I remember a time when I used to get a lot of enjoyment from playing video games but from past few years I'm not finding many games enjoyable to play. And I started wondering why it was so.
After thinking a lot about it I realized that most of the games which I didn't enjoy from past few years were games whose entire game play videos I saw on YouTube. When you see videos of a game's entire play through, most of that game because familiar, it takes away that newness or freshness which you'd get if you played it for the first time, and playing through that game becomes a chore and boring after that, there is no sense of adventure, there is no sense of discovery, which all leads to lack of excitement in the journey of the game. And since you already know how the game ends, the fulfillment one would get from completing a game is also marred.
I enjoyed PS2 games a lot and the reason for that is there was no fast internet back then, so I couldn't stream game play videos of PS2, I don't think anyone even had fast internet to stream their game play back then. This allowed game play experience to remain new and exciting, making me look forward to know what will happen next, this kept the game interesting and fresh till the end.
This was the case with few games which I enjoyed playing in the past few years:
Alien:Isolation (This game is so amazing, it transports you to 70s retro-futuristic world of Alien(I haven't watched the movies))
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (I played short bits of AC 1, AC2 and AC4 and I found them boring but Syndicate was a top-notch experience, this is the first AC which I enjoyed a lot and completed it, graphics are very good, this was one of the games in recent while which made me look forward to day so I could play it)
Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City (These games are works of art)
Dishonored (I found out about this game a little late through a TV show which showed a small segment of the game when the main character escapes, and I immediately liked the painterly effect)
Lara Croft GO (I enjoyed this game more than Tomb Raider games, it is a turn based puzzle game, in which you have to guide Lara Croft over preset nodes avoiding enemies and traps, since the pace is 1-move at a time, the games allows you to become immersed in the artwork and soundwork)
Trine 2 (This game has amazing graphics and music, it's like an interactive bedtime fairy tale and I enjoyed playing it a lot)
Prior to playing these games, I haven't watched much of those games so I was able to obtain a lot of enjoyment from playing them. So much so that even thinking back over the experience makes me giddy with excitement and fills me with nostalgia.
But there are exceptions to this, for example Tomb Raider (2013), even though I haven't watched videos of Tomb Raider (2013) prior to playing it, it wasn't enjoyable to me when I played it for the first time. So I think this only applies to good games, and if a game is bad, it'll remain bad even if you experience it for the first time.
So the main thing to get the most enjoyment out of a game is not to see most of it's play through videos. In addition to having a good chair, good speakers, good graphics card, good PC or console and playing in pleasant and comfortable conditions.
After thinking a lot about it I realized that most of the games which I didn't enjoy from past few years were games whose entire game play videos I saw on YouTube. When you see videos of a game's entire play through, most of that game because familiar, it takes away that newness or freshness which you'd get if you played it for the first time, and playing through that game becomes a chore and boring after that, there is no sense of adventure, there is no sense of discovery, which all leads to lack of excitement in the journey of the game. And since you already know how the game ends, the fulfillment one would get from completing a game is also marred.
I enjoyed PS2 games a lot and the reason for that is there was no fast internet back then, so I couldn't stream game play videos of PS2, I don't think anyone even had fast internet to stream their game play back then. This allowed game play experience to remain new and exciting, making me look forward to know what will happen next, this kept the game interesting and fresh till the end.
This was the case with few games which I enjoyed playing in the past few years:
Alien:Isolation (This game is so amazing, it transports you to 70s retro-futuristic world of Alien(I haven't watched the movies))
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (I played short bits of AC 1, AC2 and AC4 and I found them boring but Syndicate was a top-notch experience, this is the first AC which I enjoyed a lot and completed it, graphics are very good, this was one of the games in recent while which made me look forward to day so I could play it)
Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City (These games are works of art)
Dishonored (I found out about this game a little late through a TV show which showed a small segment of the game when the main character escapes, and I immediately liked the painterly effect)
Lara Croft GO (I enjoyed this game more than Tomb Raider games, it is a turn based puzzle game, in which you have to guide Lara Croft over preset nodes avoiding enemies and traps, since the pace is 1-move at a time, the games allows you to become immersed in the artwork and soundwork)
Trine 2 (This game has amazing graphics and music, it's like an interactive bedtime fairy tale and I enjoyed playing it a lot)
Prior to playing these games, I haven't watched much of those games so I was able to obtain a lot of enjoyment from playing them. So much so that even thinking back over the experience makes me giddy with excitement and fills me with nostalgia.
But there are exceptions to this, for example Tomb Raider (2013), even though I haven't watched videos of Tomb Raider (2013) prior to playing it, it wasn't enjoyable to me when I played it for the first time. So I think this only applies to good games, and if a game is bad, it'll remain bad even if you experience it for the first time.
So the main thing to get the most enjoyment out of a game is not to see most of it's play through videos. In addition to having a good chair, good speakers, good graphics card, good PC or console and playing in pleasant and comfortable conditions.
