Why Don't People Finish Games?
Ted Price, President/CEO; Brian Hastings, VP of Gameplay; Brian Allgeier, Designer
Developer: Insomniac
Latest Game: Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal
Gamestar: What was the last game you finished? What kept you playing?
Brian Hastings: I'm embarrassed to say it but it's been almost two years since I finished a game. The last one was Sly Cooper. Since then I just haven't had enough time to finish anything. I really loved Sly, though, and the charm and the creativity in each level just made me want to keep going. It's not often that I play a game where I just can't put it down, but Sly is one of those. The last one before that was Ico.
What do you think are the main reasons people don't finish games? Not enough time? Too many other good games to try? Something else?
BH: Too little time and too many games is a big factor. But I think if the game is good enough people are going to finish it no matter what. Games like the Final Fantasy series, Ico, Halo, and Metal Gear Solid all have the ability to draw the player in and keep them wanting more. The three biggest pitfalls games run into are frustration, tedium, and dull storylines. If the story is really good people will put up with a lot of frustration and tedium just to keep going. But if you can't immerse the audience in your game world then a lot of people will toss the game on the shelf as soon as they get stuck.
GS: It can take as long to play through a single game through as it does to watch a dozen movies. What kind of hooks and techniques do you use in designing a game to make sure people don't lose interest?
GS: How important is the story or plot in a game? Has it become more or less important in the past few years?
BH: I think game stories are much more important now than five years ago. Aside from sports and racing titles just about every hit game this generation has a very involved storyline. Metal Gear Solid raised the level of expectations last generation and showed how immersive and effective a good story could be. Grand Theft Auto raised the bar even further this generation. The gaming audience is getting more sophisticated each year and people now expect the quality of the writing, acting and directing in games to be comparable to that of Hollywood movies. As games gradually surpass movies in terms of mainstream popularity we'll see more and more Hollywood talent move into interactive entertainment.
GS: We often hear that games have "40 hours of gameplay". Does that term really mean anything? Do you think there's a "magic number" to target?
BH: I don't think anyone knows what that means anymore. For instance Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando took anywhere from 15 hours to 50 hours to complete depending on how good you are and how you chose to play the game. Most experienced gamers in our play tests would beat the final boss in the 18- to 25-hour range, but what if they want to get 100%? That's another 10 hours. What about all the extra features in Challenge mode? Some players replay the game five or ten times, how do you count that? How many hours do you add on for online and split-screen features? Is SOCOM a 10-hour game or a 10-month game? With most games these days the whole metric just goes out the window.
GS: Does it bother you that a good chunk of your audience may never see the later parts of your game? Do you spend less time on the end-game as a result?
BA: I like to believe that most players will see the whole game and we try to pay as much attention to the end of the game as the beginning. We usually work on the levels in the order that they are played and as a result, end up work on the final levels at the end of the project. Due to focus tests and media presentations, the earlier levels often get the benefit of more polish passes. Though it balances out in that when we get to the later levels, we've hit our stride and know what works best from focus testing and feedback around the office.
GS: Some hugely popular games don't have an "ending" to reach. What makes someone eventually stop playing EverQuest, for example? The Sims?
Ted Price: When your electricity gets shut off because you haven't paid your bills would probably be up there as a good reason. Others might be: your wife divorces you because you start referring to her as "Ogra the Sorceress"; people at work shun you because you keep sending emails asking if anyone wants to buy shadowsilk armor; you realize that you prefer your in-game pets to your real-life pets so you stop feeding your dog to save money to pay your monthly subscription fee, etc.
But for me it's generally a time issue.
GS: I'm going to list some critically-acclaimed games. If you played any of them, did you finish them? If not, do you remember where and why you stopped?
TP: Halo (Xbox): Played it - got to the very last level and had to stop because of deadlines on RC2.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox): Got through about eight hours and had to stop -- again deadlines. Ironically Ray Muzyka from Bioware told me that this is when most people get hooked and start to forego sleep, food, etc. I'm going back to it when we're done with RC:UYA to see if it happens to me...
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox): Have been playing it off and on for the last couple of months. I think I'm probably about halfway through...
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2): Got about 4 hours into it and stopped. I got a little bored - not enough of an action game for me.
Grand Theft Auto III / Vice City (PS2): Does anyone ever finish this game completely? Lost a good chunk of my leisure time to this one but came nowhere near finishing it because of time constraints at work. And I didn't even make it off the first island. I suck.
Call of Duty (PC): One of my favorite games on the PC. Finished it.
Doom 3 (PC): Playing it right now (or I was until we went into the gold burn process for RC:UYA). 4 hours in. It's a beautiful game but the gameplay is a little repetitive for me. Not sure if I'm going to go back to it.
Metroid Prime (GC): Since Super Metroid is my favorite game of all time, I felt obligated to finish this one. So I did. Had a blast!
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC): I really tried hard to like this one and after about three hours I just walked away. I guess I'm more of an action game fan than an adventure game diehard.
Pikmin (GC): Maybe 50% complete. I got sucked in because it was so fresh and unusual. But it began to get a bit repetitive for me.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: I'm ashamed to admit I only played the demo. I'm looking forward to playing the sequel though...
Splinter Cell: Again, spent about 3 hours in the game -- enough to know that it's a great game but not my cup o' tea.
I spent way too much time playing Star Wars Galaxies Online. I haven't played in a while because of our deadlines but I may go back to it. That is unless I pick up World of Warcraft or Everquest II instead...or my wife takes away my computer and bans me from online games. Which is possible. Gamestar Q&A Page 3
