Home Gaming It's not the size that counts

It's not the size that counts

1 min read
35

wonderful-101-wii-u.jpg

Top Japanese game developer, Hideki Kamiya, commented on game lengths over the weekend. Famous for games such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and Okami, he is also the name behind the upcoming Wii U title Wonderful 101. In any event, he tweeted

If u hate to finish a game the next day u buy it, u better not play TW101. I focus on how it is fun, not how long it lasts till the ending.

Makes sense to me, and I honestly wish more game developers would take this approach. I’m so tired of running around (hopefully on horses) from one end of the world to another, or revisiting the same location 900 times because now things are different and I need to check with everyone in the world if they noticed. And don’t even get me started on randomly added multiplayer!

Sure, I love an RPG that takes hours to play. I’m that kinda girl. But I also loved Batman: Arkham Asylum even though it took a weekend to play. Stop worrying about overfilling games with features and extra bells and whistles – make sure it’s a decent game and the rest will follow!

Last Updated: April 30, 2013

35 Comments

  1. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    April 30, 2013 at 14:40

    I agree mostly. But I also don’t like it when it’s too short. I enjoy having a game that takes me a few days of play to finish (That being “part-time” play not full time).

    Having a full time job leaves one with way too little free time. So very long games are out. But anything that’s too short and you are stuck with nothing to play again until something else comes along.

    Reply

    • Trevor Davies

      April 30, 2013 at 14:50

      If it’s short it needs replay value, otherwise I feel like I’ve wasted my hard earned cash.

      Excluding multiplayer stuff if that’s more your thing, like some of the more popular FPS.

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 30, 2013 at 14:54

        Perfect example of just the right blend is Bioshock Infinite.

        Just the right length for me to enjoy over a descent period since I am working most of the time.

        Reply

        • Rince da Ref Lvl2

          April 30, 2013 at 15:06

          Agreed, it took me 10 days to finish, because I thourghly enjoyed it each evening. Granted, I did dream about cities in the sky, and burning people I don’t like to death, then capitalising on the viguor combinations after. Wow, what a game.

          Reply

      • Rince da Ref Lvl2

        April 30, 2013 at 15:13

        Linesman, see Deon’s blunder below, I don’t think we need the 3rd umpire for this clear fail…

        Reply

        • Trevor Davies

          April 30, 2013 at 16:01

          Attempting to hide it in binary,
          that’s a professional foul I say.
          Extend the next no CoD trolling week
          by another day 😉

          Reply

          • Rince da Ref Lvl2

            April 30, 2013 at 16:11

            I have to agree. Another day added. So finals next Tuesday!

  2. umar bastra

    April 30, 2013 at 14:46

    Agree, to a certain extent. I still love my 90 hr Jrpg, I mean, I want Ni No Kuni to last forever and evar!! but If I look at games such as Metal Gear Rising which was very focused and was action packed from start to finish, it had perfect pacing for it’s length.

    So not all games should really be short, but if it is short, make it the best few hours of your life

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 30, 2013 at 15:03

      I couldn’t have said it better!

      Reply

      • umar bastra

        April 30, 2013 at 15:07

        gotta have balance mun, that ways, games will be Proper tidy en’it?

        Reply

  3. Unavengedavo

    April 30, 2013 at 15:16

    That’s what she said… O wait she did say that :/

    Reply

  4. DrKiller

    April 30, 2013 at 15:47

    I love short games! Gives me time to play more games 🙂

    Reply

  5. Tbone187

    April 30, 2013 at 16:48

    Agreed,,, running to far parts of the map to perform tedious tasks gets a bit much…Although I didn’t mind in Monster Hunter…It was truly rewarding…Not many rpg’s provided that amount of satisfaction for me…

    With limited time these days, I prefer certain game types…No time for in-depth exploring and the unlocking of weird stuff that I’ll never bother using…

    And YES, Modern Warfare 3 survival is freakin awesome for me at the moment…made it to wave 34 on single player the other day.A feat that will soon be broken…It’s just good lasting fun that pushes you to take on your previous best…Haters will hate but they the only ones missing out in the end…

    Reply

  6. matthurstrsa

    May 2, 2013 at 07:19

    I must at least feel like I got my money’s worth. Don’t charge me R600 for a game that takes 3 hours to finish. But don’t add unnecessary content. It’s so simple.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Watch an entire game get designed via a Twitter thread

An indie developer has documented his entire game design thought process on an insightful …