Gaming has a polarization problem
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With recent big game releases, it's become obvious that a game is either a resounding success, or complete shit. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a ambitious masterpiece, and Avowed is lazy slop.
93% of Steam users recommend KCD2, vs 77% for Avowed.And maybe this has been an issue for a long time, fed by the need to get viewer numbers on articles and videos, leading to more polarized opinions that give people a reason to pick a side, even if they're never going to play the game.
But as regular people, gamers, Lemmy posters, why are we doing the same? How is it serving us? Are we all influencers in waiting, hoping to up our updoot count and build a following of... dozens?
More than 2/3rds of players of Dragon Age Veilguard recommend the game on Steam. And yet reading the comments here and other places, you'd think that 90% of people who tried the game found it to be, not just bad, but absolute trash, with a small number of people chiming in that they actually enjoyed it.
And game studios are reacting much the same way, and are quick to start layoffs, or shut down all together.
But hey, we don't owe those corporations anything.
But, as a community, do we owe it to each other to foster more honest correspondence?I don't think k this is a gaming problem.
It is a discourse problem.
People engage in absolutes. They either love a thing or hate a thing. There's no nuance.
And it must be made to cater for them, there's no expectation that it will contain choices they don't approve of.
And this stance, this modern relationship with the world permeates everything, especially forms of media.
You see it in films and books... Fans and stans and folk trying to take it down. There is no nuance or middle ground.
People don't accept that, perhaps, something isn't just "not for them". That's why you get grown men complaining about the direction of children's shows they used to watch.
And this is compounded with social media where polarisation, blunt takes and contradiction are the primary drivers of engagement.
Audience error.
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With recent big game releases, it's become obvious that a game is either a resounding success, or complete shit. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a ambitious masterpiece, and Avowed is lazy slop.
93% of Steam users recommend KCD2, vs 77% for Avowed.And maybe this has been an issue for a long time, fed by the need to get viewer numbers on articles and videos, leading to more polarized opinions that give people a reason to pick a side, even if they're never going to play the game.
But as regular people, gamers, Lemmy posters, why are we doing the same? How is it serving us? Are we all influencers in waiting, hoping to up our updoot count and build a following of... dozens?
More than 2/3rds of players of Dragon Age Veilguard recommend the game on Steam. And yet reading the comments here and other places, you'd think that 90% of people who tried the game found it to be, not just bad, but absolute trash, with a small number of people chiming in that they actually enjoyed it.
And game studios are reacting much the same way, and are quick to start layoffs, or shut down all together.
But hey, we don't owe those corporations anything.
But, as a community, do we owe it to each other to foster more honest correspondence?i don't think they are polarising. imo, 77% is mid. nothing bad with a "just okay" game. sometimes you just want to play the experience of a new familiar world and this is it.
with tiktokers though, a mid game has less to talk about and so their narratives make what little or so difference sound like a big deal. sensationalism is where the money is for them.
i guess a good list of fair and reliable sources would help out here.
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With recent big game releases, it's become obvious that a game is either a resounding success, or complete shit. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a ambitious masterpiece, and Avowed is lazy slop.
93% of Steam users recommend KCD2, vs 77% for Avowed.And maybe this has been an issue for a long time, fed by the need to get viewer numbers on articles and videos, leading to more polarized opinions that give people a reason to pick a side, even if they're never going to play the game.
But as regular people, gamers, Lemmy posters, why are we doing the same? How is it serving us? Are we all influencers in waiting, hoping to up our updoot count and build a following of... dozens?
More than 2/3rds of players of Dragon Age Veilguard recommend the game on Steam. And yet reading the comments here and other places, you'd think that 90% of people who tried the game found it to be, not just bad, but absolute trash, with a small number of people chiming in that they actually enjoyed it.
And game studios are reacting much the same way, and are quick to start layoffs, or shut down all together.
But hey, we don't owe those corporations anything.
But, as a community, do we owe it to each other to foster more honest correspondence?I’ve learned a long time ago that if you just wait a few years these games will go on sale for $20 and will have enough informed reviews to help make a solid purchasing decision. Gamers need to get off this new release hype train and be patient. I personally won’t play KCD 2, I disliked the first one. I will probably try Avowed in a few years after I get through my existing backlog of ~100 unplayed games in Steam. We are spoiled for choice and the market is filled with good indie games.
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Brother, picking on your example, Avowed had the gall to charge 11€ more than KCD2 while offering a facsimile of what it promised while KCD2 improved upon their past game in every way. The polarisation stems from a game published by one of the richest companies in the world and in production for over 6y delivering a mediocre experience (at best) when compared to CHEAPER offerings that do much more. In truth, it's not polarisation, it's requiring a modicum of quality for your money. I returned it because I was advertised an Obsidian RPG and got a linear shooter with barely any choices and performance issues that would not be foreign in a mobile marketplace. That's the future gamepass brings, slop. Luckily, there's US indie, Asian and European developers making good games, KCD2 or BG3 being such examples. Shit, even Lords of the Fallen is a better experience than Avowed as people were delivered the experience that was promised in the promotional materials at less than 70€.
Edit:
Dragon Age was technically well executed, but, again, as an RPG, it had little to offer. Would be another game perfect for a mobile app store. The total sales of that game and predicted sales of avowed confirm as much, it's shovelware capitalising on a franchise name to drive sales while having no craft or passion behind it. If you read the reviews for avowed, the overwhelming majority of the thumbs up reviews complain the game is not worth the price of admission and it's a mid game at best.I am sorry, but it seems your Avowed is different from the one I am playing. I agree with your comment, but I am enjoying Avowed like I haven't enjoyed any game in years! And barely any choices? Really? I just finished the first area (not the tutorial), and there were LOTS of meaningful choices! But speaking of the tutorial, there was a choice there that impacted certain future interactions. The R is definitely there in this RPG. I haven't played a game where even the little choices matter as much as in this game!
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I don't think k this is a gaming problem.
It is a discourse problem.
People engage in absolutes. They either love a thing or hate a thing. There's no nuance.
And it must be made to cater for them, there's no expectation that it will contain choices they don't approve of.
And this stance, this modern relationship with the world permeates everything, especially forms of media.
You see it in films and books... Fans and stans and folk trying to take it down. There is no nuance or middle ground.
People don't accept that, perhaps, something isn't just "not for them". That's why you get grown men complaining about the direction of children's shows they used to watch.
And this is compounded with social media where polarisation, blunt takes and contradiction are the primary drivers of engagement.
Audience error.
It's absolutely not just a gaming problem. Movie reviews are getting more and more bandwagon-y. Only a few reviewers post in the first day or two, and everyone else says "okay, they hated it, now I have to hate it too or I'm going to lose credibility". I think it's the inevitable outcome of having less famous reviewers, a NYT columnist can post what they feel, but a small blog can fall into obscurity if they have one contrarian review.
The only part that's unique to gaming is that gamers are the most toxic community in the internet.
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It's absolutely not just a gaming problem. Movie reviews are getting more and more bandwagon-y. Only a few reviewers post in the first day or two, and everyone else says "okay, they hated it, now I have to hate it too or I'm going to lose credibility". I think it's the inevitable outcome of having less famous reviewers, a NYT columnist can post what they feel, but a small blog can fall into obscurity if they have one contrarian review.
The only part that's unique to gaming is that gamers are the most toxic community in the internet.
The only part that's unique to gaming is that gamers are the most toxic community in the internet.
I wish this wasn't as true as it is.
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With recent big game releases, it's become obvious that a game is either a resounding success, or complete shit. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a ambitious masterpiece, and Avowed is lazy slop.
93% of Steam users recommend KCD2, vs 77% for Avowed.And maybe this has been an issue for a long time, fed by the need to get viewer numbers on articles and videos, leading to more polarized opinions that give people a reason to pick a side, even if they're never going to play the game.
But as regular people, gamers, Lemmy posters, why are we doing the same? How is it serving us? Are we all influencers in waiting, hoping to up our updoot count and build a following of... dozens?
More than 2/3rds of players of Dragon Age Veilguard recommend the game on Steam. And yet reading the comments here and other places, you'd think that 90% of people who tried the game found it to be, not just bad, but absolute trash, with a small number of people chiming in that they actually enjoyed it.
And game studios are reacting much the same way, and are quick to start layoffs, or shut down all together.
But hey, we don't owe those corporations anything.
But, as a community, do we owe it to each other to foster more honest correspondence?With the amount of 9s and 10s coming out, why would you waste time with a 7? The polarisation is just an effect of the language of clickbait spreading in society, but doesn't change the fact that average games are probably not worth your time.
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I don't think k this is a gaming problem.
It is a discourse problem.
People engage in absolutes. They either love a thing or hate a thing. There's no nuance.
And it must be made to cater for them, there's no expectation that it will contain choices they don't approve of.
And this stance, this modern relationship with the world permeates everything, especially forms of media.
You see it in films and books... Fans and stans and folk trying to take it down. There is no nuance or middle ground.
People don't accept that, perhaps, something isn't just "not for them". That's why you get grown men complaining about the direction of children's shows they used to watch.
And this is compounded with social media where polarisation, blunt takes and contradiction are the primary drivers of engagement.
Audience error.
People don't accept that, perhaps, something isn't just "not for them"
I think this is my favorite comment on this whole thread.
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With the amount of 9s and 10s coming out, why would you waste time with a 7? The polarisation is just an effect of the language of clickbait spreading in society, but doesn't change the fact that average games are probably not worth your time.
Because most reviewers will still have subjective biases, and what some people perceive as a 10 might be a 5 to others, and vice versa.
I personally try to avoid looking at 'raw' ratings when I'm trying to find new media.
Full reviews are better, because they're able to express more nuance, and I'm able to decide if the parts they liked/disliked are things I care about. -
With recent big game releases, it's become obvious that a game is either a resounding success, or complete shit. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a ambitious masterpiece, and Avowed is lazy slop.
93% of Steam users recommend KCD2, vs 77% for Avowed.And maybe this has been an issue for a long time, fed by the need to get viewer numbers on articles and videos, leading to more polarized opinions that give people a reason to pick a side, even if they're never going to play the game.
But as regular people, gamers, Lemmy posters, why are we doing the same? How is it serving us? Are we all influencers in waiting, hoping to up our updoot count and build a following of... dozens?
More than 2/3rds of players of Dragon Age Veilguard recommend the game on Steam. And yet reading the comments here and other places, you'd think that 90% of people who tried the game found it to be, not just bad, but absolute trash, with a small number of people chiming in that they actually enjoyed it.
And game studios are reacting much the same way, and are quick to start layoffs, or shut down all together.
But hey, we don't owe those corporations anything.
But, as a community, do we owe it to each other to foster more honest correspondence?Well... to me this seems awfully close to "stop hitting yourself problem".
Why are you looking comments everywhere? Do you really need that information to make a decision? Is it so bad to play a bad game now and then? I don't see a problem, because this problem is easily avoidable by not going to social media for opinions.
Or am I missing the point?
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