The ideal length of time for a video game is...?

[Estil | 1,264]

I think the quest/RPG kind of games where it has a clock/timer/whatever showing you how long you played and some games (like Final Fantasy 12) even showing how many steps you've taken is kinda neat   It really gives it the long epic journey feel...and those of you who follow vehicle odometer milestones (especially 100,000) might know what I mean.

I'm currently working on Tales of Destiny 2 on PS1 (it's real name is Tales of Eternia) and it even includes a neat feature I never seen before...a separate smaller/yellow timer showing how long it's been since your last save.  That really should've/should be done more often so you don't say, goof and lose an hour or two (or more!) of progress because you didn't save.

[Tulpa | 3,493]

12 hours ago, Estil said:

I thought only SP did that whole 10 episode thing.

Most streaming shows do a small batch of episodes, like 8 to 10. Because they usually film them all at once, which has major advantages (consistent story, availability of locations, reduced logistical needs, actors don't have to tie up the bulk of a year in their schedules, etc.) Game of Thrones, for instance, mostly did 10 episodes a season, and actually reduced it to 6 or 7 by the last two.

The 26 episode thing is largely network TV, and usually because of syndication deals. Streaming has no such obligation to follow that, and they don't.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Tulpa

[NESfiend | 1,515]

21 hours ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

I went with 1-2 hours. I prefer replay value over completion time.

 

 Correct answer. Im old and have too many commitments. When I play a game, I want a shot at completing it in an hours time. Tyson, contra, etc. are all perfect lengths for the working family adult. You can sit down and play a a couple games without committing a lifetime .  

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

Just now, NESfiend said:

 Correct answer. Im old and have too many commitments. When I play a game, I want a shot at completing it in an hours time. Tyson, contra, etc. are all perfect lengths for the working family adult. You can sit down and play a a couple games without committing a lifetime .  

You can always count on me to give an old guy answer!

[T-Pac | 7,542]

I feel like my attention-span gets shorter every day (I can barely even finish a 2 hour movie in one sitting), so I can only handle games designed to play in short bursts. Arcade-style games, brief platformers / space-shooters, or games with passwords / save points after each level.

I do enjoy longer games if I can get myself to commit to them, but that's rarely the case...

-CasualCart

[Reed Rothchild | 9,525]

There's a reason why I dropped my 360 and PS3 like a rock and moved on to the 3DS and Switch.

Big epic quests are much more realistic for an adult life when you have a handheld with a sleep function.

[CMR | 519]

I couldn't pick.  To me it depends on the game and what type of game it is.  I typically like short 30min games, but super long games like Zelda BOTW are cool if you can easily pick up where you left off in them. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I based my answer on my ideal single player experience.

I had a tough time choosing because I was in between, but I'd say about 6-12 hours. Just enough time to get into it, but not enough for it to overstay its welcome. I'm not at all interested in 50-100 games anymore. CDProjekt Red pointed out that most people didn't finish the Witcher 3, so clearly it's not just me.

[Estil | 1,264]

On 10/7/2020 at 5:23 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

There's a reason why I dropped my 360 and PS3 like a rock...

That is one thing the 360 was definitely not!!  

 

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

I think it entirely depends on the genre.

I wouldn’t want to play an epic story driven RPG with only 8 hours of gameplay, but I also wouldn’t want to play a platformer that takes a month to finish as well.

Puzzlers are nice because they can have infinite gameplay, but a battle royale game shouldn’t be longer than 30-60 minutes.

Rail based shooting games are fun in short arcade length play sessions, but you can’t say the same for an adventure game.

 

 

Short Single session games like arcade games should be no longer than 10-20 minutes.

battle royale, team based combat, and MOBA’s should be no longer than 45 minutes to an hour and a half at high ranks.

non-story driven games should have at least a few hours of variety with a high replay value, or can be a weeks long game with low replay value.

Short Story driven games should at the very least be played over a few long dedicated play sessions.

Long story driven games should take at least a week to finish

Puzzlers have no time limit, as long as there’s no end goal. (Eg. Solomon’s key is way too long for itself, but Candy Crush is cool)

[avatar! | 1,811]

Not quite a bell curve, but not too far off considering the limited statistics. Overall, the most popular number was 10-15 hours. 

[Estil | 1,264]

15 hours ago, avatar! said:

Not quite a bell curve, but not too far off considering the limited statistics. Overall, the most popular number was 10-15 hours. 

Oh wow that's practically a quickie (hee hee chuckle)...but I also like to take my time and explore and such...even in games that are really meant for speedruns like Metroid and Sonic I like to explore rather than go out of my way to speed through it.

I distinctively remember the first time playing FF7 it took me about ten hours just to get through that initial building (forget what it's called) and when I did finally reach the overworld for the first time it was like they were trying to recreate what they did for FF1 when you cross that bridge and it shows the title screen.  That ten-ish hours I spent in that initial building (remember it was my first time and I was taking my time and exploring)...that apparently was just the intro/preliminaries...after is the start of your real quest.

[Estil | 1,264]

On 10/10/2020 at 11:09 AM, ThePhleo said:

I think it entirely depends on the genre.

I wouldn’t want to play an epic story driven RPG with only 8 hours of gameplay, but I also wouldn’t want to play a platformer that takes a month to finish as well.

Puzzlers are nice because they can have infinite gameplay, but a battle royale game shouldn’t be longer than 30-60 minutes.

Rail based shooting games are fun in short arcade length play sessions, but you can’t say the same for an adventure game.

Short Single session games like arcade games should be no longer than 10-20 minutes.

battle royale, team based combat, and MOBA’s should be no longer than 45 minutes to an hour and a half at high ranks.

non-story driven games should have at least a few hours of variety with a high replay value, or can be a weeks long game with low replay value.

Short Story driven games should at the very least be played over a few long dedicated play sessions.

Long story driven games should take at least a week to finish

Puzzlers have no time limit, as long as there’s no end goal. (Eg. Solomon’s key is way too long for itself, but Candy Crush is cool)

Say did Candy Crush or Angry Birds ever get a proper console/handheld release?  I'd love it so much if the two Simon's Cat games also got proper console/handheld releases too.

Or are they just variants of puzzle games that were already out?

Edited October 29, 2020 by Estil