What makes you pick up a game you're not into?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Echoseven, Sep 12, 2011.

  1. Echoseven

    Echoseven Moderator
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    Some back story first - Just recently I realized that even if there's a game that doesn't quite look like my thing, I'll occasionally buy it anyway. The question then is, what would sway you to pick up a game you wouldn't otherwise?

    For me, developer interaction is pretty big. At least twice now I bought games that weren't "my thing" because I like how active the developer was on these forums (or other places) and how they responded to their players. What about you?
     
  2. Leegames

    Leegames Well-Known Member

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    Developer interaction as you say yourself. But also an eye for details (and I dont mean flavour/style of the month), but those tiny things that makes you want to try it. Nice choice of icon and good fonts are plusses as well.

    What turns me of, is excessive use of blood, I am yet to find a really great game, with that feature as a marketing-feature (MK the obvious exception).
     
  3. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    Very positive TA review or if it's high on the charts.

    I can't resist picking up every game that enters the top 10 even if I know it'll probably be crap.
     
  4. gwet17

    gwet17 Well-Known Member

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    I don't have the same problem. I've taught myself to never buy a game that falls into these categories, regardless of reviews: I just can't finish an RPG if it doesn't have that little extra something in character development and plot. Also, I simply cannot deal with the ridiculous difficulty of shmups and bullet hells. :(
     
  5. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    Lol.
     
  6. gwet17

    gwet17 Well-Known Member

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    What can I say, I'm a casual gamer to the core. I even play hardcore games casually. :p
     
  7. injuwarrior

    injuwarrior Well-Known Member

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    Pretty good question actually, and I have this problem a lot. If a game truly stands out of the genre (as said from multiple sources), I will might pick it up, and won't even blink if there is a sale. Never ever even bothered with RPGs on any platform, but had to pick up aralon at 99c. I never thought I'd buy a point and click, but super brothers went to 99c. I never thought I'd get a hidden object, bought three with the recent Bigfish sale, and have not even touched them yet. I never thought I'd buy an Illusion labs game seeing as there were tons of labyrinth games for the cheap and free, but later learned some devs ooze quality that it feels no reasonable price is too little, bought all their games after getting BMX. Oh yeah, and before I had any idevice, I was shown doodle jump, and stated that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen... it was the first game I bought from the appsotre.
     
  8. JML

    JML Well-Known Member

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    There are certain types of games I really will not buy, mostly games which are multi-player, hidden object, or games which require reaction speed to advance to the next level. My favourites are story driven games which require exploring, solving puzzles and strategic thinking.

    Developer interaction is an important thing for me when deciding between several games which are not absolute must-have-right-now games, but seem interesting enough to at least try out. I also read the front page and the forums to see what others have to say about certain games (game mechanics, content, polish, bugs), but I don't care about the charts when deciding what to buy.

    I try to be picky though. There are so many games that there is no need to buy and play anything which isn't really to my liking. I gladly pay more for one super special and amazing game instead. Yet at times I can't help myself anyway. Are there people here who don't have more games than they can play?
     
  9. Ravenblack

    Ravenblack Well-Known Member

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    1. Artwork -- sometimes the game is not even in the genre that I think I can play, but the art looks good and I would just get it and try to play it. Many times, the reason why I pick up a game I would not even consider on a normal day is because of the artwork. Sometimes that does result in a bad purchase.

    And vice versa, I just won't buy games that look like it was drawn with the left hand by a right-handed person. I might be missing out, but I don't want to feel like clawing my eyes out when I play a game.

    2. Made by a favorite developer -- there are some developers that I would simply buy their game even it's in a genre I would not normally play.

    3. Friends' say-so / friends are playing it co-op -- probably the last reason. It really depends. I probably wouldn't be playing Pocket Frogs at all if it wasn't because friends are playing it, together. I don't know if this one's even a valid reason -- I might already want the game, resisting and just waiting for friends to put together the right combination of reasons I'm looking for to convince myself to get it.
     
  10. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    #10 backtothis, Sep 13, 2011
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2011
    Oh, right, if it has online multiplayer, I'm definitely getting it. Doesn't matter what genre it is. I've actually never cared about developer interaction. If their game is good, I'll get it. If it's not, I'll pass. Sales rarely make me jump on a game that I don't have, but every now and then, it happens.

    Edit: Another interesting thing is that if a game goes free, that really doesn't mean anything to me if I've never heard of the game before. There's so many new threads in the sales forum daily, and I can't say I've ever clicked on more than a handful in a day. The only ones I actually bother looking at are for games I already own so I can tell others to hurry up and jump on the deal. Otherwise, meh. I mean if you make a bad game free, who cares? It's still a bad game. It's been a long time since I've checked the top charts for free games. Time over price for the AppStore.
     
  11. Ghouls'R'us

    Ghouls'R'us Well-Known Member

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    I have a similar persistent problem : initial nonplussed by a title after reading about it and watching a gameplay video, then coming back a week or so later and finding myself rethinking my initial assertion, which sometimes leads me into a purchase.
     
  12. tops2

    tops2 Well-Known Member

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    Part of it for me is hype..at least for certain games. Admittedly I dont pick up many games..but the most recent one that I got is Jetpack Joyride. I'm not into endless runners at all, but after seeing so many good comments & reviews..decided to try it out..and it was actually really fun. If it wasn't for all the missions & unlockables though, I'd probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.
     
  13. JML

    JML Well-Known Member

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    Artwork is something I forgot to mention. It's a very personal thing, but it certainly has some influence on what I will or will not buy. Looking at my past purchases, good looks have the most effect for endless highscore games. I almost never play these type of games, but I still have several of them anyway.
     
  14. LOLavi

    LOLavi Well-Known Member

    May 23, 2011
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    Well usually I get a game that got free, but often end up removing it. That's what happened to Early Bird.
     
  15. synapsemassage

    synapsemassage Well-Known Member

    Haha, DJ should be preinstalled or built into the iDevices hardware.

    I buy/get games that I suspect will please my brain(!). Suspect is then most likely based on artwork, gameplay, review, sometimes ranking. At least one quality property should be outstanding. I always hope! Hope that my jaw will drop on my table, hope for ensouled technology. Sometimes I buy games just to support the developer. Actually I'm a bit tired of 8-bit stuff but will still buy super brothers'. It makes absolutely sense what they are doing, also I like and share their indy statements on game development. I'm not sure what I like more, playing games or making games ;-) Currently I avoid social games like hell, although I supported this genre in the beginning breaking ground for new target groups. Currently this stuff gives me a feeling of being infested by a virus or parasite.

    1. I like crisp meaningful app icons
    2. Meaningful screenshots or video showing artwork (incl. sound) and game play. Not or little photoshopped.
    3. Attractive description.
    4. Little review blabla
    5. Most important: creativity, inspiration and hope for jaw dropping
     
  16. Rivozzz

    Rivozzz Well-Known Member

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    if a game turns into .99 cents and has good reviews
     
  17. crex

    crex Doctor of Game of the Week-ology

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    Developer interaction is definitely something that makes buy their games. I actually will also buy a game if the developers back story is good as well? What do I mean by that you say? Take Mission Europa for example: Ryan worked a good 1 1/2 - 2 years on that game. All of his hard work and dedication to make the game made me push to support him spending my $10 on it even though it didn't have stunning graphics.

    Addition of online multiplayer in an update will also probably make me buy a game that I previously wasn't into.
     
  18. Ghouls'R'us

    Ghouls'R'us Well-Known Member

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    A gameplay video goes a long way into helping me form an idea of how the game actually plays and thereafter form an opinion on it. It's such a given, still a few times I've had to hunt needlessly to see a game in action. It should never happen.
     
  19. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

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    Its all about the gameplay video for me on youtube. I've been a gamer since the early 80's, not into current consoles, just found it too much 'padding', eg great graphics/sound but the game is pretty dull or the usual point a to point b.

    So basically i'm not into stunning graphics, just has to have good gameplay. So i normally watch a fair few youtube videos and judge from that if i'll enjoy the game or not.

    Some of the best games are the ones with minimalistic graphics, look at Space Invaders Infinity, very basic graphics but an amazing playable game.

    As for game centre/openfeint i dont care about these at all. I have a wife/kid, theres no way i can practice on games over and over so i'll beat some 14 year old kid in America whos playing this game 24/7. And again as i played games in the 80's/90's before the internet there was no way of saving your score back then anyway. So i dont care for Gamecentre etc one bit.

    I hope more and more developers use people like 'us' to beta test games, seen quite a few times a developer going on about 'i think thats the best control method....' and it comes out, doesnt sell well and then theyre 'surprised'. Let 10-20 people beta test it, the 'normal' user and see what they say.

    Not a fan of tilt games at all, wont buy those most of the time, many have an option to change the controls but if its tilt only i wont bother personally.

    Dont care if its original or not, so many people say 'thats a copy of...' . Helllo ! If you've seen the games i've seen since the early 80's you'll realise sooooo many games are copies or based on older games. But i love that, love remakes of classic retro games.

    But to close this long post off ! If theres a game i'm not normally into i'll check out the youtube video, also check the thread for the game and see what people say (anyone with over 50 posts that is !) and i'll probably buy it.

    If i see one shill posting in the thread i'll purposely boycott that game and wont buy it whatever.
     
  20. DregsOnLegs

    DregsOnLegs Well-Known Member

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    #20 DregsOnLegs, Sep 13, 2011
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2011
    Breathtaking visuals.
    Abstract art style (world of goo, contre join, trundle, but those games have the gameplay and originality too)
    Creativity
    Innovativeness
    Unique, original gameplay elements (bumpy road)

    Or involving a brand or character I already love, such as sonic, sequels, or games released by favorite publishers, even if they don't look that enticing..

    Also, something about 99c universal games makes me tempted to buy, just because they are so damn cheap that it's worth the 99c just to Try it out for a few minutes, and delete it if it's bad, but then you have the possibility of finding a game you never previously thought Youd enjoy
     

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