7 ms·

People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want to experience alternate realities. That's why Doom/Quake resonated. People want these simulations

People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want to experience alternate realities. That's why Doom/Quake resonated. People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible.

throwup238 2y ago
> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. What do you mean by that? Do you mean in the context of that era? IME people what games to be fun because every single genre has a multitude of conceits to make the game playable and technologically feasible. The ones that eschew (most of) those conceits like ARMA and flight simulators are very niche or like Dwarf Fortress and Factorio, complexity is the point (which requires its own conceits to be feasible). People want to ride into battle and swing swords and conquer civilizations, not manage the intricacies of military campaign logistics and foraging operations and tax collection.
- geraldwhen 2y ago
  People want both of those things, possibly different people.
- mathgeek 2y ago
  > People want to ride into battle and swing swords and conquer civilizations, not manage the intricacies of military campaign logistics and foraging operations and tax collection. I assure you that there is a niche market of folks who absolutely love the latter. My father was in the military logistics group.
- tekla 2y ago
  You clearly have never played Hearts of Iron. Basically Factorio for history buffs.
zoky 2y ago
That’s a pretty broad statement to make given that of the seven bestselling video game franchises of all time (Mario, Tetris, Call of Duty, Pokémon, GTA, Minecraft, and FIFA) only one (Call of Duty) is a realistic simulation, one (GTA) could be best described as a totally unrealistic simulation, one (FIFA) is a simulation of an actual game, and the rest are a mix of abstract fantasy and/or pure puzzles.
- AngryData 2y ago
  Im not sure I would even consider CoD realistic either unless you back to when it was primarily a single player game. It has good graphics that look like reality sure, but the guns don't handle anything like real guns would, the people don't move or operate like real people, and even the environments are cut down to impossibly small engagement areas. I would even say GTA is far more realistic than CoD.
  - zoky 2y ago
    Fair enough, though I’d argue that it’s difficult to get much closer to the real thing without signing a contract. As the old lie goes, “Dulce et decorum est, Pro Controller mori.”
dijksterhuis 2y ago
> That's why Doom/Quake resonated. People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. Doom/Quake is about as realistic as Escape From Tarkov is easy-going, light hearted, non-at-all-sweaty fun. > People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want [an] experience this would ^ probably be more accurate version of your statement. it's not always about realism.
- bravetraveler 2y ago
  If I could strafe jump as well in person as Quake, well, everyone would know
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
titaphraz 2y ago
> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible Have you ever played D&D? There is no graphics, it's all in your head. I've played amazing adventures many years ago that I can still visualize in my head.
chongli 2y ago
People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want to experience alternate realities That’s a very sweeping statement to make about a very large number of unrelated people. I happen to be a gamer and your statement doesn’t describe my wishes or experiences very well at all! I’d much rather play a game of NetHack than some new ultra-realistic PS5 game. I’m not the only one who feels this way. There a ton of other people like me. People who enjoy retro games, puzzle games, point and click adventure games, RPGs, strategy games, and countless other games that aren’t focused on immersive graphics or realistic simulations.
- condwanaland 2y ago
  Always thrilled to see another nethack player in the wild! Been playing on and off for 20 years and have only managed a single ascension in that time!
  - chongli 2y ago
    That’s awesome! I have been playing off and on since 2009! If you haven’t heard of it, check out The November NetHack Tournament [1]. I played it for the first time in November of last year and almost got a Wizard win (ran out of time) after getting so close with a Monk (got killed by Rodney’s touch of death after he stole my only source of magic resistance). I’m looking forward to playing again this year! [1] https://tnnt.org/ https://tnnt.org/
crq-yml 2y ago
It's not really about the content - it's a McLuhanesque phenomenon of "the medium is the message". When CD-ROM became affordable for consumers, investment into content that demonstrated the power of CD flooded in. A few years later, the investment cycle moved on towards 3D and online. Different medium, different message. That really is all that is needed to explain the trends. Galaga remains fun and playable, but nobody is marketing Galaga as the next big thing, so it isn't making sales charts.
DrFalkyn 2y ago
That must have been why PacMan was such a dismal failure. How realistic is to play a giant yellow mouth chomping on dots in a maze while being chased by ghosts
EliRivers 2y ago
People say they want realism in games. They don't. That's just a thing people have learned to say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo
zemvpferreira 2y ago
I'm sorry to disagree but I want to play games that engage my flow state: Fast, skill-based, noisy, full of acceleration and explosions. Realism has nothing to do with it.
barotalomey 2y ago
Ah, so that's why Minecraft got so incredibly popular, because realism. /s
pfdietz 2y ago
> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. Isn't this what is leading AAA game studios to financial ruin these days? Incrementally improved realism has become unaffordable.
mepian 1y ago
What does Tetris simulate? It's one of the most successful games ever.

People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want to experience alternate realities. That's why Doom/Quake resonated. People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible.

throwup238 2y ago

> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. What do you mean by that? Do you mean in the context of that era? IME people what games to be fun because every single genre has a multitude of conceits to make the game playable and technologically feasible. The ones that eschew (most of) those conceits like ARMA and flight simulators are very niche or like Dwarf Fortress and Factorio, complexity is the point (which requires its own conceits to be feasible). People want to ride into battle and swing swords and conquer civilizations, not manage the intricacies of military campaign logistics and foraging operations and tax collection.

geraldwhen 2y ago
People want both of those things, possibly different people.
mathgeek 2y ago
> People want to ride into battle and swing swords and conquer civilizations, not manage the intricacies of military campaign logistics and foraging operations and tax collection. I assure you that there is a niche market of folks who absolutely love the latter. My father was in the military logistics group.
tekla 2y ago
You clearly have never played Hearts of Iron. Basically Factorio for history buffs.

zoky 2y ago

That’s a pretty broad statement to make given that of the seven bestselling video game franchises of all time (Mario, Tetris, Call of Duty, Pokémon, GTA, Minecraft, and FIFA) only one (Call of Duty) is a realistic simulation, one (GTA) could be best described as a totally unrealistic simulation, one (FIFA) is a simulation of an actual game, and the rest are a mix of abstract fantasy and/or pure puzzles.

AngryData 2y ago
Im not sure I would even consider CoD realistic either unless you back to when it was primarily a single player game. It has good graphics that look like reality sure, but the guns don't handle anything like real guns would, the people don't move or operate like real people, and even the environments are cut down to impossibly small engagement areas. I would even say GTA is far more realistic than CoD.
- zoky 2y ago
  Fair enough, though I’d argue that it’s difficult to get much closer to the real thing without signing a contract. As the old lie goes, “Dulce et decorum est, Pro Controller mori.”

dijksterhuis 2y ago

> That's why Doom/Quake resonated. People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. Doom/Quake is about as realistic as Escape From Tarkov is easy-going, light hearted, non-at-all-sweaty fun. > People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want [an] experience this would ^ probably be more accurate version of your statement. it's not always about realism.

bravetraveler 2y ago
If I could strafe jump as well in person as Quake, well, everyone would know
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

titaphraz 2y ago

> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible Have you ever played D&D? There is no graphics, it's all in your head. I've played amazing adventures many years ago that I can still visualize in my head.

chongli 2y ago

People don't strictly want to play games as much as they want to experience alternate realities That’s a very sweeping statement to make about a very large number of unrelated people. I happen to be a gamer and your statement doesn’t describe my wishes or experiences very well at all! I’d much rather play a game of NetHack than some new ultra-realistic PS5 game. I’m not the only one who feels this way. There a ton of other people like me. People who enjoy retro games, puzzle games, point and click adventure games, RPGs, strategy games, and countless other games that aren’t focused on immersive graphics or realistic simulations.

condwanaland 2y ago
Always thrilled to see another nethack player in the wild! Been playing on and off for 20 years and have only managed a single ascension in that time!
- chongli 2y ago
  That’s awesome! I have been playing off and on since 2009! If you haven’t heard of it, check out The November NetHack Tournament [1]. I played it for the first time in November of last year and almost got a Wizard win (ran out of time) after getting so close with a Monk (got killed by Rodney’s touch of death after he stole my only source of magic resistance). I’m looking forward to playing again this year! [1] https://tnnt.org/ https://tnnt.org/

crq-yml 2y ago

It's not really about the content - it's a McLuhanesque phenomenon of "the medium is the message". When CD-ROM became affordable for consumers, investment into content that demonstrated the power of CD flooded in. A few years later, the investment cycle moved on towards 3D and online. Different medium, different message. That really is all that is needed to explain the trends. Galaga remains fun and playable, but nobody is marketing Galaga as the next big thing, so it isn't making sales charts.

DrFalkyn 2y ago

That must have been why PacMan was such a dismal failure. How realistic is to play a giant yellow mouth chomping on dots in a maze while being chased by ghosts

EliRivers 2y ago

People say they want realism in games. They don't. That's just a thing people have learned to say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo

zemvpferreira 2y ago

I'm sorry to disagree but I want to play games that engage my flow state: Fast, skill-based, noisy, full of acceleration and explosions. Realism has nothing to do with it.

barotalomey 2y ago

Ah, so that's why Minecraft got so incredibly popular, because realism. /s

pfdietz 2y ago

> People want these simulations to be as realistic as possible. Isn't this what is leading AAA game studios to financial ruin these days? Incrementally improved realism has become unaffordable.

mepian 1y ago

What does Tetris simulate? It's one of the most successful games ever.