10 Inch Gaming versus 10 Foot Gaming
Posted On Friday, June 6th, 2008 By Jay
I’m an avid PC gamer. I’ve rarely if ever owned a console. I’ve rarely participated in the console gaming experience. Until recently, when I bought a 360, my console time was primarily while using a chums 360 or at work. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you out there that a rift exists between those that are exclusively console and those that are exclusively PC. I’ve come to refer to this argument as the 10 inch versus 10 feet rule.
Why Jay that’s ingenious! If only everyone had your insight we could solve world hunger! And it all stems from you pointing out the distance from your couch to your tv or your chair to your monitor! OMGKKTHXLA~ *COUGH*
Despite all the skeptics, many gamers don’t ever really consider distance from action when choosing a game. I would venture to guess that the majority of gamers don’t “think” about their experience, they “feel” about their experience. There are implications to both, and I’m not going to cover them here. I will, however, provide a nifty anecdote for you!
I recently played through Call of Duty 4. I played through it on my PC from 10 inches away! My socks were blown off my feet. I was constantly leaning forward! Into the action, jumping at every corner and generally enjoying the craftsmanship. I’ll have to play through CoD4 on my 360 to get a more accurate picture. Meanwhile, I am playing Mass Effect and my experience was/is very different.
From 10 feet away, I’m leaning back. I’m sitting in a nice comfy chair. My IRL FoV is large. I’m making an effort to read what’s on the screen. I’m further distanced from the action.
I’m hoping it’s my past experience with gaming that I’m not enthralled in Mass Effects’ gameplay. The story telling is great however! Now I don’t really care about the cliche characters, overdeveloped xenophobia and other such nonsense. I do really enjoy a well constructed story when I’m sitting on my couch. Do I think its movie worthy? Absolutely not, because it was made for a game. Will there be a movie? I sincerely hope so, because that will be neat and the script will be different.
I’m really curious how other gamers feel about this. Do they enjoy 10 feet experiences or 10 inches? Are they recent converts? Does distance have something to do with it?
Now, I’m not interested in the opinion of the zealots on either end of the PC/360 spectrum that are more than willing to inform me of my folly. I know the experiences are completely different. I know the audiences are completely different.
I’m interested in your personal anecdote! I’m interested if you’ve played any game on both the PC and the 360. I want to know how your experienced changed.
Up close and personal!
Intriguing. I hadn’t considered something like that before.
I find that I’m somewhere in the happy medium, playing both console games and PC games. In the past I was mostly a console gamer, with an emphasis on the PC games only for the social interaction. As the genre of games available for the PC have expanded over the years and gaming has become more mainstream, I find that I’m moving more to PC gaming than console. Apart from the social aspect (which is available on current-gen console systems), I find that I can do so much more with a PC: check email, communicate with friends, research things that struck my fancy, plan for the future, do my bills, and so forth and so on.
As a result, the functionality of the PC makes an edge over console systems.
That said, I do have a penchant for my Gameboy DS, which I feel represents the best of both worlds. I can communicate, I can play, I can get relaxed playing and not have to sit in a chair for hours at end, and the games tend to stimulate my mind more than PC games.
Thanks guys!
@Megan:
Which games did you play?
@Cynra:
Yes, I completely agree. I mainly PC game to interact with friends. Social gaming is definetly at an all time high. I’m excited to see where it goes and what innovations razzle dazzle us!