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[Krevsin]

Planned obsolescence works for most gadgets out there, why not a video game? iPhones (who play dirty by adding "features" in new versions of iOS that slow down older models noticeably), Androids, most of the machinery in an average home... most of them aren't made to last more than a few years, because then the manufacturers can't count on people as a steady income stream.

At least with this you would know that it's going to go out at some point, rather than being surprised when it does.

I'd argue that games are not gadgets and that they should not be treated as such. Games are a medium. Films do not stop existing after a couple years has passed, neither do books. Same thing should apply to games.

[ChairmanPoo]

I see a lot of games that I've purchased in the past as a cash grab, where I played them for a few hours then never thought of touching them again

Me too. I regard those as a bad investment. Most recent one is Massive Chalice (it effing sucks, I wish I could get my money back). As I would this one, except I wont pay for it at all.

[penguinofhonor]

This isn't planned obsolescence. This is knowing your work has a lifespan and trying to include that in the experience. Multiplayer games become obsolete when not enough people want to play them. This has been true since before books or movies existed.

It's a little weird to acknowledge a product's becoming obsolete because that makes people uncomfortable, but it seems like these devs are trying to see if it could be something other than uncomfortable.

[Sonlirain]

Some multiplayer games die out too damn fast (look at Stellar Impact for example. A game almost completely DEAD along with titanfall and evolve for games that likely will soon follow).
This game takes that limited liferime into account... however... i really think they shouldn't put a too high price on it. I think it would work out better if it was no more than 5$. I'm sure some people would jump at the chance for a non repeatable experience.

However if its 10$ or more... then i'm fairly sure "The flock" refers directly to the players... as brainsless sheep with too much disposable income and ready for the shearing.

[Jopax]

How so?

Let's say that the game runs for about a month before triggering the end event. And let's say you played about half an hour each day on average. That's what, 15 hours of fun for 10 bucks? Now, this varies from person to person, but to me, that is not that bad of a trade. Sure it'd be nice to get hundreds of hours from it for 10 bucks, but those games are rare, and at a certain point asking for more value for a given price becomes ridicilous.

[Shadowlord]

Did you read the description of the gameplay?

[H4zardZ1]

Did you read the description of the gameplay?

What's wrong with it?

[Shadowlord]

I played multiplayer games on the Commodore 64 with more to them than this. :V

[Cthulhu]

I thought it sounded cool.  It sounded like a typical limited-scope multiplayer only game that'll be fun for a while and then slowly peter out.  That's a pretty common thing; hell they released a triple-A example of that style a few months ago where four guys chase a giant alien around.

[ZebioLizard2]

I thought it sounded cool.  It sounded like a typical limited-scope multiplayer only game that'll be fun for a while and then slowly peter out.  That's a pretty common thing; hell they released a triple-A example of that style a few months ago where four guys chase a giant alien around.

That one however very quickly petered out, had a horrible price point, and atrocious DLC schemes.

It's not doing very well for users currently.

[Graknorke]

This kind of makes sense to me. It's like a temporary installation; its main value is in its limited lifespan and how that makes it unique. Though in the name of archival, I would appreciate if after the whole thing is done they release the game and server software so that the gameplay can be preserved.

[Iceblaster]

My opinion:

What about the guy who dies first. I mean, they're only going to /just/ be learning the game. And then dead. Unless there's a single player portion of the game and you only get one multiplayer life, it'd kinda be a bit BS.

[nenjin]

Seems part experiment, part gimmick. The gimmick being that, in this era of fast and dirty games around $10, this makes pretty good business sense.

This seems like codifying what some people already do with games: buy a $10 walking and looking simulator with good music and a deep message, and play it once in their life. That's not reaaaaallllly the kind of games I'm into.

A good game demands it be played, not, you know, mourned. If the game's real hook is that eventually you don't get to play it anymore....let's just say that's not a trend I'd enjoy seeing picked up. Reminds of the whole "Limited time offer!" sales pitch.

[penguinofhonor]

I think this is a pretty different from artsy indie walking simulators, except maybe that it's new and therefore evil.

Walking simulators want the player to experience them over a couple play sessions with very little impeding the story. Even with simple mechanics, a 4-person free for all PvP game is going to be more difficult and take a lot more effort to get into. They also need people playing repeatedly and regularly over the period the game is available or they won't have a community to pull their ending gimmick on.

They're looking for a different kind of player, a different kind of investment, and the meaning they're focusing on is meta rather than narrative.

My opinion:

What about the guy who dies first. I mean, they're only going to /just/ be learning the game. And then dead. Unless there's a single player portion of the game and you only get one multiplayer life, it'd kinda be a bit BS.

Read the first reply to the thread, or almost any post after that. You get as many lives as you want, but they're going to stop selling the game after a certain amount of deaths.

New Guy, you might want to add something to the OP saying it's based on a misunderstanding of the game.

[Trapezohedron]

changed.