"Halo 4: I Get a Woman!" - Sgt. Mjr. A.J. Johnson, RIP

[PenGuin1362]

The other thing about making the game more accessible is that it gives bad players the illusion that they're actually decent, which encourages them to play more and buy lots of DLC. I'm convinced that this is an intentional strategy by Bungie/343iTHE WHOLE FUCKING GAMES INDUSTRY.

Yeah, and? What you said makes perfect sense. That's how you make more money. They nailed their target demographic and made plenty of money in return to keep their amazingly talented team employed. Stop complaining about how developers aren't making games that cater to a minority demographic.

[Warsaw]

I know that, but making money wasn't the topic of discussion at that point. That also wasn't my quote, that was just a change to Pooky's that is pretty much exactly what he said, just expanded to include everything.

[Zeph]

The other thing about making the game more accessible is that it gives bad players the illusion that they're actually decent, which encourages them to play more and buy lots of DLC. I'm convinced that this is an intentional strategy by Bungie/343i THE WHOLE FUCKING GAMES INDUSTRY.

I think this started as an accidental byproduct of shitty network backbone in America. To help combat latency and bandwidth issues, they greatly increased hit assist (lol melee lunge). This in turn opened up the game to worse players and started the whole process.

Lets be honest, the monopoly regions of shit-tier ISPs still aren't good enough to have a decent netcode implemented without problems.

[PenGuin1362]

I know that, but making money wasn't the topic of discussion at that point. That also wasn't my quote, that was just a change to Pooky's that is pretty much exactly what he said, just expanded to include everything.

Yeah, wasn't really directed you, or Pooky for that matter. Just in general.

[Donut]

i know the game genre is different and the game is single player, but i just started playing dishonored. i dont think a game being accessible and a game being dumbed down for the lowest common denominator go hand in hand. without sucking this game off too much (even though i really want to, its really fucking good), you can run in guns blazing and kill everyone, which is easier obviously, or you can play through all the way without killing anybody, which is much more difficult. the game is accessible to a variety of players, because it can be much more action oriented for people who just want to stab shit, or it can be very tactical and stealthy for patient players who want to make it through the game without killing anyone.

im not entirely sure how youd carry that sort of concept over into a PvP multiplayer environment, but i wouldnt totally write off modern multiplayer gaming yet. i guess like, "infiltrating" a base in planetside 2 as infiltrator vs running in as heavy assault. the analogy doesnt quite hold up, but its the only example i can come up with off the top of my head.

[Higuy]

Dishonored was a great game. Short but nothing less then great.

[Pooky]

i know the game genre is different and the game is single player, but i just started playing dishonored. i dont think a game being accessible and a game being dumbed down for the lowest common denominator go hand in hand. without sucking this game off too much (even though i really want to, its really fucking good), you can run in guns blazing and kill everyone, which is easier obviously, or you can play through all the way without killing anybody, which is much more difficult. the game is accessible to a variety of players, because it can be much more action oriented for people who just want to stab shit, or it can be very tactical and stealthy for patient players who want to make it through the game without killing anyone.

Another good example of that would be the Metroid series. Metroid games typically aren't all that hard if you grab every expansion and upgrade you find. However, they can be brutally difficult once you start going for low % runs. The difficulty is what you make of it, in other words. Also, you'll notice how Metroid games never have tutorial missions or anything like that? That's because the game teaches you how to play it THROUGH the level design. Accessible without being dumbed down.

Here's another good take on that:

[=sw=warlord]

Yeah, and? What you said makes perfect sense. That's how you make more money. They nailed their target demographic and made plenty of money in return to keep their amazingly talented team employed. Stop complaining about how developers aren't making games that cater to a minority demographic.

Mind pointing me to any surveys that show which demographic is in the minority?
Any polls at all?
Published research?

Oh right.

[PenGuin1362]

The hardcore pc gamers are the minority. If you want to argue otherwise you're wrong. Not saying there isn't money in that market, but it's easier and less risky for AAA development to target the casual 360 and PS3 gamers. And that usually means the game doing exactly what pooky described. But this is a different argument entirely and this is not the place to discuss it really.

e: I think star citizen and other recently wildly successful PC games coupled with aging consoles are showing a shift in this, but again that's getting too far off topic here.

[Tnnaas]

So SPOPs Episode 5 is out. I haven't played it yet, but I wonder if the Prometheans are going to strike back (You know, since we kicked 99% Covenant ass in the last episode). Like Star Wars.