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[Gamer79]

It is bad enough that games no longer come with instruction manuals. Some games are so complex it takes literally dozens of hours to really learn the systems. Try to be a new Player and get into Diablo 4 for example. Good luck figuring out all of that mess. There is a long lost art form with simplicity.

Why are most people playing more older games;

One they are much more simpler for the most part (no scratching your head or reading google how to do X command)
and they are Fun.

I work a stressful day. I come home smoke my bud and the last thing I want to do is to figure out the complexities of some game.

Make it simple, Make it fun.

 

[Holammer]

Have you considered indie games?

 

[GHG]

Diablo 4 isn't complicated though. If anything, it's dumbed down compared to previous entries in the series.

 

[SolidQ]

Diablo 4 for example. Good luck figuring out all of that mess. There is a long lost art form with simplicity.

Diablo 4 is pretty simple, while POE is another story

 

[TintoConCasera]

Just don't play Factorio while high and it'll be fine.

Nah but seriously, I don't think they are that complex. Most games nowadays kinda play the same, and those that don't can be learned rather quickly imo. Well, unless it's a CRPG or a strategy game, those are complicated but I think it's part of the appeal.

 

[pudel]

No. There are enough games which are simple and easy. Pls let the people also play more complex stuff....i love this shit! More complex -> better! The learning is half the fun of it.

 

[amigastar]

Try Europa Universalis IV if you think games are complex. this game takes it up a notch.
I don't have problems with complex games as long as it is meaningful and fun.

 

[Yoshichan]

diablo 4 what the flying fuck

 

[Quantum253]

The rise of the Meta

 

[Danjin44]

I havent played any game that was overly complex but I also dont play CRPG or live service game like Diablo games.

 

[Crayon]

There's always been a range. Just that a long time ago, the more complicated stuff was almost exclusively on pc.

I'd say we got into using every button on a controller every single time since the late ps1 days. I could do without that habit. More games should make an effort to leave a few unused and condense some of the inputs.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Try Tetris.

 

[amigastar]

Try Tetris.

I prefer Dr Mario on the NES. Just saying.

 

[MujkicHaris]

What are you talking about?

It's the opposite. Games have become way too simple and soft. They treat gamers like animals; as if we have no logic or problem solving skills.
Just look at the history of famous series. Their gameplay systems are regressing.

X-ray vision, immersion-breaking quest markers, simplified NPC intelligence, no subtle exposition, terrible quest writing and many more.

 

[LectureMaster]

get into Diablo 4 for example

While I agree with your overall take, I don't think D4 is a good example.

Not that like people said D4 isn't complicated, it's figuring out all stats and building your characters is part of the gameplay loop. I was spending 2 hours grading artificers pit and then another 2 hours in front of the blacksmith to build my gears, that was part of the enjoyment of the game.

 

[EviLore]

Not nearly complex enough.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

???

Games have become more simplified so anyone can jump in and play. You are treated like it's the first time you picked up a controller in many games.

"A button is basic attack."

"B button is strong attack."

"Push the left stick forward to walk forward."

Games used to obtuse as hell. A lot of people are playing older games because they are tired of forced tutorials and being treated like toddlers.

Now, if you are arguing the GAAS games/MMOs have too many systems and currencies, I agree with you. I spent 30 minutes just studying the currencies in Genshin Impact and still didn't fully understand it.

 

[Hohenheim]

For every complex game there's a simple one.
There's ALL kinds of games out there. Brilliant games in all shapes and forms.

I love both simple and complex games, weird games, short games and lengthy games. Indies, AA, AAA's. And there's tons of everything out there, thankfully.

I do believe there's generally too much hand holding in many new games though.

 

[Syphon Filter]

I would argue the oppose, odler games were more complex and now games are dumbed down that anyone can play them. btw dont smoke, it's bad for your brain and lungs.

 

[Yoshichan]

Not nearly complex enough.

but d4

 

[Fbh]

I don't think most games are too complex in the sense that they are hard to understand or play.
But I do think some games would be better if they embraced a more simple and straightforward design. Some games just seem to add unnecessary mechanics and system to give the illusion of depth but I don't think they are better for it.

Like as an example I don't really think new God of War needed to add loot and I don't think the experience became better, deeper or more complex (in a good way) by having to occasionally spend time looking at menus comparing stats on different equipment items.

 

[FalconPunch]

I can definitely see where you're coming from. Look at sports games as an example. NHL, NBA, etc.... They've all become overly complex from the ps2 days and it's a huge impediment to getting new players in. Also with so many control schemes and options, it becomes tougher to balance the game.

 

[ReBurn]

I think the interaction with a lot of systems are poorly designed more than they are complex.

 

[Stamps1646]

OP talks about games becoming too complex, names Diablo IV.
LOL! this has to be fake, right?

 

[Rush2112]

Diablo 4 is complex because it was designed by idiots who blindly did it because PoE existed. It’s not complex in an intelligent way.

 

[Griffon]

 

[nkarafo]

I don't think they are complex. But some games do have complex controls that you have to get used to and then re-adjust every time you replay a game after some time has passed.

 

[Gamer79]

I meant Diablo 4 is complex when you want to do powerful builds. Sure any idiot could level up and just put the highest number gear on their character.

To make a powerful Build like one who could beat Uber Lilth takes time and research. Gem placement becomes key. Knowing how a legendary could make it break a build.

 

[GigaBowser]

me tried to play monster hunter

 

[BbMajor7th]

Honestly, I think 'complexity' is the wrong word. Games are increasingly marred by convolution and padding. Inelegant systems and mechanics layered one on another that don't add much to an experience.

Older games were developed within technical constraints and with more limited resources that forced developers to take a few simple mechanics, polish the shit out of them and come up with dozens of smart and interesting ways to use them. Same with assets - you had to do a lot with a little.

I think those kinds of limitations actually benefit creativity. Too many games these days solve a problem by just creating more shit. Making things bigger and more layered but not more interesting or fun.

I think it's why remakes are so in right now; why a game like Silent Hill 2, where you spend the first two hours hitting the same two enemy types with a length of wood, feel fresh and compelling - maybe because you don't get bombarded with a tutorial very five minutes explaining how to collect and spend four different in-game currencies on shit that does almost nothing to change the experience.

 

[Guilty_AI]

The only class of older games i'd consider simple are ps360 games

 

[intbal]

I don't mind if games are complex.
I mind very much if the controls are complex.

Hey morons game designers, just because there are 18 different possible input options on a modern gamepad doesn't mean you have to come up with a use for all of them (and maybe even double that if you incorporate "tap" and "hold" as two different controls).

 

[Radical_3d]

I miss arcade racers. Now everything has to simulate the friction of the hair of the balls of the butterfly that you stomped upon with your tire. Boring racers everywhere. Give me Daytona and MotorStorm, please.

 

[intbal]

I miss arcade racers. Now everything has to simulate the friction of the hair of the balls of the butterfly that you stomped upon with your tire. Boring racers everywhere. Give me Daytona and MotorStorm, please.

I've been playing Midnight Club Los Angeles the past week.
Completely unrealistic driving and damage models. No story. Blurry and shimmering graphics.
It's the most fun I've had in months.

 

[ap_puff]

I disagree. Many games that have a whole bunch of added "complexity" are simply trying to hide a core gameplay loop that isn't fun enough to sustain the entire length of the game, and thus you aren't engaged enough to want to learn it all.

The dungeons and dragons core rulebook has been hundreds of pages long for decades, and it continues to be one of the most popular games around simply by virtue of that "complexity".

 

[ReyBrujo]

Games before were complex but they introduced concepts in order. Now some games introduce everything together. I find 3d action rpg games awful at that, you get like 500 different combo combinations and end up finishing the game with the "X five times" combo because everything else is too difficult or too chaotic to use (literally how I beat Fire Emblem Warriors and Cereza). Combat games are dumbed down for sure, before you had to know the right combination to make a 12 hits combo in Killer Instinct, now you press one button and get a 30 hit combo in a Dragon Ball game.

The dungeons and dragons core rulebook has been hundreds of pages long for decades, and it continues to be one of the most popular games around simply by virtue of that "complexity".

Well, that's an audience who loves that kind of complexity, like a dungeon crawler player liking a rough permadeath game. But give those D&D players a Pathfinder guidebook and they will find it way too complex for them to be fun.

 

[SlimySnake]

It is bad enough that games no longer come with instruction manuals. Some games are so complex it takes literally dozens of hours to really learn the systems. Try to be a new Player and get into Diablo 4 for example. Good luck figuring out all of that mess. There is a long lost art form with simplicity.

Why are most people playing more older games;

One they are much more simpler for the most part (no scratching your head or reading google how to do X command)
and they are Fun.

I work a stressful day. I come home smoke my bud and the last thing I want to do is to figure out the complexities of some game.

Make it simple, Make it fun.

try not being high as a kite when playing video games.

also, use your brain.

 

[Laptop1991]

Well not the games i'm use to playing, they've gone the other way and that's if they even work properly, i don't know about AA or Indie titles but triple A wise they are simplified and more basic now to appeal to the masses, especially the Gaas/ Live service ones and MP games.

 

[farmerboy]

It is bad enough that games no longer come with instruction manuals. Some games are so complex it takes literally dozens of hours to really learn the systems. Try to be a new Player and get into Diablo 4 for example. Good luck figuring out all of that mess. There is a long lost art form with simplicity.

Why are most people playing more older games;

One they are much more simpler for the most part (no scratching your head or reading google how to do X command)
and they are Fun.

I work a stressful day. I come home smoke my bud and the last thing I want to do is to figure out the complexities of some game.

Make it simple, Make it fun.

I'm hearing you man. Loved Astrobot partly because it was so easy to pick up and play.

 

[[Sigma]]

Play Astro Bot.

 

[TheChumpNation]

Honestly OP I have the same frustration...but the gaming high is just tough for some people and I think you're one of us. I'm playing GOWR Valhalla right now and trying to remember how each weapon works is killing me. It's a real thing, but the problem is us my friend.

Mainstream gaming definitely does not have a over-complexity problem.

 

[fart town usa]

Silent Hill 2 remake is a good choice.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

This is why I am glad I switched from console to PC. I have the perfect mixture of complicated horror and milsims while also finding many easy games like vampire survivor-likes and games like Diablo. It works so well for someone like me.

 

[diffusionx]

Games were wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more complex back in the day.

 

[Humdinger]

I agree. I have limited time and attention. I'm not going to devote a large chunk of that to learn a bunch of stuff related to combat, skill progression, crafting, upgrades, inventory systems, and whatnot. I've got better things to do.

edit: oh, I missed the fact that you're high when you're playing. Yeah, I can't remember shit when I'm high and drinking. I get lost doing the simplest things. I once spent an hour wandering around a small area in Mass Effect, trying to figure out what the hell I was doing or supposed to do...

 

[TGO]

I think you're confusing bloated and shallow with complex.
Old games were complex.

 

[Rambone]

I tend to enjoy quality of life and modernization of some games. Take for example the Persona series. Revelations Persona's (Persona 1) combat, navigation and menu systems were all pretty tedious compared to modern Persona releases.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

2006 through 2023 gamers - "Games are being dumbed down for simple-minded casual console gamers!!!"

Op in 2024 - "Games are too complex"

 

[Wooxsvan]

nah. Iv yet to find a game I want to sink 6 years of my time into like the deep and complex World of Warcraft. bring on the complexity

 

[dreamstation]

I'd say in general that most games have become less complex but on the flip side I think Astro Bot made me think that most games are just not so fun anymore? That game is just sheer pleasure to play. No cutscenes or bullshit to get in the way of the gameplay.