I like it when games have a definitive ending

[kitler53]

I'm reading this right now:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/aaa-dev-cycles-are-now-sufficiently-long-that-the-industry-wisdom-theyre-built-on-is-often-outdated-or-disproven-even-before-a-game-comes-out.696709/

...and the thought that comes to mind is how much i don't really like games that try to entice me to play it forever.  oh sure, there are a handful of games where this works:
- mario kart
- rocket league
- multiversus

those games all have 1 thing in common.  you play a "match" for a couple minutes and then play another "match".

but more often than not i just want a game to have a definitive ending.  I play it for a while.  I reach a conclusion.  I buy and play another game.   I don't want to just play 1 game for the rest of my life and without that conclusion putting a game down feels very unsatisfying.  

i started playing minecraft dungeons with my kiddo this weekend.  it took me an hour or so to figure it out but i'm really disappointed that this is just all a procedurally generated infinite loop of random levels and loot drops.  i've immediately decided i don't like it.  when there is no specific goal to achieve any progression feels pointless.

call me old fashioned but i like the old business model of single player games without all the GaaSification.

[the-pi-guy]

This doesn't have to do with GaaS, but I tend to break down games into whether or not they are open ended or have a set list of objectives.

Minecraft is open ended. Farming games tend to be open ended.

Uncharted, God of War have objectives.

Skyrim is a funny case where there's both. There are mainline stories, and then there endless generated quests. But it has objectives so I count it under there.

On paper, I love the idea of a game that I love not having an ending. If I could play Bloodborne forever that might be kind of cool.

In reality, I have found I play games with objectives much longer than games without and I have a much better time. There are several objective driven games that I've played in the hundreds of hours. Whereas there is probably only one open ended game that I've played that much. They usually top out at around 50 hours for me.


If there was a great game that somehow managed to generate meaningful objectives, that would probably be my preference. But as it stands open ended games don't generate meaningful objectives...  

[Legend]

I don't want to do the same thing over and over.

Definitive endings are great but I might not even reach them if the game's a slog. In my case the thing I care about is the "total unique things" the game has to show me and how quickly I can experience them. Cities Skylines, ksp, Civ 6, Stellaris, etc. are all great infinite games imo because they frontload all the unique content. I can get my fill and leave.

[kitler53]

great post Pi. 

you are right that a game doesn't have to be GaaS to not have a definitive ending.   I also hate games like Minecraft or terraria.   

even if I like the gameplay I just have no motivation to go forward if there is no end in sight.  I started ready set heros a while ago.   really fun.  only lasted 2 hours before I quit. 

meanwhile I'm around 50 hours into GoW and I still want to keep playing knowing I'm close to the end.