So, obviously the things I like are better than the things I, specifically, don't like. Obviously. But, wounding my pride, Fallout co-creator Tim Cain offers a less radical take in a new YouTube video about the psychology of video game design, positing that no game is truly "good" – "there's just a good game for you and a bad game for you," Cain says.
Public opinion might influence these two categories more than you consciously feel. Cain gives a specific example, though he doesn't name the games involved in it (Oblivion…?):
"This is a case of two games coming out almost at the same time this year," he says. "One of them wasn't so well reviewed or received. And one of the complaints people made was that, when you were in town, NPCs could block your movement. [...]
"Okay, that seems to be a valid complaint. [...] But another game came out at almost the same time. I think they came out weeks apart. That second game, super well-reviewed. People were saying, 'This is going to be the best game this year.' Exact same problem."
Cain says he tried finding evidence that these NPCs still bothered players – they hated getting caught on NPCs in that other game, didn't they? – but his search was futile. "If a game is reviewing well," he concludes, "many people [...] will ignore little problems in it. They don't care. They don't even mention it. They don't bring it up and go, 'Yeah, this is a problem, but it doesn't really affect your enjoyment of the game.'
"Make a bad game – and by that [I mean] make a game that's not reviewing that well – oh my God, the same people will complain about all those little things that exist in the good one, and they don't even see the problem. They don't see that as hypocrisy." These are all valid points, Tim. But have you considered the fact that my opinion is both honest and correct according to, uh, some people?
Speaking of opinions, peruse our list of the best Fallout games, ranked.
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