Why short games are great for the ageing gamer?

Quality not Quantity, it's a phrase used in all aspects of life. So I ask? Should the length of a game really have any determination on how good it is? Or how much it's worth...

I am a gamer in my 30's. I have a full time job, a wife, friends, family as well as other interests. My time to play games is limited at best. The last and only game I have completed this year was Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare and to be honest I loved it. Yes it's essentially the same as every other COD game for the last decade and ,they seem to get shorter (I beat the game on hardened in around 5 hours) and surely these are reasons to dislike the game. But let me pitch it from another angle as to why short is perfect for me and many other gamers in there 30's

1) I beat the gamel

Should this matter, well yes. There was a sense of accomplishment that I finished it and satisfaction that I saw the game through to the end. The fact that with my friends I could say I had seen it all meant something. I really enjoyed Destiny, but the fact I have not played all the levels and sit a lowly Level 17 takes the shine off somewhat.

2) Pick up and play

The fact that games are short usually means that if your hours are restricted you can make significant progress in short play sessions. My play sessions are generally under 1 hour and spread out every week or so. I recently booted up Borderlands after some time out. By the time I have worked out where I was and reviewed everything and then trekked across the map to a mission 20 minutes had passed, similarly I booted up Forza Horizon 4 and played a bucket list challenge and couldn't do it. After some loading screens and driving to the location and then 5 or 6 tries I realised I had spent 25 minutes and essentially achieved nothing. In a short game you generally can make significant progress and see some interesting stuff over a 45 minute period. Again, it's the sense of achievement and instant gratification that makes you feel good.

3) Replayability

A few years ago I played Fallout 3 during some time off. I loved it, but I had created my own path, my own story. I had no intention of reliving the story or playing the game on hard mode. Part of this was due to length. By contrast, In Crysis 2 which has a 10 hour campaign I wanted to see if I could survive the tougher difficulty. The fact the game was shorter means I could see myself finishing the harder difficulty. One of my personal favourite games of all time is the original Sonic the Hedgehog. I can finish the entire game in 45 minutes. But because of that I played the game multiple times really getting to the heart and detail of the game and discovering all its secrets.

4) Easy to play, tough to master

Remember the 80's. When we spent hundreds of hours trying to increase our score on Donkey Kong. Or even the 90's arcades, where I would play SEGA Rally and its 3 tracks. I could drive the Desert, Mountain and Forest tracks blindfolded. In fact I could draw them for you right now. Shaving a tenth off of your time and becoming an expert was all part of the fun. F1 games are seen as limited and boring because they only contain 20 tracks and the same car but knowing each tracks breaking point and knowing where to attack to gain that extra 10th of a second IS the game. By contrast a game with 100+ tracks is far less satisfying and we never really appreciate the depth of the challenge.

5) Longer games don't necessarily mean better

This year a friend of mine picked up the intense and very different Alien Isolation, he informed me the first 5 hours were fantastic. It then became a bit repetitive and by the end he just wanted to get over the finish line. Clouding and marring a positive experience. It's like the millions of people who carried on watching LOST just to see its conclusion even though it should have finished 2 seasons earlier. Games, and single player games are experiences and 6 hour perfect expierience is better than a 10 hour one with 4 hours of filler! Certain shorter games can contain movie like set pieces that are a joy to behold.

Of course, there will always be a counter argument. Savvy shoppers want more and more bang for their buck and that is a valid point. But next time you consider your next purchase or read a review that has a negative comment saying "Only 6 hours" consider my points above.

Look out for my next blog entry on the cost of video games coming soon.

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