In Search of the Ideal Game
Is there a video game that fulfills all your wildest dreams?
Those who have been following me for a while already know that I am a big fan of computer games and gaming culture overall.
I have played many games in my life and liked a lot of them, but also disliked some even more.
There were titles in which I spent literally thousands of hours and some I switched off and uninstalled in a matter of hours.
But even the games that I played the most every time missed something that would make them the game I have been searching for all this time.
Correct me if I am wrong, but every player wants to find a game that they can enjoy the most, making their valuable time spent in it the best enjoyment they could have, while that urge comes to take them at least for a moment out of our world, somewhere else, where the unrealistic becomes possible.
So why should we settle with titles that are missing what we want from them?
After all, isn’t it what all players seek?
My ideal game would probably be a mix of many other games tailored specifically to me and to elements that I like.
Such a game would perhaps be an abomination that would not catch the interest of too many other players.
If you have ever seen and remember that part from The Simpsons, where Homer designed the car of his dreams for his brother’s automotive company, you will probably know what I am writing about.
But I still hope that one day there will be a gaming title that will fulfill everything I have ever wanted.
If I should give you several examples of games that miss that last bit, then I will need to start with EvE Online.
For those who do not know what it is about, it is a space game where you pilot ships, mine minerals, participate in wars, and so on. All of that in a single shard universe where everyone plays on one server simultaneously.
It is almost a perfect game with one significant drawback — it is playable only online and you can be shot down anywhere and by anyone.
Sure, it is part of the game, but if one looks for some relaxation and not to be on a constant nervous breakdown that some funny player will ruin your day, well…
For space games, there is also Elite: Dangerous, but the inventory management is done differently, which I dislike. But yet, if these two games were merged, I would call it a win.
From another genre, let’s say first-person shooters, there is Escape From Tarkov. It’s a great game where, in contrast, I don’t mind that anyone can put me down with one shot.
What I dislike is that there are frequent wipes and, well, my reserved opinion on the development team. While the first one may change in the future with the release of the full version of the game, the latter one is perhapsfor another discussion.
I will try to describe what that game I’ve ever wanted to play is and have it as a one-stop solution for my leisure time.
It can be fantasy, sci-fi, or any other theme; I am not picky about this at all. But if the lore and background of the game is something one could believe in, it would be great.
Such a game does not need to have ultra-realistic graphics, but something decent that will be easily understandable will be enough. Something on the level of World of Warcraft, maybe?
There must be a way to gather all various materials, from raw resources to loot that I can hoard in unlimited quantities. The more individual items the better, but every single one should be somehow usable in crafting.
I mean, if I find a rusted sword, I should be able to smelt it down to an iron ingot. If I find an old book, I should be able to put it on the shelf, restore it, or use it in any other useful way (I mean — do not use books as a tinder only, please).
Simply put, inventory and loot management should be deep, with all the crafting as complicated as possible.
Then, there should be some enemies to hunt down with all that pimped-up gear of mine.
So, yes, I want to have the option to upgrade my character (or whatever it will be) equipment to gradually get better and better.
I also want a grind. Let everything take its time before I will earn a chance to obtain it. Just like I descrribed previously in In Pursuit of Greater Gaming Challenges.
Let me build my house, base, or whole town where I can automate everything from getting basic resources to defenses.
And make enemy entities able to attack my base. No, I do not mean Rust-style, where everything you have could be stolen when you need to take a sleep in real life, but put in some feature that will make me want to have the best defenses I could have and face consequences in case I will not do.
Be it a game with multiplayer elements where I can compare myself to others, but at the same time do not force me to play with others. Some kind of asynchronous multiplayer for the time I want to be alone but with the option to join the living world of MMO.
Everything must be persistent, ideally cloud-saved with the option to take everything offline for the time when the sky servers are closed for good.
And finally, for God’s sake, make it unmoddable and non-adjustable in meaning of deus ex changes by devs.
Yes, I love mods and all that creativity the players can do with the games by adding further game options and elements. But on the other hand, there were a lot of games that I spoiled for myself by simple possibility of adding mods that will make the game much easier.
And I do not even speak about changes that could be done by owners of game databases when they decide it is worthy or required.
And if all this is not possible to be done in one single game, make it like the Oasis multiverse depicted in Ready Player One.
Phew, it’s a long list, isn’t it?
Does it remind you of any game you’ve played recently? Perhaps! But was there something that bothered you in that game or something you felt was completely missing? I bet there was.
But will all these requirements or maybe simply wanted features ever be implemented in a single game or multiverse of games?
It will sound crazy, but I probably do not know myself. But if I find the game I ever searched for, I will probably immediately know that it is it.
And maybe it is all the time somewhere around, waiting to be installed and enjoyed for eternity.
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