How many gamers actually finish RPG's

Greybriar · May 25, 2015, 08:03:54 AM

I rarely finish RPGs or any other genre of PC game. If I leave a game and don't return to it the same day, I usually just start a new one the next time I play. :P

kassdhal · May 25, 2015, 08:24:04 AM

I've not finished one since Dragon Age :)

mirth · May 25, 2015, 10:04:17 AM

I finish most of what I start - KOTOR & KOTOR 2, DA:O & DA2, the Mass Effect series (two complete playthroughs), the Fable Series. Baldur's gate (on Xbox).

Coiler · May 25, 2015, 10:40:51 AM

I've finished most of the RPGs I've played. I got all four endings in Fallout New Vegas, and even managed to finish a Roguelike RPG.

Great Ajax · May 25, 2015, 11:54:23 AM

One of the few genres that I actually finish. Over the past couple of years I have completed: Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim (& Dragonborn DLC), Borderlands 2, Farcry 3 & 4, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Saints Row IV, Diablo III and XCOM Enemy Unknown. I had problems getting into Divinty: Original Sin.

Trey

Rayfer · May 25, 2015, 12:22:55 PM

The misleading aspect of the statistics quoted in the article is that it doesn't account for the many of us who get 99% through an RPG only to find the final boss battle way too difficult and after numerous attempts, we give up. This happened to me in both Dragon Origins and Dragon Age 2.

Gusington · May 25, 2015, 12:48:27 PM

^Definitely with the original Dragon Age. IIRC Rayfer and I had the exact same experience: tried 100+ times to beat the final boss battle and just couldn't.

Martok · May 25, 2015, 02:04:21 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on May 24, 2015, 10:44:53 PM
I also rarely finish ANY digital game.

Actually, I've finished more RPG campaigns than any other genre. So the specific targetting of RPGs may not be a fair assessment.

+1 to this.

Sir Slash · May 25, 2015, 10:15:24 PM

I've finished more RPG's than not but not lately. Last game I finished was Neverwinter Nights 2. The only one's I really loved to the end were BG 1 & 2 and Planescape Torment. Not exactly recent games. I don't know if this means RPG's are getting less interesting to me or my attention span is weaker. Or both. What were we talking about again?

mirth · May 25, 2015, 10:22:30 PM

Planescape Torment...an epic of the genre. One of the all time greats.

FrontierCybrarian · May 25, 2015, 10:38:22 PM

Rayfer, Hi buddy, very good thread.

One thing I must mention. The statistics in the article about finishing rpg games are averages for all types of gamers...the casual, intermediate, diehard, skilled, dedicated, obsessed, etc. I think since members of the Grogheads community are more invested,dedicated and likely skilled gamers (or they wouldn't be here) the average of completion of rpg's for our members would probably be higher than the article indicated. That's not to say ALL of us are good at rpg's or even prefer them.

For rpg's there's still the indistinct definition of "completion." It's likely that each gamer has their own definition of "completion." Here's my take...I complete an rpg with one character (usually a warrior or the like) and finish the main story or mission. If I finish side quests along the way so much the better. If a game lasts way too long and becomes redundant and a chore rather than fun then I likely won't come back to it again. I usually have many more games to turn to.

When I sold video and pc games in the 90's I noticed that some gamers who didn't have the finances to have more than 3 or 4 games often chose long-play titles to get the most for their money. They played rpg's to death...playing every character, completing all side-quests and missions, finding every treasure, killing every monster. The bottom line whether we complete a game or not is if we are having FUN or enjoying the experience. Having many games might seem to be a deterrent to completing rpg's.

Current role-play games without spoken dialogue for all characters is a "downer" for me. I know this requires much more development effort and cost but I must get a "feel" for the characters attitudes, emotion, and personalities. If I can't get a "connection" with rpg characters then I have little interest in completing the game.

I've finished Gothic 3 (updated & good version) and quite enjoyed it. Put in about 150 hours of Skyrim until I turned to something else. I completed Boderlands 1 and all dlc, Boderlands 2. I don't care much for Boderlands 3 and will likely not finish it. I liked and finished Hand of God even though it wasn't very long.
These were completed before I took up fishing and community service. But, I still play games and prefer first and third person shooters the best. That's the former big game hunter in me that enjoyed shooting guns. Since I don't have guns anymore (gave all to my son) I get my shooting pleasure from video & digital media.

Rayfer · May 26, 2015, 06:51:35 AM

Great comments FC...never looked at it that way, especially your comment about what 'completion' means. Maybe it means something beyond just finishing the game by defeating the big bad end boss. Maybe it's getting the most enjoyment you can out of an RPG and then moving on.

BanzaiCat · May 26, 2015, 07:33:38 AM

With RPGs, I tend to reach a point where the game starts to obviously hit the home stretch, and if I'm enjoying it, I'm loath to continue it because I don't want it to end. I know that doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but that's the way of RPGs with me.

Sometimes I get to that point about the same time where I'm pretty much inundated with the game and starting to get bored. That happened to me with Kingdoms of Amadur: Reckoning. A GREAT game but holy crap it just went on and on and on and on and on.

I have Divinity: Original Sin, but only played it for about 3 hours. Bought it on super sale some time ago but it just didn't appeal much to me.

Played Wasteland 2 for about 1.5 hours. I don't know why I stopped. Back when I was in my low 20s I would have hit a game like this and dug every morsel of entertainment out of it. Today, it just seems overwhelming to get into it and learn the min/max quantifications to have the best chance of winning.

RPGs today are MUCH more forgiving than the titles I grew up on (Might & Magic, Wizardry, the various Quest games from Sierra, etc.) so you'd think that a screwup just means reloading a game instead of having to start all over again.

Rayfer · May 26, 2015, 08:34:00 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on May 26, 2015, 07:33:38 AM
With RPGs, I tend to reach a point where the game starts to obviously hit the home stretch, and if I'm enjoying it, I'm loath to continue it because I don't want it to end. I know that doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but that's the way of RPGs with me.

Sometimes I get to that point about the same time where I'm pretty much inundated with the game and starting to get bored. That happened to me with Kingdoms of Amadur: Reckoning. A GREAT game but holy crap it just went on and on and on and on and on.

I had the same experience with Kingdoms of Amalur....gave up after countless hours of repetitive battles. It had a good story and wanted to see how it ended, but it just went on and one way too long.

Nefaro · May 26, 2015, 10:19:49 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on May 26, 2015, 07:33:38 AM
With RPGs, I tend to reach a point where the game starts to obviously hit the home stretch, and if I'm enjoying it, I'm loath to continue it because I don't want it to end. I know that doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but that's the way of RPGs with me.

I also enjoy the journey more than the end.

If I ever reach the end I'm either disappointed with it or think it's great but wanted to continue along with my character in some way, who is now useless.

Quote
RPGs today are MUCH more forgiving than the titles I grew up on (Might & Magic, Wizardry, the various Quest games from Sierra, etc.) so you'd think that a screwup just means reloading a game instead of having to start all over again.

This may have become part of the problem with modern RPGs, in some cases.

While those old DOS games you mentioned could be quite brutal, I didn't really notice at the time. I suppose it was the norm. But these days I find myself continually returning to RPGs that can be difficult. Would explain my increasing addiction to roguelikes.

Not sure if I was like that in the past but if the game is too much of a cakewalk, I inevitably move on to something else on my long list. This is the reason I've put many modern RPGs on hold, IMO. Still plan to return to them, but if they continue to just put me "through the motions" then I'll eventually end up shelving them again. They're just not as fun if you can breeze through 90% of the combat with little fear of a character dying.

I see Wasteland 2, Divinity:OS, and other somewhat recent RPGs referenced as examples. I recall moving on to something else when I lost that feeling of being threatened during most of the action in every one. Although Divinity:OS is probably a bit better than the rest on average.