Utopia_(online_game) https://mud.fandom.com/wiki/Utopia_(online_game)
- joemazerino 4y ago
  Long time utopia fan here. Nice to see it represented.
  - JamesSwift 4y ago
    I havent played in quite a while. Like I said, my life now is not as conducive to that style of game. But also, the game lost a lot of appeal for me in the current day of browser automation, data aggregation, etc. That 24/7, data analysis heavy style of play is really charming/addicting if everyone is _actually_ playing and _actually_ analyzing data. But when so much of the game loop has been taken over by computers, it doesnt have the same draw. Unfortunate, but Utopia really was a great game for a group of friends back in the day. We would have to find ways to get into the library at school during the day so we could tend to our kingdoms. I still receive their "new age announcement" emails. Its an inside joke to forward them to a group chat and ask if anyone else is going to play.
antifa 4y ago
Reminds me of several "html4 games" before smart phones went nuclear. The only one I can remember the name of was "hobowars". There was a colonize planets/solar systems and a medieval variant. It was little bit fun as a novelty, plus getting top ranked in some of them promised a prize like money or xboxes. It's a lot less fun when every game does it and wants you to pay to win, and when you win you get nothing but the credit card bill.
- gnutrino 4y ago
  Hobowars was great. It was pretty funny, and random things about it pop into my mind every so often. Timehunter was another favorite of mine.
Fomite 4y ago
The day I quit playing WoW Classic was the day the guild I was in started implementing a system to wake up people using Discord alerts on their phone for world bosses spawning.

by serf 4y ago

omnibrain 4y ago

> I was recently introduced to the game Rust. In chat within a server a player asked "How do I keep my base from being destroyed when i'm offline?", the answer that the crowd provided him was "Set your mobile to alert you when your base detects people near it.". About twenty years ago there was this german browser game "Ogame" (It's still around, but I have no idea how it works nowadays). I was looking for my scifi gaming fix, found "Ogame", decided to try it out and encountered the o so usual game mechanics for the first time: Timers, timers timers. Everything took time. from minutes, to hours to days. I noticed on my first day, that even to have modest progress I would have to set my alarm clock at arbitrary times to start the next "process". But it gets even worse. You build your fleet and the only mechanic to not have it destroyed by random other players while you are not around is to send it travelling from one star system to another. So you had to set an additional timer/alarm clock. Not just to progress, but to avoid having all your progress taken from you.

P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
That sounds like a browser version of Eve Online.
nocoiner 4y ago
Oh man, I remember that “game”! Ironically, I lost my fleet while I was on a plane to Germany to visit a friend doing a semester abroad over there. I logged into a computer lab at his school, bore witness to the destruction of my fleet and shrugged my shoulders and logged off that game for the last time.

JamesSwift 4y ago

It sounds like you just dont find that fun. Theres been a pretty popular online game called Utopia which is a 24/7 kingdom management game. Its been out for over 20 years and even won some Game of the Year awards [1]! You have cooldowns on things like attacking other kingdoms that are, e.g. 3 hours long. The most dedicated kingdoms used to set their alarms to get up in the middle of the night to attack other kingdoms if in a war. This was fun as a teenager / young adult. I wouldn't find this fun now. You just arent the target market, I dont think theres anything deeper needed in the analysis. [1] - https://mud.fandom.com/wiki/Utopia_(online_game) https://mud.fandom.com/wiki/Utopia_(online_game)

joemazerino 4y ago
Long time utopia fan here. Nice to see it represented.
- JamesSwift 4y ago
  I havent played in quite a while. Like I said, my life now is not as conducive to that style of game. But also, the game lost a lot of appeal for me in the current day of browser automation, data aggregation, etc. That 24/7, data analysis heavy style of play is really charming/addicting if everyone is _actually_ playing and _actually_ analyzing data. But when so much of the game loop has been taken over by computers, it doesnt have the same draw. Unfortunate, but Utopia really was a great game for a group of friends back in the day. We would have to find ways to get into the library at school during the day so we could tend to our kingdoms. I still receive their "new age announcement" emails. Its an inside joke to forward them to a group chat and ask if anyone else is going to play.

antifa 4y ago

Reminds me of several "html4 games" before smart phones went nuclear. The only one I can remember the name of was "hobowars". There was a colonize planets/solar systems and a medieval variant. It was little bit fun as a novelty, plus getting top ranked in some of them promised a prize like money or xboxes. It's a lot less fun when every game does it and wants you to pay to win, and when you win you get nothing but the credit card bill.

gnutrino 4y ago
Hobowars was great. It was pretty funny, and random things about it pop into my mind every so often. Timehunter was another favorite of mine.

Fomite 4y ago

The day I quit playing WoW Classic was the day the guild I was in started implementing a system to wake up people using Discord alerts on their phone for world bosses spawning.