Why I Play Games I Don't Like

I talk about the fact that I play a lot of games, which includes a lot of hours playing games that I don't even like.
As a reminder of why I don't review games, please watch:
• Why I Don't Review Games

[@lockekosta9014]

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut." - Stephen King I think this applies to all creative/artistic pursuits.

[@JayTohab]

This is something I realized- I'm obsessed with the idea of making choice-based games (working on one rn), but it wasn't until recently that I've begun to really play them, partly because I decided to stop waiting for the "perfect muse" and broaden my horizons instead. I've enjoyed what I'm learning, and at this point I separate games I play for pleasure from games I play for "research".

[@bigiron1990]

So true. Anyone can make anything, but to bring something to life or give it that "magic" you HAVE to do the research and effort.

[@braydoxastora5584]

Or you can just fail upwards like a lot of modern writers

[@AJCrowley0153]

The more you explain why you don't stream, the more interested I am in watching you stream

[@budthecyborg4575]

Bingo. It's a sure bet he has professional reasons for not publicly shaming the works of other people, but man it would be so entertaining.

[@occupationalhazard]

100% this!

[@mina7572]

In art, I like to keep artwork that I don't like because it gets me thinking much faster than usual. I think its the same as if you try to write something perfectly on the first go, you get writer's block, but if you write any old thing and then try to fix it up, you get a better product and faster. Gives you a spring board to bounce off of creatively.

[@Victini0510]

I like this idea a lot, and I think it's something I've sort of stumbled onto myself as well.

[@KowlDoogle]

i think it's hard to discuss games you don't like with other people because you can approach it analytically just for someone to refuse to see it the same way you do, so you just get a "If you don't like it don't play it" or "it probably wasn't the game for you then" response, so for me it's just a purely internal process that I can't really talk to people about because it's easy for the other person to draw the wrong conclusions.

[@ovenram]

I have the opposite experience, I feel that its impossible to discuss your opinion of a game online. I could outline all my reasons for enjoying a game, but someone will disregard those and point to some other issues the game has to try and refute my appreciation for the game. People are so keen to argue it’s hard to discuss subjectivity.

[@KowlDoogle]

@@ovenram i was going to mention the opposite problem too, although when a bad thing it pointed out i usually agree that it was a bad thing and embrace that as part of the experience, intentional or not. it's a way for me to keep the conversation going by just meeting people half way

[@Br1cht]

@@ovenramPeople you “meet” on open forums are often unemployables on medications so that will ofc predestine to level of the discussion.

[@enriquecadlum189]

State of mind is always important in discussions like these; usually we're either in a gamedev or "analytical just for fun" sort of headspace when discussing stuff like this. I find it a bit easier doing this when giving the person on the other side a heads up of like, studying how the game and its mechanics interact and work (or not). Am just kinda lucky i have a brother that doesnt mind listen to me rant and rave about mechanics and ideas and introspectives for like an hour at a time lol.

[@UrfriderPoro]

I don't like Souls-like games but Lies of P impressed me more than Elden Ring. This is why it's easy to hate games other people play.

[@Magroo42]

so many people (probably myself included) would love to see you throw shade on games. but i EARNESTLY appreciate that you as a human care to not do that to the designers, that's so fucking wholesome bro, thank you.

[@TheFrogEnjoyer]

The comfort factor of a game is 85% of the reason I play New Vegas so much

[@ruvanefriebus-cv6td]

New Vegas was a gem in a endless stream of manure

[@OdinPerez]

Hey Tim, i've been a fan for years now and the moment i found out about this KZbin channel (a couple days ago) i really felt as if meeting my lifelong dream of chatting with you. You are such a humble, brilliant and absolutely sincere human being and i just want to express my gratitude towards you for making the gaming industry a more humane place just by virtue of you participating on it.

[@wastelander1015]

That first reason deserves a video on its own, Tim. Id love to hear you talk about features you discovered in videogames that you were impressed with. Also, when that happen do you contact the developers of that game to discuss the feature? Thanks!

[@yuin3320]

Personally I love learning from terrible or even just lackluster media. As you said in a previous video, failure is the greatest teacher and the failures of others are just an absolute wellspring of lessons on what not to do, as well as inspirations for how to do things better myself. And even though I'm no game developer, I have found myself occasionally marvelling at a game or two for _how_ it's failing. Especially when you can see some degree of reasonable intent or value to what they were going for but somehow messed up the execution. Not only is there so much to learn from but its also endearing as hell to me, and encouraging to see that failure in creative endeavors is something so many people have gone through and almost never is it really the end.

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

I am curious, how much could one learn from Superman 64 for the N64? That game is one of the biggest failures out there, as how does one go about making a 3D Superman game? and how does one fail that hard?

[@ErikBorchersVR]

Hey Tim, I really enjoy your videos. Would you consider sharing / talking about some “hidden gem” games if you’ve played any?

[@Vanity0666]

I play games I don't like, but I also play games that are mostly mediocre in terms of finished product because both of them allow me to come up with new ideas on how to create something that I would like It's like, my secret tool. Playing a game that I consider "bad" and coming up with a million ways that I think would fix it, then turning that into its own project. Same reason I love B-Movies and old pulp fiction novels.

[@LoveMakeShareTV]

You and I more or less share a favourite type of game. My favourite games are ones that take big swings and don't quite connect, and land in that mediocre territory as a result. A game that is kind of bad or bland, but has something really special nestled in there. Those are gems. They're way more interesting than a game that is bad, mid, or good that doesn't have that big swing.

[@fakegeek5462]

Same like the only games I play are either mediocre games with really good ideas ruined by jank or great games that age like fine wine ex Kojima games.

[@packrunnernes]

For me it's the need to justify my purchase.

[@xyhmo]

I can relate, but that actually just makes the purchase even worse. You've still made a bad purchase, but now it's also made you lose time.

[@astrahcat1212]

You shouldn't do that though, because say you bought Starfield and didn't like it, by playing it you're supporting them creating more, because they track your progress with analytics.

[@astrahcat1212]

...so basically if you play 40 hours even if you didn't like it, it tells the creators 'make more of this' based on engagement instead of appreciation.

[@actionboy3221]

I’ve done the same thing and I hate that I’m like that. But if I spent money on something I feel so awful letting it go to waste so to speak.

[@norris5754]

I was like this once, especially with games I've bought at full price. Eventually I just gave in and stopped squeezing blood from a rock.

[@ChernobylComedyAndWings]

This is my new favorite channel. Electric underground did a video a few months ago about the death of arcade design. That video resonated so much with me. I'm going to be watching a lot of your backlog thanks for the all the work you put into this Tim.

[@5persondude]

One of my favorite Steam User Reviews was a Positive review for Resident Evil 6, and it read something along the lines of “It’s not very creative, but so is cheesecake, and I really like cheesecake” 😂

[@wormerine8029]

What are your comfy games Tim? Mine are classic style Bioware RPGs would be definitely that if there more of those around (not much player choice, or character build complexity, shortish under 40h) - that’s more or less how I saw Outer Worlds. Others would be “action adventures”. Even troubled once usually provide me with nice enough experience.

[@dirzz]

I'll be super interested in seeing you stream. Honestly more interesting than any other streamer, because I'm pretty sure it's actually going to be educational seeing your insight instead of being pure entertainment like 99,99% regular streamers.

[@nevernerevarine8071]

I'd love to hear about your comfort games, solely from the aspect of what makes them cozy to you!

[@benhelmer]

I love that jacket!!! Looking good Tim!

[@PugFury]

I purchased my XB1X when FO76 came out. Stopped playing that almost immediately unfortunately. The XBX came as a bundle with State of Decay 2. Never played the first one and never thought I would play it. I have close to 400hrs in it now and even now I wouldn't call it my favorite game. So I understand that comfort that can come from a game that you may or may not love but put a ton of time into. This one and Don't Starve are both my go to when I don't want to learn a new game (there are a bunch of games I own and haven't played just because I don't want to learn the mechanics or lore associated with to really understand it) or don't have much time to play but want to play something.

[@HeinerGunnar]

FO4 is a good example for me for comfort. I don't dislike it by any means, but I felt it fell short in many aspects. But it gives me the comfort of the Fallout world with the least amount of hassle on my part in getting it to run on my PC, and the combat is IMO more well done than in 3 or NV, so if I just want to run around in the Fallout world for a couple hours I play 4. So I have more hours in it than any other Fallout, even though as a whole it's probably my least favourite one

[@_TristanGray]

“Car Crash” games are some of my favorites too. The sheer audacity some games have when choosing the verbs they give you.

[@liaminwales]

I enjoy the wide perspective you give, just happy more and more Dev's are hitting the point they can be public on there views/experience. Big thanks for the videos.

[@matthewwebster3143]

Tim! I recently just discovered you and ive started watching your videos and I really enjoy what you have to say and what you dont say because it shows you have a level of self control I rarely see. Thank you for bringing some common sense to the internet.

[@Zode123]

As someone who is starting an undergrad degree for game development, I have to say, having access to your perspective is great!

[@NeroMattsss]

Hey Tim! This is my case too. I played hundreds of hours of two games I wouldn't recommend at all. One was a game that said it'd be "The best classic Fallout-like", which ended up being a huge letdown. The other one is one of the previous Games of the Year. I didn't really enjoy them (maybe 10 hours out of 100), but I play them to understand either what's good in it or what's wrong. In the GOTY I can see for myself what people praised about it, yet I don't share it at all... the other one was just my copium working (I wanted it to be good so bad...) Anyway, just saying I understand you! Love your videos!

[@noahchase7854]

I'd love a full course from you--would totally pay, too!

[@vast634]

Interlocking features: the survival mode in Fallout 4 suddenly made a lot of features and systems have a fundamental use (basebuilding, cooking and chems, random beds, vertibird travel). Something the game was missing in the release version.

[@KeiNovak]

The type of games you described as "Good Enough", I've started calling "Snack Games".

[@adamofblastworks1517]

I am *very* interested in games with unusual mechanics (though not always weird/strange ones. Sometimes they are fantastic but just rarely used). I go out of my way to find them. Often I look for genre hybrids, particularly rts hybrids. Unfortunately, a lot of them aren't great. It's still worth it to me to check them out though. Also unfortunately, so far I haven't actually played a lot of those that I have found.

[@Voice55555]

yeah, i can feel that, it is hard to pull off a new mechnisms for sure, but worth to try

[@cachotognax3600]

I just discovered your channel and found this video very interesting. I wanted to say that I believe there is an audience for streaming games like you say you would. People stream bad games/games they know they won't like all the time to criticize them. I've watched a supercut of Joseph Anderson playing the Nicolas Cage games mainly to laugh at them, but also going on rants about decisions the game made. And while there a lot of the content might be from the getting mad part, I believe people can be interested in commentary on the design decisions of a game.

[@StavrosNikolaou]

Thank you for the video! I wish you could share the games you return to periodically (comfort-food-like or otherwise) every year or so. I understand why you may not want to share those either though 😉 Mine is Arcanum for sure. I either play or watch a let's play of it once a year. Your games are so replayable! Have a great day :)

[@wrathfultick]

Hi Tim, I recently discovered your channel and have been working through your videos - great stuff! Something that I found kind of interesting in this video was at times you talked about games you didn't like, and then started talking about games that are bad, as if those are the same thing. I'm guessing that's how you think of them, but for me those are separate buckets in my head. I play lots of games that probably have a consensus opinion that they're bad, but I love them. But a game that I don't like, I just don't think I could force myself to keep going. I get your reasons why you do, especially as a game creator it can be very valuable research and help you avoid the same mistakes. Just kind of jumped out at me. Thanks for all the games and the interesting videos!

[@Yackass]

Tim, I think you are a video game LEGEND. and I would love to see you at the Goodsprings Saloon on the 11th. much love, from Yackass.

[@youreallinsane]

Thought you'd mention this but I might have missed it. But, for me, sometimes I play games I don't like because you can still learn something from them. Whether it's learning from some good design in a bad game or what not to do with the bad design.

[@megasoniczxx]

Playing games you don't like but find elements in them that you do like can be kind of interesting. Recently i've been playing this game called Radiata Stories and while it really isn't grabbing me (particularly where combat and exploration are involved) there are a lot of things that I can appreciate it more for now than I did when I was younger like how: - there's over 100 recruitable NPC's with their own movesets, personalities and majora's mask-esc daily routines - the animations are incredibly charming and on that same note, I really like the artstyle - it doesn't try to take itself too seriously like most RPG's around that time and has a genuinely funny script. - you can kick people to fight them and kick objects in the environment to get items and I wish more games had this feature xD - The soundtrack is really catchy I do get kind of frustrated that most of this stuff isn't in an RPG I enjoy more but I guess if they were I wouldn't really keep playing this.

[@icedogg111]

Radiata had something interesting in an 2000 ish Jrpg. It had branching paths. While in this time and age branching paths don't seem anything out of the ordinary, for a JRPG at that time it was an anomaly, since the most replayable factor you could get from an JRPG was the new game+. That and all the things you mentioned made Radiata a very interesting game despite it shortcomings

[@super_terram]

Thank you for this. Very impactful to hear it from someone in the industry. I myself have thousands of hours in Fallout 76, but do not like that game. Like you, I wanted to be informed, so that I can have an experienced opinion of the game, weather or not I enjoy it.

[@MiguelDebruyne]

Having thousands of hours in a game i still something different then couple of hundred though. I can get the hundreds of hours in a game you don't like, but thousands seems a bit much :p but whatever floats your boat man

[@super_terram]

Are you seriously questioning my opinion? Buzz off busybody.

[@bezceljudzelzceljsh5799]

I recommend playing noita, it's pretty good roguelike with some great pacing if you want to play something for a really long time. Easy to grasp hard to master kind of world. Maybe it's a bit ruined by the existence of wikis, but it could also be said that wikis make the game way more accessible. You could also hate it, because it sort of requires good reflexes, but you could like it because it rewards ingenuity.

[@uberwoofer]

I would love to see your streams!

[@Typheaus]

Thanks for this talk Tim! Id be real curious to hear you talk about the games you dont like and games you do (like 3 of one category and 3 from the other) from a personal standpoint, not some more objective designer perspectiv that would make the game sound good/bad. With that said, I guess that kind of video could still come across like hating on games to some people.

[@shoc2177]

I would watch you stream games, Tim, and those comments, where you say you dont like a feature and whatnot, could be interesting to watch.

[@willr3891]

I don’t mind when “normal” features are locked behind upgrades. lies of P locks dodging while on the ground behind an upgrade. Because of how much the game conditioned me to parry and block, I never even unlocked it until Ng+.

[@willr3891]

More on point though, I hate the first 2 hours of any game. I get too frustrated while learning the basics. So I always assume when I dislike a game at first that it’s my fault, and I keep playing. This is how I discovered that RPGs are actually good.

[@SlyI42]

5:23 Me too! even if the first game I played from a series is not the "best" about features or quality, because it was my first I get a bond with when I like.

[@Faithreaver]

Hello Tim. Nice work! I have a followup question to this video, how do you remember features in all the games you play? Is it just a good memory or you make some kind of note system, if yes, how does that system look like? Being a Level Designer I play a lot of games myself, but my memory forgets all the details and leaves only an impression of a game after a while and that is sad, since the details are important, how would you address this?

[@CainOnGames]

I take notes. Nothing overly systemic, but I usually write down the game and the feature and why I liked it, and how I would try using it in one of my games.

[@TwinOpinion]

Limbo of the Lost is my favorite car crash... It's so BAD... Which makes it sooooo GOOD! 🤣Then you learn it's backstory, and it gets even BETTER! 🥰

[@gospodinkletor2714]

I would love to see Tim Сaine stream games on Twitch

[@iojourny]

I personally don't play games I don't like (I do take inspiration from some reviews for such games, in terms of UI / Mechanics / etc sometimes). However, as a SWE, I definitely read up and watch videos about many technologies I don't like (which are relevant to my field) - even try out and read docs for some of them. Even if I don't use those technologies, they usually have some interesting features that I can take note of for later. I think it's very important to have a wide overview of whichever field you're in, if it's complex enough, and this applies to Gamedev / Game Design as well.

[@clvr51]

Sorry for the off-topic, question, Tim, and maybe you can't even answer due to NDA's and such, but I was wondering: now you're "just" a contractor for Obsidian, right? Which I suppose means you're not directing TOW2 as you did the first (correct me if I'm wrong). Was it your choice to step back, so to speak? Again, I appreciate you might not be able to reply. Great video as always, by the way! I love your channel.

[@Anubis1101]

Yea, I've been there. I have sometimes over a thousand hours into some games that I really don't feel very positive about, and I've had friends and randos make assumptions and comments about it, so I had to hide my hours on my profile. People like to feel like they've figured something out, so they'll jump on whatever comes to mind when they see those numbers.

[@emilm8603]

I'd be interested to hear you talk about some games you do like, and what makes them stand out.

[@budthecyborg4575]

Dude you HAVE to play at least ONE bad game on stream. Those sound bites were so good.

[@Wanna_Be_Desu]

I am like this as well, so it's quite reassuring to hear you say it. Always felt like a wierdo for enjoying things in an analytical, serious way. Love games as an artform and the craftsmanship that goes into them. Thinking about how and why things are made is almost half the fun of it, really.

[@PrimitiveBaroque]

Hi Tim! Thank you for your insights. I have a question. Since you've been a game developer for several decades, are there still take aways from classical video games you see that "modern" 3D games (should) still use to improve or make itself unique or effective? It's the idea that: "Perhaps classical games generally got it right on this aspect." I do see the benefits of retro games serving as a foundation for traditional game design and game loops - but I also see many arcaic features like scoring systems, difficulty, and even graphical limitations (color palettes, dithering). Especially in player-interface controls, due to their limitations, you actually felt like you're using a computer, whereas today you want to forget you're using one (immersiveness). In Lunar Lander, the lever control to thrust your ship and timing your landing to conserve fuel is actually exciting despite that you knew you were playing a game with a limited rule set. It just seems like some modern games do have arcaic elements. For difficulty I think of Cuphead. For scoring I think of Borderlands. But these arcaic elements become something like a niche feature that defines the core experience. This might just be a compliment to your video discussing why modern games are bad.

[@karamzing]

Do you explore the games casually or do you use walkthroughs, tools etc. to evaluate them more thoroughly? What about difficulty modes? Do you try games at easy, normal, and hard?

[@Noowai]

Hi, Tim. Would you say, you play more AAA or AA games, or indies? If you can, could you tell about some mechanics that were new for you and you found them super engaging, or some more or less classic mechanic used so that the whole perception of it is changed drastically. Thanks!

[@AG6580]

That pullover is lovely actually haha

[@thedavischanger]

Shadowrun on the SNES is so cozy.

[@simeon9506]

I find that even with games I’ve played a lot, I don’t love them and I feel pretty conflicted about them. However, there are elements I loved that stick with me.

[@pixelmentia]

I understand your reasons for not wanting to share your thoughts on specific games, especially if you’re ripping it to shreds, but it sure would be entertaining : )

[@dangerforthebrain2]

I personally would like to see those streams' that you mentioned that it wouldn't be fun to watch. I understand you not being comfortable making them though.

[@johnnymccormick1524]

All good streamers are themselves and give their opinions and critique. If its something you'd like to try go for it Tim! Alot of us would love to watch you stream games and hear what you'd say about them 😁

[@MoonyB]

Have you ever played Black and White? That's a game I think about a lot that certainly had its flaws, but there is no legal way to play it now, and the latest fan patches simply do not work on the latest Windows updates.

[@evilgibson]

this is why there are videos of people building full Windows 9X systems are out there....

[@hipiticlivi7400]

I know what he means. Graveyard Keeper for me, It's not good, I don't even like farming/crafting games, but I beat that game twice. Hard to explain why, it was comfortable to play it at the time, and then a couple of years later with extra dlc I played it again and beat it again. It's just the whole build up, unlock, make more, keep fullfilling quests even though how tedious most of it was.

[@petermokran381]

Sometimes I play bad games bc I dont believe the reviews could be that bad as they say they are. Also at least I try to finish n see the ending if there are any redeeming quality in whole product(also if you suffer with some games than you may actually more enjoy some that you really like) n to form opinion for the future purchases I will make.

[@NovaCrackers]

I don't know if this is related, but I have a strange love/hate relationship with mediocre or bad licensed games. It is fascinating to see how a TV show or movie is adapted into a game, even if the execution is poor.

[@firesnakearies]

Can you give an example of a time when you played a game, thought "oh wow this design element is really good, why didn"t I think of that?" and then went on to use something similar in one of your games later?

[@LandBark]

Tim said he can't stream and then gave many reasons for us to encourage him to do it. I would love to watch mystery science game designer Tim ( and his entourage)....then again I would love to have Arcanum 2 or good Fallout game or some new IP from/with help of Tim. Stuff the dreams are made of. I usually play games I don't like to finish it and move on to another, don't like starting and not finishing. (that's why I have 300+ hours in F4, never again)

[@JellyJman]

Tim streams would go crazy!

[@Dylorian_]

Why do certain extremely popular games never get copycat competitors? An example would be the combination of mechanics Old School RuneScape throws together.

[@Dequz]

Do you play/replay your own games?

[@mahpimbo9943]

Hey Tim, love your videos. Apologies if you’ve answered elsewhere but have you heard of or played any of the total conversion mods for Fallout 1/2 such as Fallout Sonora or Fallout Nevada, the former of which recently got its own dlc release.

[@grand1nquisitor]

8:22 could you talk more about solo gaming?

[@CZOM027]

I have realised that too as a kid, when you have a first experience with a particular video game or whatever, you'll have a bias towards it when compared to other games in a series or even a genre.

[@noisyether9211]

I'm a developer, too.I do the same, but I need to do it with games I actually don't like. Last game was Forspoken.

[@_iao_]

I conceal my playtime as well for similar reasons. It's often not indicative of whether I like the game or not, and some games I'm incentivized to leave on without actively playing them (chat, trade, alerts, etc). And like you, much of it is primarily research/experience and secondarily potential enjoyment-- though for me it's specific to ARPGs, mainly Diablo-likes. Not uncommon I play one for triple digit hours just to learn its overall design and end up fundamentally disagreeing with and disliking it.😅

[@wesss9353]

Hello Since Microsoft owns Bethesda and obsidian... Fallout 5 in Chicago and the Enclave as a joinable faction? Or fallout 5 west coast with the dialog checks of fallout new vegas? Also consequences for player actions.

[@Elrog3]

Hi Tim! What are your thoughts on the future of programming languages? Not getting in to language wars, but in general. How much is supporting backwards compatibility holding us back? Would it be a good thing to somewhat simplify down to a few core languages? How much better could languages be? Do you think that in the future, programming will incorporate more visual systems (with better workflow than current visual programming systems)? How far will a non-programmer be able to go using AI?

[@Soumein]

@7:30 'Why would the designer do that? I think it's funny to discuss that kind of thing, but not for other people, especially the developer.' I'm not a game developer and thus able to contend that, but I feel like showing criticisms, making the devs aware of things that didn't work, is an important part of feedback. Then again, as an industry veteran, I guess it could be mean-spirited, and especially with an audience that might echo your sentiments, I can see why what you've chosen to be the better option. If I ever make a game, I'd naively welcome any feedback.

[@ncrvako]

I have played bad games that i enjoyed due to being small demand or specifications. For example, ME2 is small requirements but deus ex ivinsible is even smaller.

[@jonconnington8987]

I kept thinking he would say he's a completionist or something. I have negatively reviewed games I put over a hundred hours into.

[@kip_c]

Heya Tim, was just wondering about how a lot of games from the 90s and beyond are either unplayable on modern systems or, in the rare case they do launch on modern systems, end up completely mangled in the process of running on newer hardware. My question is basically this: Do you still own any dusty old means of playing older games you were fond of 30+ years ago? I recently invested in a CRT monitor and have never looked back. Thanks again for your videos!

[@DylonDylonDylon]

Nice jacket Tim!

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

Honestly these days i actually have fun with the games i either hate or don't like. I have fun when i understand the mechanics of something or how the game or thing works but it is not like i like those mechanics or the game even if i am having a blast, so if i were to ever give a review for games people would be so conflicted because they see me having fun and suddenly i give the game a bad score or even a 6/10. Personally i would rather give a score upfront at the start of the review and then give my reasoning for it and what i did and did not like about the game and maybe what they could have done to improve it. But yeah i can see why game devs would be playing games all or a lot of the time as they need to know what their competitors are doing and maybe draw inspiration from them but improve upon the concept, that's how evolution works you see someone doing something you find a way to do it better and then maybe they see you do that and it can be a back and forth with the result being both of you having constantly great stuff and are ever improving, not stagnating and content with only doing what works since people will get bored of that (Looking at you CoD)

[@xNemesis_]

I always thought it would be weird to play some games for many hours and still don't like the game and i have some games like that in my library. I've put many hours but i don't like them

[@WoodyGamesUK]

That was very interesting. I think I'm the polar opposite. I work in games, but I play very little, most of the time I don't play at all, aside from a casual game now and then with my kids. I don't play even games that I know I would love if I took the time to play and get into the game. And I love video games, I have a real passion for it. But I simply don't have enough interest in any game to actually want to spend some of my time. I love video games as a concept, as a medium. But I'm not necessarily interested in what other people do with it. I'm not saying it's a good way of thinking, but this is me. I genuinely prefer thinking about ideas or implementing them (dreaming is very important, whether It materialises or not doesn't matter), rather than playing a video game.

[@_Rhyst_]

since there have been some conversion mods of fallout 1/2 that have become popular, sonora for example with an english translation in the making, have you played any FO1 conversion mods you enjoy that you thought got the fallout formula right as you envisioned it? edit: to be honest im just very curious if you found a game you thought caught the fallout essence and you were not involved in developing

[@zhulikkulik]

Are there any games you liked that you didn't finish/play rarely? I've always had this problem when a game is very interesting, but also very long or there's something that changes around the middle of the game and I sometimes completely lose interest.

[@Postal0311]

I find, as I have gotten older, that I often love the innovate ideas in new media but feel the execution could have been better. I imagine that you often look at some element and think about how you would have done it differently. Not always saying that we could have done it better, just that we would have done it differently.

[@LuMiDaDj]

I might try a new game, but rarely and it certainly won't be for long unless I like it. If I like it I generally like it because I can enjoy passing alot of time playing it.

[@echoness_]

Yes, I had around a thousand play hours in Titan Quest 🤣 No, the game definitely is not groud-breaking, just like you said, I was super comfortable when playing it.

[@user-qu1ft3ub7d]

"Man, Tim's been playing a lot of TRASH GARGOYLES OF GARBAGE VALLEY REVELATION recently, he must really like this game, I should check it out!"

[@SyndicateOperative]

Some of the games I loved, I avoided playing for years because I didn't like the look of them (e.g. the two Orwell games). So, I spend time playing games I expect I'll hate in the hopes I'll find a diamond in the rough. I'd love to say I found features/issues that I knew to avoid as a result of playing games I hated, but they pretty much all boiled down to "pay attention when writing the story", "don't treat the player poorly", and "Don't leave poorly produced content in with high quality content". Gods, the latter one, though... I was trying Observer recently - the controls weren't intuitive at all, and honestly, I didn't realise the cutscene had even finished (it turned out I need to click a single button just to start another cutscene). It didn't help that the voice actor really needed to rehearse their lines, since it was obvious he was reading a script (and wasn't familiar with the words he was saying).

[@lepersonnage371]

Tim, i want to ask which games have you played that are acclaimed to be one of the best games ever but you personally didn't like?

[@terotimonen8465]

sometimes you just don't know how bad game will be until yoou have put some hours into it. or have beaten the game and then go back and think "wow, this was kinda bad". lot of times, for myself, i might put game on hold and then do some other stuff and the fo back at some point. those minutes even rally start to add up. some games, whilw playing them, might have been ok experience. them when i play something similar gaame and realize how much better that game is, i start to notice those flaws from that said previous games.

[@DarkScreamGames]

We all yell those things at our screens sometime. Every single one of us.

[@fredrik3880]

Curiosity is why i sometimes play bad games. However i dont spend much time before playing something fun!

[@snakeshepard9761]

Playing bad games serves the same purpose of watching bad movies, you learn from them what not to do. Across the years I think I put in MGSV The Phantom Pain around 700-800 hours (most of them in the most depressive period of my life where it only served the purpose of keeping me busy while I was listening to Podcasts and KZbin videos). It was fun for a while before finishing the game (if you can even finish a game that was never finished in the first place) but it grew increasingly worse over time. Easily the worst Metal Gear game and nowhere near decent as a stealth game. But hey, now I know how to make a much better stealth game! Another more recent example is Starfield. I think I had 100 hours in it once I stopped playing, and it was a trainwreck. It kept surprising me how a 200 millions game in 2023 did a lot of things worse than the first Mass Effect. Also why limiting so much the "time travel" stuff? It was easily the best thing in the game but it only served for a bunch of easter eggs and 95% of the gameplay mechanics push in the complete opposite direction. What I'm much more into are old bad games. Once most bad games had interesting stuff in it, there weren't many standards so everyone had to be creative and find their own way to make stuff, at times being the firsts to implement mechanics. Nowadays bad games are mostly copy pasted soulless products that simply end out being boring.

[@uchusky08]

We fully understand why you don't stream those moments, but we would definitely love it

[@SasuPsycho]

Well, you only can value good things, if you experience pain too.😂 But honestly: I like to explain people WHY I think things are bad from my PoV. Had a lot of interesting discussions with people that disagreed and why. Good to learn from a lot of different perspectives you would not have thought of.

[@burningsheep4473]

I had a longer comment written, but now I just wanted to ask if this isn't all just very subjective? I feel like it's perfectly possible for a person to both like and dislike a game at the same time. I think the reason why I wanted to respond is that the video feels truncated. After all, it brings up a really complex topic of having fun vs just passing time, "objective quality" vs ease of play, a game leaving a deep impression vs being shallow, and so on and so forth. I have a very easy time playing most ARPGs for instance, but I really, really dislike certain aspects of their design and I have a fairly hard time in playing some games or at least can't play them long without having to pause, but I still view them quite positively.

[@NINEx7x]

Dark Souls II is my comfort game. It feels 'cozy' to me for some reason.

[@shahin3dart]

For a game developer it is essential to play both good and bad games,mainstream or small games to learn from them