The Video Games are playing themselves. (NSMB Wii Demo Play)

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:46 pm

Gaming, we need to talk.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174774
^ READ THIS

Not trying to be gigadrive32 or anything posting random blog feeds but I think this is serious. Think of the ramifications here. I'm personally INSULTED. I very nearly want to protest. This is the beginning of a downward spiral. There is the easy to predict "Just don't use it if it bothers you." FUCK THAT. This is just it for me, it's all you if you want to jam the credit feed but this really cheapens MY experience, the fact that this exists.

It's such a slap in the face that a Super Mario Bros. game would be the first to get this treatment too. The original SMB was probably the first game a lot of us ever played. Now instead of being six and throwing the controller at the TV when you can't pass the hammer brothers, just imagine handing the game over to your AI big brother and letting it do your dirty work for you. Hairy goat bollocks.

Maybe ten years ago this would have been met with venomous anger but I don't think most gamers are even paying attention anymore. We're all jaded by empty "achievement points" and save states.

Am I overreacting? How could things get any worse for video games if this takes off?

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:12 pm

lol interactive movie. or non-interactive now, I guess.

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:16 pm

who cares....its the wii.....are you under 10? or over 40?

you are not the target demographic....nintendo does not care about you.....

UnscathedFlyingObject · Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:20 pm

Doesn't surprise me that Nintendo seeks to dumb down gaming even more. All you can do is speak with your pockets. If you buy their insultingly easy games, then don't complain.

... and you don't have to take a blow for grandpa and the kids. Let them play your free Wii Sports and you go buy anything better like on-rail shooters.

jonny5 wrote:who cares....its the wii.....are you under 10? or over 40?

you are not the target demographic....nintendo does not care about you.....

QFT.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:20 pm

szycag wrote: Am I overreacting? How could things get any worse for video games if this takes off?

It won't take off (or at least it shouldn't), as it would remove all the fun and purpose of trying to beat a video game.

This, to me, sounds like one of the worst ideas ever.

To cater for everyone AND provide the players (at any level) with satisfaction, different difficulty levels are the answer and not this!

Aru-san · Post by **Aru-san** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:28 pm

Super Laydock wrote:To cater for everyone AND provide the players (at any level) with satisfaction, different difficulty levels are the answer and not this!

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:31 pm

You're wrong if you think this is going to stop with Nintendo. I mean the newest Prince of Persia game was practically there. Just add scene select.

And a lot people are gonna react the same way as you, jonny5, because this casuals thing has been going on for a while now. But that's how it happens. You lower people's standards just enough over time that it doesn't reach some sort of backlash threshold. And it makes all the difference between a total sham and "oh, I guess that makes sense..."

UnscathedFlyingObject · Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:32 pm

Nintendo doesn't get difficulty levels (and to be honest most devs neither.) They design their games easy and harder just means that enemies have insane HP and you die in two hits. Hard difficulty should ideally give enemies new attacks and make them more aggressive on top of the standard increase in HP.

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:34 pm

I remember the planning of this feature being discussed some time ago, and now that it has come to fruition, I can only say I'm actually disappointed in modern gaming.

No, wait, I've been disappointed in modern gaming for at least 6-7 years. :\

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:37 pm

I don't really see a big difference to credit-feeding. As long as I can choose NOT to use the feature, what's the big deal? Let those who are unable to handle a controller or are too impatient to learn how to play spoil their fun. It's their choice after all.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:38 pm

Games have been doing this for years. For example, on 'hardcore' Sierra adventure game Harvest of Souls', you could skip any puzzle you wanted. You'd loose points though.

I think you're about 15 years late with your complaint

But yes, it does inspire an uneasy feeling within me. I hate it when me and my girlfriend are playing Zelda, and she just chants "GameFAQs" every time she's been stuck for 30 seconds

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:40 pm

if they do a lost levels version all will be right with the world. At least then it should be normal difficulty

Taylor · Post by **Taylor** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:45 pm

Nintendo are making accessible games aimed at casual players now?

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:51 pm

i would probably need help on a mario game too, no joke

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:56 pm

To quote "megamatt" from the comments:

"Why does anyone care what other people do or don't do when it comes to video games? If some person plays NSMB Wii and uses "Demo Mode" or whatever it ends up being called, how does that affect your enjoyment of the game?

The answer is it doesn't."

Kids are gonna use whatever is there to reach the end. I certainly would have when I was a kid. Being an adult now, I wouldn't wish some easy fix on my younger self. Especially for something as surmountable as Super Mario Bros., any of the original NES ones and even the Lost Levels. That's where the fun is at. But if you're a kid, you don't get it. So it doesn't affect me personally, but it cheapens the great experience I had for the future generations, and I'm just supposed to shrug it off and be like Cranky Kong or something, reminiscing about the old days where you actually had to try.

lgb · Post by **lgb** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:19 pm

New Super Mario Bros. Wii and any other game that features this is going to be really hard.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:20 pm

I actually don't care that other people play their games in Shit Easy difficulty as long as devs put in a competent Hard Mode. However, devs that cater to casuals don't have other difficulty than Easy even if they're called Hard. In which case, I shrug off and go buy something better.

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:52 pm

Herr Schatten wrote:I don't really see a big difference to credit-feeding. As long as I can choose NOT to use the feature, what's the big deal? Let those who are unable to handle a controller or are too impatient to learn how to play spoil their fun. It's their choice after all.

Precisely. Normal players aren't being forced to do anything. You can still play the game (and NSMB Wii looks to be super fun btw!). And I think that you get the immediate right to make fun anyone who uses 'demo play' to get through the game, because they're clearly lame. But as long as they get the choice to play with it, and you still get the choice to play without it, what's the problem?

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:52 pm

Herr Schatten wrote:I don't really see a big difference to credit-feeding. As long as I can choose NOT to use the feature, what's the big deal? Let those who are unable to handle a controller or are too impatient to learn how to play spoil their fun. It's their choice after all.

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:52 pm

I just hope this "feature" will bring a big fat blinking DEMO PLAY text with it; If not, imagine how fun watching faked superplays will be.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:43 pm

If only Unreal Tournament 3 BOTS had this option. Worthless bastards.

Uh, yeah, I really don't care. It definitely will make for more FALSIFICARE funs, but playing any new SMB game for score or respect = lol

Dragoforce · Post by **Dragoforce** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:52 pm

szycag wrote:This is the beginning of a downward spiral.

I would say that it started when the J-RPG genre got big. Having a hard time? Just run back and forth here for a few hours and fight some weak monsters.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:18 pm

I don't think some people here are getting the point. People can finish games without even touching the controller, which defeats the point of actually playing them. This is Progress Quest graduated from a joke.

I thought we had Youtube for that.

This isn't an infinite lives or super easy mode feature, which would at least actually require playing the game.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:40 pm

But yes, it does inspire an uneasy feeling within me. I hate it when me and my girlfriend are playing Zelda, and she just chants "GameFAQs" every time she's been stuck for 30 seconds.

True, but I think a lot of games are actually designed with this in mind. I'm playing Valkyrie Profile 2 right now, and I can tell you right now that there is no way in hell I would have the patience to grind a bunch of item components only to find that the resulting item sucks ass.

I don't think some people here are getting the point. People can finish games without even touching the controller, which defeats the point of actually playing them. This is Progress Quest graduated from a joke.

True, but knowing Miyamoto there will be limits to the feature. If it just lets you skip a really annoying part and continue having fun, I don't see where the problem is. And as Schatten and kengou stated, no one's forcing you to use the feature. The hardcore players get their fun, and the casuals get theirs. The bigger problem with Nintendo games these days, in my opinion, is that they're designed to be a complete cakewalk from the beginning. If this allows Mario to actually have some challenge again while still remaining accessible, then I'm all for it. It's a win-win situation.

edit - You guys seem to think this thing will be good for superplays. Why? I'm sure it won't be designed to play optimally. More likely it will just get the player through whatever section they're having trouble with without any additional rewards.

antron · Post by **antron** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:59 pm

in soviet russia game play you!

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:52 am

Welcome to the future, when people are too goddamn lazy to use infinite lives cheats, and they have to let the game play itself. I was annoyed enough when my dad and brother started using Gameshark codes on every game they laid their hands on, but now for games to actually come with this? Disgusting-- especially for a Super Mario Bros. game. I mean, I personally think the hardest game in the entire Mario series is the very first one for the NES, and I can loop that a few times without dying before I get too bored to go on.

I know I shouldn't care about what other people do in their games as long as it doesn't affect me, but it just disgusts me anyway. All my life I've been in the mindset that cheating in games or continuing in arcade games is incredibly cheap and ruins the fun of a game. What is the point of playing a game when there's no chance of losing, and no room for improvement? There isn't, really! You might as well be watching TV at that point.

I guess it's all a matter of preference. To use Rob's philosophy somewhat, people can play tee-ball, but I play home-run derby. And if I suck at a game, I either force myself to get better or I don't play it at all. I guess that's too hard for some people.

I don't know about anyone else, but I like it when a game kicks you in the balls and forces you to stand up or give up. It feels that much more rewarding when you succeed instead of getting easily frustrated, turning on some God Mode and breezing through the game unscathed.

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:00 am

it290 wrote:edit - You guys seem to think this thing will be good for superplays. Why? I'm sure it won't be designed to play optimally. More likely it will just get the player through whatever section they're having trouble with without any additional rewards.

Depends on how this feature will be implemented and how much game developers are willing to "evolve" it in future titles, on the other hand I'm pretty sure there will be more than one way to tell if someone uses this in a video.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:01 am

I don't see the big deal at all. It's not like anybody plays these particular games for the challenge. So why hate on developers for offering more choice? You can be sure not every developer will embrace this vision so some games (like the oldschool stuff we enjoy) will definitely remain accessible only to players who practice.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:10 am

I'd be up in arms if one of my fave series turns into casual fluff. Luckily, I don't give a crap about Mario anymore.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:23 am

antron wrote:in soviet russia game play you!

Damn, you beat me to it!

shmups.system11.org

The Video Games are playing themselves. (NSMB Wii Demo Play)

The Video Games are playing themselves. (NSMB Wii Demo Play)

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Re: The Video Games are playing themselves. (NSMB Wii Demo P

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