Should games be more simple or complex?

Luminous · Mar 20, 2008, 08:05 PM

I was pondering over this conundrum the other day, and figured it'd be interesting to see everyone's opinion on the matter.

I think it's fair to say that gaming has evolved since the days of Super Mario, where A was to jump, and d-pad was to move, and with flower power, you might just use B. As newer generations have arrived, button count has traditionally been upped each time, and usually have some analog sticks thrown in for good measure. This has allowed for more complexity and variety in what you can do in a game, but has it made it any more fun?

This generation, Nintendo has switched things up a bit with their Wii design, going for depth in simplicity. If you look at a lot of third-party Wii games, you sometimes find odd configurations, since the standard 'Mote+ Chuk combo only have 4 readily accesible buttons, and people have to squeeze games that have typically used more into it. This led me to thinking, are all of these different functions needed? Surely we don't need 6-8 buttons to have a functional and depthy game, right?

Well, that's my question to you AO. If all of the games in the world were made for you, would you want them to have depth in simplicity, or depth in complexity? Does more buttons and added functionality contribute to the fun factor through variety and added options, or is a immediately easy to play and figure out game more appealing? Is there a lucky balance betwen the two? What would it be?

This can apply to all consoles and platforms by the way, the Wii was just an example. The question could just as easily be "Do 360 games end up funner with more buttons and combinations?".

Post away!

Zerosan9000 · Mar 20, 2008, 08:53 PM

id have to say more complex cuz some games are great ideas but done so simple its no fun but im a hardcore gamer so thats natural to want more

Hantei16 · Mar 21, 2008, 01:37 AM

I'll say both, on a some-some degree. You're right, games these days require more button bashes and physical functionality but i don't think it was any better than the simpler games of before. Games are okay now, games are okay then...as a gamer i do experience the itch for more challenges in difficulty not in complexity. For me, the advancement and complexity of games nowadays is just part of some evolutionary scale or some kind of a requirement to keep the repetitiveness away.

I find complexity and simplicity as positive traits of gaming, complexity gives us more things to do in a game. Simplicity gives us, well, simplicity.

It doesn't matter for me if it is simple or complex, if it's a good game then it's a good game. Guitar Hero is quite fun with all those required buttons, but Super Mario gave me that much fun too...Ace Combat might make people feel like a real ace pilot, the classic R-TYPEs never made me feel that way but it gave me the same degree of fun and excitement, maybe even more.

*Soshi Kitai* · Mar 21, 2008, 01:42 AM

SIMPLE ANSWER: BOTH

To assume games out there should be more of something is ridiculous. There's more people who want to play a game than just hardcore gamers... and what of the oldschoolers? What can they look forward to?
The fact is, there's all kinds of people out there in the world who would all love to play a game to pass the time, but they can never find the right game until now...

As games evolved, it was just turning so complex that only the loser or nerd was assumed to be the only one to have the ability to play such a thing.
Now many games have been simplified to a surprising degree... yet, both parties (casual gamer and hardcore gamer) are angry...

Why is this?

Simple answer: The simple games are no fun and too child-like, and the complex games are getting too short! Not to mention that the simple games are overflooding on one system, complex games are the only things available in another system that the library is barren, and the last system has too many of the SAME GAME that you might as well get rid of the other genres!

We don't need to focus on making games complex or making them simple...
Fact is, we almost mastered that part, now we need to focus on something else...

How about we actually focus on a game that's 100% fun for everyone? How about we actually focus on a game that gives deep meaning to anyone that plays it? How about we actually focus on a game that knows when to stop and when to go? How about we actually focus on a game that can convert casuals into hardcore and hardcores into casual?
...yes, we do have those games, but they're just so few in number...

Game designers, directors, and producers aren't focusing on the right things nowadays...
They're too busy trying to keep their title that they forget about making a REAL step forward in gaming...

tsurara · Mar 21, 2008, 02:20 AM

Both.

There's more than enough room in the market (and my personal collection) for more than one sort of game. There's nothing wrong with enjoying both.

kurapika · Mar 21, 2008, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsurara

Both.

There's more than enough room in the market (and my personal collection) for more than one sort of game. There's nothing wrong with enjoying both.

Agreed Tsurara
there is more than enough room on the market for complex and simple games

It depends on what game it is
you could easily make games more complex or simple

Example: People might want to make the Zelda series simpler because
they cant complete it.

so im my mind it really depends on what game should be made more simpler or complex

Scourge · Mar 21, 2008, 07:50 AM

It really depends on the persons preferences. Some people like it complicated while other like it simple and other like it in between.

*dark angel swordsman* · Mar 21, 2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurapika

Agreed Tsurara
there is more than enough room on the market for complex and simple games

It depends on what game it is
you could easily make games more complex or simple

Example: People might want to make the Zelda series simpler because
they cant complete it.

so im my mind it really depends on what game should be made more simpler or complex

I second your opinion. There's really nothing wrong with a simple game as long as it's good. If it sucks, then it may be too simple? And complex games can also be fun. True gamers walk around the "simple" and "Complex" ideas and enjoy their games...providing they are good.

Frozen Rose · Mar 28, 2008, 11:19 AM

for me i think it doesn't mater if the game simple or complex all i think is the game funny or interesting game ...so there are to wrong withe the simple games comparison the complex games .... =^_^=

Redragon495 · Mar 31, 2008, 05:28 PM

Not really you don't need more buttons for more fun. I think that the old mario games are funner than games we have now.

Descended From Darkness · Apr 01, 2008, 09:34 AM

I actually like it when a game is more complex. Sure I may not play it for a couple months due to the level of frustration but I playing complex games are fun. Which is why I always loved to play Final Fantasy or Onimusha. If a game is too simplistic then it is too boring. I like to play games that will last me a month or so.

Mar 20, 2008, 08:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Luminous Diamond in the Rough Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: This is a User Title in disguise Posts: 231 Thanks: 0 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts Credits: 17,085	Should games be more simple or complex? I was pondering over this conundrum the other day, and figured it'd be interesting to see everyone's opinion on the matter. I think it's fair to say that gaming has evolved since the days of Super Mario, where A was to jump, and d-pad was to move, and with flower power, you might just use B. As newer generations have arrived, button count has traditionally been upped each time, and usually have some analog sticks thrown in for good measure. This has allowed for more complexity and variety in what you can do in a game, but has it made it any more fun? This generation, Nintendo has switched things up a bit with their Wii design, going for depth in simplicity. If you look at a lot of third-party Wii games, you sometimes find odd configurations, since the standard 'Mote+ Chuk combo only have 4 readily accesible buttons, and people have to squeeze games that have typically used more into it. This led me to thinking, are all of these different functions needed? Surely we don't need 6-8 buttons to have a functional and depthy game, right? Well, that's my question to you AO. If all of the games in the world were made for you, would you want them to have depth in simplicity, or depth in complexity? Does more buttons and added functionality contribute to the fun factor through variety and added options, or is a immediately easy to play and figure out game more appealing? Is there a lucky balance betwen the two? What would it be? This can apply to all consoles and platforms by the way, the Wii was just an example. The question could just as easily be "Do 360 games end up funner with more buttons and combinations?". Post away! __________________
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Mar 20, 2008, 08:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Zerosan9000 Diamond in the Rough Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: an ocean of stars Posts: 103 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts Credits: 2,734	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? id have to say more complex cuz some games are great ideas but done so simple its no fun but im a hardcore gamer so thats natural to want more __________________
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Mar 21, 2008, 01:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
Hantei16 Diamond in the Rough Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 241 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts Credits: 19,729	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? I'll say both, on a some-some degree. You're right, games these days require more button bashes and physical functionality but i don't think it was any better than the simpler games of before. Games are okay now, games are okay then...as a gamer i do experience the itch for more challenges in difficulty not in complexity. For me, the advancement and complexity of games nowadays is just part of some evolutionary scale or some kind of a requirement to keep the repetitiveness away. I find complexity and simplicity as positive traits of gaming, complexity gives us more things to do in a game. Simplicity gives us, well, simplicity. It doesn't matter for me if it is simple or complex, if it's a good game then it's a good game. Guitar Hero is quite fun with all those required buttons, but Super Mario gave me that much fun too...Ace Combat might make people feel like a real ace pilot, the classic R-TYPEs never made me feel that way but it gave me the same degree of fun and excitement, maybe even more.
Status: Offline

Mar 21, 2008, 01:42 AM	#4 (permalink)
Soshi Kitai For You... Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The farther you go, the less you know. Posts: 1,245 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts Credits: 9,052	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? SIMPLE ANSWER: BOTH To assume games out there should be more of something is ridiculous. There's more people who want to play a game than just hardcore gamers... and what of the oldschoolers? What can they look forward to? The fact is, there's all kinds of people out there in the world who would all love to play a game to pass the time, but they can never find the right game until now... As games evolved, it was just turning so complex that only the loser or nerd was assumed to be the only one to have the ability to play such a thing. Now many games have been simplified to a surprising degree... yet, both parties (casual gamer and hardcore gamer) are angry... Why is this? Simple answer: The simple games are no fun and too child-like, and the complex games are getting too short! Not to mention that the simple games are overflooding on one system, complex games are the only things available in another system that the library is barren, and the last system has too many of the SAME GAME that you might as well get rid of the other genres! We don't need to focus on making games complex or making them simple... Fact is, we almost mastered that part, now we need to focus on something else... How about we actually focus on a game that's 100% fun for everyone? How about we actually focus on a game that gives deep meaning to anyone that plays it? How about we actually focus on a game that knows when to stop and when to go? How about we actually focus on a game that can convert casuals into hardcore and hardcores into casual? ...yes, we do have those games, but they're just so few in number... Game designers, directors, and producers aren't focusing on the right things nowadays... They're too busy trying to keep their title that they forget about making a REAL step forward in gaming... __________________ Click here to Brawl! We had an awesome anniversary! Click here to join in on the fun!
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Mar 21, 2008, 02:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
tsurara anti-semantics Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Shikoku Posts: 1,312 Thanks: 5 Thanked 81 Times in 55 Posts Credits: 61,124	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? Both. There's more than enough room in the market (and my personal collection) for more than one sort of game. There's nothing wrong with enjoying both. __________________ <-RUNAWAYS-> <-lemonsquares? yay!-> <-Mmrs->
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Mar 21, 2008, 07:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
Scourge Diamond in the Rough Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 375 Thanks: 62 Thanked 29 Times in 26 Posts Credits: 25,240	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? It really depends on the persons preferences. Some people like it complicated while other like it simple and other like it in between.
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Mar 28, 2008, 11:19 AM	#9 (permalink)
Frozen Rose Teddy Bear =^_^= Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Somewhere on Saturn Posts: 581 Thanks: 6 Thanked 26 Times in 26 Posts Credits: 18,086	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? for me i think it doesn't mater if the game simple or complex all i think is the game funny or interesting game ...so there are to wrong withe the simple games comparison the complex games .... =^_^= __________________ My Dreams Become Like The Rainbow Love Like the Wind You Can't See It But You Can Fell It
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Mar 31, 2008, 05:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
Redragon495 Diamond in the Rough Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rincon GA USA Posts: 148 Thanks: 4 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Credits: 3,690	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? Not really you don't need more buttons for more fun. I think that the old mario games are funner than games we have now. __________________ I sEe YoU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Apr 01, 2008, 09:34 AM	#11 (permalink)
Descended From Darkness Jigoku Shoujo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: somewhere far far away from here. Posts: 505 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts Credits: 9,761	Re: Should games be more simple or complex? I actually like it when a game is more complex. Sure I may not play it for a couple months due to the level of frustration but I playing complex games are fun. Which is why I always loved to play Final Fantasy or Onimusha. If a game is too simplistic then it is too boring. I like to play games that will last me a month or so. __________________ Thanx zyta for the awesome set [ Rai's Gallery: Rai's myspace : Rai's Deviantart: Angelic Ruin:SpiritDetective
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