It was the presentation that was bad (Gaming)

by Avateur , Sunday, April 13, 2025, 09:33 (15 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by Avateur, Sunday, April 13, 2025, 09:43

But like… why?

That has always been the problem with extraction shooters. Every single one of them. The loop is the game, that’s it. No greater goal or purpose, nothing to really work towards. I kinda thought Bungie might be the ones to finally solve that problem, but I’ve seen no indication they have.

Maybe that’s not a problem. That loop is fun on its own . . . for a while. But I’m not sure it has the staying power Destiny did without something else, because that loop gets stale with no greater purpose.

That's the key.

I could get lost in the crucible for a while, but if that were the entire game I'd have put Destiny down long before I did. I'd never buy a game like Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament these days. For me, the multiplayer component has to be a part of a greater whole. I just can't imagine doing the same thing over and over with there being nothing else…

In a way, multiplayer only shooters are casual games in the sense that you'd get bored with them if you played them too much, as you describe. This is probably why modern ones use loot boxes, battle passes, and other things to give you extrinsic motivations to keep playing.

There’s a lot of truth regarding loot boxes and other Skinner box techniques that try to get people addicted or coming back for more beyond whether the game itself is fun, but I think you’re discounting how many people are motivated by having a great experience with their friends. Over and over again. Like Halo multiplayer for hours and hours on end with no benefit beyond just trying to win. Battle Royale games provide similar motivations, even from people who don’t care about battle passes, skins, etc. People want to win and literally be the last person/team standing. And they’re fine doing that over and over and over again, and they have fun doing it. Strategizing where to land, how to hold buildings or build new ones, and out-skilling opponents.

If Bungie has figured out a way to make this genre more accessible, maybe “easier” while still allowing for a high skill ceiling, and opens it up to a console audience in a way that hasn’t been done before, Marathon could be a surprise success. I’m personally skeptical about this being the case, but I can see it happening.