Key To Good Games: Fun

Ever since getting the Logitech G27 a few weeks ago, I've been playtesting it with a number of racing games. I've been playing Gran Turismo 5 before getting the G27, and playing it with a wheel is a completely different experience. However, I craved for more realistic driving games and thus ventured into the PC realm with games such as GTR2, GTR-Evolution and rFactor (I don't have the money for iRacing yet). I also tested more arcady games such as Dirt 3 and Shift 2: Unleashed. After playtesting them, I somehow found myself going back to Gran Turismo 5 and wondered, "If GTR2 and rFactor games are so much more realistic, why am I playing GT5 instead?" (Okay, I also went and play Dirt 3). Then I realized that it was the fun factor. GTR2 and rFactor, although great games with amazing physics that mimics realism to the highest degree in car racing simulation and great for learning how to drive cars, are just a bit too dry.

Maybe it's because I'm more of a casual player than the hard-core gamers who strive for realism in every way, I found that Gran Turismo 5 struck the balance between boring and frustrating, and having challenging gameplay for the players. In addition to that, Gran Turismo 5 implements to a certain degree a sense real-world driving, making casual players feel they are part of the driving world. It's like Starbucks, who goes for quality dark-roasted coffee that caters to the majority of the people. It's a win-win situation. Coffee purists may go beyond the needs that Starbucks can provide, but most people are happy to be a customer of Starbucks. That's what I think Gran Turismo did for gamers as what Starbucks have done for coffee drinkers.

Today, I saw a video of Todd Howard's DICE 2012 keynote speech and he talked about similar content. He mentioned, "You can do anything. You just can't do everything." and within that limitation, what the stuff were that he and his team implemented to create the award-winning game, Skyrim. For those interested, check out the video below.