Simplicity

Britney. Doesn't get much simpler.

I’ve been sitting here over the last few weeks wondering about my attitudes towards gaming and whether I really deserve the tag of “Gamer” and I’ve realised that yes, in fact I do but probably along with the caveat of “Simple”

Not “simple” because of a lack of intelligence or skill (though that is very much up for debate) but “simple” because for me, the simplest games capture my attention for longer than complicated ones.

Trials HD for example… it’s a very basic premise dressed up in HD finery! That might do the game itself an injustice but at bare bones it stands that way. The controls are easy to learn but difficult to master and the tracks, whilst looking simple enough, had more than enough going for them to keep me at the game for weeks on end, repeating and repeating until my fingers felt like claws and I actually started to get weird pains when making certain shapes with my fingers (those shapes based around the 360 controller triggers) whereas massive games like Oblivion and Fallout 3 don’t fire me up in the same way.

I don't give a shit if it's not in the dictionary, it's in my vocabulary... so hand over that triple word score beeatch!

Another indication of my “simple gamer” tag comes from my enjoyment of quick to play flash games. Things like Asteroids, Penguin Bash, Mahjong, Curveball and that most classic of simple games Snake. All of those have recently captured my attention and had me returning to them since they were introduced to our very own Gaming Lives forum soon after its creation. All great fun in their own right and all requiring a different set of skills and coordination and that most elusive of qualities in a Game-Meh…. concentration.  Another format has also got me hooked and those are a number of applications/games on Facebook.  Scrabble, Bejewelled Blitz, Farmville and Farkle are all quick easy fixes that draw me back time and time again to while away a few more minutes of my life in a gaming fashion, albeit a Gaming Lite way perhaps.

For me at least, K.I.S.S. seems to be a way to keep gaming in my life when I struggle to get the energy/inclination/drive (or whatever you wish to call it) to fire up the console and plug away. Some may consider that lazy gaming and they’d perhaps be right to a degree but simplicity works well for me and allows me to consider myself one of the breed.




Last five articles by Pete

  

14 Comments

  1. Victor Victor says:

    Simple gamer? I would call you a ‘ringer’ :)

    It’s interesting to see how different types of games keep other peopke interested. Nice to see that there is something for everyone, if they have a little bit of time free. Personally, I am actively staying away from those little games. I would just play them and nothing else. Probably for the best to not get into them. My enthusiasm for games can sometimes get out of hand and I couldn’t stand it if there was another game that you gave me a stiff challenge at.

  2. Mark R MarkuzR says:

    I tend to lean towards the simpler games, such as Burnout Paradise, when I just want to get away from everything and relax with my XBox for a while. When it comes down to serious gaming though, I much prefer to get my teeth into something that involves a bit of strategy and forward thinking such as the C&C series – always thinking ahead to out manoeuvre the opponent is what makes those games worthwhile for me.

    Trials is simple, but infuriating… the premise is simple, but the undertaking can be menacing at times. Perhaps the simplest game I’ve played recently was the AVP multiplayer demo on XBL… there was nothing to it other than… well… running around killing the opponents, but it was good fun. I wouldn’t buy it, but it was certainly enjoyable at the time.

    Farmville was “fun” for me too for a while, but I got bored with it very quicly when all it became was an excuse to make Zynga more money. The farm couldn’t be expanded any further, but they would chuck out item after item that had to be purchased in cash. Ultimately, there is no playing in the game… you have the cash, you have a huge list of new items to buy, but nowhere to put them and no reason to either.

    Yeah…. I get bored easily ;)

  3. Pete says:

    Victor… when you consider it, Virtua Tennis 3 is a simple game really! I’m willing to give you a rematch any time lol

  4. Iain Iain says:

    I was addicted to Geometry Wars 2 for about 2 months. Other than that, I don’t get too hooked on simple games. I play them, but I normally get bored after 10 minutes and stick something else on. I can see how simplicity in a game can suck people in though, because you just pick up a controller and get started. You don’t need to try and remember what button-trigger combo pulls off the superuberdeathstrike or anything.

  5. Mark R MarkuzR says:

    Superuberdeathstrike is normally A+X+Y+RT+LS+B+BACK+AGONISINGSCREAM

  6. Iain Iain says:

    Oh yeah, NOW I remember. Too bad someone just dragonclawthunderkicked me into oblivion :(

  7. Mark R MarkuzR says:

    Is that worse than toenailstabbingarsebanditting someone?

  8. Iain Iain says:

    They’re about the same. They both take off 5,293,924HP but toenailstabbingarsebanditting someone adds fire damage

  9. Rook says:

    Considering some of the games you play, and the challenge you give me in the Arcade here, I would say you are a gamer., and not just a simple one. You have completed some of the harder tracks in Trials. The idea may sound simple but as you know the tracks can get devilishly hard, regardless of how many times you do them.

  10. Kat says:

    I hear ya Pete, I have to resist the lure of a lot of “simple” xbla games. Peggle is probably a great example of a simple game that I love. What’s simpler than moving a stick then hitting A over and over… and over and over. Yet it’s addictive and fun and that’s what matters.

  11. Lorna Lorna says:

    Simple games I suppose could come under the umbrella of casual games. Pick up and play for five minutes until you get bored. I suppose though, that said, like Trials, some seemingly simple games can be fiendish…look at half the retro titles and Speccy games. Simple but evil.

  12. Mark R MarkuzR says:

    Rook’s right… Pete’s selling himself short quite a bit. For a start… I’m not even close to the hard tracks on Trials and don’t even know how well I’d be able to play them. My experience with Trials is much the same as my experience with music… I’m great at playing my own songs, and they can be difficult for others to play properly, but I’m crap at playing other people’s songs… even if they’re simpler than mine. So to get as far as that with Trials is a great achievement, as it’s far from simple.

    Also… our C&C nights aren’t exactly a walk in the park! Sure, I mostly win… but it’s never an easy win!! There have been times where I’ve convinced myself that you were about to defeat me and so I’ve had to completely switch tactics to avoid total annihilation from your army. When you’ve spent a couple of hours building up an army in a specific manner and then have to completely rethink because of your opponent – that makes for some great gaming!

    So… shuttit. You’re not a simplistic gamer. You just won’t admit you’re one of us!! Gobble gobble!!

  13. Pete says:

    Gobble gobb…er…..gobb…… now what was it again? ;)

  14. Robert says:

    Freaks, nice! Sometimes the simplest games can be the most addictive though – Trials is far from simple, and some of the basic games on the iPhone keep me amused for hours on end. Curveball and Penguin Bashing are classics :)

Leave a Comment