Topic

"fun"

One of the exit survey questions is, do you think this game is fun? To which I always respond with a "2". Because, at least at my early point in the game, there isn't really any "gameplay" happening. i.e. there is no challenge. Nothing I can fail at. All the quests so far involve going somewhere and doing something, but those things are all cumulative over time, so can't really be failed. And there are no puzzles that I would need to figure out in order to progress.
I guess my question is this. Am I missing something? Is there some aspect of the "game" I just haven't gotten to yet? Because right now it seems like a virtual world where I have a job and live in a house and do menial tasks, but don't actually "play" in any traditional sense. Anyone care to weigh in on this?

Posted 19 months ago by Ghost Baby Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I think this is a valid point. It, on some level, is something you "feel" or you don't. Maybe it isn't a game. Maybe it is a play space, an experience. It is a game like playing with dolls or playing with Legos or making up stories is a "game." 
    Are you "missing" something? Not if you mean "is there an element you haven't seen." It is like The Sims. Not a game by your definition.
    Posted 19 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • your level 4 youve barely touched the game. there is alot more once you progress, like visiting the tower. all the recipies you can make. helping out building the new streets. there is no*killing* or fighting as such in this game. it is meant to be peaceful as for *puzzles* I would check out the tower / youll need to find certain keys and such. there are some quests where you have to race others. or a 1 with a crow egg which can be challenging and provide a *failing* concept.
    what *tradional sense* is this you talk about? in the end you are *playing* everything is a *virtual world* its what you do in it to contribute that counts. level a bit play more explore more. but dont judge a game on its beginings considering this is in a *testing phase* and no release. if you still dont like it after that than. see ya around
    Posted 19 months ago by Hootaholic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am interested in this question but have to go to sleep. Brrp.

    So, briefly: You are right abt the quests being a lot of "do stuff enough times" type of things. I get them but I'm not really compelled to set out and *do* them, because they are the kind of things that will just eventually be fullfilled by... existing and doing things (ie, water stuff until your can breaks).

    This more affects my "would you recommend this to friends" rating, because while *I* might be crazy enough to wanna run around doing repetitive, relatively un-fun things - I can play this at work while I do other stuff and my threshold for what is entertaining me is much lower - I just can't really recommend it to other people. 

    Disjointed blah blah - sleepy - keep this discussion going, though!
    Posted 19 months ago by Nuance Subscriber! | Permalink
  • to me it's very open ended.  i just horde stuff...  when the game opens i'd like to be some sort of farmers market vendor or something and put on yearly hippie music festivals.
    Posted 19 months ago by IxÆoN Subscriber! | Permalink
  • So far (three day newbie, level 11, 27 skills) almost all the quests have been "tutorial" style - learn to use your new skill, hunt up certain things, go there.
    The few so far that have been different are
    * the rook's egg quest
    * working out the process to get a house
    * racing

    I'm expecting - hoping - that more of those sorts of tasks to turn up eventually.
    Posted 19 months ago by Spong Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Tower is a wonderful puzzle but you need to be at least Lev. 12 to complete it.  Almost every new skill will have a Quest that helps you practice the skill.  Some quests as you move along are more cryptic such as the "Harvest the last Egg" quest.  There are many things to do that increase the fun  and you can join a group.  Groups often have extra fun activities that you might enjoy.  The Fun should increase the further along you get but for some people, this is just not their game.
    Posted 19 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, I'm looking forward to that. I just saw in another thread that stoot says there'll be more Tower-like stuff soon. Yay!
    beta.glitch.com/forum/gener...
    Posted 19 months ago by Spong Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The tower infuriates me Brib and I am level 20. I just keep going around in circles. Yes I know there are tutorial help things in the other forums/groups but I want to be able to do it myself. Like Lord Bacon-o described, I do find this game similar to playing with dolls or Legos in that it is all about what you imagine it to be. That is precisely what the devs want it to be though. The home page at the blog about glitch.com states that it is a game YOU create. So imagine and put it in the ideas thread and maybe it be be so soon. As for fun-yea most days it is a 5 for me.
    Posted 19 months ago by Holly Waterfall Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's definitely a 5 for me too. I am easily absorbed in learning new tasks and just staying for a few minutes more to complete this quest, level, achievement eats up hours of my time. From time to time I wander off and set myself tasks - how many butterflies can I hatch in one session? Have I visited every street in an area? Then I go afk and participate in chat (because although female, multitasking with a keyboard is a real challenge!) Some times I do feel a bit *yawn* but then an idea pops in my head and I get totally absorbed again. I'm a bit like Holly - I don't get the tower, I've been in 1 room and visited the same corridors umpteen times, but generally I find the game and the community totally absorbing.

    I do wonder what the game will be like when it's open all the time. At the moment I'm like a pigeon in a Skinner's box constantly hitting refresh till the game opens and sticking with it till I'm drooping over the keyboard or my husband starts mentioning divorce. Will I be less obsessive when the game is available at any time?
    Posted 19 months ago by Momo McGlitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Mostly my fun lvl is at 5 on the survey...but when the trees were all decimated my fun dropped to a 1-2 and that's what I put on the survey because the kind of play that I enjoy revolves around needing lots of different trees to harvest.
    Now, even tho I think the frog is adorable, I don't know if it's going to put another kink in my fun or not...kinda looking like it may, tho, because of the wait time.
    Posted 19 months ago by sgjo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I find it a bit tiresome that each time I leave the game the same survey appears.  I understand that we're beta testers and all, but it's akin to a pretty girl asking every 5 minutes if her hair is okay.  I'd prefer to see the survey at a more variable rate upon exiting the game.

    Fun can only be defined upon that in which you derive entertainment.  Or, to put it less eloquent, as Pres. Clinton said, it depends on what your definition of "is" is.
    Posted 19 months ago by frenchphenom Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I always mark my "fun" as 4. But like Nuance, I also end up marking "Would you recommend it to friends" as a 2 or 3 because it is the sort of game that I have no idea who would like it or not... in the same way Infinite Jest is one of my favorite books but never recommend it. Okay, not the SAME way. Glitch does not equal Infinite Jest but you get the idea. I don't think the appeal of Glitch is universal. Broad? Yes. Myst had a broad appeal (especially at the time) but you show it to a "gamer" now and they are often baffled by why anyone would like it. Myst is immersive in a slow paced, almost hypnotic way.
    Posted 19 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • After a while, you don't see the exit survey at all. I had forgotten about them until I read this thread.
    Posted 19 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree with Ghost Baby in that I would love to see more puzzles in the game, more challenges, maybe more competitions... I like the races, and wanted to like the tower a bit more than I did (waiting around for keys to regenerate is more a test of patience than one of intellect).  If you find the key to a locked door on a street, you'll enter a beautiful seam street, and you might find some presents, but there are no puzzles or interesting things to do.  I think I'd like a little more Legend of Zelda and a little less Harvest Moon.  Alakol has lovely water views... why not hide a fishing game in one of the streets?  Crabs could host DDR-style dances on the beach.  I know that some mini-games are in the works, but I'd love to see them sooner rather than later.
    Posted 19 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink