Post by Fryguy64 on Apr 11, 2006 5:28:32 GMT -5
Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, these games fall under the genre of "communication games". There are plenty more like it out there as well (The Sims, for example). What I want to know is, what do you think of this genre as a whole?
The key criteria to be considered for this genre seem to be:
1. There is no over-riding goal that you can achieve, only sub-goals that do not necessarily advance you through the game.
2. The game gives you a set of tools with which to achieve your sub-goals, and you can go about them in any order you wish (although some may only be possible after certain criteria have been achieved - such as getting money to buy new furniture).
3. There is a limit to what you can do in any one play session. Not strictly true of The Sims, which can be fast-forwarded, but if you play for a long time, eventually you will run out of things to do that day.
That's pretty much it... they are goal-less games that can only be played for a little while before you run out of things to do. You can keep trying (hanging out on the beach in AC to collect shells as they appear, rearranging your furniture), but the game isn't there to grip you, but to keep you coming back over a matter of days, weeks, even months.
Personally? I enjoy them, but I find it very hard to play them for extended periods of time. Eventually I will need to put in some serious play time on another game, and my dog/town/house will go neglected for weeks. If I return, then I can have one good long play session to clear all the weeds, rebuild friendships, clean the dog, etc... but I will probably put it back down for another couple of weeks.
Plus, I worry about the growth of the genre. If I spend one hour a day walking, cleaning and training my puppies, then another hour selling fruit, chatting to Blathers (why the hell is he so depressed this week?!) and paying off my mortgage, then that's two hours per day I am supposed to play these games. What if more are released? What about my Gamecube-based Frytown? What about all of the other, standard games that need a few hours of attention?
In short, I think it's good to have one or two on the market, but any saturation may create problems. My Nintendogs are already smelly and starving after a couple of weeks of neglect. Frytown GC is probably a wreck already... only Frytown DS is being tended at the moment. And what of Frytown Revolution when the fateful day comes?
That's my two-cents. What about you?
The key criteria to be considered for this genre seem to be:
1. There is no over-riding goal that you can achieve, only sub-goals that do not necessarily advance you through the game.
2. The game gives you a set of tools with which to achieve your sub-goals, and you can go about them in any order you wish (although some may only be possible after certain criteria have been achieved - such as getting money to buy new furniture).
3. There is a limit to what you can do in any one play session. Not strictly true of The Sims, which can be fast-forwarded, but if you play for a long time, eventually you will run out of things to do that day.
That's pretty much it... they are goal-less games that can only be played for a little while before you run out of things to do. You can keep trying (hanging out on the beach in AC to collect shells as they appear, rearranging your furniture), but the game isn't there to grip you, but to keep you coming back over a matter of days, weeks, even months.
Personally? I enjoy them, but I find it very hard to play them for extended periods of time. Eventually I will need to put in some serious play time on another game, and my dog/town/house will go neglected for weeks. If I return, then I can have one good long play session to clear all the weeds, rebuild friendships, clean the dog, etc... but I will probably put it back down for another couple of weeks.
Plus, I worry about the growth of the genre. If I spend one hour a day walking, cleaning and training my puppies, then another hour selling fruit, chatting to Blathers (why the hell is he so depressed this week?!) and paying off my mortgage, then that's two hours per day I am supposed to play these games. What if more are released? What about my Gamecube-based Frytown? What about all of the other, standard games that need a few hours of attention?
In short, I think it's good to have one or two on the market, but any saturation may create problems. My Nintendogs are already smelly and starving after a couple of weeks of neglect. Frytown GC is probably a wreck already... only Frytown DS is being tended at the moment. And what of Frytown Revolution when the fateful day comes?
That's my two-cents. What about you?
