I originally named this Games That Are Basically Masturbating Whores.
You read that right. And if you made it this far: thank you for coming!
I was going to do this as a vlog, and maybe I still will, but I'm out of the house and no where near my camera so a good old blog will do nicely. Also, this is just a quick thing that was on my mind while I had a decent headache.
Games have evolved a few times, bringing new subjects and systems and so on and so forth. There's two that fascinate me these days more than most.
1. Idle Games - I couldn't believe this was a thing when I first saw it. A game that is designed to accrue you points or money or whatever the digital currency it's slinging so that you can check in here and there and feel accomplished.
I'm actually kind of okay with these! It feels good to accomplish something, or in this case to have something accomplished in your name. I support these (thank you cookie clicker and hero clicker), and that's pretty much all I can say about them. They're games, I guess.
2. Free to Play Games - Free to download and play and probably has some form of energy or stamina that limits your playtime. They come with in-app purchases typically and allow you to buy things like said stamina/energy to keep playing, or just go balls out and unlock incredible power from the get go. These games, specifically the systems, are pretty broken, and there are plenty that are just bad games. These also have tremendous potential to be powerful forces in the gaming community and I honestly think there is something here for entertainment, education and economics, but the formula is still much greater geared toward greed.
The folks at extra credits can give you more detail on this subject (f2p games) and I'm a big fan of theirs. Check them out in this order:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwI0u9L4R8U
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBtXyv0Q1Eg
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxDz6RWncVM
I never...NEVER thought these two game types would have a demon baby. You take the free to play aspects, especially the stamina thing and the monetary transactions, and you combine it with an idle games standard of it playing itself. This becomes something that demands your money while not really even having you play. If you buy into the system, you are no longer playing and merely watching the game play itself. You're watching the game masturbate for money. Score?
The only argument I've heard in favor of this type of entertainment was something along these lines: It's like watching TV but with a cast of characters you picked. Fair enough. That doesn't sound too bad! I'd love to watch a version of Firefly with an all Wash cast!
My counter to that argument is simple: It's not TV. Really, aside from the potential ethical implications of select f2p/idle games, there's nothing wrong with this formula beyond that I think it's shit.
Games are meant to be played. They assist in the advancement of the self and relaxation through basically tinkering. They are a safe place that can increase hand-eye coordination (insert another masturbation joke there...insert...). Games have been shown to assist with all manner of stat-growth, as it were, including coping mechanisms, communication and reasoning skills. More importantly: games are meant to be played because it is fun to play. Sitting and watching has never been more exhilarating than participating. And if you take the purpose of a game away, to be played, then you remove it from being a game.
Pretty much all I have on the subject right now. My head hurts from studying these things for the past couple weeks. I must have played two dozen of them, and they all basically function the same way with different skins.
Like I said, these have great potential, F2P games, as do idle games, but together they remove the core experience from what a game is. I for one felt like a middle management zombie during playtime and then a chunk after. Hopefully it gets worked out. Hopefully these don't take up too much real estate in the gaming market.
I'm going to shower. My head is mush now.
Have the best day you've ever had.
