Does anyone else see so much of something that they don't even play it?

[Doomkid]

Does anyone else see so much of something that they don't even play it?

Ok, what I mean by this is, with InstaDoom, I saw so many screenshots n shit that I already knew LITERALLY EVERYTHING it had to offer so I didn't even feel any desire to DL it. Now, I know Ling just made that cute little mod as a joke, but he DID do it very well.

It goes beyond things like this though - I played Brutal Doom occasionally a few years ago, and really was curious about v20... But then I saw like a berjillion screenshots - Without even trying to search around for them or anything, and I felt like I already knew every last thing the mod had to offer and was burned out before even downloading.

I think the point to this is to think about is as a Tease VS 'Whoring'. Whoring leaves nothing to the imagination, teasting gives you just a little that looks so damn good you really want to see what else there is on offer.

Sorry about making a rant-like thread, but I think this is something a lot of WAD makers should keep in mind.. Peep shows are the way!

[AD_79]

The tease vs whoring argument is a very good one, though sometimes if I see a lot of something I'll still play it.

[LanHikariDS]

Five Nights at Freddy's.

[Linguica]

Doomkid said:

Ok, what I mean by this is, with InstaDoom, I saw so many screenshots n shit that I already knew LITERALLY EVERYTHING it had to offer so I didn't even feel any desire to DL it. Now, I know Ling just made that cute little mod as a joke, but he DID do it very well.

That's not a great example since you quite literally have seen the whole thing once you've seen like five screenshots of it. Most Doom mods have somewhat more content.

[Tristan]

Funny thing is, I'm guilty of this, then I don't release the project after all :D

[SavageCorona]

LanHikariDS said:

Five Nights at Freddy's.

I like the part in that game where they release a fourth game that actually crashes every 10 minutes despite the engine being some fucking ancient thing they pulled off 3 times without a hitch before.

[frithiof]

For me, this was Halo, and all of the sequels.

I was like "This is such a blatant rip-off of Doom. I'm not going to play this."

I felt the same way about Doom 4. ;)

Also 'Wheel of Fortune' in casinos. I just can't do it.

[LanHikariDS]

SavageCorona said:

I like the part in that game where they release a fourth game that actually crashes every 10 minutes despite the engine being some fucking ancient thing they pulled off 3 times without a hitch before.

Really? I stopped caring after the second one. Never played any of them, never even bothered to watch others play them. Mostly just watch the Game Theory videos about them. That's the high point of my interest in the series... that, and TCRF.

[40oz]

On the contrary, I feel mappers have a good bit to gain from not keeping secrets from the audience. For me, wads like btsx, valiant, and community chest 4 (the latter was willful ignorance admittedly) where everything about it is done in secret until the day of release. These wads have a tendency of generating "hype" in the sense that a megawad with all new textures and big maps made by a variety of mappers is really enticing, but without having seen development screenshots beforehand, who has tested it, the criticism its received, other maps by the same authors, etc. You really have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You just kinda get sold on the idea of what the wad probably is and end up getting disappointed when the wad isn't everything you imagined it to be.

In agreement with the OP, I don't download stuff that takes me too far off from my Doom comfort zone, so a lot of TCs like twilight warrior, batman doom, Ghostbusters doom wolfendoom, legacy of suffering, winters fury, or wads that run on an obscure source port that I would never otherwise use dont get a download from me. Instead i watch videos of someone else playing so I can at least feel educated about what it is.

[scifista42]

Partly, indirectly related to the topic: I'm naturally driven away from linear games that don't allow the player making choices. No matter their graphical impressiveness, style or popularity: If the game has nothing more to offer than one and the same adventure and gameplay for everyone, I will rather watch an entire playthrough of the game than download it, even if it's free. No matter if it's a platformer, FPS or anything. It's not exactly that I see so much of them, it's the fact that practically all of them I've ever played gave me an impression that it was waste of time not worth it.

[Fonze]

I feel the same way as scifista when it comes to games like five nights at freddy's and certain older games like Myst, which I used to love, but now just don't have the time for it. On the flip side, once commentary kicks in I usually prefer to just crank the volume up and hold the speakers to my ears in hopes of going deaf to never have to hear another commentary again. Some newer games, in particular indie games, have the same effect on me (but which one? Both).

When it comes to stuff that interests me, I usually feel like I can't see enough before I get my grubby paws on it. Partially because with the internet at my fingertips, if I'm at work on break I can just pull out the phone and look up some random stuff. Or if I'm outside smoking, since I dont have a laptop yet, the next best thing is either phone games (eh) or look up stuff on whatever interests me at the time. Sometimes it's fun to watch someone else play a game, much like watching TV. But most of the time I find it far more enjoyable to play it myself (Take Glover 64, fairly linear platformer. Fun to watch; much more fun to play. You'll find out that you truely are you're own worst enemy, lol). One exception is if it's a map I made, then I like seeing others play it :)

[Fonze]

I feel the same way as scifista when it comes to games like five nights at freddy's and certain older games like Myst, which I used to love, but now just don't have the time for it. On the flip side, once commentary kicks in I usually prefer to just crank the volume up and hold the speakers to my ears in hopes of going deaf to never have to hear another commentary again. Some newer games, in particular indie games, have the same effect on me (but which one? Both).

When it comes to stuff that interests me, I usually feel like I can't see enough before I get my grubby paws on it. Partially because with the internet at my fingertips, if I'm at work on break I can just pull out the phone and look up some random stuff. Or if I'm outside smoking, since I dont have a laptop yet, the next best thing is either phone games (eh) or look up stuff on whatever interests me at the time. Sometimes it's fun to watch someone else play a game, much like watching TV. But most of the time I find it far more enjoyable to play it myself (Take Glover 64, fairly linear platformer. Fun to watch; much more fun to play. You'll find out that you truely are you're own worst enemy, lol). One exception is if it's a map I made, then I like seeing others play it :)
I suppose another exception is if it's something I already know by heart, like the vast majority of the iWads. I've just played them so much it's almost a science at this point ;p watching someone else play through them adds some variety.

[mrthejoshmon]

I gotta post a screenshot of everything I do, otherwise I will not be able to tell if it was any good or not (which is something I just can't stand despite only ever mapping for myself really).

I think about 90% of my unfinished megawad is viewable from screenshots, that may be bad.