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Who else is excited for Virtual Villagers 6?
by Hydra14
02/28/24 08:22 PM
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#241753 - 10/27/17 11:07 PM Some Polls should be revisited
Lia Offline
Trainee

Registered: 10/25/07
Posts: 42
Loc: New England
While waiting for the latest crop of seeds to mature (in Plant Tycoon begun on a Win XP, currently a Win7 and soon a Win10 machine) I spotted a poll from 2014 regarding platform played on and the responses were overwhelming Windows which I assume means PC. Does this mean in a scant three years time the PC has become a relic? I think not. Think of all the PC's and Macs our taxpayer dollars have given to school age children.

It's not just LDW but other small studios I could count on for an enjoyable, engrossing, "relaxed play" game that are haring after the mobile market. Just like clothing is geared to the pre & teen set. Hello, their parents and grandparents are a huge chunk of the market but are being passed over. It's an huge, unrealized niche market. It's not just about age either - small devices are difficult to handle and/or see well by people with vision and mobility issues which can strike at any age yet retain mental agility. (yeah, the horse is dead, I'll stop beating it.)

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#241758 - 10/28/17 03:52 PM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Lia]
Hydra14 Offline
Consigliere

Registered: 04/05/15
Posts: 261
It is something that's been discussed a lot of times. there's nothing they can do about it. I am pretty sure they'd more than like to continue supporting PC's.

Nowadays people prefer to play casual games on mobile devices rather than PC's. Not only that, but also mobile games are mostly nothing but pieces of [censored] that absorb money from ignorant people.

The thing is, Back in golden days of computers, games had a lot of effort, creativity and innovation. You would just buy a game and enjoy it forever.

Now literally every game on appstore uses "freemium" system where you download it free but have to pay to progress.
They are not even entertaining at all.

I REALLY aprreicate LDW on that manner, as their mobile games can be beaten for free and you in app purchases are only for optional but joyful features..

Back in 2016, Nintendo released Super Mario Run on mobile market for $10 and it really had my hopes up. Because it could start a new wave on the casual market. But it didn't work at all since everyone complained about how expensive it is and Nintendo had to switch to freemium. If it would work, it would change the market to be dominated by Pay-Once-Play-Forever games and eventually it could even end up moving back to PC's.

There are a lot of things to say about it but i guess you are bored enough.
Lastly, HERE is an article about it featuring an interview from a major name from industry.


Edited by Hydra14 (10/28/17 03:54 PM)

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#241759 - 10/29/17 06:18 AM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Hydra14]
Hydra14 Offline
Consigliere

Registered: 04/05/15
Posts: 261


Edited by Hydra14 (10/29/17 06:19 AM)

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#241760 - 10/30/17 12:49 PM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Hydra14]
Lia Offline
Trainee

Registered: 10/25/07
Posts: 42
Loc: New England
I agree. The linked article touched on the lack of originality in the games themselves - their cookie cutter clone nature and the lure to producers of easy money if they dish up a rehash of what's gone before in a different color.


The market doesn't seem to be tiring of it. I've also wondered about the targeting of minors and the "gambling like" feel of the free-to-play model.

Painted against that backdrop are the few "original/novel" stand-alone games with pleasing artwork, sound tracks that can be listened to, an underlying puzzle to solve - something to relax with.

The PC player base is still there but the studios have lost their focused attention.

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#241776 - 11/03/17 12:15 PM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Lia]
Rockmower Moderator Offline
Master Poet

Registered: 12/16/07
Posts: 1200
Loc: The Beautiful Ozarks
FIRST: You need to know that what I am about to say, is strictly MY opinion & has nothing to do with my role as a moderator on this site.
I consider my self an old school gamer, though many would disagree since I do not own or play on "gaming platforms" nor do I do the first person shooter style games. I (still) play A LOT on as beefy a PC as I can afford.
No, I do not think the PC/Mac platform is dead (yet) but I think it is dying. Yes Dell (makers of the last real gaming PC on the American market) & Windows are pumping some serious cash into the market. But in my opinion, my preferred platform suffered a major amputation with the change to gaming platforms. Hey who wants to pay $60 (and climbing) for a game when you can pay a small monthly premium and play many games? If you really like it, you 'buy' it, then when/if you tire of it you just take it to the game store and trade it in for the latest & greatest steal a car and shoot your way through a forest of zombies game.
But the death knell came with the explosion of freemium games on the mobile market. Yes, I own both an android smart phone and an iPad. Yes I play A LOT of mobile games. No, for the most part I do not "support" the game studio with $$, but I don't mind watching a few ads from other studios since I might be pointed to another game I will play briefly then delete and move on.
Oh sure there are one or two exceptions. I have been buying cheese and hunting mice in Gnawnia for a couple of years. I also make it a point to get every VV and VF game that hits the market, and I always try to make at least a minimal purchase because I really like this company.
I recently purchased my first "new" 'core' game in years, when I finally broke down and bought the Sims 4 base game. I can't say I hate it, but I find it highly unlikely that I will spend hundreds of $$ to buy all the addons & stuff packs I did for S3.
So where is all this rambling leading? I guess what I am saying is I am disappointed by the trend away from PC/Mac games, but I certainly understand it. It has gotten to the point where you either charge massive amounts for a game or you "go mobile" and the freemium model. I have to say that I like the flexibility (though the variety is becoming smaller and smaller) of the mobile market. I also enjoy many many hours of replaying my old PC games. In the end, I will continue to support the games/studios that entertain and challenge me no matter which platform it is on.
NOW, WHO IS EXCITED ABOUT A NEW VV GAME COMING OUT SOON? I understand it is already in open beta in the UK!!! Hopefully here real soon!
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#241779 - 11/05/17 12:50 AM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Rockmower]
Lia Offline
Trainee

Registered: 10/25/07
Posts: 42
Loc: New England
Hey Rockmower!

Thanks for tossing in your 2 cents - good to see a moderator has actually read the posts even if you're responding as John Q. Public.

They've (the mysterious they) have been saying the PC is dead for a long time now but I don't really think that's the case. Sure, it's heyday is long gone but eventually people will explore being "disconnected" from their mobile devices.

The PC market can sustain a free-mium game environment and LDW has stated that their mobile games are playable without going to the store. I've played a few of those types of games and dumped them within 15 minutes as they pestered to no end to the point where the game play was lost. I also played one to it's conclusion - Dark Manor.

LDW has been smart in that they use many of the graphics across their games. As you move from one to the next there is always something familiar. Fish Tycoon I was an exception in this regard. (never played the pet one.) VV (tried) and VF don't appeal because the "peeps" management/manipulation but reading the boards and some of the questions raised about plants & bugs one can tell they never played PT.

Back to my mainstay of crosswords/cryptograms/nonograms/solitaire and a sampling of HO's and Match 3's and horrors of horrors - good, old fashioned board games one plays with real, live people in real time. Even books!

Games should be entertaining and diverting and not cost as much as a week's groceries, a quarter tank of heating oil or two tanks of gasoline, imho - pick a necessary expenditure that suits. An occasional splurge like a holiday or birthday being the exception.

You can buy a game and then trade it back in for a credit on another? Oh noes.

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#241790 - 11/19/17 11:34 AM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Lia]
Rockmower Moderator Offline
Master Poet

Registered: 12/16/07
Posts: 1200
Loc: The Beautiful Ozarks
Back to my mainstay of crosswords/cryptograms/nonograms/solitaire and a sampling of HO's and Match 3's and horrors of horrors - good, old fashioned board games one plays with real, live people in real time. Even books!

Do indeed enjoy the nearly limitless variety of books available on the mobile market. I check out a lot of ebooks from my local library.
Also enjoy playing a certain word game with my friends around the world. If you enjoy that game, feel free to send me a request. I am Rockmower there also.
_________________________
Fan Fiction Mentor

Avvie by Airstream Raider
Where have all the Fan Fiction Fans gone?
(I miss Laurence cry)
I miss my wife cry



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#241792 - 11/21/17 02:12 AM Re: Some Polls should be revisited [Re: Rockmower]
Lia Offline
Trainee

Registered: 10/25/07
Posts: 42
Loc: New England
Scrabble?

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