Hasuris comments on Bethesda says most of Starfield's 1000+ planets are dull on purpose because 'when the astronauts went to the moon, there was nothing there' but 'they certainly weren't bored'

[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 32 points 3 years ago (27 children)

In RL most of the "excitement" in space comes from not wanting to fuck up and die. Games don't have that, Todd.

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[–] Tar_alcaran@lemmy.world 26 points 3 years ago (3 children)

Some do, but they make it their main draw. The reason Kerbal Space Program is fun, is fun because you can fuck up and die in a million different ways, and not doing so is chalenging and succes is rewarding while failure is hilarious(ly frustrating).

Not fucking up and dying in Starfield means pressing the Use Healthpack frequently enough.

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[–] aplomBomb@midwest.social 4 points 3 years ago

for now, the gameplay-enrichment mods are well on their way

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[–] nivenkos@lemmy.world 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

Imagine a realistic KSP with AAA graphics, like replicating historic missions and planned ones, etc.

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[–] KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 7 points 3 years ago

You just described the KSP RP-1 modpack with high graphics and volumetric clouds mod

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[–] Ketram@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

Then you have games that do space travel so well that I'm beyond scared shitless in them, like Outer Wilds. So many games have already managed to convey some of these feelings.

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[–] thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca [S] 6 points 3 years ago

Perfect example. Handful of planets, each rich with hand-crafted purpose, space travel is big enough to feel epic, but small enough to not want to skip.

It nails the feeling of exploring a vast area of space, not by being realistic (it is not, by a long shot), but by just making certain experiences feel right.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 5 points 3 years ago (20 children)

...yes, they do. Soooo many fucking games have that. There's a whole genre of games built around it. They're called survival games. A relevant example would be No Man's Sky.

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (19 children)

I am kinda certain no game has dying. I haven't died in any yet. Although I remember a piece of The Onion of a suicide feature of a car seat. Maybe someone should build a gaming chair with this feature to improve the immersion.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago (18 children)

...what? I can't tell if you're trolling. Death is basically the most common failure state of any game.

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (17 children)

IRL the stakes are a little higher, don't you think?

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago (16 children)

Games aren't real life??!

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (15 children)

No shit? That was the point

Astronauts aren't bored in space because they're busy trying not to die. games don't kill you when you fuck up or something goes wrong

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago* (14 children)

Yes, they do, just not for real. Why would you expect it to kill you for real? What an absurd standard. You're supposed to be scared for your character's life, not your own. They're the one in space, not you...

Have you ever played games before?

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (13 children)

You do know this threat is about some dev saying the first guys on the moon weren't bored although there's basically just sand and rocks to be found? And that because of this it's fine most planets in a game are baren and uninteresting?

The Bethesda guy compared the game to RL. I am just pointing out why this makes no sense.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago* (12 children)

And what you said was incorrect.

In RL most of the "excitement" in space comes from not wanting to fuck up and die. Games don't have that, Todd.

So many games are all about the struggle to not fuck up and die, and they are plenty tense even though they don't affect your real body. Ever played Subnautica? I'm not actually underwater but I'm scared of drowning.

I don't know why the fact that a game can't actually kill you doesn't mean it can't try to introduce tension.

Yeah, planets being barren is shit and realism is a shit excuse for it, but it's kinda irrelevant to your "games don't have dying" point, which would apply even if planets were designed better

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (11 children)

Dude... You're even agreeing with me without realizing it. My point is, because a game can't create tension by threatening you with real death, it needs to be interesting in some way.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (10 children)

Again with this bizarre obsession with games killing people... did you just finish watching Stay Alive?

No, that is not the reason games need to be interesting. No ove ever wanted games to kill people, dude.

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago* (9 children)

It's a reason why the astronauts weren't bored on the moon. The fear of death. Games don't have that and that is one of the reasons games need to be interesting and can't be dull like the moon. I'll just rephrase the same thing over and over for you. I do see some things may appear challenging to understand for some.

Read the title of the article and you may be able to piece things together: Bethesda says most of Starfield's 1000+ planets are dull on purpose because 'when the astronauts went to the moon, there was nothing there' but 'they certainly weren't bored'

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago (8 children)

Games have fear of death the same way films and books do.

It's fiction.

It's not real.

We are already aware of this.

Idk why this needs to be explained to you.

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (7 children)

Exactly! Now go tell Todd that his game isn't real and therefor his example "astronauts on the moon weren't bored although the moon is dull" doesn't make any sense.

It's like you're getting there without actually ever getting there.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago (6 children)

Of course it makes sense. That's just how games work. You're pretending you're in space, and even though you aren't actually running our of oxygen, your character is. You feel tension for your character.

Y'know playing COD doesn't mean you're actually at war, right?

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (5 children)

And that's why CoD hasn't you going on patrol missions for hours and digging trenches or guard duty. A realistic war game would be boring as fuck.

You know CoD isn't realistic at all, right?

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 1 point 3 years ago (4 children)

I think you missed the point, lol. Obviously COD isn't a remotely realistic portrayal of war. You haven't understood a thing if you seriously thought I was saying that.

But we weren't discussing realism of mechanics, rather, realism of environment. And the environments are pretty true to life.

It's the mechanics that make a game fun. Not necessarily the environments. Though they of course help. Fun mechanics are what a game is about.

Such as... survival mechanics!!

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[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 point 3 years ago (3 children)

You mean like a game needs to offer more than dull enviroments to be not boring although the astronauts on the moon didn't seem to be bored on the dull moon?

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