Seasons (Destiny)

by Ragashingo , Official DBO Cryptarch, Sunday, October 22, 2017, 21:29 (2592 days ago) @ Kahzgul
edited by Ragashingo, Sunday, October 22, 2017, 21:39

I'm not sure why I don't feel like gushing reviews of the things I like are as valuable or important as my complaints about the things I don't like. It is definitely a trend in my posts and I'm well aware of it. I think that it has to do with the fact that, for over a decade of my life, my job was to find problems with video games. It seems like a probably cause, at least.

Coming from a position of knowledge, you should be able to offer better insight into the process. And you do offer some good insights. I’d just like to see the positive sides of game development from you more often. As for complaints being important, please don’t forget the immortal words of Anton Ego:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.

And... eh... mainly I’m putting this line here because when I didn’t have it, it looked like Ego went on to talk about micro transactions :p

Microtransactions, specifically, bother me. Even if they are designed innocently and no ill will is intended, I feel like we have enough evidence that they rely on addictive behavior as a key component (half, literally) of their funding model, that if you truly had good intentions you would take them out of your game

Games and all entertainment, at the end of the day, rely on addictive behavior to sell. It is the fun factor that causes us to buy any type of entertainment product. Honestly, it sounds like your dislike of micro transactions should scale right up to the $7.99 movie ticket, the $19.95 iTunes movie purchase, and the $59.95 video game purchase. All those products, if your break them down enough, are just the same kind of thing on an ever grander scale.

Instead of doing that, we get seasons, cycling through new microtrans items in what appears to be an effort to refresh the pool of desirable items so players who bought all of the current ones will feel the need to buy the new set as well. I can't help but view this negatively.

Well, two things:

1. Some are making the educated guess that Destiny 2’s seasons might be the times that new DLC is released. And that the updated stuff at Eververse will come out at the same time. If anything, it seems that seasons have a whole lot more to do with DLC release schedule and updated Eververse items change at that same time to further emphasize the changes each new DLC will bring.

2. Again, each new DLC is just changing up the content so people who bought the last one feel compelled to buy the new one. I really think you shouldn’t call a developer offering new content in exchange for more money predatory.

And I'm disgusted that abusing addiction is considered acceptable as a business model for video games. For me, at least, it taints the experience in a negative light.

Your definition of what is and isn’t abusive is... for me... extremely out of wack. Games that stop you from playing until your energy, or crystals, or whatever recharges and that strongly push you to buy more of that energy/crystal/whatever to keep playing? I consider those abusive. Or at least much closer to being abuisive. I’m super curious, if Destiny and it’s cosmetic only micro transactions are abusive, what do you call a game that won’t let you play for 5 hours unless you pay up?!

It’s ok to be uncomfortable with micro transactions, and you certainly don’t need to spend money on them, but I think it is W.R.O.N.G. to claim abuse when looking at Destiny’s system of micro transactions. Like, moral outrage level of wrong. Like, you’re insulting good game developers level of wrong.

I challenge you to do this: Reset your scale of what constitutes abuse. Because if you don’t, people are going to stop taking you seriously.