DayZ - Meaningful Gameplay

[danielreid 84]

Greetings!

Background: I'm 25, married, and I've been playing video games since I was a very small child. I tend towards competitive games, where there is always an opportunity to improve either myself or some teamwork element.

I have to be honest: out of the hundreds of games I have spent countless hours playing - this one is unique.

Many of you already know this, and that is why you continue to play. Nevertheless, I thought it might be worth my time to attempt to articulate why I appreciate this kind of game so much.

Permadeath:

It's brutal. It makes you question every decision you make, as you make it. It makes you fearful of every tree, every rock, and not least of all... to even log in. DayZ is not the first game to offer permadeath, to be sure, but it is one of the first I have played in which that death leaves a lasting impression. You may have read or seen the quote, "the gods fear mortals", for to those whose time is short on this earth - all things are sweeter. Every moment alive is precious. Never before have I been fearful of an open field. Never before have I spent so many minutes of my life watching another player from afar, trying to determine whether they are a threat.This leads me to...

Stories:

Every time I play DayZ, I come away with a story to tell. This game bleeds stories, from every pour. I am not saying anything new here, as these forums are alive with hundreds, if not thousands, of entertaining stories. I honestly enjoy reading what has happened to others, almost as much as creating my own stories in the world. Every person you encounter, be they a 14-year old bandit, or someone looking for a friend, is an opportunity to craft a unique storyline. You could have zero interest in role-playing (me), and still, a story comes to life the longer you survive. This contrasts VERY strongly with the current offerings of the competitive FPS scene (BF3, MW3, etc) - these games seem dull in comparison. What kind of stories can you tell? "I spawned and got SEVENTEEN kills before dying!" This leads me to my last point...

Meaningful Gameplay:

If I kill 17 players in COD, I have had no more impact on them than the amount of time it takes for them to respawn and come after me. When you take the life of a player in DayZ, you have no way of knowing how much investment you have just snuffed out. One thing is for sure though, they're gone. Their story just ended. When you die, it is a bittersweet moment - your own story has come to a close. In that very moment, thankfully, you have the opportunity to start a new one, a new path. You will meet new people, go to different places, and find different things. I experience loss, hope, and joy. This is one of the first games I have ever played where I feel like the choices that I make actually matter.

Cynical Rant:

I am aware that this experience is not for everyone. I am aware that some people view this game as team deathmatch with the added maintenance of finding your weapons and opponents prior to beginning. This post is not for you - I understand you, the desire to triumph, to prove my worth, to stoke my ego - I have games better designed for that purpose, if that is what I seek.

To the Development Team:

Kudos to you guys. Your vision, transparency, and desire to create something special deserves much praise in an industry which is turning more and more to recycled, repetitive, and redundant gameplay.

Edited July 19, 2012 by TolEressea

[Tatakt 50]

i liked this post a lot ;) and i agree with it all! :D

[Caviano 287]

Someone give a man some beans?

[01da 218]

25 and married? Poor guy.

[P5ykoOHD 63]

25 and married? Poor guy.

Lol

[danielreid 84]

@ Aras - 2 years this August, best decision I ever made. You just need to find the right girl :) Sidenote: Epic derail....

[speedy_mcfast 3]

Beans for you Sir, sums up my thoughts exactly.

[Twosheds 22]

good post, articulated much of aspects i love about this game, even in such an early beta!

[Talon2000uk 30]

I've given all my beans for the day but If I hadn't you would definitely get some. :D

[cyanyde 165]

Yeah I have to agree with the OP, the game is definitely the most unique thing that I've played.

I'm 34 and I've been playing video games since Atari, Coleco and Intellevision days..

Ive played everything from Sierra adventure games to Ultima to Fallout to the current day "sandbox" titles and more.

I've been involved with developing mods and maps for everything from Quake 1 to the Source engine.

I've watched countless dev teams go from design docs to thriving community to dead game..

Ive even watched my friends and fellow devs go from mod team to being offered jobs in the industry because of the work they did.

I've seen games and mods alike succeed and fail, and I've had high hopes for over-hyped sequels more times than I would like to count. (I'm looking at you Duke Nukem Forever)

Through all of this, I've searched high and low for something different. Always disappointed by the limitations in games like GTA 3, Fallout 3 and Skyrim, which promised unprecedented freedom the likes of which I'd "Never seen before" and despite each of those games successes, they weren't what I wanted.. until DayZ.

I'm not saying it's perfect, and I'm not saying it's exactly what I've been searching for, but it's an alpha.. and despite that fact, it's damn close.

It's got it's share of bugs, but I'm used to that. I've been testing games for over half my lifetime.. but the core is there, and I'm stoked that I have the chance to help to mold this into the game that I see hiding in the rough. It's not like Minecraft where we had no idea what we would get at the end of the road. For me, Dayz is a clear vision, and based on reading Rocket's interviews and his goals for where he wants this mod to go, for the first time ever, I'm not afraid to get hyped up about what's in store for this game when it's finally finished.

But as I said once before: I'm even more excited about the journey, than I am about the end result. :)

Edited July 19, 2012 by Cyanyde

[danielreid 84]

@Cyanyde - Yes, agreed. Rocket has a pretty clear idea of where he'd like this to go, and even if he doesn't make all the right calls all the time, he's moving in the right direction. I've similarly been very disappointed with game after game which promises open-ended gameplay, where your decisions make a difference. Not a one if them has delivered on that promise. I'm not even convinced the current RPG mechanics (leveling up, skill-tree, etc.) which are being utilized in the mainstream are even the most effective way to do it (skyrim).

Of course, many games and their teams are suffering from the "what is the endgame?" expectation which WoW created in far too many gamers. Too many developers focus on the end, and the part that makes up the majority of their game (getting there) becomes lackluster. You may have been around for Bungie's "30 seconds of gameplay" idea, wherein they build a game around 30 seconds of fun gameplay, and offer opportunities for it to occur over and over and over. I really liked that concept.

Edited July 19, 2012 by TolEressea

[Mercator 30]

Refreshing post, thx!

[fearz0r 128]

Nice post. thanks for sharing.

[lordopeth 274]

Nice post. A very rare loot iem around here..

[danielreid 84]

Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys, it's good to hear there are others out there who share my thoughts on the matter! (forums can so easily get you down sometimes...)

[danielreid 84]

I'm shamelessly bumping, given the overwhelmingly positive response by the people who got a chance to read before it fell off the main page :) I'd love to hear others' thoughts on the matter!