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June 24, 2009 by RawmeatCowboy
Filed Under: Wii, Nintendo in general
I really can't believe the backlash from Nintendo's demo play feature that will debut in New Super Mario Bros Wii. Some people tend to think that this sort of feature is signifying a low point in gaming history. How in the world does that make any sense?!
Some people need help playing games. At some point in your life, you've talked to someone/read/watched something that helped you play a game in some form. Now Nintendo is putting that option into the game itself. Why is getting some outside source to help okay, but an in-game system is not?
Story Feedback
i think because that it will be just to easy for beginners to press that button that the game wil play itself and they wont even try anymore. There fore they will not learn to play better and as such results game makers will make games easyer and easyer. To get outside help is not the same because not always someone will be around or your computer is not on and you think oh shoot i will give it a try and when after 5 minutes someone elses comes in the room who can help the beginner it is possible that he already finished the hard part himself.
@fred-87
You are ignoring the fact that 'beginners' who already weren't into gaming wouldn't want to sit there and watch a game play itself. They wouldn't even bother. This is for people who either need help in a certain part or are so new to gaming that being discouraged might prevent them from developing skills they need. If it is 'too easy' for them to just watch the game play itself, and that's what they would rather do, then they aren't really gaming at all...
People who would rather just watch a game than play it can just watch you play. So that's not something I'm worried about.
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I notice a lot of gamer gamers are thinking of this as a way to watch a game like a movie. That's a very interesting use... but I wonder if it is that continuous... what I am saying is this might be broken down to just show you the puzzle you are at or the screen you are on, and then reset...
Maybe it is context sensitive, in other words, and maybe it is highly tutorial, perhaps giving advice for each situation like 'try a high jump!' lol
You are ignoring the fact that 'beginners' who already weren't into gaming wouldn't want to sit there and watch a game play itself. They wouldn't even bother. This is for people who either need help in a certain part or are so new to gaming that being discouraged might prevent them from developing skills they need. If it is 'too easy' for them to just watch the game play itself, and that's what they would rather do, then they aren't really gaming at all...
People who would rather just watch a game than play it can just watch you play. So that's not something I'm worried about.
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I notice a lot of gamer gamers are thinking of this as a way to watch a game like a movie. That's a very interesting use... but I wonder if it is that continuous... what I am saying is this might be broken down to just show you the puzzle you are at or the screen you are on, and then reset...
Maybe it is context sensitive, in other words, and maybe it is highly tutorial, perhaps giving advice for each situation like 'try a high jump!' lol
I love the idea because if Nintendo implements this well, I could possibly be playing/watching an interactive movie on a story that is more complex than Super Mario. As a gamer that grew up titles like Metroid, Mario and Zelda I do have mixed feelings about this "demo play" being used on those specific franchises, but if a completely new IP was created in which I may choose to watch the whole game as entertainment or choose to play, this could finally blur the line that divides cutscenes and gameplay.
I know the hardcore might get pissed at this idea being used on a game like Zelda, but let say I get a fortysomething or fiftysomething year old mother or father to "watch" a whole Zelda or Metroid game like a movie, if the storyline is captivating enough they just might say "Hey, this story is cool, I'm going to do the whole thing over, but playing it this time" and if the story is good enough, when the next Zelda or Metroid installment comes out, some parents won't just buy the game for their kids, but for themselves. There are some games out there that could be ported to do this and be successful today, a game like Shadow of the Colossus, or Twilight Princess and even Metroid Fusion could work too.
I think that this situation means that:
a) story development is going to need to reach a stage we've never seen in gaming, cheesy Sega-like voice acting and scripts are not going to cut it. (Although some Hollywood movies are still successful without good plots, let's hope Nintendo goes the quality route)
b)In the movie industry, some franchises will get boring after a couple of sequels and the game industry is safe from this phenomenon to a certain degree because gamers play good games even if it happens to be the umpteenth installment in the series. Yet if this 'demo play' proves to be successful, will it change the way industry views sequels? If it does that means Nintendo will need to develop new IPs to keep this sort of casual gamer interested. And new IPs from Nintendo is almost always a good thing.
I know the hardcore might get pissed at this idea being used on a game like Zelda, but let say I get a fortysomething or fiftysomething year old mother or father to "watch" a whole Zelda or Metroid game like a movie, if the storyline is captivating enough they just might say "Hey, this story is cool, I'm going to do the whole thing over, but playing it this time" and if the story is good enough, when the next Zelda or Metroid installment comes out, some parents won't just buy the game for their kids, but for themselves. There are some games out there that could be ported to do this and be successful today, a game like Shadow of the Colossus, or Twilight Princess and even Metroid Fusion could work too.
I think that this situation means that:
a) story development is going to need to reach a stage we've never seen in gaming, cheesy Sega-like voice acting and scripts are not going to cut it. (Although some Hollywood movies are still successful without good plots, let's hope Nintendo goes the quality route)
b)In the movie industry, some franchises will get boring after a couple of sequels and the game industry is safe from this phenomenon to a certain degree because gamers play good games even if it happens to be the umpteenth installment in the series. Yet if this 'demo play' proves to be successful, will it change the way industry views sequels? If it does that means Nintendo will need to develop new IPs to keep this sort of casual gamer interested. And new IPs from Nintendo is almost always a good thing.
So do the Demo Play haters also hate the Konami code in Contra? They are fundamentally similar.
I personally don't care about Demo Play one way or the other, but the Chicken Little reaction in the industry is idiotic.
I personally don't care about Demo Play one way or the other, but the Chicken Little reaction in the industry is idiotic.
Again, someone tell me if I got my information mixed up, but I thought I read that when you activate demo play the game cannot be saved. In order to progress through the game and save your progress you must actually play it. So, if all you're going to do is use demo play, then why did you spend $50 on what amounts to a movie?
My point is demo play is like reading/watching a walkthrough. You still need to do the work to progress, otherwise you're just watching a movie. I don't see why this bothers anyone.
My point is demo play is like reading/watching a walkthrough. You still need to do the work to progress, otherwise you're just watching a movie. I don't see why this bothers anyone.
@ charon12
From what I have read about the feature, there seems to be three modes of demo play:
1. A video that shows the player what to do that one can watch during gameplay, but in no way plays the game for them.
2. A mode where the games is controlled automatically and players could jump into at any time. Must note that this feature does not allow the player to save their progress.
3. A mode that allows for the player to choose where in the game they would like to begin, which is essentially a level select mode.
From what I have read about the feature, there seems to be three modes of demo play:
1. A video that shows the player what to do that one can watch during gameplay, but in no way plays the game for them.
2. A mode where the games is controlled automatically and players could jump into at any time. Must note that this feature does not allow the player to save their progress.
3. A mode that allows for the player to choose where in the game they would like to begin, which is essentially a level select mode.
Nintendo tries too hard to make things easy for newcomers. I mean christ, remember when Zelda was actually challenging?
I get WiiSports, and you know what? I think that game is brilliant. But creating an accessible input doesn't mean you have to dumb down the ENTIRE game.
What next? A button to make the game play itself? OH WAIT
I get WiiSports, and you know what? I think that game is brilliant. But creating an accessible input doesn't mean you have to dumb down the ENTIRE game.
What next? A button to make the game play itself? OH WAIT
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What I think is cool about this feature is that if people who haven't gamed too much try out the beginning of Mario Wii, get through a few of the easier levels, and then get to a puzzle or situation they don't understand, seeing the game take over for them on the first instance might open their mind a little more to what is possible, and they would say 'Ohhh! WALL JUMP to get to those high ledges!' and then keep playing and having fun and only using the 'demo play' feature when they get to an area where they have an 'I give up, I don't know what to do, I don't want to play any more.'
My gf does that a lot in games when she gets to a part that she can't progress at without doing something she hasn't thought of and just doesn't come to her. It takes the fun out of it for her and makes it a job. It frustrates her when something that she is trying out for fun becomes a 'slap in the face, you're too dumb to figure out what to do!' situation, and I'm sure she would play a lot more games if they had this feature.
Again: I think a lot of people are just going to use it to open their minds to other possibilities of game play rather than just watch the game play itself endlessly.