why buy and play walking simulators?

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Pipe 24 ABR 2024 a las 19:03

when you can watch them on youtube?

now I'm not saying you're "dumb" for buying them or anything, I'm just trying to understand

for Telltale Games, I get it. they're kind of walking simulators but you can kinda dictate how the story goes - that's a reason why you would want to play them yourself

but for walking simulators, I don't get it. you move forward, occasionally interact with a door or something, maybe read some notes, watch cutscenes, and that's it
I don't know what you're missing by just watching a youtube video

Última edición por Pipe; 27 ABR 2024 a las 9:29

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Publicado originalmente por Basho:

this is gonna be a long one, but as you might expect answering a question like that cant really be done in one sentence. so here are some of my thoughts on the topic.

first of all i have an issue with the term "walking simulator", because it used to apply sarcastically to a very narrow type of (flash) games where you literally only held down right arrow to make a 2D character walk slowly along a fixed side scrolling 2D path periodically interspersed with vague text popping up, alluding to some equally vague overarching theme and that was it.

so as far as i can tell, "walking simulator" as a term came about in a mocking manner to make fun of those types of games, and applying that to games like Stanley Parable and Death Stranding makes little sense to me in that context.
granted, games like those two are kinda hard to pin down genre-wise and meanings can change over time, but it still irks me when games are called "walking simulators" for unclear reasons.
but besides, what is even the definition in the first place? lack of combat? because some games that bear the title do have combat. and some FPS games go long stretches without combat too and/or feature environment puzzles etc and extensive storytelling (Halo 1, Half Life 1, System Shock 2).

but if by "walking simulator" we are referring to a game like Death Stranding (as many people do), then what i like about it is the scenery, music, atmosphere, story, etc, and i like being my own director to an extent - being able to set my own tempo, choose what to look at and explore an when, etc. in a movie the camera pans by the building (and when watching someone play as well) but as a player i can go behind it and see whats there, maybe inside it as well and find all sorts of visual story telling that a movie could not have made room for in the first place.
that last part hold true for any game and is one of the main parts that is unique to video games as a medium.

i may have mentioned this elsewhere, but one of my favorite moments was fording a difficult river, and after making it across, drenched and exhausted, it started raining and i found a slight outcrop in a cliff face to shelter under and sit down for a rest.
just sitting there, listening to the rain and the ambient soundtrack, looking around at the scenery, thinking about how i got there and why, and where i need to go next, generally immersing myself in the world, was such a great experience.
i could not have gotten that from watching a video.
same goes for the moment of panic and terror when slipping during a river crossing and getting flushed down stream while watching your cargo scatter among the currents.

also, building roads, or generators and bridges and such in strategic locations, and coming back to find that other people have been using them and thanking you for it, or finding another players trail or strategically placed asset and having that ease your travels, is quite a unique experience that also dont translate well if at all through a video.

there is overall just a lot of mental stuff going on in that game that isnt strictly bound to a script/story that you can just watch a video of, but is more of a personal meditative experience that i kinda want to liken to how you cant just watch a video of someone eating a pie or solve a jigsaw puzzle and expect to get the same experience.
not the best analogy, but i feel it is a lot like that.

also, especially with Death Stranding, if you like hiking IRL that is a huge part of the appeal of the game imo, and the mere mental act of planning your route ahead is such a big part of the experience that it just goes missing completely when watching someone else do it instead.

if it was just the story, then the idea of just watching a video can apply to a lot of games, but for a lot of games a lot of what i've said above is also true. consider a game like Doom (any version) for instance or others like it.
you could watch a video of those too, but not doing the playing yourself and not experiencing the thrill and terror of tense and skin-of-the-teeth victories yourself by your own effort robs you of a lot of the experience and the impact of any twists and surprises.

i could probably go on, but i hope i got some points across about what i like with Death Stranding in particular, even if i very much hesitate to use the term "walking simulator" as already mentioned.

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Mostrando 31-45 de 73 comentarios

Pipe 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:23

Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
No, op is asking a genuine question. They want to understand the appeal of a genre of game they may have not interacted with

thank you

#31

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:26

Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
Publicado originalmente por sfnhltb:
Why are you so threatened or confused by people liking different things to you? Why not worry about your own life and interests and not care about what other people are doing?
No, op is asking a genuine question. They want to understand the appeal of a genre of game they may have not interacted with. Id do the same with tactical shooters, because on the surface, they seem slow and repetitive but there's most likely a hidden appeal that makes them so popular

Quite a lot of games/genres are like that. Try explaining to someone why you spent 100+ hours in a clicker game. On paper it sounds very dull. But it just works.

#32

Apteryx 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:30

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
No, op is asking a genuine question. They want to understand the appeal of a genre of game they may have not interacted with. Id do the same with tactical shooters, because on the surface, they seem slow and repetitive but there's most likely a hidden appeal that makes them so popular

Quite a lot of games/genres are like that. Try explaining to someone why you spent 100+ hours in a clicker game. On paper it sounds very dull. But it just works.

Well, 100 hours in a clicker makes sense, if you know that a lot of clickers usually have idle production features. I used to leave cookie clicker running in the background 24/7 and that's how I got 160 hours per week of playtime. The thing is, people who don't know that would probably assume that someone actually refused to eat, sleep, or work for a week straight just so they could click on a png of a cookie

Última edición por Apteryx; 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:31

#33

Candyy 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:34

Publicado originalmente por AdahnGorion:
Why play videogames
When you can watch them on youtube?

Ppl do that btw v:

#34

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:35

Publicado originalmente por Voroff:
For the walking sims proper, i enjoyed almost all my time in the Ethan Carter thing and everybody gone to the rapture thing. You may not be in for the like of it, but isnt that a matter of ... taste ?

Not necessarily. It can also be a matter of patience for example. Which seems a bit different.

#35

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:37

Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:

Quite a lot of games/genres are like that. Try explaining to someone why you spent 100+ hours in a clicker game. On paper it sounds very dull. But it just works.
Well, 100 hours in a clicker makes sense, if you know that a lot of clickers usually have idle production features. I used to leave cookie clicker running in the background 24/7 and that's how I got 160 hours per week of playtime. The thing is, people who don't know that would probably assume that someone actually refused to eat, sleep, or work for a week straight just so they could click on a png of a cookie

Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?

#36

Pipe 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:38

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
Well, 100 hours in a clicker makes sense, if you know that a lot of clickers usually have idle production features. I used to leave cookie clicker running in the background 24/7 and that's how I got 160 hours per week of playtime. The thing is, people who don't know that would probably assume that someone actually refused to eat, sleep, or work for a week straight just so they could click on a png of a cookie

Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?

wtf, no... re-read what she said

#37

Apteryx 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:39

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
Well, 100 hours in a clicker makes sense, if you know that a lot of clickers usually have idle production features. I used to leave cookie clicker running in the background 24/7 and that's how I got 160 hours per week of playtime. The thing is, people who don't know that would probably assume that someone actually refused to eat, sleep, or work for a week straight just so they could click on a png of a cookie

Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?

Well, the game let me do it so I did. The cursors get really overpowered later in the game because of an upgrade that multiplies their production exponentially, and they are also really cheap.

#38

Varsik 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:50

At least its not supermarket simulator))

#39

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:52

Publicado originalmente por Apteryx:
Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:

Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?
Well, the game let me do it so I did. The cursors get really overpowered later in the game because of an upgrade that multiplies their production exponentially, and they are also really cheap.

It was a joke. I was going to add that that is like the noobiest thing ever but ya know, steam.

In fact idlers are so meta that they actually manage to transcend themselves and now the game becomes writing scripts for them. Forget playing a game or coding a game, now we are coding to avoid playing a game while still playing it!

Advanced mode: At maximum efficiency.

#40

Tito Shivan 26 ABR 2024 a las 4:57

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?

Some people are surprised when they learn how much of a extended trope 'cheating' into clicker games is. Autohotkey scripts and other ways to 'maximize clicking' aren't really uncommon in the genre.

Just like strategy games have 'save scumming' (and strong opinions about it)

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
I crave the experience of actually walking, but without actually walking.

Also places I can walk in videogames > places I can walk in real life.

#41

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 5:01

Publicado originalmente por Donut:
I’d take a walking simulator over a VN any day.

Omg I actually agree with you on this. Today must be some kind of special constellation or something.

I am not a very patient person, which might be an understatement. Yet I am not opposed to walking sims. I don't like *all* of them, but ya know.

VN's on the other hand? I just can't do it. I need something to do. Reading and looking at images is not enough. I tried Stein's Gate because it was supposed to be good, and it was just such a slog. I can deal with VN-style storytelling when there is at least *some* interaction but not with this.

#42

Kapitein Gnapmans 26 ABR 2024 a las 5:06

Publicado originalmente por Tito Shivan:
Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
Did you just tell me that you actually cheated in a game where all you ever have to do is click?
Some people are surprised when they learn how much of a extended trope 'cheating' into clicker games is. Autohotkey scripts and other ways to 'maximize clicking' aren't really uncommon in the genre.

Just like strategy games have 'save scumming' (and strong opinions about it)

Publicado originalmente por loerepoot:
I crave the experience of actually walking, but without actually walking.
Also places I can walk in videogames > places I can walk in real life.

Those comments might not have been completely serious. I explained the clicker one already but seems like you missed it. It's actually quite genius how they take the gameplay away and keep only the meta and it results in a different game altogether.

Última edición por Kapitein Gnapmans; 26 ABR 2024 a las 5:07

#43

Heatblizzard 27 ABR 2024 a las 5:05

Publicado originalmente por M͂͒̀λgi͡caℓ Ήo͓̽ﻇo̴:
Some people actually appreciate art than mindless shootingand collecting. :special:

Games like Red Dead Redemption and Breath of the Wild/Tears it's more then just pushing forwards. The player controls the narrative (unless you read fanfiction which only takes linear paths in their story) the player decides what way it will be and it's unique with each gameplay!

You will go a different way then I do once leaving the tutorial. and there is definitely no shooting anything in Hyrule unless you have a bunch of bows though for some reason Link's swords sound like guns going off so that may confuse a lot of modern gamers whom can't tell the difference to begin with making Hyrule sound like an FPS game. You can always close your eyes and pretend with each sword strike.

Última edición por Heatblizzard; 27 ABR 2024 a las 5:06

#44