Why Gamers Quit
Bruce Phillips, a Microsoft Game Studio user researcher, just wrote an article for Gamasutra looking at stats of achievements and theorizing why gamers quit before completing a game. In the article, Phillips looks at achievements gained and notes how very few people finished the single-player campaign of some rather popular titles, also looking at total complete achievement points scored.
He then ponders why so few people finish many games:
I strongly suspect that most designers spend very little, if any, time considering what the player experience should be in the 10 seconds between a failure event, such as dying or losing a race, and the moment when play resumes -- or worse, the moment the player quits. (There are some notable exceptions, including Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty, which I discuss in the following section.)Given the opportunities to keep players involved and motivated, it's unfortunate that game developers rarely take advantage of these moments. In fact, they might be the most important 10 seconds of your game. While we spend weeks creating a few seconds of a cut scene and hours perfecting a texture, we spend very little time considering and implementing appropriate feedback at those very moments when a player decides whether to continue playing.
It's a lengthy article, and I have more to say after the jump.
Continuing his look at game failure, he briefly notes how early game death screens were very lacking in information, simply stating "Game Over," "You're Dead," et cetera. This tends to separate players into two mindsets, those that believe they even lack the ability, and those that believe they can learn from their mistakes. Citing some research, he talks about the important distinction between these mindsets, and starts loosely extrapolating how we can get more players to fall into the latter category.
As an example, he cites Team Fortress 2's death screen, where you are given information about how you fared compared to your last attempt: you lasted this long opposed to this longest time you've stayed alive, you killed this many versus prior attempts, et cetera. The game actively encourages you with silver linings, and gives you a metric by which to measure yourself and use as a constant so that you can experiment.
On the other end are performance goals, such as achievements, which do well for people confident in their ability, those that believe they made the mistake, not that the game is overly difficult for their skill level.
In many ways, it's curious to look at recent games when contemplating this. Demon's Souls is difficult, yes, but it encourages players to continue by many examples. There are bloodstains from previous corpses by which you can not only inform yourself, but be aware that others have died there. Achievements are keyed to such grandiose events (killing a boss or achieving all spells/weapons/miracles) that there is no one way to play that the game is citing to you. So, yes, the game is difficult, but through the notes and bloodstains, there is a feeling that this can be accomplished--there is encouragement.
I have even watched it on Twitter, with my friends discussing strategies, intent on the fact that it is not the ability they lack, just the proper way of implementing a strategy.
Then, of course, we have the still-in-the-wings Super Mario Bros. Wii, which has a guiding block system. This is purely optional, but gives you one strategy for level completion, or for just bypassing the frustration all together. Seeing as Nintendo does not have achievements (just the usual complete the game, and apparently a special bonus for completing it without the guiding block appearing), the emphasis is less on these performance goals, but more on the learning goals of merely mastering the game and finding strategies.
While I myself tend to finish most of the games that come down my path (even if my Backloggery reports that I have 60 games sitting off-stage at the moment), I'm glad to see some thought being put into these notions. I also have a feeling that a factor that Phillips does not discuss is game length in comparison among games and then factoring in difficulty level.
What about you? Do you finish most games, or does your shelf stare at you with the ghosts of games left to be completed?
VorpalBunny
Posted to Miscellany on 27 October 2009
· Comments (10)
Other stuff like this: bruce phillips, gamasutra, game difficulty, microsoft gaming studio
I can only talk for myself, but I have a huge library of games of which I've only finished a fraction.
The reason this is, is because there is always another interesting game around the corner that lures me away. Sure I want to finish the others, but I also want to try out the rest of the games.
I started Mass Effect not too long ago. Just after getting ready to leave the Citadel I quit the game for some reason I've forgotten. Since then I've started other games. I've started and finished Arkham Asylum and started The Last Remnant.
But now I've also got Uncharted 2 and Borderlands that I want to play (should arrive in the mail later this week).
So the reason is that there are just too many games and too little time to play them in.
I have a huge library of games but for the most part I finish a good majority of my games but I still have the occasional one that just frustrates me...Brothers in Arms Hells Highway for example although a good game just feels dragged out and I just cant bring myself to finish it due to the fact that it feels like it should have ended at a part I already beaten. Then theres Uncharted 1 and 2 Im about halfway through Uncharted 1 and I want to finish it but its just ridiculously frustrating at some points and its difficult to see what Im doing wrong before Im dead.
For the most part though I play my games all the way through just not as fast as others
For me personally, if I feel like I'm missing out on something, then I lose the motivation to finish the game. I'm not really one for replay value so when I finish a game it's done.
This is why I stray from spoilers and walkthroughs. But sometimes there are certain instances where I'm lost and need some direction. And this is why FFXII and Persona 3 are just sitting there.
I agree with Nexus, One reason for me, is that there is always another new game I want to play.
I used to have a lot of time for gaming, but now rarely do. I think games are getting too long to complete.
I'm also a completionist with a serious case of OCD, so I have to get all the trophies/achievements, this is also a problem when those dumb games come along with something like, play 100 hours of this game, or get 1,000 kills in that game, or use x weapon more times than you would ever naturally use the weapon.
These achievements frustrate me, I'd like to see develpers move away from extreme achievements, and more towards an 80%-90% colleted via an average play through, and 10-20% more tough (100% items collected, finish on extreme mode, etc)
I think the large amount of "extreme" achievments is the primary reason I don't "complete" my games. Recently, with only about 5 hours a week of play time, I just have to move on, if there is just too much being asked of the player.
The only time perceived difficulty makes me quit a game is relatively early on. Once I get far enough in the game, nothing is going to stop me because I figure if I've made it that far, I definitely have the ability to beat it.
Time and the vast number of other games out there begging me to play them is the predominant factor in my quitting.
Oh I forgot to mention above, that I'm guessing some of those as I call them "extreme" achievements are the ones sitting unclaimed in the guys research, I don't think its fair to look at those as "inclomplete" games.
I understand, because of my OCD, that 800/1000 GP is incomplete, but I'm not going to play 50 hours of Beautiful Katamari for 40GP, nor 100 hours for 80GP and with no one playing online anymore, I will never be able to obtain the 40GP for playing online 50 times, nor the 40GP for obtaining 1,000 cookies (also only available online).
Down with the online only, time based and repetitive achievements!!!!
I seldom completely 'finish' games mainly because halfway through a shiny newer game comes out and i ditch the old one in favour of the new experience.
While I do collect gamerscore I've never got 100% completion as when I have the option of playing the same game I've played _again_ or for a considerable number of hours when I could be spending that time on a new experience.
Since I rent games I play most of them for 1-2 hours, think "meh' and send it back, get a new one, rise repeat.
Time is far too precious for game monogamy.
I've never let the difficulty of a game hinder my participation with the exception of a massive difficulty spike at the end. When out of the blue the last boss fight is suddenly significantly harder/time consuming and requiring an entirely new style and strategy compared to the one I've been using for the other 99% of the game (Shadow Hearts 1 comes to mind) I think 'I didn't sign up for this' cand chuck the game.
I have a problem with the way game "completion" is measured. If I get the full story, I think I completed the game, regardless of whether or not I get all the winged rats in GTA IV.
I have an odd reason for not completing some games. Sometimes I just don't want to finish it -- specifically, sometimes I get 2/3 way through a game and deliberately stop because if I keep it up, I'll be done with the game. It makes no sense because I still end up not having the game to play, but sometimes with a game I like, I'll walk away so that it won't be over.
Of note is that the article does discuss the achievement for simply finishing the game, of which there are still a notable amount of gamers who do not finish these goals either. Completion as in 100% achievements unlocked was not the focus of the article.
I agree with many here that given the time spent on games and the constant stream of new ones, this is how my library has accrued such a large amount of unfinished games. One of these days, maybe.
Well as long as we're spared arthritis in our old age, we'll have plenty of time to finish all those games when we're retired. XD
That's what I'm counting on anyway.