[blueoceans]

It seems that recently that there has been lots of games that feature jobs in them. Games that actually require the player to seek some type of odd job and earn enough cash to buy a certain item, skill, spell, etc in order to further advance in the game.

While this idea seems to foster from the RPG genre, it has crossed-over into other game genres as well.

And its not just jobs, but some games require you to simply earn cash/credits, etc to buy specialty items. A lot of todays racing games incorporate this tactic as well,..you must complete several races, and place high in those races to earn cash to buy nicer things for your car to upgrade it, or in some cases even buy a nicer car.

I guess Im ok with the idea as a whole, but when some games require the player to tediously spend time doing the task over and over, it becomes mundane and tends to take away from the scope of the action and storyline.

I guess game developers are thinking that they are teaching todays gaming youth that "money doesnt grow on trees", and that if you want something,..you must earn it. I cant wait until EA releases a "Wall Street Money Markets" game, Im sure this would be well-recieved by many adolescents.

But the point Im making is, there should be an option in the game's menu, where you can toggle this feature off or on, before you begin to play the game. Some may argue that this is a test of skill, but there are so many ways to test a players skill, and if youre going to test a player's skill in a video game,.make it damn fun, please.

I was disheartened when playing Kingdom Hearts 2, when I had to do a number of odd jobs to get money to advance further in the game. Hello,..I just got off working a 12-hour shift,..I dont want to work any more,..especially not while im trying to relax playing one of my games,..Im frustrated,.I want to attack something,..not go back to work earning more cash.

but,.there i was,.running around town doing these odd jobs,..posting flyers around town on my skateboard,..pushing a heavy cart with my sword,.sigh. Im not sure what has happened to the pick-up-the-controller-and-play addictiveness of many games of the 16-bit era, but it seems to have considerably diminished. Requiring the gamer to work jobs isnt exactly the most entertaining way to play a video game, as I can think of many games that are leagues more fun than those games that require the player to do more work.

This post has been edited by blueoceans: 11 February 2007 - 07:18 PM

[SimeSublime]

Come now, that's not entirely new to gaming. I can remember playing Donald Duck's Playground as a kid

[David-kyo]

The reason behind this is not to teach people the importance of money, but to lengthen gaming time. Ergo, less programming, but longer game, and (hopefully) the player won't even notice!

[Slade]

It's partially to compensate for not having proper game flow of gamescore to items required to purchase with said gamescore. It's also why you have to grind in RPGs to beat that next boss.

[David-kyo]

Oh how I fucking LOVE the word 'grind' since World of Warcraft... That game gave this word a new meaning.

[barend]

It's partially to compensate for not having proper game flow of gamescore to items required to purchase with said gamescore. It's also why you have to grind in RPGs to beat that next boss.

World of Walkcraft is such a fucking scam.

You need to pay every 60 days for the privellage of playing, which really forces you to play no other games otherwise you're wasting money.

You character has to get a job, or two so he can sell items on the auction house that 1000000 other characters are also selling or making for themselves, in orer to make a few silver here and there to save up so that the faction for whome you are fighting can charge you for training AND charge you a shitload to train to use a mount. You can't get a mount until you're level 40, so rather than actual content they just make you a "no house walking the dog mutherfucker" for the first 2/3 of your leveling experience. The games whole duration is made up of walking, walking to your body in ghost form, waiting for ships, paying for flights, paying for training, some more walking, unmapped dungeons, often erronious directions to quest locations to squeeze a little more walking out of you, getting your ass raped by higher level characters who are the gaming equivelant of paedophiles at which point you'll spend the next hour walking back to your body over and over, WARNED if you swear despite the availablitiy of a profanity filter, chain missions that have you commute between the quest giver and the same damn tower at the opposite end of the map back and forth over and over until you just wish flanders was dead.

seroiusly, i'm not renuing my subscription...

i'm going to finish KOTOR2 and GTA:SA, and replay Vampire:the Masquerade BLoodlines as the other 8 classes.... everyone else can go fishing in darnasus to their hearts content.


but fuck that game. those lazy bastards.


and enough with all the rogue buffs, and make with the warrior buffs, you goddamned jock fearing nerds.

This post has been edited by barend: 13 February 2007 - 10:29 PM

[J m HofMarN]

A friend of mine actually works as a DM for an online rpg company. It sounds like a cool job but I imagine the newbs would get old fast.

[blueoceans]

The reason behind this is not to teach people the importance of money, but to lengthen gaming time. Ergo, less programming, but longer game, and (hopefully) the player won't even notice!

Ok. Im willing to accept this theory as it seems logical enough. I mean, it couldnt have required too much programming talent for the jump rope sequence at the beginning of Final Fantasy IX

[David-kyo]

World of Walkcraft is such a fucking scam.

(...)
The game's whole duration is made up of walking, walking to your body in ghost form, waiting for ships, paying for flights, paying for training, some more walking, unmapped dungeons, often erronious directions to quest locations to squeeze a little more walking out of you, getting your ass raped by higher level characters who are the gaming equivelant of paedophiles at which point you'll spend the next hour walking back to your body over and over, WARNED if you swear despite the availablitiy of a profanity filter, chain missions that have you commute between the quest giver and the same damn tower at the opposite end of the map back and forth over and over until you just wish flanders was dead.

seroiusly, i'm not renuing my subscription...

i'm going to finish KOTOR2 and GTA:SA, and replay Vampire:the Masquerade BLoodlines as the other 8 classes.... everyone else can go fishing in darnasus to their hearts content.
but fuck that game. those lazy bastards.
and enough with all the rogue buffs, and make with the warrior buffs, you goddamned jock fearing nerds.

Good man. Funny, I played GTA SA too right after throwing away WoW, it being such a source of frustration for warriors (another common thing there). There's one thing though, what was that about the warns for swearing? You mean that pussy players fuck with you or the moderators?

[Cyzyk]

Ooh, that Bloodlines game was a goodie. I loved that, but only played it once. Too unstable, I couldn't play more than 40 minutes without crashing, although I suffered through that because it was fun.

Anyway, the job thing is also an attempt to alleviate the tedium of doing the same old "find bloke, kill him, take magic gem 1 of 8, find next bloke" gameplay that dominates most titles these days. Sadly, what is considered a "minigame" often consists of little more than normal minor mechanics made a significant element.

[Gobbler]

Ahh yes... Bloodlines... what a wonderful game... and always remember children: There's no way like the Malkavian way.

[barend]

Good man. Funny, I played GTA SA too right after throwing away WoW, it being such a source of frustration for warriors (another common thing there). There's one thing though, what was that about the warns for swearing? You mean that pussy players fuck with you or the moderators?

there is a profanity filter that blocks swear words and words that refer to tabooty body parts, but people can choose not use it and just report you for swearing, which can lead to suspension of your account.

one of many problems that could be solved with 'over 18s' servers.

Ooh, that Bloodlines game was a goodie. I loved that, but only played it once. Too unstable, I couldn't play more than 40 minutes without crashing, although I suffered through that because it was fun.

there is a patch.

Anyway, the job thing is also an attempt to alleviate the tedium of doing the same old "find bloke, kill him, take magic gem 1 of 8, find next bloke" gameplay that dominates most titles these days. Sadly, what is considered a "minigame" often consists of little more than normal minor mechanics made a significant element.

the tedium of killing is not eleviated by the tedium of fishing, sewing, or occasionally finding the right mineral to mine.

and why the fuck does mining generate more agro than killing clansmen of a group?

[David-kyo]

there is a profanity filter that blocks swear words and words that refer to tabooty body parts, but people can choose not use it and just report you for swearing, which can lead to suspension of your account.

That's what I thought. It doesn't matter if they report you, because this is exactly what the GMs tell them, to turn the fucking profanity filter on, muddafuckah.

[Slade]

People need to just get the heck over swearing on the Internet. It happens. Deal with it.

[mireaux7]

People need to just get the heck over swearing on the Internet. It happens. Deal with it.

Profanity has become so interladen in our soceity that even the most cautious of parents can not prevent their children from becoming absorbed by it. No matter what they tend to do, be it a private school they send their children to; V-chip or other devices intended to filter profanity from being accessible on TV; retail stores prohibiting the sales of games, music or movies that contain profane themes...it doesnt matter....sooner or later this same "guarded" child will pick it up as it is notoriously written over many public bathroom stall walls (*sigh*)

hey,..wait a minute,..is this thread about jobs in video games,.or profanity?,...DOH!!