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How Bethesda Games Like Starfield Addict You. (And is it worth it?)
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- #videoessay
patreon.com/dansplaining384
This is a familliar experience, open up a Bethesda game like Starfield, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, and attempt to play for just an hour, eight hours later your eyes feel like they're gonna fall out and you haven't eaten. How does Bethesda do this? Is it on purpose? Or is it just a consequence of the kinds of games they make?
0:00 - Intro
1:13 - The Promise of Discovery
2:14 - Dopamine Machine
5:03 - When the Novelty Wears Off
7:26 - When You Get Better, Not Your Character
8:50 - Get Objective, Go To Objective
10:32 - The Point of Bethesda Games
11:43 - Conclusion
13:29 - Outro
Sources of Fallout 3/Fallout 4/Zelda and RE2 Game Footage:
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• Fallout 3: 100% (Very ...
• Fallout 3: 100% (Very ...
• Fallout 3 - Creepy Dun...
• 21 Minutes of Resident...
• The Legend of Zelda: T...
500 hours in Oblivion
5000 hours in Skyrim
1000 hours in Fallout 3
2300 hours in Fallout 4
700 hours in Fallout 76
200 hours in Starfield
No, I don't think I am Addicted.
I've got at least 4000 in fonv
I've brought or torrented it over 10 times over 4 different consoles and pc's
Already 50hrs into starfield
But I can stop when ever I want.
I can quit anytime I want.... I don't want to quit.
Only 500 hrs in Oblivion and no morrowind listed is lame
I remember this one time in the game when I talked to a bartender in Cydonia and asked him if he heard of any rumors, as is typical for any RPG, and he said something like "no it's none of your business". That was one time when the game surprised me a little and it felt like I was talking to an actual character instead of a random quest giver. But it doesn't happen very often
This was a fantastic video, great job!
I'm 130 hours in, but have been thinking the same thing these past couple days. Questioning why im actually playing, is it because of how fun it is or because of the dopamine it gives me. I've also been trying to see the approaches Bethesda took with this game and how that ties into it. But you summed it all up perfectly. They are good at keeping their players hooked, meticulously planning their games to get the most time out of each player, something that stood out to me in Starfield is the considerable amount of stuff compared with previous games, highlighted during it's release by Todd saying "We love stuff" ie food items, junk parts. All scattered throughout each location. I think one of the main reasons for this is to increase the amount of time it take a player to loot each location, increasing their playtime.
It's easy to forget as a consumer, but games along with social media are created to be as addictive as possible. Even if that means sacrificing some aspects players would normally enjoy in order to replace them with features that are more addictive to the general player base.
I met someone who works for an AI development company recently, and they're currently helping out Rockstar on their upcoming game. Researching the effects different missions have on people's brains, in order to create the most captivating experience! Crazy stuff if you ask me
Thank you! Now that I'm not addicted anymore I don't want to play at all. And I'm kinda sad about it! I've picked it up a few times but it feels like busy work now. Maybe the addiction is to get us to keep playing so we see all the stuff. I think you're right, things take SO LONG, that's part of it. Like I'm playing Minecraft right now and everything is so hard and takes so long/so much effort, even just that is kind of addicting because you're in it for the long haul.
I do not do any scanning or outpost at all and I’m 80 hrs in I love it and can’t wait for mods to further my RPG head canon
When I finished the main storyline in Starfield, I thought I had hit burnout. I gave NG+ a go just to see what it was like, and I was hooked again - it's like I was playing it for the first time. There were new weapons and encounters, more credits as rewards, more flexibility for my character - it *felt* like I was jumping into a brand new experience, but with the freedom of having more resources. A big part of the Bethesda success is the environmental storytelling - finding a farm where the farmers are all dead, but so are their attackers. Stumbling across a planet with life forms that evolved based on the surrounding ecology. Reading a series of notes that tell the life story of a fictional character, their failures and triumphs. Humans like to hear stories, and Bethesda games are chock full of stories.
My background is in psychology with an emphasis on human-computer interaction, and the idea of a "web of rewards" is spot on. It gives the player direction and goals that are attainable without railroading them into a "best" course of action - the player can set their own goals and achievements, and reach them in many different ways which is why it feels so GOOD to accomplish things in this game. By giving the player the impression that they're setting goals themselves and completing these goals, it instills a sense of pride and confidence. I'm curious to see how this could translate to the real world; can feeling confident about your accomplishments in a virtual world make you more confident in real life? It certainly reinforces the idea that if you put your mind to something, you can do it.
Anecdotally, I've noticed that my IRL confidence has increased since playing this game, but there are many other variables that could be at play as well.
184 hours and counting.
Really enjoyed this take, I feel like you're really onto something here. I'm in sickly sweet love with Starfield right now but you might be right, that Bethesda crash might just be in the post!
I might have had it last night, but I'm not giving up on the old girl yet!!
@@itsdanielpaul I really enjoyed your video essay, keep up the great work!
I'm 150 hours in and only had a POI repeated once. And I get way more satisfaction out of the exploration than the loot. I loved crawling through the ruins of downtown Boston in FO4. I really enjoy exploring every nook and cranny of the random bases that are all over the galaxy.
Glad you're enjoying it! I've been playing 50 and I've gotten one that's exactly the same already. But it might be because I land on random planets as opposed to following quests as much. I find the exploration in other games more satisfying as the gameplay is only so deep in a Bethesda game. Like, you can only interact with the world in so many ways. Honestly, I'm not happy that I'm over it, I put a lot of work into leveling up my character, I'll probably revisit.
Thank you for the video. Enjoyed the subject and your voiceover!
Thanks so much!
I'm pushing 140+ hours in Starfield so far. You pick up 1 little quest, and before you know if, you got 1000 more picked up along the way, and then you pick up 5000 more try to figure out what you were even doing in the first place.
^THIS. I'm about 80hrs in and I've only done a few main missions. lol
I was you and then I started doing main missions and they give out XP like it's water, I'm getting skill points af. But I do like doing the side quests more.
good video, nodded my head in agreement multiple times throughout the video
Awesome, glad you liked it!
With the way the world is right now, yes it is worth it lmao
Great video!
Thank you!
Really interesting take... like for real. I love Bethesda games, creating characters, the roleplaying in my head, the worlds they created. But I think the most important thing for me, is the fact that you have so many possibilities you don't have to take, especially in Starfield. You can just build an Outpost, farm stuff, mod your ship, explore planets. Or just skip all that and play the game like any other game. I think the shallowness in some parts is a good trade of for the amount of possibilities you get. Its a flawed game, but it's a good game. And I'm not bought or fanboying, I'm really just enjoying the game, Bethesda is a soulless corporation and can kiss my a**., but the developers are talented and motivated people who really care to deliver an enjoyable product... and I don't think they actively try to get you addicted 😅
Also, less handholding? Come on it's 2023, people are loosing their s**t because there isn't a map for the cities in a game all about exploring . You can't expect modern audiences to think for themselves xD
@@creepyreptain8558that was one thing I wanted was a mini map of the local area. Mapping is an essential tool in exploration or mining. That is about the only thing I'm disappointed with in the game.
@@mattiOTX mini maps are a crutch for idiots who can’t just play a game and explore, I feel the same for those little dots above npcs heads too, it’s all ridiculous hand holding to me
@@SpaceCloudsYT ah yes because nothing says I have a logical argument like insulting people. The minimap is a better idea because the actual map has no details on it which is not a very good map, it's a topography map which is only one of the many ways you can make a map. A minimap is not only useful for keeping track of your direction in caves it also helps in cities where a topography map is functionally useless. If you use Google maps or GPS why don't you just abandon that IRL and then figure out where you need to go and how to get there and tell me if it was easier or harder than otherwise. Also humans have used maps for centuries. I doubt you would refer to them as idiots.
@@mattiOTX That's fair, I personally didn't miss it much. The scanner is a useful tool if you get lost in a big ship or building. But yeah, maybe a toggleable minimap or a better version of the local map from Skyrim? One of the many quality of life improvements Bethesda could have thought about beforehand, but hey, at least they listen to player feedback
I had a stroke Trying to read the video title
Good voiceover
The thing with Bethesda RPGs and improving the character vs the player is that that is the point of an RPG. I don't need to be good at shooting a bow if my Dunmer archer is good at it. It's not dissimilar to a Neverwinter Knights game when you click on an enemy and tell your character to attack. The input from the player is minimal. Same thing with Bethesda games, except they require constant input from the player for the whole encounter. And I know it wasn't presented as a negative aspect of the games, but just citing a characteristic of the games. But some reviews I've seen for Starfield present this as a negative, completely missing the point of it being an RPG and not a sim game.
I think it might just add to the hollow feeling I get from it. Like, i could build up a whole factory outpost thing, but... why? Like I was so dead set on mining all these resources, but the payoff is kinda minimal. The game itself isn't full enough for it to really matter. I know the lock picking makes me a little crazy. I hate those minigames so I'm rushing to get to the end of the lockpick skill tree to be able to eliminate choices. I'm really happy if you're into it, though! I want to be. Maybe I will be again.
This is why when you use one cheat you immediately lose interest in a game. (Unless you are the morbid kind of player who just wants to create chaos)
Yes, so much this lol
Great video, keep at it!
Thanks!! Comments like these are a big help haha
I’m gonna stop this video here before he pulls the wool from my eyes
Honestly, after posting this video I played last night and was kinda over it. Which is disappointing cause I've been building up my character over 50 hours! I'm gonna try to push through though. The ship builder is seriously fun
@@itsdanielpaul I’m almost at the 200 hr mark on my first play through and haven’t even touched the crafting elements yet, I played over 10k hrs in Skyrim and I think I’ll hit that with starfield at some point provided I don’t hear the truth
crafting has been frustrating cause i'm always missing ONE THING. I try to build an outpost and GODDAMN NO IRON. How do I not have IRON
New Vagas is not addictive its just a great game.
This is a fantastic take on Starfield. I honestly think the only reason why I'm playing is because I feel obligated at this point.
Thanks! Yeah, like I put so much time into it leveling up I should keep going. But now when I level up, I don't even care anymore. I was excited to have skill points to spend but now... I'm not. It's weird.
Ecclesiastes 1:2-8 KJV
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
@@itsdanielpaul Oddly enough, the most fun i've had with Starfield is finding the most absurd clothing for my crew members and filling the ship with as much trash I can steal.
It went downhill after skyrim for me... tho I did like fallout 4
It's nice to see someone else talking about this. I've been trying to share my thoughts about Starfield with some friends today and they're mostly dismissing what I'm saying. On about day 4 of playing I'm realizing how empty everything is. Coming from playing Baldur's Gate 3 the lack of care and effort seems really obvious. In Baldur's Gate all the characters are designed thoughtfully and introduced in ways that make you remember them. The animations and the voice acting are well done and believable. All of the characters in Starfield are forgettable, even the quests. The game wants me to fly across the galaxy to get a beer for some person I don't even know. Why? She just says thanks and I get XP. I spent fifteen minutes of my life following some dude around as he took me on a tour of a space settlement in the middle of nowhere. I kept expecting something to happen, a twist, he was actually going to try and rob me because these people are poor. Nope. Just a really boring slice of life. Maybe they're going for the "living in the world" angle but the world feels so fake to me like it's spray painted. It's a lazy dressed up reiteration of Fallout with even more procedurally generated crap to discover. But you're dead on, because for all of that it's still playable and that's just because you want to have your hand held through the experience of leveling, looting, and doing quests.
Bethesda does have an intoxicating vibe to it. Despite it not being that good I hit the 90 hour mark without even realizing it. Since then it lost its luster for me. BG3 is incredible. Starfield is ambitiously average. A mile wide and a foot deep.
Except starfield is closer to actual life in it's setup of social interactions and how you remember people. The fact that space is mostly empty and devoid of life. The game is just not your type of game and that's ok. I did not particularly like Skyrim or new Vegas when Bethesda released them because it went from being a random in the world to being a hero or people going out of their way to know about you for some unknown reason that impacted everything and actually had a story to drive. I don't particularly like being shoehorned into a story especially when I can't actually advance without doing that story. Skyrim had that with having to at least go up the mountains just so you could get a handful of shouts and without doing that you could not actually get more. New Vegas, everything required you to eventually get to new Vegas and play it out with Mr house. You never got to choose how to handle it either. The dialogue was a sham to give you the casino one way or the other. People loved those games, they just were not my type of game.
Ecclesiastes 1:2-8 KJV
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Pool of Bethesda
The Pool of Bethesda is from the Christian Bible's New Testament, John 5:2 account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at a pool in Jerusalem, described as ...an angel stirs the waters.
I'm enjoying my time with Starfield, and I'm relieved that it's not a carbon copy of Fallout 76.
HUMBLE OPINION: Bethesda makes *"Thinking Man's Video Games."*
You must be fun at parties.
Bethesda players don't go to parties. The evidence is in the video title.
@@TraceguyRune *me a Bethesda games player who goes to parties* I may be the exception to that rule
No its not actually addicting. The issue is the game is expansive. You dont have levels which break immersion. You you have milestones celebrated like your first ship or outpost. Its one continuous experience which allows for losing track of time and therefore allows your mind to easily set back to what you were doing. No mechanical curve you need to warm up to or overly intense gameplay. Many moblie games have addiction issues by triggering dopamine drops. The bethesda games really only do that when you clear an entire quest chain thoough those can be far between as you get sidetracked by something that grabs your fancy. One thing that helps to temper that in real life if danger but without actual danger your brain willk constantly want to know more without much limit.
Almost every game could be called addictive, just have some self control and stop gooning brother
Disagree. Some games exist to be played once and never touched again. Most of the time, if not 100% of the time, this is a trait for linear games.
@@TraceguyRune so you’re saying you’d like all games to be catered to you and made linear?
Imagine having no self control and being a loser then projecting that onto the masses as Bethesdas issue for making a fun video game
Wrong take