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There's probably no better feeling than putting yourself in the firing-line and coming through victorious. Yes, I like a challenge; I think deep down we all do - whether it be against man or machine. There's something strangely thrilling about taking yourself to the precipice and gazing into the abyss. When fear and excitement are present in equal amounts it nearly always creates a life-enhancing spark.
"Live dangerously" was the motto of the 19th century philosopher Nietzsche, and what he meant by this is that we should always attempt to live our lives as if our every moment could be our last - we should only embrace security so as the squeeze out the breath of contentment, for it is overcoming adversity that gives life meaning. The stagnation of over-safety should always be viewed with a suspicious eye.
And this is how I desire things to be when it comes to gaming.
The truly great games always drop the player into a knife-edge situation. Whether it's driving on the absolute limit - or as Murray Walker would say: "on the ragged edge". Whether it's a First Person Shooter that drops us into a world infested with immediate danger where we are a bullet away from Game Over. Whether it's a platformer where one hurried or badly-judged leap will see us plummit into oblivion.
It might sound like a contradiction, but I play games in order to relax and escape, yet I've always found that games which require of me full-on 100% concentration are always the most relaxing. Games that take me (as it where) to-the-brink because of fear of failure are always the most enjoyable. Even though these types of games usually go hand-in-hand with feelings of frustration and confusion (and even anger), they are always the one's which bring with them the most satisfaction.
It's all about challenge and achievement. I genuinely enjoy being pushed to the limit. So I suppose when it comes to games I'm what some might call a "purist" - that is to say: *the fun of gaming is found totally in the intensity, complexity and challenge of the gameplay*.
In my opinion the greatest games are those which require and demand from the player intense concentration, total mastership of the controls, fast reactions, and quick decision-making - in other words: the most effective and addictive games are those which take us on a journey of non-stop, skillful action. For me, storylines should take a back seat, they are just not that necessary when compared to the importance of "pure gameplay" - in fact, most storylines serve only to fragment the gameplay.
It's only within truly challenging and intense games where skill and mastership are required in order to progress and succeed that the player can find him or herself experiencing moments of inspiration - moments when they achieve a result which they didn't think was possible.... and within the inevitable limitations of games, this is a rare and wonderful thing.
"Live dangerously" was the motto of the 19th century philosopher Nietzsche, and what he meant by this is that we should always attempt to live our lives as if our every moment could be our last - we should only embrace security so as the squeeze out the breath of contentment, for it is overcoming adversity that gives life meaning. The stagnation of over-safety should always be viewed with a suspicious eye.
And this is how I desire things to be when it comes to gaming.
The truly great games always drop the player into a knife-edge situation. Whether it's driving on the absolute limit - or as Murray Walker would say: "on the ragged edge". Whether it's a First Person Shooter that drops us into a world infested with immediate danger where we are a bullet away from Game Over. Whether it's a platformer where one hurried or badly-judged leap will see us plummit into oblivion.
It might sound like a contradiction, but I play games in order to relax and escape, yet I've always found that games which require of me full-on 100% concentration are always the most relaxing. Games that take me (as it where) to-the-brink because of fear of failure are always the most enjoyable. Even though these types of games usually go hand-in-hand with feelings of frustration and confusion (and even anger), they are always the one's which bring with them the most satisfaction.
It's all about challenge and achievement. I genuinely enjoy being pushed to the limit. So I suppose when it comes to games I'm what some might call a "purist" - that is to say: *the fun of gaming is found totally in the intensity, complexity and challenge of the gameplay*.
In my opinion the greatest games are those which require and demand from the player intense concentration, total mastership of the controls, fast reactions, and quick decision-making - in other words: the most effective and addictive games are those which take us on a journey of non-stop, skillful action. For me, storylines should take a back seat, they are just not that necessary when compared to the importance of "pure gameplay" - in fact, most storylines serve only to fragment the gameplay.
It's only within truly challenging and intense games where skill and mastership are required in order to progress and succeed that the player can find him or herself experiencing moments of inspiration - moments when they achieve a result which they didn't think was possible.... and within the inevitable limitations of games, this is a rare and wonderful thing.
Strafex wrote:
> I have to disagree about it being relaxing.
> A mid-challenge is, but some games get so intense, they can actually
> get sort of stressful and raise your pulse immensly.
*
Yeah, but if when playing a game you begin to sweat and your heartbeat speeds up, then that must be one helluva involving and immersive game. Getting Invincibility on GoldenEye - I bet you didn't forget that in a hurry.
If a game is unfair, then yeah, that's just frustrating. But when success comes down to your skill and quick reactions - then that's what I call great gameplay.
> I have to disagree about it being relaxing.
> A mid-challenge is, but some games get so intense, they can actually
> get sort of stressful and raise your pulse immensly.
*
Yeah, but if when playing a game you begin to sweat and your heartbeat speeds up, then that must be one helluva involving and immersive game. Getting Invincibility on GoldenEye - I bet you didn't forget that in a hurry.
If a game is unfair, then yeah, that's just frustrating. But when success comes down to your skill and quick reactions - then that's what I call great gameplay.
Getting Invincibility on Goldeneye.
I thought I'd NEVER do that.
I have to disagree about it being relaxing.
A mid-challenge is, but some games get so intense, they can actually get sort of stressful and raise your pulse immensly.
Don't worry, tests show that this has a positive effect on your immune system! :-)
I thought I'd NEVER do that.
I have to disagree about it being relaxing.
A mid-challenge is, but some games get so intense, they can actually get sort of stressful and raise your pulse immensly.
Don't worry, tests show that this has a positive effect on your immune system! :-)
There's probably no better feeling than putting yourself in the firing-line and coming through victorious. Yes, I like a challenge; I think deep down we all do - whether it be against man or machine. There's something strangely thrilling about taking yourself to the precipice and gazing into the abyss. When fear and excitement are present in equal amounts it nearly always creates a life-enhancing spark.
"Live dangerously" was the motto of the 19th century philosopher Nietzsche, and what he meant by this is that we should always attempt to live our lives as if our every moment could be our last - we should only embrace security so as the squeeze out the breath of contentment, for it is overcoming adversity that gives life meaning. The stagnation of over-safety should always be viewed with a suspicious eye.
And this is how I desire things to be when it comes to gaming.
The truly great games always drop the player into a knife-edge situation. Whether it's driving on the absolute limit - or as Murray Walker would say: "on the ragged edge". Whether it's a First Person Shooter that drops us into a world infested with immediate danger where we are a bullet away from Game Over. Whether it's a platformer where one hurried or badly-judged leap will see us plummit into oblivion.
It might sound like a contradiction, but I play games in order to relax and escape, yet I've always found that games which require of me full-on 100% concentration are always the most relaxing. Games that take me (as it where) to-the-brink because of fear of failure are always the most enjoyable. Even though these types of games usually go hand-in-hand with feelings of frustration and confusion (and even anger), they are always the one's which bring with them the most satisfaction.
It's all about challenge and achievement. I genuinely enjoy being pushed to the limit. So I suppose when it comes to games I'm what some might call a "purist" - that is to say: *the fun of gaming is found totally in the intensity, complexity and challenge of the gameplay*.
In my opinion the greatest games are those which require and demand from the player intense concentration, total mastership of the controls, fast reactions, and quick decision-making - in other words: the most effective and addictive games are those which take us on a journey of non-stop, skillful action. For me, storylines should take a back seat, they are just not that necessary when compared to the importance of "pure gameplay" - in fact, most storylines serve only to fragment the gameplay.
It's only within truly challenging and intense games where skill and mastership are required in order to progress and succeed that the player can find him or herself experiencing moments of inspiration - moments when they achieve a result which they didn't think was possible.... and within the inevitable limitations of games, this is a rare and wonderful thing.
"Live dangerously" was the motto of the 19th century philosopher Nietzsche, and what he meant by this is that we should always attempt to live our lives as if our every moment could be our last - we should only embrace security so as the squeeze out the breath of contentment, for it is overcoming adversity that gives life meaning. The stagnation of over-safety should always be viewed with a suspicious eye.
And this is how I desire things to be when it comes to gaming.
The truly great games always drop the player into a knife-edge situation. Whether it's driving on the absolute limit - or as Murray Walker would say: "on the ragged edge". Whether it's a First Person Shooter that drops us into a world infested with immediate danger where we are a bullet away from Game Over. Whether it's a platformer where one hurried or badly-judged leap will see us plummit into oblivion.
It might sound like a contradiction, but I play games in order to relax and escape, yet I've always found that games which require of me full-on 100% concentration are always the most relaxing. Games that take me (as it where) to-the-brink because of fear of failure are always the most enjoyable. Even though these types of games usually go hand-in-hand with feelings of frustration and confusion (and even anger), they are always the one's which bring with them the most satisfaction.
It's all about challenge and achievement. I genuinely enjoy being pushed to the limit. So I suppose when it comes to games I'm what some might call a "purist" - that is to say: *the fun of gaming is found totally in the intensity, complexity and challenge of the gameplay*.
In my opinion the greatest games are those which require and demand from the player intense concentration, total mastership of the controls, fast reactions, and quick decision-making - in other words: the most effective and addictive games are those which take us on a journey of non-stop, skillful action. For me, storylines should take a back seat, they are just not that necessary when compared to the importance of "pure gameplay" - in fact, most storylines serve only to fragment the gameplay.
It's only within truly challenging and intense games where skill and mastership are required in order to progress and succeed that the player can find him or herself experiencing moments of inspiration - moments when they achieve a result which they didn't think was possible.... and within the inevitable limitations of games, this is a rare and wonderful thing.