Editor's note: I'm sympathetic to Bruno's predicament -- I, too, have trouble finding time for games with long single-player campaigns. I wonder if the answer is in episodic content. Could a developer split up a title like Final Fantasy 13 in such a way? -Rob
I used to love playing Japanese role-playing games. Ten years ago, the likes of Final Fantasies 4, 5, and 6; Chrono Trigger; and Secret of Mana easily held me hostage to the screen. I have fond memories of those times. I was also twelve.
Earlier this month, Kotaku reported that Final Fantasy 13 will be a massive 50- to 60-hour-long game -- my heart sank. I just don't have that kind of time to play games like I did growing up.
The last RPG I completed was Lost Odyssey. A great game: an emotional, though cliché, narrative; top-notch cinematic direction, and classic JRPG gameplay. Lost Odyssey really felt like a return to my younger days when I'd sit in front of the television and carefully select the attacks of my characters. I guess I was a boring kid.
Do you know how long I took to finish this monster of a game? More than 40 hours. But as I said, I'm not 12 anymore -- those 40 hours were spread over a full university summer vacation, from May to September, not over a single weekend.
I work, I write, I study, I read, and I watch movies. I also game, but my opportunities to play are pretty sparse these days. I'm currently at the end of my term, and the only times I get to sit down with a video game is on Thursday, when I'm back at my parents house (assuming I'm not buried under papers).
My brother bought Assassin's Creed 2 on launch day. Most of my friends who did the same finished the game by the end of that week. Three weeks passed and I barely even touched Venice.
This is precisely why I don't play JRPGs (or western RPGs for that matter) anymore. How would I put 50 to 60 hours into one game and still have time to play anything else? What I'm going through happens to a lot of older gamers as other priorities or interests take precedence.
Don't get me wrong, now; I still love video games with a passion. But when it comes to leisure, my play time will go to games which either pique my interest (as Assassin's Creed 2 does because of my enthusiasm for history represented through games) or provide quick satisfaction.
What used to be a major selling point to me -- and many others -- just became a warning. It's not about replay value anymore. It's about whether or not I will get to finish the game.
I'm sorry, Final Fantasy 13, but unless your story touches the subjects of traumatic memories, collective history, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, or actual historical events, I guess I will have to pass and invest my time in writing papers.
And I just noticed the irony of writing this instead.
Comments (23)
I think your thoughts resonate with a lot of us. Finding the time for some of these games can be overwhelming and it's easy to wish there were more hours in the day. I have a huge stack of RPGs that will forever go un-played unfortunately.
I'm 35 now and a couple of months away from the "release" of my first child, and I don't mind playing long RPGs. Of course, the genre remains my favorite. I rushed through Dragon Age and am looking forward to taking my time with it. It took me months to finish Baldur's Gate 2, partially because of the way I savor RPGs, but it's also because of its length.
As long as the story is engaging for those 50 hours to 60 hours, I don't mind the length.
Good luck on your papers!
I picked up Fallout 3 GOTY, Demons Souls, and Dragon Age within the past month or so, and it's really hitting me that it will be months before I touch some of these games, let alone finish them.
I am graduating this month, and starting my masters in the spring, and I'm looking at those two weeks between the end of December and beginning of January longingly as two weeks of nothing but gaming...hopefully, but I doubt it.
i see myself wanting more 10-15 hour games. With that being said I heard about a review for Darksiders and the review was over 30 hours into the game. Even though he is well over 30 I plan to do the same with the game even. No matter what other great games comes out in that time like Bioshock 2 as well.
Now, out of college and working a great job that has little work to bring home, I am able to evenly spread time weekday nights between my favorite hobbies: reading, gaming, watching ice hockey, and watching stuff from Netflix. Usually, when something grips me, be it a book, a game, or a TV series on DVD, I usually focus on that exclusively. In the past six months, I have been able to beat and play 30+ hours each on Borderlands, Fallout 3, and Eternal Sonata while also finishing about 10 books.
I guess what I am doing here besides maybe waving my RL-peen around is focus on schooling now (or other pursuits towards your life goal) and, if you are a fan of something, you will be able to devote time to your hobbies in the near future with little to no regret
I, too, just picked up the GOTY edition of Fallout 3. I'm five hours in, and the farthest I've traveled is the Super-Duper Mart outside of Megaton. Playing RPG's, I am always so easily hooked in every town I enter that I want to search every house and building, and talk to every resident to gather any information possible, as well as obtain new quests. I tend to be very unfocused playing these games, and usually only eventually regress back to the path of the main storyline. I'm not saying this is a bad thing - it's the way I play and enjoy my RPG's - but it usually means I can safely expect to double the amount of hours that gaming sites estimate it will take to "complete" the game.
Bring on more 4-6 hour games, I say!
And welcome to Bitmob!
I will just play the longer one....for a longer time than the others. If FF13 does turn out to be a genuinely good game, seems like a silly idea to not play it just because it is 50-60 hours long.
Well you see David, I think that there is two main issues with spreading a game over too long. Either A) you don't feel like you are making any real progress between sessions, and that can become frustrating, or B) you stop playing the game for a week or two for X reason and then you are not able to get back into it. RPGs are not the easiest games to jump back right into after a long period of time. You forget what you were doing, etc... Of course, not everyone has those problems but I still think it's an issue for most "casual" gamers. By casual I mean "gamers that play a few hours a week" and not "mom's that play with a Wii"
I would save the long games for after college, to distract you, or until you go back to school.
yay =D
I'm out of college and fit one of the prime demographics video game makers are going after-- adult male with few real responsibilities. I guess I shouldn't jinx myself. I might wake up tomorrow married, three kids, extraneous bills and morgages to pay at every angle wondering, why can't I find time to play games anymore?
Whatever, you can't be a kid forever and probably should join the adult world of having your own family and keeping your wife happy, which is okay, because a good woman is always better than a good video game. Grow up Joshua... grow up. In addition, an idiosyncrasy of mine is to write at least one article on every game I play earnestly. It sometimes leads to a back-up; if I beat a game before finishing a school assignment, my priorities don't allow me to address my ideas as fast as I'd like to. During stressful school times, I'd rather play a game that takes the whole semester to beat, so that I have my holidays and study breaks to think out a critical response.
What it really comes down to is time management, and finding the schedule that works best for your needs. We all have to limit aspects of our lives, and finding the most agreeable combination is important to happy living.
BTW, me too I find games too long. That's what I liked about CoDMW2, even though I haven't technically finished it because I had to reinstall my whole computer because of some bios issues. Anyways, happy holidays.
I'll pick it up again. Eventually.
I think the excuse 'I don't have the time' for something is a pretty large cop out. You have time for what you make time for. It isn't hard to make time to play a game for an hour or so. You might have to give up another leisure activity to do so though, such as writing this.
