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The word "experience" disgusts me

It really shouldn't. Perfectly accurate words co-opted by PR shouldn't suddenly become disgusting. Co-opting them and using them constantly is kind of annoying though.
 
Whenever I hear it I just think of Bosman. Same with the phrase "content". Obviously it's just PR speak though and I don't see a whole lot to get mad about.
 
Terrell said:
THAT is the expression that just tears at me in relation to games. The rest is just terrible wordplay and aggrandizing, but that phrase is a straight-up LIE.
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"A living breathing world" is open to much interpretation, so i wouldnt say that its a lie.


tbb033 said:
I hated it when programs suddenly became "apps".
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The word apps has actually been used for a long time, even before smart phones. But yeah, its much more used now than it was before, that is true.
 
Tregard said:
bosmanh0ssh.gif
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My first and only GIF I have created... What an awesome experience to see it again.

Now that you say it OP, it's a really dumb word to begin with. At least for gaming related topics, because everything is and has to be an experience nowadays. Even if your game really sucks you can still say it's a great experience. No journalist dared to ask yet what that even means, so its usage was spreading like wildfire.
 
I really don't see the issue, personally. I think it's a lot more accurate than "game" in a lot of cases. Much more versatile, too.
 
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Remember to join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by using the social media hashtag #CODBLOPS.
 
jman2050 said:
"Experience" is the word people use when they are unable and/or unwilling to describe what their game actually is.
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And that's the most genius thing ever: you can not explain an experience. You have to feel it, play it yourself aka pre-order and buy that game on day one!
 
sn00zer said:
I think its horrible to use in marketing, but a perfect way to describe nontradtional games
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It really isn't. It's an extremely general and abstract term that tells me absolutely nothing useful about what the game is or why I should care about it. You might as well tell me that it is "a thing that you read/watch/play in order to feel something."

I mean think about it, if the game in question is so nontraditional that it can't be adequately explained by specific genre designations and descriptions of common game mechanics or conventions then how in the world would using general non-specific terms like "experience" make the idea any clearer to me?
 
FlashbladeGAF said:
Can't remember if it was Sterling or Bosman that said, companies should try to use another word ..."fun" (like Nintendo)
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Fun and experience arent really exclusive terms. A "fun multiplayer experience" is probably one of the most common uses of the phrase. Im also sure Nintendo talks about "experiences" the same as anyone else.
 
Off-Kilter said:
The word "disgust" disgusts me

seriously why does it feel like that word is highly overused nowadays, especially in situations that don't merit such an extreme reaction?
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THIS

Like really? Really guy? You are so upset about day one, cosmetic DLC that you are, in fact, sick to your stomach? It makes you so physically ill that you want to puke your guts out? Okay guy.
 
But...these things are, technically, experiences.

Is it overused? I dunno. I have trouble complaining because I really feel like the modern dev emphasis on on overall "experience" has been generally good for gaming. It was bound to trickle into marketing.

Though, see most E3 presentations for annoying forward-facing-dev speak... And via this, I feel your pain.

"It has been a journey"
"Bringing to you"
"Creating opportunities"
"Genre redefining"
"With great pleasure"
"When we started down this path four years ago..."

Like, literally almost every thing they say.
 
jman2050 said:
It really isn't. It's an extremely general and abstract term that tells me absolutely nothing useful about what the game is or why I should care about it. You might as well tell me that it is "a thing that you read/watch/play in order to feel something."

I mean think about it, if the game in question is so nontraditional that it can't be adequately explained by specific genre designations and descriptions of common game mechanics or conventions then how in the world would using general non-specific terms like "experience" make the idea any clearer to me?
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It's not supposed to make things clear for you, obviously. It's supposed to remind you that not everything fits perfectly into neat little boxes. Or even if you were to go into an exhaustive explanation of the precise mechanics or whatever, sometimes what something sounds like on-paper just doesn't do it justice.
 
I'm more annoyed over the casual use of words like "hate" or in this case "disgust". I believe OP may feel annoyance or dislike, but actual disgust? Doubtful.
 
Is it overused? Sure.

Are there some things I can only describe as an "experience?" Absolutely

Things like Journey aren't objective enough to be a "game" in my opinion.
 
GrizzNKev said:
Kyle Bosman clued me into this a while ago, and now that I'm aware, I hear that word everywhere. Game modes aren't modes anymore, they're experiences. Games themselves are experiences. Consoles OSes are experiences. Buying a microtransaction is an experience.
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That's because our perception of these things is formally defined as the user experience.

When people evaluate a game, they're usually evaluating the user experience. How does playing the game make them feel? How functional and intuitive is the gameplay? etc. etc. Likewise, when companies explain what you'll get out of playing a game, they're describing their approach to the user experience.
 
Experience the experience of a lifetime... Full of amazing experiences and exclusive content~.

Seriously speaking, it's annoying buzzword, but only if it's used too much in markerspeak. Moderately used it's fine.
 
Mine is content. Content, content, content.

Up there with people outside the industry using IP constantly.
 
I agree with op.

Also the use of "Dynamic" is something I've been hearing too much of this gen. It seems that if a game doesn't have a "dynamic something" then it's not a technically impressive game.
 
Developers need to utilize the unique brand synergies created by open world cloud based platforms which empower consumers to experience epic dynamic real time visceral cinematic social emergent entertainment while avoiding ludonarrative dissonance.
 
Experience is an actual word used by designers. They design experience, so you can feel how it is to fight a gigantic enemy, traversing a monster-infested cities, etc.

Visceral, though. I don't even know what that means.
 
vareon said:
Visceral, though. I don't even know what that means.
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Something that produces damn near physical, primal or instinctual reactions. Experiences (yeah, experiences) aiming to punch you in the gut, metaphorically speaking, as opposed to something aiming for cerebral or emotional reactions.

Most of the words people complain about on GAF as nothing more than marketing buzzwords usually make perfect sense, though they can certainly be misused and abused.
 
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