Do video games have to be fun?

General and high profile video game topics.
User avatar
ASalvaro
Posts: 745
Joined: May 24th, 2019, 11:51 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby ASalvaro » December 7th, 2022, 11:19 pm

why not? the fun has been drained from everything these days from music to movies so why not video games?? man i'm so glad i grew up in the 80s and 90s and not now

ThePixelatedGenocide
Posts: 1232
Joined: April 29th, 2015, 9:06 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » December 8th, 2022, 4:46 am

ASalvaro wrote:why not? the fun has been drained from everything these days from music to movies so why not video games?? man i'm so glad i grew up in the 80s and 90s and not now


If you can't find anything fun today, then it's only because you've lost the ability to have fun and you're coasting on the fumes of nostalgia.

User avatar
k8track
Posts: 88
Joined: March 22nd, 2022, 9:29 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby k8track » December 9th, 2022, 11:06 am

For me, they certainly do. Otherwise, what's the point?

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby DaHeckIzDat » December 9th, 2022, 11:18 am

k8track wrote:For me, they certainly do.

And how do you define "fun"? If a game's setting is gloomy or scary and the gameplay is difficult and stressful (Dark Souls, Darkest Dungeon, Silent Hill, etc) is the game still "fun" or are you enjoying it for a different reason?

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 9th, 2022, 9:53 pm

Then there's the concept of delayed gratification. A lot of games force you to "grind" which may not be very fun, but it sets you up for some "future fun".

jon
Posts: 1562
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 4:30 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby jon » December 9th, 2022, 10:45 pm

I agree that there is the type of gamer, like me, who spends a lot of time trying to 1 cc incredibly hard games. So, a lot of the Neo Geo games I've 1 cc'd there can be an argument that it wasn't a ton of fun during the process of getting better. I've spent months on games like the first few Metal Slugs and Viewpoint and it's kind of the whole delayed gratification thing. If I want to have fun, I'll watch Steven Seagal beat a million people up without getting a scratch. There are still quite a few Neo Geo games I want to 1 cc. And I don't know if it's not fun getting killed a million times for months hoping to somehow get through, because it's a type of thing that I like. But during the process there's a lot of awful moments. One thing that's interesting is that I've never destroyed a Neo Geo controller, which is funny considering how challenging the games are. I think I just love SNK and the graphics so much. Among others, I've trashed a million PS1/PS2 controllers and my personal favorite, the Wii controller and system destruction from around 2014. But never a Neo Geo controller.

goldenband
Posts: 766
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 10:29 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby goldenband » December 10th, 2022, 8:50 pm

I think about this often, because for me, most people's definition of "fun" isn't why I play video games (at least single-player games). It's more important to me that a video game be rewarding, or satisfying, than that it be "fun".

I guess "engaging" is a reasonable synonym, but with a typical game, the main thing for me is that I feel some sense of accomplishment when I beat it, or that I get into a "flow" state when I play it. It's OK to be frustrated as hell, to swear at the game, even for the game to sometimes feel like work, as long as it offers one or both of those things.

It's an exceptional game that offers me more than that; I don't find most games particularly immersive or memorable, though obviously there are some big exceptions like Out of This World/Another World or Chrono Trigger.

Meanwhile if I want a quick fix, I'll typically go for an arcade game -- Robotron, Galaga, Marble Madness, Tempest, that kind of thing. But in general, I don't have too much patience for high score gaming.

User avatar
scotland
Posts: 2561
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 7:33 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby scotland » December 11th, 2022, 12:12 pm

goldenband wrote: the main thing for me is that I feel some sense of accomplishment when I beat it, or that I get into a "flow" state when I play it. It's OK to be frustrated as hell, to swear at the game, even for the game to sometimes feel like work, as long as it offers one or both of those things.


If I recall, you're a chessplayer, aren't you? There are reasons any pastime, video games include, persist. Chess can be engaging, and annoying and boring and satisfying. People like to compete against others or the clock, in everything, from rubik's cubes to video games. And there are social aspects, even in single player activities - like a book club is a social extension of a single person's activity.

ThePixelatedGenocide
Posts: 1232
Joined: April 29th, 2015, 9:06 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » December 11th, 2022, 12:52 pm

I realize that some people who “play to have fun” and who currently form the majority of players have voiced their reservations toward these new trends...


How Square's president, Yosuke Matsuda, described his struggle to turn videogames into digital blockchain economies where users would create all the content for microtransactions instead of Square themselves. Also featuring NFTs.

It's the exact opposite of everything we've described in this thread.

User avatar
k8track
Posts: 88
Joined: March 22nd, 2022, 9:29 pm

Re: Do video games have to be fun?

Postby k8track » December 13th, 2022, 1:12 pm

DaHeckIzDat wrote:
k8track wrote:For me, they certainly do.

And how do you define "fun"? If a game's setting is gloomy or scary and the gameplay is difficult and stressful (Dark Souls, Darkest Dungeon, Silent Hill, etc) is the game still "fun" or are you enjoying it for a different reason?

If I enjoy it and want to play it again.


Return to “Video Games General”