This is something I think many of the old guard and most of the mid-guard (of which I consider myself, and no this is not an intentional Thor/Norse joke) would agree is becoming a more noticeable issue. For those of us still in the pulse of the gaming community we've seen the less than subtle shift from actually using easter eggs, challenging content, hidden secrets and such to progress your gameplay. These are notoriously utilized as a flashy in-joke or short-cut through their content. Not blatantly dumbing down the game to make it more completable and accessible, but it's not far from it. Where are the games that offer unlockable content or secrets or alternative skins/weapons that require a challenging succession of achievements or an undocumented cheat code or something that just doesn't come out prior to the game itself? I, for one, loved these kind of things and enjoy searching for them if I'm lucky enough to get in on a game early; or finding if I show up late and have only the knowledge that "something" exists.
Now whether in single-player campaigns or in a MMO-style environment I tend to lean onto the achievement hound and collector mentalities if I become engrossed in a game for one reason or another. Prime examples I can think of involve Prince of Persia (hidden weapons like a hockey stick or teddy bear), Pokemon (G1-2), and Dynasty Warriors. The latter was my first foray where I had to decide what to unlock because some of the items/power-ups in DW4:XL were gated against one another; i.e. if you unlocked character A's ultimate weapon's form, character B's ultimate weapon was forever beyond your grasp. The game also possessed one of the more annoying save functions for the PS2 where there was no "saving one with A and one with B" as it held everything within a single file. I like my stories engaging--by either the gameplay or the story. Often times I will fluctuate between these as I play a game sacrificing doing one to do the other, etc. This is another reason I find replayability highly undervalued as well as there are some games out there with little to no incentive to ever return. On an MMO and usually in a RPG I will typically keep at least one save or character slot solely for the purpose of exploring the lore, talking to all the NPCs. This is the closest I come to actually roleplaying in video games (tabletop RPGs are fine, but I never saw the appeal to online RP).
Anyway the newer incarnations of some of those same games are fraught with DLC. Some of which extends the story but sometimes only provides the conclusion to the main story they'd already sold you. Or in the case of cosmetic alternatives, pay us monies and you can run around like _____. Yes, as much as I enjoy you I'm looking at you Saint's Row, Tomb Raider, and Koei (Dynasty/Samurai Warrior publishers). I remember when to unlock something you just had to find it in game somewhere. These scavenger-hunt style micro-missions were often a big thrill for me, especially if it involved some extra skill to get: only accessible at night, and should be blinded, etc.
This is not meant to be a manifesto against the entire micro-transaction movement, though as an unemployed debtee, I do find it a tad disheartening. I appreciate that for some* games this is their only source of income: free2play mobile apps, certain unsubscriptioned MMOs or MOBAs, etc. All I'm asking is for some justification in the cost/desire. I bought most of the Dynasty Warrior franchise for $20-25 if I got it new or $10 at Gamestop later, but for each of those I got well over 100 hours of playtime racking up power-ups and legendary weapons. Now to get the same accomplishment I need over $200 in steam and I have everything from the get-go. One game app I casual-play has a special for $55 you get 1 guaranteed character of 20 and a chance at up to 3 more. Sorry for that amount of coinage I want to expressly know what I'm getting. The pay-to-win mentality is strong and I understand commercial entities trying to tap that, but in doing so they isolate a measurable percentage of their player base while at the same time increasing others frustration within the game along with their likelihood of leaving. Its a very soft border between these factions, and I am far from an expert, but I think far too many are using RNGesus as an excuse within the confined of their IP's 1's and 0's.
Anyway, semester is wrapping up this week and I should be back gaming occasionally between application and interviews. Let me know what you think.
