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The more I think about how what once were optional goals in games are becoming considered to be necessary parts of games the more I'm disturbed by it.
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Have a specific example in mind? Since you post followed FO's DoDonPachi post, I wonder if you're refering to shooter communities where you HAVE to one-credit games in order to be considered having beaten it?


Sorry about the month long delay in replying.


I'll be even more specific: ALL community-based goals are bullshit. I don't care if it's one credit-ing, speed runs (ie, having to beat Super Metroid in such and such a time), self-handicapping, whatever. I also think it's bullshit that most fighting games seem to have shitty AI because the designers expect players to play other people, and have THAT provide the game's challenge.

Any game should be complete on its own, without needing some "community" to add to it.



One reason I delayed in replying to this is because I cooled down somewhat after making my earlier post. But... I guess all this stuff should be said anyways.

For one thing, community goals are completely arbitrary. It's like if some group of people said, "You have to score 700 lines to REALLY have beaten Tetris". Why? Does the game do something special if you did that? Of course not; that's why it's a community goal and not a real one.

And what if you're not online and don't even have access to the communities? There's no way you'd think of a lot of the crap that these communities come up with. And you shouldn't need to.

If someone really wants to self-handicap themself, or play speed runs, or do whatever... more power to them. But a game shouldn't REQUIRE that. I said I've felt like I cooled down a little bit from before, and so I can even state that condition in a softer manner. Even I don't mind some optional goals. For instance, even though I'm not particularly fond of Dracula X, I did beat the game with 100% using only Richter, and abstaining from the item crash. But even if I'd be willing to take into account one optional goal in a game, that's about it (unless, I suppose, I just loved the game anyway, but then much of this doesn't apply. One of the purposes of game-defined goals is to motivate you to play the game and be good at it). So, I might be willing to take into account one-crediting a shooter. But (assuming the game has infinite credits, or a baby mode, or something else that makes simply beating the game easier than beat Yoshi's Story) that's already the ONE optional goal I'd be willing to consider. And, really, I think shooters are really making themselves vulnerable to criticism by having stupid things like baby modes and infinite credits. There's just no good reason for it.
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