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 On Monday I saw a posting on Joystiq, referencing a Wired article, that posed the questions "How much time are you getting out of your games?" and "With developers spending millions to bring you the newest next-gen gaming experience, how long should a game be?" As of this writing there were about 50 comments with a wide variety of responses. I think the answers to these questions are almost completely subjective because it depends on what kind of gamer you are and, most importantly, the kind of games you play.Personally I find I have mostly limited time I can devote to gaming that usually boils down to a couple of hours a day, usually late at night after my wife has gone to bed. Recently I've been working swing and night shifts while she has the normal 9 to 5. This change has actually opened up the amount of time I can play. Very rarely before this would I spend any time playing while both of us were home, unless it was the weekend. There's house chores, lots of TV shows that we both enjoy and since I actually like spending time with my wife, call me crazy, I pick her over the games. What I'm getting at is that I don't have the time to devote to 30-40+ hour ventures unlike a lot of hardcore gamers. There are many times when I wish I could do nothing but play as soon as I get home until I fall asleep but that simply is not reality for me. Tack on to that the notion that I like to finish games and you'll see how all those factors affect the type of games I play. I generally like a game that is fun, engrossing and doesn't last a whole lot longer than 12 hours. I consider myself a moderately skilled gamer so if a review lists a game as taking about 8-10 hours to complete I figure that it wil take me closer to the 10 hour mark. I generally don't like turn-based RPGs or strategy games which typically take longer to complete but there are always exceptions to these rules.
 I'm currently about 12 hours into Saints Row with no plans on stopping. I've logged a measely 16 hours in Oblivion but I plan on having that game for a long time, repeatedly picking it up and getting addicted all over again. Sports games usually get a good amount of play from me due to the inherent pick-up-and-play structure of being able to play a single game and accomplish something. There are numerous games I want to play, so I buy them and they end up sitting around for weeks just staring at me, longing to be played. I also have a habit of bouncing around between a bunch of different games instead of picking one to focus on completing. I think that if I had more time to play I would focus more on one game but I want to play everything I pick up so that I can justify having bought it and that doesn't help my desire to to finish them. If a game is shorter in length I know it won't take me as long to finish which is why I'm a big fan of episodic content. Taking a big game and breaking it into pieces should theoretically satisfy almost everyone. Eventually the longer game will be there, but it's a less daunting task for those of us with limited time.
One of the things I realized while looking at the comments on Joystiq was that many of the people who had limited time to play attributed their situations to the same things I do: work, family and girlfriend/wife. Are these the only factors that prohibit game time? Why are these the most common ones? Are we made to feel that gaming is a time-waster and we should only partake in fragging when work is over, family needs are complete and the wife's honey-do list is checked-off? I know I certainly feel that way a good amount of the time. We're in a different living situation now but before we moved my systems were in a different room and I felt somewhat guilty being away from her when we're both home during the week. I just feel like being with her when she's home and this is my choice. One thing that I really get out of this is a higher appreciation for the time I do get to spend playing. It's too expensive of a hobby not to find time to enjoy it. Seemingly the biggest complaint from gamers (when you start talking about game length) is that games aren't long enough these days and even more so when you consider the rising common costs of buying and developing games. People don't want to pay $50-$60 for a game that only lasts for 6-10 hours, especially it's missing or has lackluster multiplayer. Should game content relate to the price? Since Half-Life 2: Episode 1 took most people around 4 hours to finish should they have charged $5 for it? In comparison most people are getting roughly 100-200 hours out of Oblivion, should that have been priced $150? I'd rather the price be a mixture of both what the game has to offer and how high the quality is. Personally I'd rather play a tight, fun 6 hour game than a drawn-out and repetitive 20 hour one. Of course that's not to say that every 20 hour game is boring, my point is it's quality over quantity every time for me. This argument is a tough one for developers in general. What's fair to them and what's fair to the consumer? They certainly can't please every gamer with every game they make and hopefully they don't think they can. I would think that a lengthy, involved and deep game would take longer to make, which only causes the cost to skyrocket. So for developers to satisfy those who crave longer games it costs them more upfront with almost no guarantee of a good return. Then there's Valve, who could make a 4 hour game have a 3 year development time. Is it fair for gamers to insist that a game be as long as possible? Is it fair for a developer to alienate a certain percentage of their audience by not trying to please their desire for more content? There has to be a point where they just focus on making the best game possible, regardless of the amount of time it takes you to finish it. Besides, just because you can finish a game in 5 hours doesn't mean everyone is going to be able to. I would say that I'm getting a fair amount of time out of most of my games. If it turns out that I'm just not going to get to a game or I'm not even close to finishing it I usually end up selling it. Occasionally I do completely waste my money when I buy a game and never end up playing due to lack of time. The second question of how long a game should be is tougher, if not impossible to answer since everyone has a different opinion on that. The developer is who ultimately decides this and we need to trust and respect their decisions. This is why I do as much research as I can before I buy a game but even then I don't always make the right decision for my situation. Most reviews make some sort of statement of the length and if they don't there's plenty of forums to find out other people's experience with the game. I know my situation, my tastes and what works for me so I'm the only person I really have to satisfy. Now if you'll excuse me I have a stack of games a mile high that I have to get back to working on...eventually. Wired Article Joystiq Post
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and that pen and paper game is turn-based and what not, but when were the requisites decided for video games? It seems that as long as a game is 80+ hours and is turn-based, then it's a RPG. Everything else is not. Am I on the right track here?
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Like anything else it's really not about quantity, but quality. I dont want a game to be 40 hours just because. If they have to pad it and stretch it out then I'd rather have a tighter 10 hour game.
But all things being equal, I'll always take the longer game. It usually offers a more fleshed out story and give me more bang for the buck. And at 60 a pop, I'll take all the bang I can get.