How many gamers actually finish RPG's

Rayfer · May 24, 2015, 07:47:03 PM

Very interesting article about how few people ever finish RPG's like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/08/pillars-of-eternity-does-it-matter-if-people-dont-finish-games-any-more

Grim.Reaper · May 24, 2015, 07:55:16 PM

I rarely finish any game...think the last was sniper 2.. It's a sickness.

mikeck · May 24, 2015, 08:02:57 PM

Except for Baldurs Gate 2....never. I spend an eternity setting up my characters just right, buy the guide book and set out while uncovering every little side quest possible. About 10-12 game hours later I'm on to something else. Then 6 months later when I come back, I can't remember what I'm doing

RooksBailey · May 24, 2015, 08:18:04 PM

Quote from: mikeck on May 24, 2015, 08:02:57 PM
About 10-12 game hours later I'm on to something else. Then 6 months later when I come back, I can't remember what I'm doing

That is me, too! ;D I finish very few games because of this. But I have been endeavoring to complete more games the last few years (and it helps that my game purchases are way down - I am less likely to be distracted by something new these days).

Games I recently finished include STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, Fallout 3, Shadowrun Returns: Deadman's Switch, Saint's Row: The Third, Torchlight, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and BlackOps 2, and Borderlands. That is about it over the past three years.

Games I am currently working on completing: Frozen Synapse campaign, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Metro 2033, and Gunpoint (yes, I haven't even managed to complete that five hour game! LOL!).

Another complication for me is that when I really like a game, particularly a story-driven game, I DO NOT want to finish it. It makes me sad when I know there is nothing left to explore, so I deliberately drag my heels.

jomni · May 24, 2015, 08:19:36 PM

That's why I don't play that genre.

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 24, 2015, 08:28:02 PM

Almost always.

Having said that, I didn't even start Divinity: OS because I can't remap the keys.

I was very far into Pillars of Eternity when I tried to take on the big boss at the bottom of the keep. Even with all party characters at max level, I couldn't get the bad guy's health below 50% before losing the entire party. It didn't matter which combo of characters I took or what combo of spells and potions I used, it was just a slaughter even after I lowered the difficulty to easy. I tried dozens of times but never even came close to winning that fight. Even though it's just a side quest, it put me off enough that I haven't gone back to the game.

Gusington · May 24, 2015, 08:38:12 PM

I 'finished' Skyrim, meaning, I completed the main storyline. And it was awesome. It took me 150 hours, and I also completed all the DLCs. But I know there's 100s of hours left in there.

Ubercat · May 24, 2015, 09:05:38 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on May 24, 2015, 08:28:02 PM
I was very far into Pillars of Eternity when I tried to take on the big boss at the bottom of the keep. Even with all party characters at max level, I couldn't get the bad guy's health below 50% before losing the entire party. It didn't matter which combo of characters I took or what combo of spells and potions I used, it was just a slaughter even after I lowered the difficulty to easy. I tried dozens of times but never even came close to winning that fight. Even though it's just a side quest, it put me off enough that I haven't gone back to the game.

I'm a bit into PoE now (chars are 7th level). What keep are you talking about? The endless maze or whatever it's called under the run down base I got to take over?

-budd- · May 24, 2015, 09:14:11 PM

I'm not the biggest RPG guy but i did finish dragon age origin, got the final boss battle on the third try ;D. I also finished Oblivion, bioshock 1&2-twice, system shock 2- twice , borderlands 1 if you count that, thats about it as far as i remember. Dragon age, Bioshock1 and system shock2 are on my favorite games list.

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 24, 2015, 09:34:41 PM

Quote from: Ubercat on May 24, 2015, 09:05:38 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on May 24, 2015, 08:28:02 PM
I was very far into Pillars of Eternity when I tried to take on the big boss at the bottom of the keep. Even with all party characters at max level, I couldn't get the bad guy's health below 50% before losing the entire party. It didn't matter which combo of characters I took or what combo of spells and potions I used, it was just a slaughter even after I lowered the difficulty to easy. I tried dozens of times but never even came close to winning that fight. Even though it's just a side quest, it put me off enough that I haven't gone back to the game.

I'm a bit into PoE now (chars are 7th level). What keep are you talking about? The endless maze or whatever it's called under the run down base I got to take over?

Yes. There's a nasty beasty at the bottom. Even after I completed another side quest to get a special ability that is supposed to help defeat said beast, I still get slaughtered.

GibbyG · May 24, 2015, 09:47:46 PM

Always

Bison · May 24, 2015, 10:02:53 PM

My problem is that I keep creating new characters because I want to see how the classes play, what they look like, what the combat effects look like and then I find my self watching youtube videos.

MengJiao · May 24, 2015, 10:04:11 PM

Quote from: mikeck on May 24, 2015, 08:02:57 PM
Except for Baldurs Gate 2....never. I spend an eternity setting up my characters just right, buy the guide book and set out while uncovering every little side quest possible. About 10-12 game hours later I'm on to something else. Then 6 months later when I come back, I can't remember what I'm doing

Yep.
That happened to me with Skyrim and Shadow of Mordor.

Nefaro · May 24, 2015, 10:44:53 PM

I also rarely finish ANY digital game.

Actually, I've finished more RPG campaigns than any other genre. So the specific targetting of RPGs may not be a fair assessment.

ComradeP · May 25, 2015, 03:57:40 AM

If a game eventually comes down to doing the same things I've been doing for hours already, I might get bored and move on. It does depend on whether there's a good story or not, as if there is I'm inclined to finish the game.

It is sort of a sickness that creeps up on you as you play more games: I've played so many games throughout the years that few of them feel like they're original enough to truly grab my attention. Taking breaks from a certain genre helps, but the problem doesn't go away entirely.

My attention span for games that are similar to ones I've already played isn't what it's used to be. I can spend hours on a wargame turn without any difficulty, but killing more or less the same guys over and over in an RPG isn't something that I find as enjoyable as I once did.

I'm currently playing Dragon Age: Origins, which I never finished when I bought it the first time after the DLC stopped working due to all the DRM hoops you had to jump through. I'm now 40 or so hours in and although I feel the characters and story are actually fairly flat and not that great, I find myself going back to it for short bursts.