“Advanced metrics” and “big data” are increasingly being used to quantify everything in our world, sometimes venturing into places they have no use in.

If video games want to be considered a narrative art form in the same vein as TV and movies (which most developers and studios increasingly argue they should be viewed as), then they should also recognize that you can’t make a piece of art more or less “attractive” based on “time to engage”.

I view “Transformers” movies as loud overtures to explosions that are about 1 hour longer than they need to be. Other people LOVE them as immersive stories. I love Marvel movies and the new Star Trek films. Other people HATE them and think they’re too long and/or boring.

My point is — knowing how long something is going to take to tell me a story (e.g. TV series, movie, video game, book)won’t persuade or dissuade me…my likes/dislikes will.

Why quantify this type of engagement beyond “if you like X, you will like this”?