There are two main hurdles I can think of that are turn-offs for those not into videogames;
- Disinterest in subject matter; The ignorant refusing to play games - criticizing them as a waste of time, that they could never be art (ex; Robert Ebert syndrome.)
- Unfamiliarity in how to play; The player puts their thumbs on a dual analog sticks or keyboard/mouse and cannot understand how to move camera and character at the same time (hand-eye co-ordination.)
I've been googling the topic a lot lately and I see a lot of people trying to get family members (parents, siblings) or significant others into gaming. As a gamer, is it a lost cause trying to get someone with zero interest into one of your favorite hobbies?
Are there games or methods that can be used to slowly ease the person into learning how to overcome a modern complicated control scheme? Keyboard and mouse seems just as difficult to teach as dual analog sticks to someone that has never touched it before. If you factor in motion sickness, the prospect of a new player attempting to try out a 3D game becomes much more cumbersome - as game time must be fragmented to avoid fatigue and nausea.
I don't think anyone disagrees that the easiest games to get into are 2D games. With 3D games, it would probably be best to choose a title where the camera is fixed (IE; Mario Kart). I really want to build a list of games good for starters to just pick up and try, but am especially interested in overcoming the barrier with 3D gaming and dual analog/dedicated camera movement controlling. This seems to be where most people get off the ride.
Difficulty of controlling is why the remote and nunchuck came to fruition, but that gimmick is gone. Are there any 3D games with a classic gamepad controller interface that are easy to learn with? The first FPS game that comes to mind with this appeal would probably be Portal, as you only have four face buttons (one for each portal, jump, crouch) and there isn't really any challenging enemy AI. Hand-holding via co-op in Portal 2 would probably be a bad idea here, as it would hinder the learning experience tremendously.
In regards to overcoming disinterest in subject matter or the "games are a waste of time", I guess you would need to find something that catches the appeal of that particular player's interests and attention span. There's obviously those girlfriend-safe games (IE; The Sims, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc), but I'd love to compose a giant categorized list. But then, even once you've got that, where do you start?
- Disinterest in subject matter; The ignorant refusing to play games - criticizing them as a waste of time, that they could never be art (ex; Robert Ebert syndrome.)
- Unfamiliarity in how to play; The player puts their thumbs on a dual analog sticks or keyboard/mouse and cannot understand how to move camera and character at the same time (hand-eye co-ordination.)
I've been googling the topic a lot lately and I see a lot of people trying to get family members (parents, siblings) or significant others into gaming. As a gamer, is it a lost cause trying to get someone with zero interest into one of your favorite hobbies?
Are there games or methods that can be used to slowly ease the person into learning how to overcome a modern complicated control scheme? Keyboard and mouse seems just as difficult to teach as dual analog sticks to someone that has never touched it before. If you factor in motion sickness, the prospect of a new player attempting to try out a 3D game becomes much more cumbersome - as game time must be fragmented to avoid fatigue and nausea.
I don't think anyone disagrees that the easiest games to get into are 2D games. With 3D games, it would probably be best to choose a title where the camera is fixed (IE; Mario Kart). I really want to build a list of games good for starters to just pick up and try, but am especially interested in overcoming the barrier with 3D gaming and dual analog/dedicated camera movement controlling. This seems to be where most people get off the ride.
Difficulty of controlling is why the remote and nunchuck came to fruition, but that gimmick is gone. Are there any 3D games with a classic gamepad controller interface that are easy to learn with? The first FPS game that comes to mind with this appeal would probably be Portal, as you only have four face buttons (one for each portal, jump, crouch) and there isn't really any challenging enemy AI. Hand-holding via co-op in Portal 2 would probably be a bad idea here, as it would hinder the learning experience tremendously.
In regards to overcoming disinterest in subject matter or the "games are a waste of time", I guess you would need to find something that catches the appeal of that particular player's interests and attention span. There's obviously those girlfriend-safe games (IE; The Sims, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc), but I'd love to compose a giant categorized list. But then, even once you've got that, where do you start?
